By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Wacker (penciller), Terry Pallot (inker), Frank Martin Jr. (colorist)
The Story: The Thunderbolts arrive in Camelot to prove that chivalry is, in fact, dead.
The Review: While liking a character (or characters) isn’t always necessary for a piece of fiction’s success, it sure does help. If you can at least empathize with the protagonists to a sufficient degree, you’re willing to follow along with them through most things, even less than inspired storylines. In the case of the Thunderbolts, they’re actually very easy to like, so at times the plot feels quite secondary to their character work.
For one thing, you can’t help liking the ‘bolts because they project more of a hapless quality rather than overt evil or malice. Whereas DC’s Secret Six went out looking for trouble, the Thunderbolts seem like they just fall into situations where misunderstanding leads to their bad behavior. Take this issue. The whole conflict arises essentially because Troll hears what she thinks are the sounds of Norsmen and attacks accordingly, only to discover it’s the Black Knight. Unfortunately, she lacks the ability to express her chagrin, and so the row goes on.
On the other hand, sometimes the team really does bring trouble upon themselves, though less out of desire than sheer stubbornness, as in the case of Boomerang. Though he proudly claims himself a “bad guy,” his actions here seem more like those of an “idiot,” as Fixer calls him. You know the old joke about whether someone’s brave or stupid? Boomer lives the joke, insisting on keeping an enchanted sword, even in the face of a legendary king, his many knights, and wizard.
Hopefully he gets a clue that just because he’s got electric boomerangs in this primitive period doesn’t mean that the folks he’s challenging are defenseless. Actually, I can tell you right off that he won’t have a choice but to acknowledge the might of his opponents, as Merlin proves that what Camelot lacks in tech, he more than makes up for with incredibly potent magic, one that overcomes even Satana’s power.
The fight between King Arthur’s knights and the Thunderbolts is a perfect example of what makes this such an enjoyable team book: a wide mix of power sets, ranging from the technological to the magical to brute force; enjoyable bursts of personality (Mr. Hyde: “Sod this. Enough of this lady-talk! …Get to the punch-up!”); and a contextual backdrop that’s just plain fun (seeing modern heroes in old-timey dress never gets old, in my view).
A nice bonus is that Parker likes to slide in a more foreboding undercurrent of plot beneath all this levity, and often it’s that stuff which turns out to be where the real gems of ideas lie. In this case, we discover the dungeons of Camelot, where “Every beast accused of guarding a bridge or distressing a damsel” resides. It’s a brilliant idea, really; we know Arthur ruled a realm of peace, with his knights taking down every threat to the kingdom, but having the monsters imprisoned for Merlin’s chemical use is a delightful, potent twist.
Wacker has an interesting style, one that, while generally pleasing, tends to look inconsistent across the board. In smaller proportions, his figures look sketchy, with delicate linework, yet in close-ups, they have a lot of depth. Then again, that could all be due to Martin’s shading and Pallot’s inks, which seem to vary wildly even on the same page. Again, nothing looks ugly, but frequently you’ll feel like several different artists drew this issue.
Conclusion: Books of pure fun, yet not lacking in craft, are sorely lacking these days, which makes a title like this one all the more precious.
Grade: B+
- Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: - If nothing else, I have to afford Parker respect for paraphrasing a Peggy Lee song in the middle of a comic book brawl.
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Boomerang, Camelot, Centurius, Fixer, Frank Martin, Jeff Parker, Kev Wacker, King Arthur, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Merlin, Moonstone, Mr. Hyde, Satana, Terry Pallot, Thunderbolts, Thunderbolts #169, Thunderbolts #169 review, Troll
[...] (whom I believe I referred to as “Wacker” in #169—my apologies) still has this strange effect where his art seems to vacillate between appearing [...]