Shadowland: Thunderbolts #1

Luke Cage sends the Thunderbolts on a mission during the events of Shadowland. Afterwards, the Avengers arrive at the Raft for an inspection that ends up in an alternate dimension.  

Jeff Parker became writer of the Thunderbolts series at the start of the Heroic Age and with that came a new sootier. The first story arc involving the new team instantly made me a fan of the series. I always was a fan of the Thunderbolts but this new lineup is more exciting than the previous team. Parker has taken a bunch of second-rate villains and created a fun and exciting series that caught me off guard. While some of these villains are deemed second-rate, that doesn't mean they haven't done significant things in their time. Crossbones is remembered as the man who shot Captain America. Ghost has tried on several occasions to kill Iron Man. Juggernaut has long been a powerful foe who has bounced back and forth from good to evil. Man-Thing, another new addition plays a unique role and serves as the teams transportation. Moonstone is again a member and brings her crazy psychopathic tendencies to the team. Those sum up the reformed villains that are lead by Luke Cage, Songbird, Fixer and Mach V. 

I wasn't crazy about the part that tied into Shadowland. It had decent moments but overall wasn't that thrilling. Things definitely became more interesting when the Avengers arrived at the Raft for an inspection. The Thunderbolts try to escape during Man-Thing's teleportation and everyone winds up in an another dimension. What made this part fun is that we see members of the Thunderbolts paired against longtime adversaries. Such are Crossbones and Steve Rogers and Ghost and Iron Man. I like how Jeff Parker put some focus on Luke Cage who showed brief moments of wanting to leave the team. The last issue was basically an origin story for Ghost. I wasn't thrilled by it but it did pick up towards the end.

For some reason Marvel had Declan Shalvey draw the two issues that tied unto Shadowland. I would have preferred Kev Walker draw all the issues. I liked his work on the previous story arc. His style is a great fit for this series and I really enjoyed seeing the way he drew Thor and Steve Rogers. Greg Land chips in with some well designed covers. 

While this wasn't quite as good as the previous story arc, it's still fun and exciting to read. I'd say it was less thrilling since they forced it to tie into Shadowland. That wasn't really necessary. Once that's all over and done with things get back on track and Jeff Parker shines again. I'd recommend reading his run on the series.