Thunderbolts #138

Man, that is one chilling cover. If you look closely, it looks like Scourge is staring right at you. The texture and realism of that eye is spooky! Very impressive!

The Ghost has really become the driving force in this comic. Jeff Parker picks up the thread that the previous writers left; Ghost is manipulating the team for his own ends. After setting off Mr. X, Ghost rallies up the team to track him down when he goes AWOL in South America. With some clever sound mixing, Ghost even sets up a conflict between Headsman and Mr. X. The team is so dang dysfunctional. When Paladin and Ant-Man arrive at the fight, they decide to just let things play out. I had thought those two liked Headsman at least a bit, but clearly they value their own skins more. Scourge finally gets a voice this issue, and that voice is crazy. Totally insane. Scourge speaks in military jargon, regardless of how appropriate it is. He's totally disconnected from reality and he's a dangerous, dangerous guy to be leading this team. Things cool down when the team has to unite to fight off some paramilitary types, and they end up bonding a bit, just as Ghost had planned. What I liked about the closing scene was that Osborn is smart enough to see this all happening and he warns Ghost that he's onto him. I really like Ghost as such a motivating force for a book, who would have thought he would be this important.

Miguel Sepulveda is pretty good, his Scourge, Mr. X, and Headsman all look great. His Ghost is spooky (although I still love the original Bob Layton design). Ant-Man and Paladin have too-big helmets and their armor is clunkier than usual, but they still look decent.

Good