STORY: Andy Diggle
ART: Roberto De La Torre
COVER: Francesco Mattina
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE DATE: Wed. May 20, 2009

 Back before the Deadpool crossover Thunderbolts was my Pick of the Week every week it came out. The Secret Invasion tie-ins had just ended and Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre had just come on as the new creative team. When Bendis took the Thunderbolts team at the time and made them into his Dark Avengers, it was up to Diggle to revamp the team and he began by tearing the remaining members to shreds. He then stacked the team with what seamed to be some very odd choices at the time.

If those few issues were any sign of what Diggle's run on the book was going to be like, it was going to overshadow Warren Ellis' run on the book like an oak. Those few issues by Diggle and De La Torre were gritty in a non contrived way, and very streamlined in art and story. He gave the characters purpose instead of just manipulated thugs. Then De La Torre began to disappear and the book got a bit weak. Then the Deadpool crossover hit and the book got weaker. Being a fan of both the Thunderbolts and Deadpool books, I think both titles suffered, as most books do, from a crossover that floated between two minds, not knowing if it should be a Deadpool story in a Thunderbolts book, or a Thunderbolts story in a Deadpool book. It was as if the two writer just said "you write your part your way, and I'll do mine my way", and never really sat down to compare notes.

Which brings us to Thunderbolts #132. It is very rare that a creative team comes along and displays the same grasp of each other as Lee and Kirby, Bendis and Maleev, Whedon and Cassaday, or Alan Moore and...any of his artists. When these guys find each other wouldn't you think they themselves would recognize this and stay together at all costs. If for no other reason than to put something more than a trade's worth of work out. A run that can be looked back at as a classic, and bar setting for the characters being worked on. That is what is going on here with Diggle and De La Torre, and that is what I hope continues. The same could be said for what is going on over in the Punisher office with Rick Remender and Jerome Opena, and unfortunately Opena's five issues are up (WTF!). But I digress.

Thunderbolts #132 puts Ant Man, Paladin, Black Widow II, Headsman, and Ghost; some of the coolest and under utilized characters in the Marvel U., to good use. This issue is the first in a new story arc, and a perfect place to jump on. De La Torre's art shows that he is a master of movement, and he is great with character expression. It's streamlined, and gritty and clean all at once. Andy Diggle gives us a story of black ops and espionage that can rival even the best Bond film, and yet never looses the super-hero flare.

Interior page from Thunderbolts #132	Interior page from Thunderbolts #132	Interior page from Thunderbolts #132

It begins with Black Widow eaves dropping on the rest of the crew, and being caught in the act by Ghost. We see inside the relationship between Ghost and Headsman. We see Headsman's position of team muscle challenged by the addition of the mysterious Mister X; a villain from Wolverine's past. And the scene in which the team procures Mister X from public into the world of the Thunderbolts is what sold me on this book being my POTW. At $2.99 this may be Marvel's best buy. So give it a chance again. I did.

See you in the future! AC