In BELLE: THUNDER OF GODS, available from Zenescope Entertainment on March 24th, 2021, Belle investigates a section of Philly where bodies have turned up, murdered in unusual ways. When she finds the local crime boss is a Cyclops working on something big, Belle needs to bring out the big guns to survive.
The Details
- Written By: Dave Franchini
- Art By: Ismael Canales
- Colors By: Juan Manuel Rodriguez
- Letters By: Kurt Hathaway
- Cover Art By: Anthony Spay, Ivan Nunes
- Cover Price: $5.99
- Release Date: March 24, 2021
Was It Good?
Yes. Belle has been absent from Zenescope’s weekly releases for a bit, and this is a welcome return.
The story is a simple one-shot that leaves enough open questions for future storytelling without feeling like this issue was incomplete.
The art is Zenescope quality, which means it’s very good, and there’s plenty of action mixed with story to make for a compelling read. Check out our BELLE: THUNDER OF GODS preview to see how it looks.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
We begin with an excellent montage giving the readers a 3-page synopsis of the creation of the universe and all the gods according to Greek mythology. The story is told by a student in Belle DiMarco’s class, and it’s a clever start to fill the readers in on the root of the beasts to come and a slice-of-life moment to get reacquainted with Belle.
Later, Belle and Mel are discussing a tip Belle received from Priya the Medical Examiner. The tip involves strange bodies showing up in a bad state coming from a particular part of Philadelphia. Mel isn’t sure she trusts Priya. Belle apprehensively trusts Priya but is willing to check it out since her technical support team is no longer around.
From this point on the narrative gets a little tricky because the story jumps back and forth in time. The narrative mostly flows well, but there are a couple of points where this reviewer was wondering “Where are we in the timeline right now?” It’s not terribly confusing but you will have to pay attention.
Belle arrives at the location and sees a blindfolded and tied-up man pulled from the back of a van near a non-descript building with a garage door. It could be a warehouse or a mechanic’s shop. Either way, witnessing a kidnapping victim being led inside, is certainly not kosher for Belle.
She jumps down and sneaks in to investigate. In the building’s back office, the captured man is interrogated by… a Cyclops. Suddenly, the Cyclops kills the man with a large cane/hammer, and Belle accidentally bumps a box in her shock from the gruesome scene. The noise alerts the Cyclops’ henchman and they head in Belle’s direction.
Belle tries to escape through a side room and makes two discoveries. First, crime boss Cyclops has enough high-tech weapons stashed to equip a small army. Second, there’s another Cyclops chained up in the next room; a Cyclops Belle recognizes.
Cornered, Belle grabs a fancy-looking rifle from the cache and begins firing at the gangsters. The rifle zaps lightning bolts that inflict heavy damage and the crime boss adds to the destruction by throwing huge chunks of rubble in Belle’s direction.
The damage eventually gets to be too much, and the building starts to come down around them, but not before Belle frees the second Cyclops.
Without giving away the ending, the chained Cyclops and the crime boss Cyclops have more than one thing in common, Mel is either an excellent or terrible driver, and Belle makes a tough choice.
Final Thoughts
BELLE: THUNDER OF GODS, available from Zenescope Entertainment on March 24th, 2021, is a tried and true action story from one of Zenescope’s beloved heroes. The art is great, the story makes sense within Belle’s world of Beasts, and as long as you pay attention to the time jumps, this is an entertaining issue.
Score: 7.5/10
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