Belle: Thunder of Gods One-Shot: A Cyclops in Philly?

Belle Thunder of Gods is another one-shot story from Zenescope following up on the charismatic beast hunter as she balances her daily life against the monsters that seem to just keep turning up in Philadelphia.

Let’s get right to the chase, because if there is one thing Zenescope does well especially with their interconnected universe of titles it’s delivering an enjoyable comic. Belle Thunder of Gods knows that it is a comic out to just have fun and the creative team certainly accomplishes that. For those who have followed Belle through her few miniseries and the other recent one-shot like the Targeted Prey you might know that the cyclops problems have been reoccurring for some time now. In Thunder of Gods, we finally get more context to their origins in the Zenescope universe, almost directly translated from ancient Greek myth.

With a strong introduction and already established character motives for both Belle and Mel, the story is able to hit the ground running to show how the monster problem really isn’t getting any better despite Belle’s toughest efforts. The narrative jumps through timelines pretty often as it takes advantage of the 32-page long format, giving us old history and multiple timelines surrounding Belle to substantiate the fight against a new cyclops. It can be a little confusing at times to keep up, but not enough to hinder the reading experience.

Ismael Canales does some solid work on pencils in this issue, giving us some awesome looks at Belle in action while still hitting all the right notes for the dialogue driven sequences. Juan Manuel Rodriguez finds the right moments to elevate the story with colors that pop which helps to give Belle a defined presence in her trademark suit. While Hathaway’s letters aren’t necessarily bad, they can get a little misplaced in the more chaotic moments. Heavily action-inspired issues such as this can be particularly difficult to nail the lettering, and while Zenescope has typically used letterers like Esposito to make sure everything readers properly, Hathaway seems to handle the conversational moments with more ease than the action sequences.

Belle Thunder of Gods is a book that feels like classic Zenescope. It brings in familiar themes like the Greek myths while expanding on their connected universe in subtle but rewarding ways especially for readers who have been following the comics closely. There is even a few moments of surprising depth where Belle contemplates the weight of her mask and the task she’s taken on in fighting back all of the monsters making their way into Philadelphia. We are getting closer to seeing the overarching narrative reach a turning point as things get worse in the city, building on what we’ve seen from the character in previous comics, but for the story at hand, the creative team delivers a strong issue.

If you aren’t already a Zenescope fan, this might not be the issue to convince you to dive into their extensive catalogue, but you are sure to at least have fun reading it. As a longtime fan of Belle’s character and even main premise of her mission, this issue is a standout just because of how well Franchini and the rest of the team capture the relatable, more human side of her fight. This will make her even more interesting when she inevitably finds herself among some of Zenescope’s other popular characters!