Written by Nick Spencer
Illusrated by Wes Craig and Walter SimonsonThe team is rocked by the death of one of their own. They won’t have much time to mourn, though, as a face from the past thought long gone returns! Plus, NoMan is forced to answer for the sins of his past…
Damn Nick Spencer’s Marvel exclusive contract. Seriously.
We all know that Iron Man 2.0 didn’t exactly end well, and Spencer’s Secret Avengers run might be the least well-received of any run on that book in its short existence. I’m not reading Ultimate Comics X-Men, so that might be the best book in the world, but that doesn’t make up for the DC properties that could be coming out of Spencer if he were working at DC. His Jimmy Olsen backup/one-shot was a Multiversity favorite, and an Olsen book from Spencer was one of the books that 2 of us at The Hour Cosmic would like to see DC publish in the future.
And then there is T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. A 60’s property that was dormant for nearly 50 years, Spencer and artist CAFU brought the characters back at the end of 2010. The series was consistently great, and occupied a very specific, detached, niche corner of the DC Universe. When it was announced that the book would continue post-Flashpoint with a miniseries, no one knew quite what to expect. Unlike Batman, Inc, and like Batman Odyssey, the relaunch did absolutely nothing to the existing story. This was a continuation of the prior story, just renumbered. While frustrating, it was encouraging to see Spencer’s story continuing on.
Which brings us to issue #3 – we are officially halfway through the mini, and the rage of Spencer’s exclusive is bubbling closer to the surface now. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents has been one of the most consistent DC books of the last year, and issue #3 manages to continue that streak, while upping the ante and pushing the book into (more) unexpected directions. Hit the cut for more, and be warned that there are some spoilers ahead.
There is so much going right with this book, that it is frustrating to know its time on (New) Earth is fleeting. However, the fact that I am even able to read the continuing adventures of Spencer’s T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a blessing in itself, so I promise to tone down the apoplectic ramblings to the best of my abilities.
Wes Craig, an artist I was not at all familiar with, is doing a bang up job with the present-day interiors on this book. His pencils hearken back to the characters’ classic roots without being beholden to that style. He has excelled at focusing on scenes featuring each character reflecting that character’s current mind set, something rarely seen done with such clarity. He is joined on this issue by Walter Simonson, who is handling pencils for the flashback sequences, and Dustin Nguyen, who drew the cover. In fact, every issue of this series, save for #1, will have a guest artist taking sequences (Jerry Ordway, Sam Kieth, Mike Choi and CAFU), and all six issues feature cover art from some of the best in the business (Andy Kubert, Frazier Irving, Rafael Albuquerque, Kenneth Rocafort and CAFU). This is an overabundance of great artists in one book, and it speaks to both the strength of the material and the confidence that DC has in this book to put so many talented people on one title.
Spencer continues to make each issue both a step forward in the story, and a reflection back on the past, seamlessly blending present and flashback tonally. He also has a gift for reveals that matter to the readers more than they should. For instance, a long-considered dead T.H.U.N.D.E.R. scientist shows up alive and it comes as a major surprise and shocks the reader. But why? This isn’t Bucky, a beloved character, perceived dead for 60 years coming back to life – it is a character the reader just got acquainted with through flashbacks in this miniseries. Yet Spencer’s writing makes this feel significant.
Continued belowIn a super surprising move, next issue will be the last one-story issue of this series, as the last two parts have backups. Why a departing miniseries from a writer under contract to another company would have backups to enrich the mythology is puzzling. However, could this be a backdoor pilot for Michael Uslan and Trevor McCarthy to launch a T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents ongoing?
As much as I would enjoy that, I don’t know if a T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents not written by Nick Spencer would nearly as enjoyable. Which brings me back to the frustration of Spencer being exclusive at Marvel. But, who knows – people have been released from their exclusives early before, and since Spencer’s work has not quite been sticking over at the House of Ideas, maybe an eventual return to T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is in the queue. Regardless, picking up this book is a great first step to seeing these characters continue, Spencer or no Spencer, in the future.
Final Verdict: 8.7 – Buy
