Justice like lightning

I'm never quite sure what Warren Ellis thinks about superhero comics, but when he writes one it is always something special. At the moment he is writing Thunderbolts for Marvel and it is mind blowing. After the Civil War event the Thunderbolts are now a team of villains hired by the American government to do their dirty work. Made up of the likes of Venom, Bullseye, Penance, Moonstone and led by Norman Osborne, anyone who knows Marvel history will know that this is not the most mentally balanced group running around.

Ellis though is turning in amazing scripts that highlight the obvious unbalanced nature of this group. The group is also supported by a massive advertising campaign led by the government to gain support for the group, though Bullseye's membership is a secret as he is a convicted mass murderer. Venom and Bullseye have used their Thunderbolts membership as a blank cheque to create as much mayhem as possible. Venom ate the arm of Silver Spider, and Bullseye stabbed Jack Flagg in the spine making him a quadriplegic. And then there's Penance, once known as Speedball, who kicked off the whole civil War thing with his attempt to capture Nitro which led to the deaths of thousands.

So fertile ground for the warped intelligence of Ellis, and matched by beautiful artwork by Mike Deodato Jr. This series is a great read, as it explores the dark side of superheroes.