Degrees of Affection

4.3 Stars

Review of Thunderbirds Comic Album #1

Review of Thunderbirds Comic Album # 2

If you are unfamiliar with this British children's show, I would suggest looking at my previous review, where I introduce it as well as list some of the major characters.

The Gush

Another three fun stories revolving around rescues. One seems vaguely familiar but I don't think I've actually seen the episode if it is in fact an adaptation of one.

The Trapped Spy:

International Rescue is put into a tough situation after they refuse to save a World Government spy after he steals some highly classified files from Bereznik (kinda kin to Communist Russia). They are neutral and can't get involved in politics on either side. To force the organization to rescue their operative (and the information he has), they force a disaster involving an important Bereznik general's daughter then threaten to attack IR if they don't rescue their spy as well. The Tracy family has to tread carefully to not only save everyone but keep their neutrality that is vital to their operation.

Operation Earthquake:

A freak earthquake attacks Moscow without warning, bringing many rescue personal, including IR to the damaged city. But Brains is suspicious and his suspicions may prove right after they discover 400 Million dollars of gold has been stolen. But who uses earthquakes to rob banks?

Tracy Island Exposed:

This introduces the big bad of Thunderbirds. The Hood was their arch nemesis, even though they rarely came face to face. He uses his mind powers (never clearly explained) over his half-brother Kyrano (friend of Jeff Tracy and runs much of the day to day Island stuff so he can focus on his business and IR) in order to gain the knowledge of where IR's base is. Crashing a stolen plane into the front of Thunderbird 2's hanger, he then snaps pictures and exposes them to the world. How will the Tracy's manage to convince the world they're NOT International Rescue and stop the Hood?

The book also contains cross-sections of Tracy Island as well as a profile on Jeff Tracy. These are great tidbits of information.

The artwork in this one is the same throughout, as there are only two artists. This is not a bad thing as sometimes the differences between two stories are quite striking.

The Rant

Only two minor points here. First is you see Thunderbird 1 fire a missile that kills people. While in the real world, even a peaceful group might have to do so to save themselves (which they were doing in this case), I can not remember the show ever showing them kill someone in such a direct method. Perhaps once or twice someone was attacking them and they were unable to save them in time because they were busy keeping under cover. While those people were the cause of near death almost war, the block where they are shown hit with fire around them was perhaps a bit much for children of a certain age which otherwise could read this graphic novel. My second issue is the last 'episode' in the book. While exciting, it is poorly paced and just seemed to end as suddenly as if they'd fallen off a cliff or something. It is disjointed, abrupt, and just not up to par with others in the series.

Conclusion

While this is perhaps one of the weaker albums in the series, I have to say it is still quite good. If you are a fan of the Thunderbirds or if you've read the first album and are looking for more, this is well worth a look.