SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog – thanks for tuning in. Today is Wednesday, October 15th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Thor (vol. 3) #1 - #10. Published by Marvel over the past year or so, this is the brand new Thor as told by JM Straczynski (Amazing Spider-Man, Babylon 5) with art by Olivier Copiel (Avengers, Uncanny X-Men) and Marko Djurdjevic (Mighty Avengers, and a plethora of covers).

Premise:
After far too many years, Thor – Norse God of thunder – has returned! In case you didn’t know, Thor died a few years ago – right around the time of Avengers Disassembled. There is a cycle of death and rebirth amongst the Norse Gods called Ragnarök. Thor decided that this cycle made their lives meaningless, and decided to end it. And this end meant that Asgard and all of its inhabitants ceased to exist. But now Thor has returned. The first half of this arc involves Thor’s search for the spirits of his fellow Asgardians and his attempts to restore Asgard to its former glory – right in the middle of Oklahoma. The second half of the arc involves the Asgardians’ search for their place in this strange new world.

The Awesome Parts:
Straczynski has taken Thor in a brand new direction which I find incredibly interesting. He does an incredible job of exploring the dual nature between Thor and his alter ego, Doctor Donald Blake. They have always had – in my mind – the most interesting of secret identity problems, as BOTH people are separate and unique individuals who must share the same body. Straczynski explores this dynamic in an enthralling way. I also like exploring the theme of “finding yourself” which has been abundant throughout the arc. The Asgardians are in a strange new world (our world), and must find peace with the residents of Oklahoma, and peace with themselves. Also of note, Loki is a girl now. I just think that’s funny – and it is a great symbol for the new breath that Straczynski has given to these characters.

The Less-Than-Awesome Parts:
There’s a lot of narrative in this arc – telling a story rather than showing us a story. In fact, a large portion of these issues involve the telling of the tales of old – the way you might imagine stories were told back when these myths first originated. But – as much fun as it is to see hordes of Asgardians slaughtering Frost Giants – I did not find the actual telling of these tales compelling. However, if you enjoy classic tales of Norse mythology, you would probably enjoy those parts of Thor. I also felt that the way Straczynski dealt with Odin was a little weak. In issue 6, Thor didn’t want to bring Odin back, for fear of having to return control of Asgard to his father. Then all of a sudden in issue 7, Thor says he was “unable” to bring Odin back – as though he had actually been trying. Perhaps he was lying to himself? Whatever the answer, I felt this was a weak point in the story. In fact, most of Thor’s journey to find and restore the Asgardians I found less than interesting. What I enjoyed was seeing these characters in a modern setting in an unfamiliar world having to figure out what to do with themselves. That was funny and interesting and insightful, and I wish the books spent more time focusing on that.

My Recommendation:
I’ve always been a Straczynski fan. Well, I guess not always. There was a time in my life when I had never heard of him. But I liked Babylon 5. I liked his run on Spider-Man. I liked his run on Fantastic Four. I even enjoyed his work on the Ghost Busters animated TV show. And I definitely like his take on Thor. But the issues are so disparate – appealing (or not) for such a wide variety of reasons – that it’s hard to figure out who to recommend them to…
Issues #1 and #8 have the best exploration into the dichotomy between Thor and Dr. Donald Blake. Issue #6 was the funniest and had the best parts of Asgard mingling with Oklahoma (the Asgardians attend an Oklahomian town meeting and have sewage issues to discuss.) Issue #9 deals with trying to find meaning in your life the best – as we follow Balder The Brave in his attempt to be a hero in this strange new world. Issues #8 and #9 both have some great Loki trickery. Issues #7 and #8 (the arc drawn by Djurdjevic) has the best epic tales of Norse battles. In issue #3, Thor dukes it out with Iron Man who is happy to see Thor has returned, but insists that he register with the government.
So, if any of that sounds like it appeals to you, perhaps you should check out the corresponding issues to satisfy whatever floats your boat. But if you like a few of these great things about Thor, then I definitely recommend the entire arc. I am less of a fan of the tales of their ancient battles, but was more than willing to read through them in order to get to the parts of the book involving these characters trying to find their places in this strange new world.

That’s it for today. As always – thanks for reading – see you next time.
-Searnold

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