Thunderbolts Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Justice, Like Lightning

Thunderbolts Epic Collection

by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley

The debut of the Thunderbolts, one of Marvel's most multi-layered teams - and one with a dark secret!

The greatest trick ever pulled! With the Avengers and Fantastic Four believed dead, a new team of heroes rises to take their place! But the Thunderbolts hide a sinister secret: they are villains in disguise! What are Baron Zemo and his Masters of Evil really up to? What happens when some begin to doubt their plan? And when the enthusiastic Jolt joins their ranks, how long can their secret stay hidden? The T-Bolts battle the Hulk, deal with a suspicious Black Widow, and tackle foes including the Mad Thinker and the Elements of Doom. But when the Avengers and FF return, the full scale of Zemo's plot is revealed!

Includes: Thunderbolts #1-12, -1, Annual ‘97, Incredible Hulk #449, Spider-Man Team-Up #7, Heroes For Hire #7, with material from Tales of the Marvel Universe #1 & Incredible Hulk #450

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Marvel

520 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2023

About the author

Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.

Busiek did not read comics as a youngster, as his parents disapproved of them. He began to read them regularly around the age of 14, when he picked up a copy of Daredevil #120. This was the first part of a continuity-heavy four-part story arc; Busiek was drawn to the copious history and cross-connections with other series. Throughout high school and college, he and future writer Scott McCloud practiced making comics. During this time, Busiek also had many letters published in comic book letter columns, and originated the theory that the Phoenix was a separate being who had impersonated Jean Grey, and that therefore Grey had not died—a premise which made its way from freelancer to freelancer, and which was eventually used in the comics.

During the last semester of his senior year, Busiek submitted some sample scripts to editor Dick Giordano at DC Comics. None of them sold, but they did get him invitations to pitch other material to DC editors, which led to his first professional work, a back-up story in Green Lantern #162 (Mar. 1983).

Busiek has worked on a number of different titles in his career, including Arrowsmith, The Avengers, Icon, Iron Man, The Liberty Project, Ninjak, The Power Company, Red Tornado, Shockrockets, Superman: Secret Identity, Thunderbolts, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, JLA, and the award-winning Marvels and the Homage Comics title Kurt Busiek's Astro City.

In 1997, Busiek began a stint as writer of Avengers alongside artist George Pérez. Pérez departed from the series in 2000, but Busiek continued as writer for two more years, collaborating with artists Alan Davis, Kieron Dwyer and others. Busiek's tenure culminated with the "Kang Dynasty" storyline. In 2003, Busiek re-teamed with Perez to create the JLA/Avengers limited series.

In 2003, Busiek began a new Conan series for Dark Horse Comics, which he wrote for four years.

In December 2005 Busiek signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC Comics. During DC's Infinite Crisis event, he teamed with Geoff Johns on a "One Year Later" eight-part story arc (called Up, Up and Away) that encompassed both Superman titles. In addition, he began writing the DC title Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis from issues 40-49. Busiek was the writer of Superman for two years, before followed by James Robinson starting from Superman #677. Busiek wrote a 52-issue weekly DC miniseries called Trinity, starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Each issue (except for issue #1) featured a 12-page main story by Busiek, with art by Mark Bagley, and a ten-page backup story co-written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, with art from various artists, including Tom Derenick, Mike Norton and Scott McDaniel.

Busiek's work has won him numerous awards in the comics industry, including the Harvey Award for Best Writer in 1998 and the Eisner Award for Best Writer in 1999. In 1994, with Marvels, he won Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award and the Best Continuing or Limited Series Harvey Award; as well as the Harvey Award for Best Single Issue or Story (for Marvels #4) in 1995. In 1996, with Astro City, Busiek won both the Eisner and Harvey awards for Best New Series. He won the Best Single Issue/Single Story Eisner three years in a row from 1996–1998, as well as in 2004. Busiek won the Best Continuing Series Eisner Award in 1997–1998, as well as the Best Serialized Story award in 1998. In addition, Astro City was awarded the 1996 Best Single Issue or Story Harvey Award, and the 1998 Harvey Award for Best Continuing or Limited Series.

Busiek was given the 1998 and 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Awards for Favorite Writer, with additional nominations in 1997 and every year from 2000 to 2004. He has also received numerous Squiddy Awards, having been selected as favorite writer four years in a row from 1995 to 1998,

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers seemingly killed by Onslaught, the Thunderbolts step up to fill the void... but what is their dark secret?

This came out back in the day when I didn't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. 28 years later, I've finally read it and I was not disappointed.

I'll dance around the big twist but I'm sure everyone knows what the deal is by now. Citizen V and the gang fight crime while trying to maintain the con they've perpetrated. Eventually, it all comes crashing down around them but it's a great ride.

Kurt Busiek proves himself as a master storyteller once again with The Thunderbolts, juggling traditional super hero action with character moments and behind the scenes machinations. Mark Bagley is Mark Bagley, not quite a superstar but flashy and always delivering the goods. I did not expect to get as invested in The Thunderbolts as I did. Now I'm wondering how cheaply I can score the next Thunderbolts epic collection.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strap in, here comes another long 'un.

I have mixed feelings about this collection, to put it mildly.


Exactly zero people had this poster on their wall in '97 (I hope).

On the one hand the mid- to late-90s Marvel art style is hideous. Technology for drafting and printing may have advanced in the early phase of the Information Age and the growing pains are on display for all to see.


Presented without comment.

Likewise the sensibilities of the writing and plotting were...odd. At times the issues read as of their time, and at others it felt like a 1960s throwback. Busiek is a knowledgeable and longtime comics contributor so one presumes this was deliberate.


How meta!

Also, there's a good reason you've probably never heard of any of these characters, with the possible exception of tyrannical leader Baron Zemo (himself the son of the original Baron Zemo from WW2, if you're keeping track). They are not terribly interesting or "rootable" individuals collectively, though circumstances dictate that the impartial reader take their side frequently as they navigate the waters of pulling a scam on a world suddenly deprived of the Fantastic Four and the most noteworthy of the Avengers.


Gross '80s teens being gross.

Lastly, as my esteemed Brother in Epics Chad has mentioned to me there is only a very tenuous connection between this run and the upcoming, at the time of writing, MCU movie of the same name, so reading it won't really prepare you for it unless they drop some deep-cut Easter Eggs.


I'm pretty sure this won't be in the movie.

My view is this one is interesting but ultimately unnecessary reading.


Bro, chill, you didn't even make the 2025 roster.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thunderbolts #1 - Kurt Busiek & Mark Bagley present one of the most surprising super-team concepts during one of Marvel most creatively soulless periods in the company’s history.
Incredible Hulk #449 (also reprinted as Thunderbolts Prelude #1) with material from #450 - This was actually published prior to the first issue of the team’s ongoing title as a teaser to get readers interested and wondering who this team was. There’s not much to this, but it’s still a nice way to introduce the team.
Tales of the Marvel Universe #1 (excerpt) - Another fun short teaser.
Thunderbolts #2 - This story illustrates just how overrated The Mad Thinker really is. If he couldn’t sleuth-out who the Thunderbolts were, he’s not all he’s cracked up to be.
Spider-Man Team-Up #7 - Pretty much just a typical team-up kind of story. But it does work well into the larger story of the Thunderbolts.
Thunderbolts #3-4 - Thunderbolts vs the Master of Evil? Oh this is fun. A new recruit to complicate things even more. The Black Widow is suspicious. Arnim Zola … yeah, this is great fun.
Thunderbolts Annual ‘97 - This is an excellent way of detailing how the Thunderbolts formed, and Busiek really gives the reader reasons to care about these characters.
Thunderbolts Distant Rumblings #-1 - Another lovely flashback story, with more details of the early lives of our Thunderbolts that fleshes out their motivations.
Thunderbolts #5-8 - Some typical Marvel stories, with Thunderbolts twist. Busiek isn’t firing on all cylinders like he does with Astro City, but this is pretty close.
Heroes For Hire #7 - What happens when two of the newest teams come to blows, or nearly? Shenanigans like Marvel is known for.
Thunderbolts #9-12 - The endgame begins with a long overdue flashback of how Cap’s Kooky Quartet was first received by the public. And then comes the big finale as the Thunderbolts, actually Baron Zemo’s plan comes to fruition and all hell breaks loose.

Busiek takes a bunch of looser villains and gives them backstory and turns them into a group of fascinating and interesting characters. Brilliant.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A PaniniTM trouxe de volta às lojas a origem da equipe dos Thunderbolts, que ganharam filme nos cinemas recentemente, com uma composição e propósitos bem diferentes dos quadrinhos originais. Eles apareceram aqui no Brasil no final dos anos 1990 e as suas primeiras histórias, contidas nesta caprichada edição Epic, foram trazidas na época pela Editora Abril em diversos especiais. Neste Epic temos pelos menos duas edições inéditas no Brasil: a edição minus one e o crossover com os Heróis de Aluguel. Mas desconfio que nos anos 1990 a Abril fez diversos cortes porque me lembrava muito pouco dos diálogos e das tramas. É um baita trabalho de Kurt Busiek renovando o panteão da Marvel, com um segredo: os heróis que todos veneram e confiam são, na verdade, os Mestres do Terror, os antagonistas dos Vingadores. E, pisada grande de bola da PaniniTM, aqui os Mestres do Terror são traduzidos como Mestres do Mal. Acho que aquela tabelinha das traduções dos nomes originais, antigo artefato da PaniniTM, não tem mais sido consultada pelos novos editores. Logo este nome, tão clássico na mitologia dos Vingadores.

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of different views of the Marvel Universe, but the one that's always appealed to me as an overarching study is Kurt Busiek's. Between Thunderbolts and Avengers in the late 90s (along queen the standalone Marvels), I think there is no better communicator of the awe, joy and cynicism that would accompany having these beings on the planet.

The optimism in Thunderbolts is what keeps drawing me back to this book (and to the Marvel Universe in general). That people are redeemable, that people can change and grow.... these are at root of some of Marvel's best stories. Busiek takes that to heart with a team of b- and c-list villains, and gives another dimension to the choices that led them to crime and "villainy."

Knowing it's common to the point of being a trope in Marvel stories, Busiek still manages to turn things and paint them so the story feels fresh. I mean, he makes you care about Beetle and Screaming Mimi to the point where I still root for Songbird 25 years after originally reading these stories.

The Volume itself is nicely put together with a few appearances outside the main Thunderbolts book. In fact, it's in a team up with Spider-Man that Mach-1/Beetle starts to find his voice, and the book its heart.

I really dig the Epic Collection line, and had really looked forward to this one, even if I still had the single issues and other tpbs.

[Shawn Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had known this was good stuff for over 25 years. Finally reading it and it is excellent. Maybe the most well written book of its era

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning and end were pretty fun but the middle was a bit of a slog.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first few issues of Thunderbolts back when I worked in a comic shop in the late 90s, but when I left that job I left the hobby, and so I never actually found out how the opening arc turned out. The first issue - with its reveal of who this likeable but generic new superhero team really are - is a deserved classic, one of the great high-concept debuts and still very satisying to read even if you know what's coming.

It seems to me there's never been as much buzz around the rest of the story, and I wondered if maybe Busiek and Bagley botched it - but no, I really enjoyed this. It *is* fascinating to think about how this general idea might have been handled if it had debuted even a few years later, though. As a concept it feels like it anticipates the Jemas era of more drawn-out, psychological explanations of superheroes and the ramifications of their identities and the line walked between villains and heroes. But the story Busiek opts to tell balances the psychology and the tense thriller element (how are the Thunderbolts going to be revealed, and by who?) with a much more traditional superhero adventure story, harking back in style to these characters' previous moment of prominence in the Roger Stern Avengers run.

The shift in gear once the moment of revelation comes is shockingly abrupt, and the story becomes a lot more about the villain's dastardly plot, but even if I liked the slow-burn, tension-raising parts more, Busiek's traditional approach still made for a really entertaining comic. (Let's not forget how rare that kind of solid storytelling could seem at mid-90s Marvel) It does leave me wanting to find out what happens to these characters next, even after the big concept has run its course - which was the point, of course, back when new titles weren't actually expected to only last 12 issues.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a good decade since I last read the early tales of the Thunderbolts and it has aged pretty well. The Thunderbolts were a creation of Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley post- Heroes Reborn. They appear to be a replacement for the heroes lost during Onslaught but wait there's a curveball and these hereoes are really the Masters of Evil posing as heroes to gain the trust of the public and be granted access to information to give them control to rule the World!!! Sounds great, reads great, art is solid. It is still a super fun read and a great redemption story for some villains. In very much a classic Marvel manner once most of these villains get a taste of doing right they become conflicted and rethink their ways. It is a very good read. Check it out. I wish Marvel would.

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this DEFINITELY lived up to the expectations. I have known about how awesome Thunderbolts was for ages, but never got a chance to read the series. And it was great.

Kurt Busiek is amazing at writing team books, and this isn't the exception. Of course, he was gonna go to Avengers. Great characterizations to all the team members, each with unique personalities and struggles. Heavy character-driven storytelling for the time.

Another highlight is Busiek's love of comic book history, he brings up the most obscure and old villains you can think of.

I wasn't such a big fan of Mark Bagley here. I was really hoping for the neat storytelling of Ultimate Spider-Man, but it's kind of messy. More of a 90's thing than his. The Spider-man team-up issue by Sal Buscema and Dick Giordano, on the other hand, looks awesome.

I never thought that I would be so invested in... the beetle?

"Who cares about ruling the world? Who wants to do that much work?" FINALLYL someone said it.

- Fave Issue: Issue 10, didn't see that coming!
- Least Fave Issue: Issue 9, I don't care about an inconsequential old Avengers story, give me Thunderbolts!

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent character study of what motivates someone to become super villains and how many such people are not truly evil so much as they have been faced with bad choices without the ability to have their needs and desires met in an equally satisfying way. This book contributes to a shift in 90s Marvel comics away from the more subpar material that came out earlier in the decade.

[John Mutford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent stories but terrible art

[Octavio Aragao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divertido, com arte mediana. Toda a série se equilibra sobre uma única virada de roteiro, mas Kurt Busiek faz isso com maestria.
Os personagens são bem desenvolvidos - dentro das limitações de uma série desse gênero - e o desfecho, apesar de previsível, é funcional.
Uma leitura prazerosa.