Thunderbolts discussion (spoilers)

Seldes Katne said:
I'm guessing he's doing a bit of mental fantasizing about they way he'd like to handle the situations with Norman Osborn and Karen Sofen. Although I can't tell if that's really him thinking about it, or whether Mirage is giving him a mental nudge from her holding cell. Her comment about the inside of his head being fascinating suggests that she's just an observer at the moment, but someone who knows more about these characters than I do might see it differently.

I wish Zombiepanda was still posting here. He and I were having a discussion about Samson at one point, and the comparison of his character to that of pulp fiction hero Doc Savage. With his hair cut this short, Samson bears a striking resemblance to Savage, at least as Savage was depicted in the novels' cover art and some of the comic book adaptations I've seen.
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Whoa, Seldes, you read Thunderbolts?? I honestly never woulda' guessed.

Did you read it during the previous run, 'cuz that I could see.

:D
 
I'm not surprised you wouldn't have guessed, because this really isn't the sort of series I tend to like. I picked up this issue because of Doctor Samson, who's one of Marvel's background characters I tend to watch for. I'll probably read the next issue as well, since it continues that plot line. I know basically nothing about the title as a whole.

I can follow some of the plot here because I've read both trade volumes of Civil War: Frontline, with the in-depth story on Speedball/Penance and some of the Norman Osborn stuff. Everything else I just picked up from the context of this issue.
 
Seldes Katne said:
I'm not surprised you wouldn't have guessed, because this really isn't the sort of series I tend to like. I picked up this issue because of Doctor Samson, who's one of Marvel's background characters I tend to watch for. I'll probably read the next issue as well, since it continues that plot line. I know basically nothing about the title as a whole.

I can follow some of the plot here because I've read both trade volumes of Civil War: Frontline, with the in-depth story on Speedball/Penance and some of the Norman Osborn stuff. Everything else I just picked up from the context of this issue.
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Ah. Coolio. I myself actually know nothing about Doc Samson, and this is the first time - I think - that I've gotten a comic featuring him. (I'll probably wikipedia him when I find time.)
 
Just wanted to let you know of two notable things in the new issue's letter's page (Rap Sheet):


1. Editor Molly Lazer let slip the news that Norman Osborn and the Thunderbolts will make an appearance in
Amazing Spider-Man sometime this year in Brand New Day.

2. A certain someone gets their sixth letter printed.
 
With the latest development of the last issue, "Caged Angels" is really shaping up to be an awesome arc. Very JLU "Task Force X"-ish.

With Swordmaster's coup and the further development of Osborne's psyche imploding is just making the whole situation even more tense. I hope the wait for the next issue isn't as long.
 
Venom is eating anyone and everyone.

Osbourne is having a breakdown.

Swordmaster is pulling off his coup.

And Badwin and Samson talk about their issues.




The last two page "fight" between Swordmaster and Venom was stunning. Also very badass. That is the Venom I love.
 
Samson also thwarts a psychic probe from one of the prisoners and, surprisingly, fights back despite not being psychic himself. Ellis writes this in a perfectly believable way that adds a new dimension to the character. If Marvel ever decides to do another Doc Samson mini, Ellis needs to be the author.

The one thing that surprised me, though, was that after discovering the psychic in Thunderbolt Mountain, Samson basically just shrugs it off and doesn't bother to tell anyone other than Baldwin. Between the explosion of the Zeus and the appearance of this "attack psychic", I would think Samson would be going to investigate, or contacting someone to find out what's going on. I suppose he might just be staying put to keep Baldwin calm.

The sword fight scenes were pretty dramatic, too. Is the whole energy lightning thing something Stucker has always been able to do? Watching Norman Osborn's reaction to the situation, especially at the beginning when he's on the phone with Strucker, was rather amusing.

Did anyone else chuckle at the fact that Marvel is actually soliciting the next issue for April 23rd? I'm not expecting to see it any time before the end of May at the earliest....
 
Seldes Katne said:
Did anyone else chuckle at the fact that Marvel is actually soliciting the next issue for April 23rd? I'm not expecting to see it any time before the end of May at the earliest....
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Thankfully, Christos Gage (who is currently doing wonders with Dan Slott on The Initiative) will be taking over for four issues this Summer, in the hopes that this book can - maybe - get back on schedule. I honestly couldn't read the newest issue without finding and flipping through the previous one, which I don't really like having to do.
 
I love Ellis' explanation on why he doesn't stay long on company-owned work. It's great.


Warren Ellis said:
The tenor -- and, frankly, the informedness -- of online comics conversation over the last five years has changed to the point where I probably need to explain once again why I don't stay long on company-owned works.

It's as simple as this -- if I don't own it, I'm not going to spend my life on it. Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley know that, they're fine with that, and they hire me on that understanding.

Or, if you like: you can only paint someone else's house for so long before you start thinking that it might be nice to own your own house one day.

I'm okay with painting other people's houses for short periods, because I'm good at it and it pays well and on nice days it's fun. But I never ever confuse painting a house for owning that house. And if I spent every waking hour painting other people's houses, I wouldn't be able to build houses of my own.

The more creators who only took on housepainting as a part-time gig, the healthier this medium would be.

For those of you who harbour a wish to write comics, consider this today: you're either on this side of the line, with me and Brian K Vaughan and Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison and Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction... or you're not.
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I can totally see why Ellis thinks that way. While I'm not a hundreth of the writer that Ellis hopes to be I do agree that you care more about what's yours than a continuing storyline. I plan on being a writer one day and have (in my opinion) amazing ideas for Green Lantern, the X-Men, Suicide Squad, what have you. But I have a personal project that I want to be like my Planetary or my Watchmen. I hope after college I'm able to get a job working in comics just so I can unleash my 150 issue juggernaut that I've been working on for five years. You'll all see.
 
bluebeast said:
You'll all see.
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Indeed we will.

I love Warren Ellis and his work. I really do. His work on Wildstorm kicked all sorts of ***.

However, I do not think his analogy is universal. I for one would love to be working on some of the major comic characters because of who they are, not simply because of pay, though I can see why he would see it the other way around. It's just that his last remark comes across as sort've hostile.
 
Taskmaster said:
Indeed we will.

I love Warren Ellis and his work. I really do. His work on Wildstorm kicked all sorts of ***.

However, I do not think his analogy is universal. I for one would love to be working on some of the major comic characters because of who they are, not simply because of pay, though I can see why he would see it the other way around. It's just that his last remark comes across as sort've hostile.
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And I feel that's the difference between being a "career comic book writer" and being a writer in the artistic sense of the word.
 
Gemini said:
Thunderbolts #120 preview located here

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/121025511541331.htm

That is the greatest Green Goblin monologue EVAR!

I want a mask that smells of Blonde's, Death, and Victory

I'd vote for president Osbourne, I can't beleive they referenced Sins Past
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That was pure awesome.

"Note to self. Give naked dictation more often. The ideas seem to flow more easily."
 
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