Scan barcode
billyjepma's review
4.0
I picked up the first issue of this from my LCS on a whim, because I love Gillen's work, and the idea of him returning to a superhero sounded enticing. And after finishing this 5-issue series, I can confirm that "Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt" is incredibly enticing. It's not entirely satisfying in the end, but it's a spectacular ode to comics as a medium and Gillen and Wijngaard have a lot of fun playing with and breaking the tropes we all associate with the superhero genre.
This story is wild and weird and intentionally obtuse. The characters, which I never heard of before reading this (although I know now that Cannon was the original inspiration for "Watchmen's" Ozymandias), are interesting, but outside of Cannon himself, lacked the kind of depth I needed to get invested. But, this is Cannon's show, and thankfully, he's excellent. His casual hyper-intelligence and the immensity of his mission are potent, even as his reaction to the (admittedly horrific) things he sees remains relatively nonchalant. Gillen's writing is, as always, very strong, and his signature air of dark, introspective pretention remains as enjoyable as ever. This is a writer who knows the superhero genre well, and this comic reads like a love/break-up letter to that genre, as he both embraces and utterly dismantles the tropes of the superhero.
The real star of this comic though, at least for me, is Caspar Wijngaard's art and Mary Safro's colors. Wijngaard's linework is stunning, and the way he maneuvers through an almost-constant 9-panel grid is spectacular. And when he breaks from the grid, I almost had to set the book down because of the amount of creativity and originality that he displays. Wijngaard's expressions are also phenomenal, especially when paired with Safro's coloring, where every line and glance of the characters practically leaps off the page. Safro's colors show a lot of restraint too, and she plays with dark and light in a lot of beautiful ways. And I'm not even going to mention the kind of spectacle Wijngaard and Safro pull off in the latter half of this comic when things get truly cosmic and the artwork catapults itself into an entirely different dimension of excellence. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering is also great, and I loved the ways that Gillen let him do something unheard of in a comic (no spoilers, but you'll know what I'm referring to when you see it).
The only reason I don't give this 5-stars is because of the ending. The conclusion is appropriate, but not entirely satisfying. Gillen plays with so many lofty concepts and ideas that when this story ends on a fairly vanilla, almost predictable note, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. Still, this comic was an experience, and it's one I'm beyond happy to have gotten on-board with. Breathtaking artwork and some incredible, genre-breaking story choices make this a series that will have a home on my shelf for a long time.
This story is wild and weird and intentionally obtuse. The characters, which I never heard of before reading this (although I know now that Cannon was the original inspiration for "Watchmen's" Ozymandias), are interesting, but outside of Cannon himself, lacked the kind of depth I needed to get invested. But, this is Cannon's show, and thankfully, he's excellent. His casual hyper-intelligence and the immensity of his mission are potent, even as his reaction to the (admittedly horrific) things he sees remains relatively nonchalant. Gillen's writing is, as always, very strong, and his signature air of dark, introspective pretention remains as enjoyable as ever. This is a writer who knows the superhero genre well, and this comic reads like a love/break-up letter to that genre, as he both embraces and utterly dismantles the tropes of the superhero.
The real star of this comic though, at least for me, is Caspar Wijngaard's art and Mary Safro's colors. Wijngaard's linework is stunning, and the way he maneuvers through an almost-constant 9-panel grid is spectacular. And when he breaks from the grid, I almost had to set the book down because of the amount of creativity and originality that he displays. Wijngaard's expressions are also phenomenal, especially when paired with Safro's coloring, where every line and glance of the characters practically leaps off the page. Safro's colors show a lot of restraint too, and she plays with dark and light in a lot of beautiful ways. And I'm not even going to mention the kind of spectacle Wijngaard and Safro pull off in the latter half of this comic when things get truly cosmic and the artwork catapults itself into an entirely different dimension of excellence. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou's lettering is also great, and I loved the ways that Gillen let him do something unheard of in a comic (no spoilers, but you'll know what I'm referring to when you see it).
The only reason I don't give this 5-stars is because of the ending. The conclusion is appropriate, but not entirely satisfying. Gillen plays with so many lofty concepts and ideas that when this story ends on a fairly vanilla, almost predictable note, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. Still, this comic was an experience, and it's one I'm beyond happy to have gotten on-board with. Breathtaking artwork and some incredible, genre-breaking story choices make this a series that will have a home on my shelf for a long time.
oborozukyo's review
2.0
Honestly, this review is more based on ‘I didn’t understand it’ and ‘not a fan of meta-stuff’. I wouldn’t read it again, but I don’t think it’s a bad comic. I use scores to remember what I enjoy and pick up recommendations of similar books rather than to critique the books.
marksutherland's review
5.0
What if the character Ozymandias was derived from had to do interdimensional battle with himself is where this starts but it's conclusion is far more meaningful: the texts we learn from are not an end in themselves, but the framework from which we can grow a better version of ourselves. A must read for anyone who cares about comics and Watchmen in particular.
More...