I’m gonna go right ahead and tell you why this was my Pick of the Week. There is a moment where the Thunderbolts  decide that they need to go inside the mind of Juggernaut to free him of the Serpent’s influence. Once we get into that sequence I am assaulted by possibly, and this is an achievement considering how much I love Chew, the most amazing piece of artwork I’ve ever seen in a comic.

I am not trying to be hyperolic here but that last statement is absolutely true. I did not expect such a visual tour de force once we got into the mind of Juggernaut. It’s not that the stuff that came before and after weren’t great. Shalvey is a very talented artist and his style meshes so well with the tone of the book. It might not be ‘Mignola-esque’ as Kev Walker, but it doesn’t have to be. When you see Man-Thing it really looks like you’re seeing a walking swamp. The magical elements Satana brings also looks impressive with a lot of help coming from colorist Frank Martin Jr (and Shalvey inking himself).

But again I go right back to the ‘mindscape’ of Juggernaut and….well it is a bit hard to describe. It’s probably a good thing because my words will never, ever give this truly amazing series of pages justice. Just imagine a mix between a ‘DaDa’ painting, with some De Stijil mixed in, and finally some Egyptian hieroglyphs and other egyptian artwork to boot. The amazing thing is that it only goes for four pages, or 36% of the book, and it left such an impression on me. Where this came from by Declan Shalvey I have no idea. But god damnit I want more of this.

I do feel bad on not mentioning that Jeff Parker did a great job with the issue too. I don’t want to say it’s par for the course, but he has such a great grasp on this group of characters it’s great to know there is a writer who actually cares for these (let’s admit it) ‘B-C’ level characters. But this particular issue’s main draw, and what ultimately lead it to my pick of the week, is the outstanding artwork by Declan Shalvey. What’s in this book in general looks great, but it’s that four page sequence that literally makes this book. You buy this and tell me you aren’t impress by what you see. I dare you!