Think Tank #5
Written by Matt Hawkins
Art by Rahsan Ekedal
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Rahsan Ekedal & Brian Reber
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
Release Date: February 6, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The last issue of Think Tank concluded Matt Hawkins’ original story plan for the miniseries. Everything wrapped up nice and neat. Dr. David Loren got the girl, escaped his personal prison, and played the military for a bunch of fools. Or did he? The last panel of the previous issue revealed a huge swerve: Mirra Sway, David’s first real girlfriend, works for the CIA. It looks like David was the one being played.

Think Tank #5 is a dark issue. The idealistic, free-spirited Dr. David Loren is nowhere to be found. The story jumps forward two months after Mirra betrayed David and turned him over to the military. Now David’s a jaded and dejected workaholic who single-mindedly and unquestioningly pursues project objectives. Allegedly.

Think Tank is simply one of the best comic series going today. This smartly-written series deftly mixes techno-geekery into an action-packed thriller that keeps its fans begging for more. The story focuses on Dr. David Loren, a true prodigy-genius type who was recruited to work in a DARPA think tank when he was a naïve 14-year-old senior in high school. At 19, he was granted the elite rank of National Security Asset “” essentially he’s so valuable to the United States government that he can’t live a free life. David, however, won’t accept his fate without a fight; this formerly unabashed slacker unleashes an ingenious plan to escape his personal prison. It’s just pure vicarious fun to watch David conduct a personal guerrilla war against his superiors by using their own aggressive ambitions and rigid protocols against them.

This series, which was originally slated to end after four issues, revealed a huge swerve at the end of the last issue that completely derailed David’s brilliant escape. Fans have been chomping at the bit at the bit to find out where this story is heading in Think Tank #5.

We here at Geeks of Doom have been singing this series’ praises since its inception. I recently jumped at the opportunity to talk some Think Tank with co-creator and writer Matt Hawkins, and you can read the interview below.

Think Tank Military Dossier
Written by Matt Hawkins
Art by Rahsan Ekedal
Letters by Troy Peteri
Covers by Rahsan Ekedal and Brian Reber
Created by Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Think Tank Military Dossier plays like a behind-the-scenes episode of your favorite TV show. Obviously it’s not as good as the main story in Think Tank, but that’s not the goal. It’s just a little something extra to pique your interest for the next round of episodes.

The comic begins with a short scene of David Loren and his buddy Manish Pavi riffing on Twilight and monsters. This sets the stage for David to poke through DARPA’s personnel files, which has interesting tidbits on David, Manish, Mirra Sway, General Clarkson, Colonel Harrison, and Steven Sejic. These personnel files do include some spoilers from Think Tank #4 “” especially about the true mission of a certain character that David isn’t supposed to know about. This begs the question: is Military Dossier canon? Yeah, I’m looking way too deep into a fun, little, sidebar comic.

Think Tank, Volume 1
Written by Matt Hawkins
Art by Rahsan Ekedal
Covers by Rahsan Ekedal & Brian Reber
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
Release Date: December 5, 2012
Cover Price: $14.99

I have no qualms about deeming Think Tank one of the best new comic series this year. Think Tank, Volume 1 collects the first four issues and is the perfect spot to catch up on this smartly-written, action-packed series.

Dr. David Loren is a true prodigy-genius type who was recruited to work in a DARPA think tank when he was a naïve 14-year-old senior in high school. At 19, he was granted the elite rank of National Security Asset “” essentially he’s so valuable to the United States government that he can’t live a free life. He graduated with a PhD from Cal Tech and followed up on his agreement to join DARPA. There he dabbled with inventions like mind-reading devices, invisibility suits, and portable EMP bombs.

David is an unabashed slacker, yet even with just a small portion of his attention, he makes almost everyone else look foolishly mortal by comparison. After producing numerous inventions such as the predator drone algorithm and an electronic crowd-control gun that would never jam, he suddenly developed a conscience: he realized that he doesn’t want the blood of innocent people on his hands. David tried to leave his job, only the big wigs at DARPA didn’t much care for his change of heart.

Dr. David Loren has had enough. Enough of the death and destruction at his hands. Enough of the military men that control his life. Tonight, David finally makes his move to escape from the military think tank that has been his prison and playground for years. The only complication”¦ he has to free an innocent woman from the same place.

If you’re not reading Matt Hawkins’ new series, Think Tank, then you’re missing out on one of the best techno-geek, action/adventure comics available.

Below is our exclusive preview of the first six pages from Think Tank #3.

Dr. David Loren is a true prodigy-genius type who was recruited to work in a DARPA think tank when he was a naïve 14-year-old senior in high school. He graduated with a PhD from Cal Tech and followed up on his agreement to join DARPA. There he dabbled with inventions like mind-reading devices, invisibility suits, and portable EMP bombs.