Monthly (Comic) Book Club - July - Thunderbolts: Red Scare & Infinity15052
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Wk3 (7/12-7/18): Thunderbolts #13-15   |
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| So issue 13 is one of the two issues in this second collection that aren’t tied to the Infinity crossover at the time. This Issue focuses largely on Mercy and Ross’ relationship with her. I think this issue, like the Punisher issue before it, is slowly starting to right the ship for the series by tying up loose ends, make the story more character-driven, and finally just answer things that were largely unexplained in the preceding arcs. It almost felt like the author was reading my mind when the first lines in this book are Flash/Venom asking Mercy, “What are you? And why the hell are you here?” The rest of the issue is basically explaining Mercy’s presence in the book. Some we kind of gathered in that basically she kills people who want to die but the story describes what that mentality lead to with Mercy and Ross’ Devil’s Bargain with her to keep her on some sort of leash, or at least keep her around so that she doesn’t disappear into the aether and wreck havoc uncontrolled. I was curious and looked up Mercy on Wikipedia. She doesn’t have her own Wikipedia page and below is the entirety of her entry under the Hulk Supporting Characters page: Quote: Originally Posted by Wikipedia Anyways, this issue isn’t ground-breaking or amazing but I feel it is trying to create a foundation for a series built on a bed of sand. In a way, it feels like it is doing the work that should’ve been done maybe ten issues earlier. I also think that this and the lass issue were written as they were because the series had just switched writers and the new writer would almost immediately have to jump to a tie-in to Marvel’s big crossover event du jour so there really wasn’t time to make a team-focused story that wouldn’t be interrupted by the crossover tie-in. Clearly the title was having issues which is probably why it keeps changing artists. In this issue we’re back to Phil Noto, but only for one issue, followed by a different artist for the Infinity tie-in, and yet another artist when we come back to the regular storyline. |
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| Post 27 • IP flag post | ||
 If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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| I'm heading out of town tomorrow, so time to get the reading done! I agree with what you said about 13. It is nice to have some sense of Mercy as a character (such as she is even after this issue), especially since she sort of hung in the background of the previous arc but never actually interacted with the team. Characters like this, who are more like forces of nature than people, are hard to work with. They need to be humanized somehow, which Mercy has not been so far, or it's really more about how the characters around them react. With Ross, we see a lot of military thinking (he acts basically the same way that he described the military in the early part of the issue) and 'realism' without morality. He can clearly see that Mercy is something beyond his control and a large problem, but he decides to keep her with him instead of getting anyone's help and calls it the least bad option. It fits with the story of a bunch of compromised protagonists. As a contrast, I keep up my X-Men subscriptions and they have solved a similar problem. There are a variety of mutants, like Krakoa and Proteus, who need to drain life energy to survive. Mutants (having all come together, roughly speaking, and so not just the X-Men) have addressed the problem by 'feeding' them as necessary, sort of like Ross has. The difference is that mutants have also 'solved' death, so those that die don't stay dead. There are issues associated with that, which are actively playing out in storylines now, but it at least feels like a better, more 'heroic' solution than Ross'. Ross has enough connections that he could talk to a Dr. Strange or Reed Richards or someone who might be able to come up with a good idea, but that isn't how he thinks. |
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| Post 28 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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| For 14, the most obvious difference from previous issues is the new artist. Artists with a pretty distinctive style are hit or miss, in my opinion, and Palo is a miss for me. There's nothing wrong with the execution; I even like some of the layouts, like the Punisher shooting the three different guys. I just don't like the style. As far as the story, we get an interesting twist (or maybe it's just a change; I don't know if Ross actually said they would take turns picking missions) in that the Punisher gets to pick what the team is up to this time. He, of course, wants to take out a mob family, but a particular one that takes more man- and fire-power than he can bring to bear. I was briefly hopeful that this was going to be the type of crossover issue I love for these unrelated big events, which is to say that someone says "the Avengers went off to space" and that's it. Unfortunately, with the cliffhanger ending, it looks like whatever Infinity was will be a little more important to the story than I hoped. |
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Quote:Originally Posted by xkonk I haven’t re-read the issue yet but no, this had not been established prior to this and is more of Soule “righting the ship,” I think since it really gives these mostly loner characters a reason to stick together. The closest justification that was given during Way’s run was that they would fight against bad guys with the same force the bad guys mete out and without the hang-ups or red tape to constrain them. That wasn’t particularly satisfying and it ended up feeing like they were only together because Thunderbolts is a team book. |
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| Post 30 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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| Issue 15, along with some moments in 14, show more of a sense of humor than the previous arc did. I don't mind that, but it's interesting because it's a change from the previous issues, and the last two were written by the same guy (Soule). Maybe they thought the book would get more attention as part of the Infinity crossover, so they wanted to make it a little more Deadpool-y? Other than that, the issue feels a little drag-y. I'm definitely just waiting to get to the fireworks factory. I guess if that's what the crossover calls for, adding the jokes is a good way to keep people interested? In the meantime I guess I'll wait for the next few issues. |
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Wk4 (7/19-7/25): Thunderbolts #16-19    |
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| Post 32 • IP flag post | ||
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| So I actually really like Palo’s art in this issue. I think it feels a bit like an animated series, which fits with the more action/comedy tone of the issue. It’s very exaggerated and expressive so I can understand it might not be for everyone but I find it very fun. I think the issue does a great job setting up the next arc’s events. It’s a more conventional setup, I guess, where the previous arc tried to fill in the background as the story is moving along. I think Soule did a good job setting up a mission for the Punisher. Sort of a shadow crime family behind all the major crime in the city. I also think the issue did a decent job of showing the team actually working as a team instead of lingering on the shoehorned team mistrust angle. |
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| I actually really enjoyed issue 15 and I disagree that it feels like it drags on. The team’s doing the legwork to track down the crime family and that takes some time. So I feel the story is moving along at an appropriate pace. It’s a little too coincidental that they happen to stumble on a small-time family that knows exactly where they are but the previous issue at least had them set up and with the more comedic approach, I’m willing to let it slide a bit more. I feel the issue, and the storyline in general, makes better use of the individual character personalities than the previous arc did. When they’re interrogating the street thugs you have the more straight-laced Flash/Venom wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them go unharmed. Elektra and Punisher are more like-minded and Elektra distracts Flash, leaving the Punisher to do what he does with criminals. I also got a chuckle out of the later “The aliens must have gotten them” call back. Deadpool is very much Deadpool. I thought the scene with the little girl was cute and I think his sense of humor lands a lot better now than it did in the previous arc. It comes from a more charming place than before where he just seemed more like a sarcastic jerk with the occasional non-sequitur thrown in. I also thought the start of the attack was used as a good character moment for Venom and Punisher again. Venom basically wants to scrap the mission and help fight off the aliens and rescue people while Punisher is strictly about the mission. It feels like the alien invasion, which I’m sure is linked to the Infinity event, will be an obstacle but not the goal. The team is still focusing on the mission but now they have a bunch of aliens also in their way. So far the story is much clearer than we saw in the previous arc, the characters are better utilized, and combined with the change in tone, I think it’s a far more enjoyable read than the slog of the previous arc. |
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Monthly (Comic) Book Club - August - Batman Reborn & Batman vs Robin  Batman and Robin (2009) #1-12 Wk1 (8/2-8/8): Batman and Robin (2009) #1-3 Wk2 (8/9-8/15): Batman and Robin (2009) #4-6 Wk3 (8/16-8/22): Batman and Robin (2009) #7-9 Wk4 (8/23-8/29): Batman and Robin (2009) #10-12 |
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| Post 35 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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| I guess I should clarify that the issues weren't dragging, per se. It's more that they've made it clear that the series is part of that year's Super Important Crossover Event, the aliens are coming... and we're waiting for the aliens to get there. It's more event fatigue on my part than a complaint with the issues themselves. The writing is good and I like these issues more than the first arc we read but I don't want to say nice things about them too loudly on the off chance that Marvel thinks that I'm endorsing the annual fundraiser. Either way, I kind of feel like I'm waiting to see how the aliens mess stuff up and it's been two issues already. Let's get on with it and get back to the Thunderbolts. I do appreciate the characterization, but that's what you have to do when the editor-mandated crossover stuff hasn't hit full speed, right? | ||
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| Issue 16 isn’t remarkable but it continues Frank’s mission as the alien invasion continues. The team is fractured with Frank, Venom, and Elektra on the main mission, Deadpool off on his own, and Leader and Hulk attacked by aliens at the submarine. Again, I really feel like the exaggerated, almost whimsical art style compliments the popcorn action/comedy tone of the book. You have Deadpool spewing one-liners as he defends people’s wishes at a water fountain, Red Hulk smashing aliens, and Frank bringing military-grade explosives to a gun fight. I wonder if Supergiant’s mission and actions here actually play a tole in the main Infinity event or if it was just something added in this book to make it seem more involved. At this point I think it’s pretty clear that the extent of this book’s involvement in the event is just that the alien invasion happens in the city they happen to be operating in but we’re not actually getting involved in the why or how it will be resolved. Meanwhile, the issue is pretty self-aware of the fact that these kind of invasions happen fairly regularly in the Marvel universe to the point that high-level mobsters have a purpose-built bunker to ride them out in. Speaking of the bunker, I don’t think it is meant as a direct reference but it reminded me of the bunker seen in Garth Ennis’ Punisher: The End, which takes place after an apocalypse has left the world in ruins. Definitely recommended reading for anyone interested in the Punisher  |
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| Issue 17 keeps the action-movie feel going. Punisher, Elektra, and Venom attack the bunker, Deadpool continues his search for pizza, and Red Hulk and Leader deal with the aliens. Once again, I like how we get snippets of conflict based on the characters’ different personalities that fees more natural than the forced and very fake-feeling conflicts we got in the previous arc. Here we have Punisher’s “kill ‘em all” mentality brushing ip against Flash/Venom’s more nuanced and forgiving world view. I especially liked that once the assault began both characters fought differently in accordance to their outlooks. Punisher of course killing everyone he can but Venom using less lethal means like webbing and shooting extremities…at least until things started getting desperate and he seemed to get more bestial. Did he bite a guy’s head off? I kind of fee like Mercy’s a bit of a difficult character to work with that Soule was kind of saddled with from the earlier run. Still, I think he makes a bit better use of her than she had been previously. In this issue we have Red Hulk and Leader at least concerned with her presence and actively trying to direct her into accomplishing their goals. The story also continues to do little more than acknowledge the events of the Infinity crossover. This time we have the release of the Terrigen mists on Earth. This even is noticed and acknowledged but doesn’t affect their current situation very much, at least until the three underdog mobsters turn out to be Inhumans. |
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| Post 38 • IP flag post | ||
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If the viagra is working you should be well over a 9.8.
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| I ran through the issues for the week a couple days ago when I had downtime from the family. I didn't have too much to say that I hadn't already said. The artwork is fine but still not my cup of tea. I agree that it isn't out of place given the tone of the book, but I also have seen plenty of other artists I like better on other Deadpool books with the same tone. I don't recall which issue number it was (maybe 16?), but the Punisher flubbing an explosive struck me as a bit out of place. It fits the tone of the book and shows the benefit of Frank working with a super-powered team, so I give it some points, but I also think it was stretching the characterization a bit just to make a joke. 19 was different, being a new artist and more of a solo story. I thought it was good in showing the Leader as a planner, and maybe being over-optimistic about how his plans would turn out (a good thing to do with a villain), but then reining himself in. It was interesting. |
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| 18 went by super quick, basically just wrapping (almost) everything up. Picking up from the last issue, one of the Inhuman mobsters is unceremoniously killed by a mobster, leading the two inhumans to take their revenge against them for the all the disrespect they’ve suffered. Frank’s targets had escaped in all the confusion of the previous issue. Turna out Venom had attached a piece of the symbiote to track them. Looking back on it the art was a little confusing since it looked like Venom had simply hit them with a line of webbing. After taking out the capital ship Ross and The Leader had set her against, Ross strikes another deal with Mercy. Again he promises enough death to satisfy her now in exchange for Mercy killing aliens and protecting the people. So I guess the book did get involved in resolving part of the Infinity event’s conflicts. Deadpool’s long-coveted pizza turns out to be just okay but it turns out the pizza shop just happened to be the fallback position for Punisher’s targets and Deadpool just shoots them dead. It may be a little anticlimactic but done so for comedic effect. Back in the bunker we have the inhuman mob son kill himself after seeing his transformation. The scene was more than a little sudden and melodramatic. We then get to see more of the father’s mutation in that he now hosts several of his ancestors within his own body and he swears revenge on the Punisher. I actually don’t recall if we see him again. I’ll have to look it up, or at leas rifle through some of the subsequent trades to see if he appears. We get Elektra, Punisher, and Venom meet up with Deadpool at the pizza shop. A few Punisher/Elektra sex jokes then they’re off to their next destination in Punisher’s van. |
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| What I liked about the final issue is that it finally develops the Leader as a character. He’s unique among the other team members in that a) he’s normally a full-on villain, not an anti-hero, and b) he’s not there by choice. He was basically kidnapped and forced to comply by Ross, so it is understandable that he may be carrying a grudge or two. It is great to see how much of a threat the Leader can be as he has mostly just dragged along. We see him manipulating events to his benefit but he’s also limited by his incomplete brain power so while he seems to have it mostly figured out, there still might be gaps in his knowledge but mostly a lack of confidence, I guess. I don’t think the symbiotes have ever been said to be weak against magnesium so it works as either the Leader’s incomplete knowledge or showing how he knows more than the rest of us |
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| Starting Monday, New Month, New Reading, New Thread! Batman & Robin (2009) #1-12 (aka Batman Reborn & Batman vs Robin) Wk1 (8/2-8/8): Batman & Robin (2009) #1-3    |
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