With this series changing names and focus in the summer, I’m trying to enjoy this series as much as possible before then. With this ‘Thunderbolts vs Thunderbolts’ arc, Jeff Parker is giving us not only a fun time travel story but also a great tribute to the past. The 90s were a dark time for all comics but the Thunderbolts was one of the rare superhero comics that actually hold up pretty well. It was a little ‘extreme’ but with the twist of the heroes actually being villains it brought a level of storytelling you didn’t see at the time of publication. The team has had a weird history and this current era with them time traveling is just as strange. But if we’re having fun along the way, who cares if it’s weird?

There always seems to be a moment in these time travel stories where both sides have to come together and explain themselves. It happened in JLA/Avengers, it happened in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and we have it here. It’s the weakest point in the issue for me because it’s so standard in today’s comics. Jeff Parker, as much as the issue is before and after this moment, couldn’t think of much to keep this interesting so it’s more of an info dump than anything else. Although the prospect of invading Dr. Doom’s castle for his time machine sounds fantastic. Again the fighting before this interaction, and the ‘shocking’ ending in this was a blast to read. But one thing is fun about the two teams talking to each other and it gives us the best image of the week: Ghost floating in with a ‘Ghost Party Hat’. That’s fantastic.

If this arc doesn’t get Declan Shalvey a bigger book to work on at Marvel then I’m ready to call ‘bullshit’ on the entire editorial staff. Every single page of this by Shalvey, and colorist Frank Martin Jr., is just a joy to look at. Whether it’s Ghost wearing a party hat or Songbird blowing past Troll, it’s all fantastic to look at. Again, Frank Martin has done a great job coloring this series as a whole. Everything is bright and he uses the unique colors of purple and orange to great effect. Finally, Shalvey does bring about some of his own artistic talents to the book then just drawing superheroes pounding away. The page of Satana using her spell to knock everyone out was not expected and it was gorgeous! Like how he handled the Serpent universe in the Fear Itself issue, this is just another example of why Shalvey should be getting more work at the company.

While the exposition in the middle of the issue dragged a bit, I had a lot of fun with this issue. As always Jeff Parker is great at staging fight scenes and putting in some witty banter and gives everyone their share. But the real stars in this issue is Declan Shalvey and Frank Martin Jr. Shalvey’s pencils and Martin’s colors make this one of the best looking Marvel titles out there right now. This book, depressingly, is going in a direction I am not looking forward too but I gotta say the gang is definitely ending this run with a bang.