ADVANCE REVIEW Thief of Thieves #4

The time is now.  Start reading Thief of Thieves.  It’s going to be a series on AMC soon, so you might as well read one of the best series at Image Comic right now, and get on board before the book is hard to find on the shelves.

While Robert Kirkman created the story, for review purposes, Nick Spencer wrote the book.  He wrote the script, and that is what I read.

#4 has Nick Spencer dealing with Conrad’s son, Augustus, and ties into the prologue in #1.  The script forgoes most of the regular cast, except for Agent Cohen, and deals with how Conrad’s parenting skills, or lack there of.  While the issue focuses squarely on Augustus, it rings back to Conrad and who he is as a person.  Conrad is such an enigma, so learning about anyone in his life gives the reader a better grasp on who Conrad might be as a normal person.  Conrad is the grenade, and the supporting cast all react to what he does.  Spencer crams a lot of characterization for August in this issue, giving the reader a great feel for him by the end of the issue.  A mark of a great writer is their ability to make exposition interesting to read, and that’s what Spencer does here.  We learn a lot about the character and who he is without it every slowing the issue down or feeling like necessary things to say.  Agent Cohen is slowly becoming the most interesting character though, as Spencer gives her so much wit and confidence, it’s hard to not smile as you see her psycho-analyze Augustus.  Spencer jumps from a few different time periods without confusing the reader, and without having to give dialogue that explains what time period the reader is reading.  And when there is dialogue explaining stuff, it’s humorous.

Thief of Thieves #4 feels like the end of the set up.  The character’s are in place, we know their relationships to each other, and have an inkling of what is going to come next for the book.  Kirkman and Spencer have created a slow burn story that keeps bringing in readers each and every month.  Even before this book was turned into a TV show for AMC, it plays very much like a TV show in comic form.  This is a good series for those who like the serialized form of storytelling, but are not sure if they want to make the jump to comics.  But this brings up the argument; was this series created during the talk of a TV show, or was it created first and AMC loved the comic.  The comic was only around for two issues when the show was announced.  Either way, it’s a great series.

While Nick Spencer’s comic packs a lot of characterization in about Augustus, Shawn Martinbrough adds a good amount on his own.  Character’s are very life like, which makes it easier to read their emotions.  Augustus is almost stoic while Cohen interrogates him, but Martinbrough adds these small facial movements that speak volumes about who he is.  Is he like his father who, with ice in his veins?  Or his he just son trying to imitate daddy?  The same can be said about when Augustus is negotiating with the drug dealers.  It’s storytelling at it’s finest.  Much like the past few issues, Martinbrough’s line work has been great.  It gives the comic a distinct comic book feel while also being grounded.  While Spencer’s script gives readers a smirk whenever Cohen talks, Martinbrough’s pencils do the exact same thing.  Much like Augustus, Cohen has some small facial movements that help sell the reader on Scpencer’s script.  These two are working great together.

Thief of Thieves is a compelling series that keeps getting better each issue.  With all the pieces in place, this book is only going to get better.

Thief of Thieves #4 gets 5/5.

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MrComicBook

Senior Writer, Entertainment Reviewer & Editor at ComicBookTherapy

Kevin Finnigan is long time comic fan. He studied American History in college, wanting to become a teacher. As you can see, it didn't work out. He reads books by all the big publishers, and dabbles in indie publishers as well.

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