Avengers/Thunderbolts #1
Marvel Comics
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Barry Kitson
Inks: Gary Erskine
Price: $2.99

Rating: 3 stars

The best thing about Avengers/Thunderbolts #1 is that it picks up from the ashes of the Thunderbolts series and gives readers a glimpse of what the original team is up to. The biggest problem I had when Marvel decided to reboot the Thunderbolts series is the fact I really felt I was left hanging, and that the team never showed up anywhere afterwards Reading this issue is like finding a coat that fits well, and realizing there is $5 in the pocket.

Issue one of this six issue mini-series finds Baron Zemo and Moonstone going about the politics of peace through force while the rest of the team goes through the motions of fighting without killing, a concept found and embraced while on Counter Earth. As the Avengers follow the press coverage of the Thunderbolts alleged 180 degree turn to the good side, there is doubt and tension in the ranks. Hawkeye feels proud and encouraged while Captain America can?t bring himself to trust his old enemies. Elsewhere, the team dynamics of the Thunderbolts are analyzed and shown to bring the reader up to speed with each member?s persona. Luckily for us, each team has a few wild cards, and the Thunderbolts are no exception.

Writers Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza come back for this mini-series after being the two writers to helm the original series. It is an old home day feeling, as the reader can feel secure that the men that made the continuity are here to break it to pieces. Both Busiek and Nicieza added their own flavor to the teams, and I must say I always enjoyed both points of view. Given the flow of this issue, it is an obvious collaboration as the book goes from characterization to all out battle. I am pleased to have these two writers on the book as I firmly believe they will do it justice.

Barry Kitson, whose last effort was Empire, the smokin? hot book with Mark Waid at DC, pencils this issue to great effect. I have always favored Kitson?s style as I feel he brings a certain depth to the characterization that gives the book a certain extra zing. His backgrounds here are slightly reminiscent of George Perez, while his characters are very much his. Kitson is an artist whose work I can pick out of a line up.

Avengers/Thunderbolts #1 is a rousing success in my opinion. It has the flavor of the old school team with added pissed off Avengers, which is sure to bring the book to a boil quickly. The book also brings kick ass art and a great collaboration between creators to the forefront. I am happy to have the original Thunderbolts back with several cards up their sleeve. I hope the book sells well enough to merit a new series, as I always enjoyed the antics of Moonstone, Songbird, and their teammates. You can make the team over as clean-cut versions of their old school self, but can you ever really take the past away?

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