Thunderbolts: The Great Escape TPB

Wow, I’m really on a big Thunderbolts kick these days! It’s easy to see why, when I’ve got this many good comics stacked up to read. Thunderbolts has been truly blessed with great creators over the years, and Jeff Parker fits right in. There is one issue in this trade that has a little overview of most of the team’s incarnations, and the Parker-era after Siege works just as well as the rest.

The lineup here is getting expansive, but Parker doesn’t short anyone. (Except for poor Shocker, who kind of disappears and doesn’t travel through time with his buddies. Was he needed in Spider-Man?) In the present, Cage, Mach V, Songbird, and Ghost are trying to locate their time lost teammates. They get some sweet team-ups and opponents, including Valkyrie, Mr. Fear, and the Enforcers (!). Who would have thought Ghost would be working so effectively with the “man.”

In the past, Centurius, Fixer, Mr. Hyde, Moonstone, Troll, Satana, and Boomerang are getting the grand tour. They travel to WWII and meet with the Invaders in a tremendous team-up. Then they bounce even further back in time and get to re-stage Jack-the-Ripper’s murders. And now it looks like they will be going up against the Black Knight. (Not Dane Whitman, one of my personal favorites, but I like Sir Percy, too). I’m kind of surprised at my faves in this arc. Troll, Boomerang, and Centurius are stealing the show in my opinion. Satana fits in nicely in the book too; I wouldn’t have figured she would work so well.

Kev Walker and Declan Shalvey handle most of the art once again, and these guys have it down to a science. The WWII era costumes for the criminal T-bolts are absolutely tremendous. Moonstone and Satana’s are the best. Shalvey gets to draw a lot a lot of classic characters, and he does a tremendous job. I miss those old characters like Atlas, Jolt, and Meteorite. What happens in the next trade???

Excellent