By Chris Tresson

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time… The ending to the last series was incredible and I instantly wanted to jump into the next one. I’m not going to claim to be its biggest fan, but when it’s being published, it’s definitely up there with the books I enjoy reading the most when new comic book day rolls around. Anyways, let’s get into it. Today I’m looking at Think Tank Volume 5 #1, written by Matt Hawkins, drawn by Rahsan Ekedal and published by Top Cow this week.

Having read the previous four volumes of this series, I’d say this debut issue of volume 5 is an excellent start to the series… The opening of the story is great food for thought, it’s really interesting stuff and once we get into the meat of the story, it doesn’t slow down much at all. It has a bit of something for everyone in this and is extremely well put together by Hawkins and Ekedal, it is testament to their long working relationship and I might even go as far as to say it was my favorite issue so far (some nice twists and turns in it, too, which I won’t talk about… haha.)

Writer Matt Hawkins is an incredibly intelligent writer and I think that’s half the reason I really like reading Think Tank. I like to learn things and when I’m reading this series, I always find something that I find interesting and I end up seeking out more information on the subject. It doesn’t hurt that Matt sticks the ‘Science Class’ bit at the back of the book. Matt knows his shit and I (like many others, I’d imagine) swoop into those back pages and soak it up like a sponge. I’m the kind of person who always needs something to occupy their mind constantly, so for me this series is great.

Rahsan Ekedal does a great job with the art in this issue, as he usually does. I really like seeing how Rahsan tackles the variety of things Hawkins hands him in this series and I can say overall that he does a pretty good job with everything he’s given. With the story being so strong in Think Tank, it needs a strong artist and I think Matt Hawkins has that in Rahsan Ekedal. The style of his art for me is the perfect fit for this book because I don’t think I’d enjoy it half as much as I do if the art was all serious and whatnot. Great job to everyone involved, this lot are a solid creative team and it is a pleasure to see them work together.

At the end of all this, I am torn on whether or not I would recommend it to you. I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed it because I’ve read it from the first issue of volume one onward. I don’t want to recommend it if you haven’t read the previous volumes, I recommend you read the previous volumes before you try to jump into this one because you’ll kick yourself for not doing so. In fact, head over to Top Cow’s site and your can read the first arc in its entirety for free. If you like that, pick up the trades for volumes two through four. If you like science, tech and all that jazz, you’ll love this series. 

If you’ve been reading Think Tank from the beginning, this is business as usual. What I mean by that is: this is a fucking awesome book and a continuation of a story that’s worth following, so get your ass to your local shop and buy it.

SCORE: 5/5

Think Tank v5 #1
Writer: Matt Hawkins
Artist: Rahsan Ekedal
Publisher: Top Cow/Image Comics