Comic of the Day 5/5: "Thunderbolts" #104

With its "Civil War" story line coming to a close, "Thunderbolts" seems to finally have found its footing. It ties in smoothly into the main "Civil War" comic, providing readers with valuable background information of "Operation: Justice Like Lightning". But is it fair to credit writer Fabian Nicieza, or is the "Civil War" story line just too strong and full of potential? 

It's probably a mix between both, as he still does an impressive job in the dialogue and characterization department. Helmut Zemo is thoroughly well written, while Hank Pym and Reed Richards make for some exciting scenes as antagonists. Tom Grummett's art, however, still doesn't manage to convince. His insistence on big, crowded panels for fights remains confusing and highly antiquated, especially when he shows here that he has far more talent drawing tighter, more reduced scenes.

All in all a good issue that is far away now from the disaster that was the first two.

6/10

Comic of the Day 3/5: "Thunderbolts" #103

Most surprisingly, Thunderbolts #103 is actually a half-decent comic. After the disaster that was the first two issues, Fabian Nicieza is finally able to appropriately integrate the Thunderbolts cause into the larger "Civil War" story arc, including some enjoyable references to Spider-Man's unmasking.

The dialogue between Helmut Zemo and Iron Man stands out especially here, as Nicieza shows an understanding of how to build up these tense and well-paced verbal skirmishes between the two. Unfortunately, Tom Grummett's  generic tag team fight scenes still can't convince, as he relies too heavily on large, confusing panels. Nicieza's jokes also more often than not miss their target, while Songbird's naive and dull depiction feels painfully sexist at times.

Thunderbolts #103 is mostly entertaining, which is mainly due to it finally embracing the "Civil War" story arc. But it's still too flawed to make it an entirely enjoyable affair.


6/10