Thunderbolts has always been at its best when it's dealing less in the cosmic and grandiose and more in the smaller and more personal, so it's no surprise that this issue is one of the stronger stories in a while. Shifting the focus away from the Counter-Earth story and more toward Hawkeye on the run, with Songbird making a convincing return to her darker roots, brought my interest more fully back onto the book. And while I may have had a couple of problems with some of Zircher's transitions, I can't deny that his artwork was pretty nice, and seemingly improving with each issue.
Those who have read my reviews know that I favor the crime books these days, and while no one is going to confuse Thunderbolts for Sin City any time soon, I did think Nicieza did a pretty nice job of getting into the villainous mindset for this issue. Mimi's opening scene, stretched out in a bad motel trying to piece together her next move, is the epitome of a criminal between jobs in the crime genre. In addition, seeing her slip back into old habits, worrying that she won't be able to slip back out, was a wonderfully revelatory bit of characterization.
One look at the cover will tell you, and a few more pages in will reaffirm, that this book is about a more dangerous and sexy side of Melissa Gold. Songbird's multiple personalities were explored in a storyline that I actually didn't like very much, but I'm glad to see Nicieza using that story to show us a different side of Songbird from the shrinking violet characterization she has generally had. In this issue she's confident, capable and intelligent, and combining that with some strong visuals made her a much more interesting character in my eyes.
The artwork in this issue is solid work. Zircher really captures the sensual and gritty persona that Melissa has put on, and I loved both the visual redesign of the character and the way he followed up on Nicieza's references to her smoking to give her a completely different look. The focus in the last few issues has been on a gritty milieu, but one that was full of unearthly technology and situations, and I found the same sort of gritty style, applied to a more realistic setting, much more pleasing to the eye. I did wish for a little more clarity in storytelling, particularly in the action sequence of the issue, where it's often hard to figure out where the various players are meant to be, but in general I was really happy with the art.
If you're looking for a jumping-on point (or a re-jumping-on point) for Thunderbolts, you couldn't ask for much better than this. It's a great character study, the introduction of an intriguing mystery and just a fun read, with solid artwork.
