If you ask anyone what their dream superpower is, you’re bound to get a wide range of answers. Some people would pick the basics, like super strength or a healing factor. Others would probably pick abilities that would improve their life, like super speed or teleportation (personally, this is my pick as it would cut way down on travel costs), but one that rarely pops up is telepathy. The ability to read other people’s thoughts is a frightening prospect; peering into the dark impulses that people keep buried deep down is a recipe for insanity. However, Ande Parks and Dave Wachter are diving deep into what happens when someone with that power chooses to tackle the darkness in Bad Thoughts #1.
Jack Coates has the ability to telepathically peer into people’s minds, but it comes at a cost, as the thoughts he’s reading tend to be dark, violent, and generally unpleasant. Thankfully, Jack is made of stern stuff and chooses to use his abilities to head up a security film, pulling off the kind of jobs that would be impossible for anyone else. Things take a turn when Jack learns that not everyone he calls a friend has his best interests at heart.
That sounds like a killer idea, and anyone who’s familiar with Parks’ work on the Extraction comics knows that he has a gift for writing hard-hitting action series that take plenty of twists and turns over time. However, Parks’ script only scratches the surface of its characters. While readers will get a good glimpse at Jack’s relationship with his wife Sara, and the fact that he has an impulse to do good wherever he can, the rest of the characters feel a little thinly sketched. One key example is Bill, Jack’s partner; aside from a line of dialogue about how the two are like brothers, we don’t get much detail on what that relationship entails, which would have made the final pages hit that much harder.
Ignition Press
What Bad Thoughts #1 lacks in character development, it more than makes up for in action. Wachter has a gift for drawing brutal, effective violence, which fits hand in hand with Parks’ sensibilities. When Jack tackles a man who intends to harm his date outside of a restaurant, it’s quick, vicious, and leads to even more pain. There’s a moment where Jack snaps the offenders’ fingers, and the way Wachter draws it, combined with Andworld Design’s larger-than-life letters, feels especially brutal. Wachter’s characters are also cleanly defined, especially Jack, who sports a neatly trimmed beard and hairline, and despite his mild-mannered appearance, is built like a freight train and moves like an F1 car. Should Bad Thoughts follow Extraction into becoming a Hollywood blockbuster, I could easily see someone like Winston Duke playing Jack.
Bad Thoughts #1 also boasts some gorgeous colors courtesy of Brad Simpson. Simpson keeps things simple, changing hues based on the environment or whatever action takes place. Night is represented by a mix of black and blues. Explosions light up the page in golden flashes. Whenever bullets pierce flesh or fists strike faces, there are bursts of blood red. To help Jack’s power stand out, people’s thoughts are shrouded in black and white, reflecting the darkness in their hearts. It’s a great way to establish visuals and keep readers glued to the page.
Bad Thoughts #1 is the solid start of a unique action franchise, mixing the blood-soaked battles of Extraction with the high sci-fi concept of Minority Report. Since no one can read my mind, I’ll just say that you should pick this comic up – there’s plenty of promise that I hope the creative team capitalizes on.
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