Thunderbolts #149

The T-Bolts' anti-hand rescue operation gets much, much nastier when Crossbones discover that he may have gained some powers from the Terrigen Mists.
 

The Good

I've been reading T-Bolts since it first launched after Onslaught and this has been one of the most interesting line-ups so far. From catty Moonstone to awkward Ghost to sadistic Crossbones, he gives each member of the team a distinct voice and M.O. Actually, speaking of the M.O.'s, this had some seriously badass action. I genuinely wasn't prepared for the Underhand's takedown of Man-Thing and you can't help but cackle at how Crossbones handled these ninjas. It's not all ecstatic carnage, though - - this issue ends with one wrenching twist that's very much in line with the noirish tone.
 

The Bad

You know, I love how stylish half-tones can look when they're properly used, but they seemed to have been included  indiscriminately here.  Rather than be included to abstract the shading, they're just put over computer colors that already have plenty of tonality. The result's a little distracting because, more often than not, the tones look like artifacts from a previous version.

The Verdict - 4.5/5

Like I keep saying, I'm a sucker for supervillain books, or quasi-supervillain books, and this is the other half of a great combo with Secret Six.  Actually, to another point of comparison, I enjoy this book the same way I enjoyed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - - you bunch of extreme, unsavory personalities bumping heads and it's almost impossible to predict what they're going to do. It's a lot more interesting to watch what unfolds instead of the usual class-act superheroes you find in these books.