Retro Review: Thunder TPB Vol.1

Thunder Vol. 1

Writer: Michael McAdam
Artist: Dean Meek
Language Expert: Kjartan Arnórsson
Publisher: Two Gargoyles

A review by Josh Rose

A month ago I went to a small comic show in Calgary, Canada called Panel One. While most comic events today have shifted towards mainstream media and celebrities, Panel One is focused on local comic creators and bringing these types of events back to their origin: Comics. This is where I got to meet Michael McAdam, the writer for Thunder.

Thunder is about a demi-Norse god, Devon Wells, who has returned home to Vancouver after spending his youth in Asgard, and it starts out with an epic fight on the Cleveland Dam. A terrorist in a mechanized suit calling himself Templar is holding the city hostage when suddenly Thunder shows up. Shortly after, he deals with a computer genius who has taken over the Vancouver electrical grid simply by talking to him. From there we learn about a plot to undermine Devon, a grand war of gods coming to our Earth, and Thunder has some serious issues to deal with.

I had heard about Thunder and another Two Gargoyles comic, Diaperman, through Facebook. Saw a couple panels and thought they were… shall we say interesting. It wasn’t until I spent some time talking to Michael and heard his stories that I knew I had to pick up one of them. He laughed that the DC TV shows like Arrow and Supergirl had fight scenes on a dam. His story is set in Vancouver, opening scene on a dam and guess where those shows are filmed? On the same damn dam. And being that its a story about a demi-Norse god, you’re obviously going to draw some parallels with a certain Marvel movie.

Michael has knocked this out of the park. I was blown away at the complex character of Thunder, and the multiple seeds he planted that will eventually feed into more stories. I enjoy Devon’s willingness to talk things out before fighting, despite being raised in a warrior culture. He has a complicated relationship with his father, who is now dead and a god. What wouldn’t be complicated about that? Michael is playing the long game planting seeds with a master manipulator, and training Thunder for the upcoming war.

The art by Dean Meek didn’t blow me away unfortunately. I think Dean could use some time studying the human figure and working on his inking and colouring work. That being said, he did come up with some great images that were really cool! Some more time working on his craft and he could create some really stunning artwork.

The Verdict:
Buy it! Thunder is a character driven series with a lot of great ideas in the works. There’s a lot of potential in this story and its really fun to read. It has all the cool elements: technological armor, cosmic battles, Norse mythology, evil plots, and cool characters. Recommended to anyone looking for a fun read set in Canada.