Andrea Speed
January 7th 2005, 05:52 PM
Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Sword and Claw
An evil, brainwashed Wolverine interrupts the new Swordsman’s plan.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/760/tbolts4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/760/tbolts4.jpg"align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Color Art: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: RS & Comicraft's Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Grummett, Erskine, & Sotomayor
Publisher: Marvel
Review: As I said in my Gambit review, there comes a point when Wolverine must make an appearance. Usually it comes up soonest in X-Men related books, but not always, and proof of that is here. This one ties into the crappy “Enemy Of The State” storyline currently running in Elektra … oh, sorry, I mean Wolverine, but there are a couple of surprising things. Mainly, that Wolverine talks - he hasn’t talked an awful lot since he was brainwashed by Hydra - and none of his Hand buddies are lurking, as they usually do. Doesn’t mean it’s bad (not at all; it can’t get much worse than Enemy of the State), and it’s contrasted with the situation of the new Swordsman, which is somewhat similar, but different.
The thing is, I thought the last issue of Wolverine made it clear von Strucker was behind the master plan of killing and resurrecting superheroes for his own use ..? Oh well, no matter.
The Thunderbolts are included in this story as well. There’s a little dissention in the ranks, as Abe wants Jim to stay on the straight and narrow, and Jim really doesn’t like that idea. Songbird also gets a little suspicious of Atlas, and it’s about damn time someone did. As for whether or not we find out who the new Swordsman is, let’s just say clues are dropped, and I hope it’s not who I think it is, just because I never cared much for that character. But we’ll see; it could be someone totally different, from the Thunderbolts’ past, of which I have little to no usable knowledge.
Grummett’s art looks exceptionally sharp this time out, with some really crisp inking by Erskine. I think these two have finally found their “groove”, so to speak, and you could hardly ask for better art. There are many action sequences in this issue, and they have a nicely brutal verve to them. You should really check out the scenes when one character is falling and another goes after them - that could have come straight from the Spider-Man films. The color art by Sotomayor is rich and bright, and pretty much perfect, alternating between realistic and hyper-realistic tones that make characters pop off the page.
This continues to be solid entertainment with a high cheese content, but it’s a good kind of cheese. And, it’s a lot better than Wolverine.
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Buy Thunderbolts online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1549&cat=NEW+THUNDERBOLTS+%282004%29)
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Sword and Claw
An evil, brainwashed Wolverine interrupts the new Swordsman’s plan.
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/760/tbolts4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/760/tbolts4.jpg"align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Co-Plotter: Kurt Busiek
Pencils: Tom Grummett
Inks: Gary Erskine
Color Art: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: RS & Comicraft's Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover Art: Grummett, Erskine, & Sotomayor
Publisher: Marvel
Review: As I said in my Gambit review, there comes a point when Wolverine must make an appearance. Usually it comes up soonest in X-Men related books, but not always, and proof of that is here. This one ties into the crappy “Enemy Of The State” storyline currently running in Elektra … oh, sorry, I mean Wolverine, but there are a couple of surprising things. Mainly, that Wolverine talks - he hasn’t talked an awful lot since he was brainwashed by Hydra - and none of his Hand buddies are lurking, as they usually do. Doesn’t mean it’s bad (not at all; it can’t get much worse than Enemy of the State), and it’s contrasted with the situation of the new Swordsman, which is somewhat similar, but different.
The thing is, I thought the last issue of Wolverine made it clear von Strucker was behind the master plan of killing and resurrecting superheroes for his own use ..? Oh well, no matter.
The Thunderbolts are included in this story as well. There’s a little dissention in the ranks, as Abe wants Jim to stay on the straight and narrow, and Jim really doesn’t like that idea. Songbird also gets a little suspicious of Atlas, and it’s about damn time someone did. As for whether or not we find out who the new Swordsman is, let’s just say clues are dropped, and I hope it’s not who I think it is, just because I never cared much for that character. But we’ll see; it could be someone totally different, from the Thunderbolts’ past, of which I have little to no usable knowledge.
Grummett’s art looks exceptionally sharp this time out, with some really crisp inking by Erskine. I think these two have finally found their “groove”, so to speak, and you could hardly ask for better art. There are many action sequences in this issue, and they have a nicely brutal verve to them. You should really check out the scenes when one character is falling and another goes after them - that could have come straight from the Spider-Man films. The color art by Sotomayor is rich and bright, and pretty much perfect, alternating between realistic and hyper-realistic tones that make characters pop off the page.
This continues to be solid entertainment with a high cheese content, but it’s a good kind of cheese. And, it’s a lot better than Wolverine.
http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy Thunderbolts online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1549&cat=NEW+THUNDERBOLTS+%282004%29)