Thor, Vol. 1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski / Art by Olivier Coipel
Originally published as Thor issues #1-6
Marvel Comics 2008 - $19.99

 

Thor is dead. Ragnorak had claimed the Norse Gods and they were gone.  Mjolnir had fallen to Earth and none who tried could move it even a fraction from the spot it had fallen. It would take something truly special, almost divine to bring them back. And that divinity found form in one place…the writing of J. Michael Straczynski.

 

A little over the top? Well, maybe…but I have to admit that I have always had a special place for Thor. He was my gateway medium out of comics and into “real” literature. If not for Thor, I would have never gone on to look for the real mythology stories. Without Thor in my life, there would have been no Bullfinch’s Mythology, no new age and occult studies and none of the reading that has made me the broader, if slightly askew person I am today. And I also must admit that Thor was losing me in the later years. His stories failing to intrigue me anymore, the changes to keep him “fresh” seemed like so much futility and while I initially found it fascinating as a child, having a character spouting “Thy”, “Thou” and “Verily” is pretty corny in the 21st Century. So the “death” of Thor barely registered with me when it happened. But his return not only registered, it broke the scale!

 

JMS (which is much easier to type) made Thor resonant again by making Dr. Donald Blake, maybe for the first time ever, a real person rather than just the “mask” that Thor wears. It is Blake that brings Thor back and it is Blake that possesses the knowledge and understanding that Thor is needed to restore the balance within the beleaguered Marvel Universe.  It is through this wisdom that Thor battles his way back to the world. And it is a Thor both alike and unlike any Thor that we have seen before. The “Thees” are gone and instead replaced with a clear formal manner of speaking that commands the attention. His tunic resembles his old tunic slightly but now makes sense of what battle armor should look like. After restoring Asgard just outside a small Oklahoma town (actually a few feet above the ground), Thor sets out to restore his Norse brethren “who exist in the hearts and minds of man”. His first stop is New Orleans where he has what has to be one of the best “Holy Moley” (stronger actually but this is an all ages review) moments of 2008. Iron Man confronts Thor and tells him that he must register as a superhero. Thor forcefully explains to Iron Man, meaning that he kicks his metal behind from one end of the street to the other, that there is a big difference between being a god of thunder and a mortal in a metal shell. And that if his superiors attempt to force their will on Asgard, that they will learn the true meaning of power. Thor finally leaves Tony with the warning that after he is finished with his current tasks, that they will discuss how Iron Man stole Thor’s genetic code to make the Thor Clone that killed Giant-Man. And with that warning, he left Tony to walk back to S.H.E.I.L.D. base in his destroyed armor. He finds Heimdall in a homeless New Orleans resident, The Warriors Three in soldiers working with Doctors without Borders in Africa and eventually finds many others hidden within human shells. The most shocking of these resurrections is that of Loki, who Thor is tricked into resurrecting while battling the Destroyer (unknowingly animated by the spirit of Balder). Loki is now a woman, who claims that she only wants a second chance to prove herself as different in spirit as she is in body from her former self. But her smile and her eyes show that Loki the Deceiver is far from gone for good.

 

Another aspect that sets this story apart is the interactions between the townspeople and the Asgardians. Hogun providing roadside assistance while carting wild boars that he killed by hitting them to the mayor of the town trying to explain the concept of indoor plumbing to Volstagg are hilarious. And the townspeople themselves are a quirky mix of the rural, the curious and the clueless. It is like someone took the casts of Northern Exposure and 300, threw them into a blender, added a little tarragon and made a yummy story soufflé. Pure fun is something that has been missing in Marvel books for some time and this truly delivers.

 

Enough great things can not be said about the art in this book. Oliver Coipel seemingly evoking and incorporating the styles of many of the great Thor artists before him to create a Thor that feels real. His body is strong, stout and thick. His face looking less like Fabio and more like the Teutonic archetype he springs from. Coipel style lends itself well to all aspects of the story and he seems equally comfortable drawing scenes of a small African village and the incredible vistas of the Shining City. The clean lines of inker Mark Morales only enhance this work and deliver forth a level of depth that requires multiple readings to truly appreciate. Lastly, quality of Laura Martin and Paul Mounts color work completes the visual part of this book superbly. I have only recently become aware of the difficulties and challenges of comic coloring and the amount of detail and texture that they give to each panel is just phenomenal. When I start noticing the different colors of wood in a floor in the middle of reading a story, you know that someone must be doing something right.

 

In a time where secret events and crisis rule the day, it is nice to be able to just lose yourself in a good story again. JMS and company have more than succeeded in the aspect. By Odin’s beard, they have made me believe again.

 

 

John Wilson - After slaving away in retail for a decade or so, John Wilson has taken his life long love for comics and how they are made and has pursued two distinctly different avenues: one as a high school art teacher, always on the lookout to cultivate the next great comic artist and the other, as a creator himself, currently concentrating on his writing, although he still is willing to pick up a crowquill (or mouse) in times of need. John is one of the moderators on the Art Unleashed forum for Sketch Magazine and Blue Line Pro. As for Comics Related, John is explains that he's just really excited to be part of the team.