This collection is volume 56 in Hachette's "Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection" and collects the "Faith In Monsters" storyline by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato that ran in "Thunderbolts" issues 110 through to 115 (March – June 2007). The story follows on from the "Civil War" arc where costumed heroes were required to become registered, reveal their identities and sign up to a government programme under the "Superhero Registration Act". Renegade heroes who refused to register became fugitive, with a group of super-villains known as "The Thunderbolts"" under the leadership of Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) tasked to hunt them down. The basic plot in "Faith In Monsters" sees The Thunderbolts (comprising of Venom, Bullseye, Songbird, Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Swordsman and Penance) hunting down a number of third division heroes – Jack Flag, American Eagle and Steel Spider. What makes the comic work, however, isn't the basic story but the characterisations and the carefully considered post 9/11 "War on Terror" motifs and criticisms of America and American policy that Ellis develops. In interviews Ellis has equated Norman Osborn to former American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld. The "Faith in Monsters" title of the storyline is therefore as much about the Bush / Rumsfeld era of US politics and politicians as it is about The Thunderbolts. The book perfectly matches the time it was written and Ellis' portrayal of villains as the good guys is a proxy and metaphor the actions of the Bush administration whose actions became (in certain areas) almost indistinguishable from that of the terrorists they purportedly warred against. Ellis' satire is vicious, at one stage characterising an "ordinary American" citizen as follows: "You don't have a passport. You've never been outside the continental United States. You think Hollywood is liberal. You distrust anyone who isn't Christian. Your kids are making bombs in the basement while you watch reality on TV. You think there were WMD's in Iraq and you think North Korea could nuke Hoboken". Heady and inflammatory stuff. In addition to the political elements the story also thrives on the complex characterisations and interactions that Ellis develops for both the heroes and villains. All the characters, be they the good guys or the bad guys are mean, nasty and dangerous, with the dialogue rich and resonant. Brazilian artist Mike Deodato illustrates the story with a realistic style imbuing each of the characters with a distinctive personality. He also provides plenty of twisted and outrageous action sequences. The packaging is the typical of the series: hardcovers and 180 glossy full-colour pages. Bonus and special features this time around includes an eight-page strip, "Switching Sides" that originally appeared in the "Civil War: Choosing Sides" one-shot, a career retrospective on Mike Deodato and an overview of the origins of The Thunderbolts. Overall this is a great book, with a powerful story of post 9/11 angst looking at the actions of America (and their allies) in wake of the terrorist atrocity. It is both angry and thoughtful and written and drawn with a sharp and deeply satirical edge. ( )

Thunderbolts was always one of the more interesting concepts for a superhero team – the bad guys turned good (or apparently good). The high point of the original run was probably the ending of the first issue, which gave away the high concept at the heart of the series, the Masters of Evil being wolves who’d dress up in sheep’s clothing. They probably realised life would be easier if they stopped advertising their motivations with that lurid name.

In the moral grey area created by the Civil War storyline, Thunderbolts had room to become a more interesting title. It could hire characters of varying levels of psychosis and, as illustrated by the toy advert which often cutely punctuates the narrative, paint them in heroic colours. Given the team’s being run by Norman Osborn it’s fairly obvious no good will come of this. Faith In Monsters represents Warren Ellis’ first story arc on the title and to a large degree it’s what you’d expect from Ellis; compressed storytelling, ultraviolence, big dollops of postmodernism and a mindset mistrustful of authority. It’s noticeable that several of the heroes Ellis has the team go up against are unambiguously heroic in their past, just on the wrong side of the then current superhero registration question. The use and abuse of power’s a central theme here, particularly with regards to the actions of Venom and Bullseye. Ellis’ moral universe is a tad simplistic in other aspects though, never really getting to grips with the questions of how justified the use of psychopaths to enforce law and order is. But in fairness that doesn’t seem an area he’s interested in.

This being the relaunch of a title rather than a limited series, it’s not quite a satisfying story in its own right, with character conflicts being set up and left dangling for future resolutions leaving the story feeling incomplete. And the other great flaw is while it’s fine to dip into the exploits of villains for limited times, spending extended lengths of time in the world of unpleasant characters starts to pall. Songbird’s probably the only remotely sympathetic character on the team , and indeed provides the book with its more intriguing moments of character conflict. Otherwise this is a book very much showing its roots in the Dark Age/Image era. As that’s an era I’m none too keen on, believing it learned all the wrong lessons from Watchmen, it’s a major flaw for me. Ellis just isn’t good enough with character to make me overcome my antipathy toward the team from their years of villainy, and the book lacked the more ingenious ideas that are often his saving grace. If you like your books dark as the belly of a black dog in a subterranean cavern at night though, it’s ideal.

As for this edition - the carelessness that's occasionally been apparent over the series reappears here, with Deodato's two page profile consisting of one page repeated. Shame, as that occasional lack of care mars an otherwise attractively presented series. ( )

Veldig fornøyd med endelig å få tak i det første bindet av Thunderbolts av Warren Ellis, og det til en tredjedel av markedspris! Det er bra at ikke alle vet verdien av utsolgte førsteutgaver. Tegneserien handler om en rekke personer med uvanlige krefter og kriminell bakgrunn som under en tvilsom, sterk leder er samlet for å forbedre seg. Dette er en studie i spennende gruppedynamikk. Her meler alle sin egen kake. ( )

I've been looking forward to reading this for a while, since I've heard such good things about the creative team, and I definitely enjoyed this trade. I love the Dark Avengers and the entire Dark Reign event, and this is a nice prelude to them (several of the Thunderbolts members - Bullseye, Moonstone, Venom, and their leader, Norman Osborn - are members of the Dark Avengers later).

The group dynamic isn't as good as it is with the Dark Avengers, but you can see the beginnings forming. I especially like how Bullseye is portrayed here - he's a ruthless killer without remorse or even reason, except that he likes to kill. His interactions with Norman are well-done and amusing. And watching Norman struggle with his own demons - or should I say goblin - is engrossing, too.

The art is good, as well, and the layouts on the pages are eye-catching. Altogether, I think this is a great story about the inevitable "underside" of the Marvel Civil War and the registration act. ( )