Think Tank #1 Review Short Version: Think Tank #1 is a good first issue, introducing us to David Loren, a slacker genius who is tired of producing weapons for the military. Well-written, Think Tank #1 is briskly paced and features very nice dialogue. Hawkins and Ekedal set up an interesting setting with a likable main character.
Think Tank #1 Writer: Matt Hawkins
Think Tank #1 Artist: Rahsan Ekedal
Think Tank #1 Review
Think Tank #1 introduces us to David Loren (whose appearance reminds me a lot of Kurt Cobain), a genius presently in the employ of one of a military think tank designing weapons for the U.S. government. There is only one problem with this arrangement: Loren is tired of designing weapons. Loren is a slacker, a malcontent, and more than a little bit of rebel, which certainly does not sit well with his handlers. However, he is also one of the top scientists in the facility, which makes him more than a little difficult to get rid of. However, once Loren receives a mandate that he better produce a new device or find himself out of the think tank and unemployable, he manages to put together a device that everyone would love to get their hands on, but also finds himself in a heap of trouble.
Being the first issue of a new series, Think Tank #1 spends most of its time introducing us to Loren and his surrounding cast of characters. Loren in particular is instantly likable. A genius slacker with good intentions but a somewhat off-kilter moral compass, Loren is an easy character to cheer for and the rest of the characters have interesting personalities and clear motivations. After all that, we get Loren buying himself what appears to be a lot of trouble at the end of the first issue, but it’s not yet clear where Hawkins will take the story and I’m really looking forward to finding out. It’s more setup than plot, but the characters are so well written and the dialogue so punchy that I didn’t even think about it as I breezed through the issue. I really enjoy the levity of the book, and I can only hope that stays there as the story moves forward.
So, we don’t know where Think Tank #1 is heading yet. That’s fine, what we get in issue 1 is a thoroughly enjoyable read with an engaging main character and a fascinating setup that could land said character in a ton of trouble (something he has a penchant for finding). This is one that looks like it is going interesting places.
