If I had to display an oxymoron in comic form, it might just be Thief Of Thieves #14. Its amazing, yet dull. Well written, yet poorly developed. I could go on. In any case, its not easy deciding which side of the fence to sit on when it comes to this issue.

The official description from Image;

Heist master Andy Diggle joins the THIEF OF THIEVES team for the start of a brand new arc! Meet Lola, the Cartel boss. And what Lola wants, Lola gets – and Conrad’s going to learn that the hard way. Get ready for the most EXPLOSIVE story arc of THIEF OF THIEVES yet!

From beginning to finish, this issue is a joy to read. It has a tense opening, lots of drama and a tantalizing ending. Yet it answers, or does, nothing in the long run. Its a great arc, but it feels as if it stomps, poops and @#&!s on what came before. It has very little to do with it. The father and son dynamic is still there, but everything else is thrown out the window.

A lot of this is down to the writing, with dialogue in particular. Even though Andy Diggle has proven his worth, and with him, Robert Kirkman and James Asmus all working the story, I don’t know where to point the finger. Father and son don’t get alone, that’s okay. This big job has been teased for month’s; that’s also okay. Those guys from the beginning probably aren’t coming back and I can live with that. This and so much else altogether, however, is a little too much. If its all planned out, I need a bit more in the meantime.

Visually, this same stylistic flair is still here. Shawn Martinborough knows people and understands body language. This issue highlights his attention to detail and posture (such as the opening sequence) rather well, especially along side the colors of Felix Serrano.

Do I hate this issue? No, I kinda like it. Yet I don’t love it, it only raises more questions, but not in a compelling manner that makes me want to read on.

3/5