Villordsutch reviews Think Tank #9…
“David Loren used to worry about the deadly consequences of his creations from the safety of his laboratory… but now he’s been deployed to Taiwan to oversee a field test gone awry. Will having the mysterious SEAL Team 6 as his bodyguards be enough to ensure that David returns home alive?“
The tag line across the cover reads “Danger: Reading this book will make you smarter” and like a “How Improve Your Self-Confidence” tape like days gone by you’d possibly snort at this like Liam Lynch, follow with a “Whatever!” then move along. If so, congratulations – you’ve become a little bit more stupid. If however you hoped fortune favours the foolish, you’ve just earned yourself a sticker.
Think Tank has and does keep your intelligence levels that bit higher by not treating you like a fool. If you’re looking for a Punisher style slaughter every other page you shan’t find it here. What you get is a story. Granted this is the opening chapter for Think Tank: Outbreak and you’re not instantly going to be entwined in the main story, but you are treated to an excellent opener.
For those of you out there that may not have found Think Tank as yet, this would be a good place to start. Obviously a better place to start would be buying the back issues (for you and Image/Top Cow), but if you can’t snaffle those you’re brought up to speed through-out this issue; don’t expect a recap in pages 1 and 2 though, you’ll need to read the entire comic.
We arrive in Outbreak with our protagonist Dr. David Loren sat in a helicopter with a group of Navy SEALs. David looks like a very bright pink round peg in a very black square hole. It doesn’t help the fact that he is currently vomiting. We are then taken back a day or so, to follow the path that led the good Doctor to our unwanted seating arrangement; it’s here we find out what we are allowed to know of the mission. What is amusing (as ever) is David’s internal monologuing throughout those very important moments where he should be “all ears”. A particular moment that made me laugh was the distraction of the red headed female officer and his thoughts on red headed women. A very true moment and a valid point too.
For those that would like an idea about what the style of comic Think Tank is, it’s difficult to explain. Perhaps if we placed it on the shelf marked “Political Dark Comedy Thriller” this may give you a feeling of what it is like. The humour is very much styled on Joss Whedon’s Firefly which is fast, dry and very funny. I hope that Matt Hawkins was a Firefly fan and currently isn’t penning a hate reply.
Previous readers of my reviews will know that Matt Hawkins sits on a high pedestal, to me, for his story telling and as yet hasn’t let me down (touch wood). As I highlighted in my opening paragraph it’s a comic that has no intention of patronising the reader by dumbing down. Bringing Matt’s words together and drawing it on to the paper is co-creator Rahsan Ekedal – he is the perfect artist to paint this world he’s helped create with Matt, and painting in black and white gives the chance for detail to sing out which could otherwise be lost in a wash of colour. I’d like to see more collaborations between both of these chaps.
You cannot go wrong picking up Think Tank and I suggest you just do that.
Villordsutch is married with kids and pets. He looks like a tubby Viking and enjoys science fiction. Follow him on Twitter.
Originally published September 5, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
