After last month’s climactic revelations where does the story of Peter Cannon go from here?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

In “Magnificent Obsessions,” Peter Cannon-the hero known as Thunderbolt-returns to New York after defeating the murderous Master Tiger, only to find another unexpected threat awaiting him at the airport. Meanwhile, the General’s cabal unfolds their plan for destroying the dragon… with the help of an angry (if not quite mad) scientist!

When the dragon first appeared the world went through a crisis of conscience until our heroic protagonist arrived just in time to save us from ourselves.  For awhile there it looked like the planet was heading in the right direction but now with a sense of unwillingness and growing enemies our savior is faced with some very tough decisions that may or may not put the people he cares about in danger.

Steve Darnall and Alex Ross continue their stint as the series’ writers, and the dynamic duo does a simply solid job with this latest romp.  They discard unnecessary text in favor of embracing the basics of storytelling even as their tale gets more and more complex.  To their credit our main cast of characters are finally starting to expand beyond their initial archetypes.  But to their detriment this plot so far seems too tame to properly deal with them, even as it touches on some interesting subject matter.

Jonathan Lau does a fantastic job on the art in this latest outing as he delivers some of his most competent panel work to date.  Each line and pencil stroke works in concert to inform the narrative while the scope of this already global tale expands to new and exciting territories.  His interpretations of the characters and the distinct locals involved in this jaunt lends an air of consistent quality that any comic book that seeks to play on this level certainly needs.

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #4 is a very strong release that adds religious intrigue to the deepening global conundrum brought about by our hero and his dragon.  Recommended.

4/5