Thor

Collects Thor #1-6 written by J. Michael Straczynski with art by Olivier Coipel.

We interrupt the World War Hulk review marathon with a review of a book I've been waiting to read for a long time! Thor has not been seen publicly since a sub-plot in Avengers: Disassembled (well, it was barely a sub-plot, more like a stand-alone story, really) that left Valhalla, well... disassembled, and Thor sleeping the Slumber of Gods. Mjolnir reappeared during Civil War, but what people for a moment thought was the return of the God of Thunder, turned out to be a clone.

This time he's back and so is Donald Blake, his original alter ego, who actually had a cameo in Civil War. The first thing Thor decides to do is rebuild Valhalla and bring back the Asgardians. Apparently, he's a little tired of the snowy mountains of Asgard, however, because he decides to rebuild Valhalla in the middle of the Oklahoma desert. Yes, Oklahoma. And the Asgardians are spread out all over the world reincarnated as humans, so he has a bit of work to do...

One of the better issues concerns Thor's meeting with Iron Man. As director of Shield, Iron Man cannot ignore when someone occupies a large portion of the Oklahoma desert, so he goes to talk to his old friend Thor, but Thor has already been told of the Thor clone incident, and so is in less than a good mood. In fact, he kicks Iron Man's shiny butt all over the place, and tells him that if he comes back he'll do it again. So Iron Man decides to stay away...

Other than that, life is slow in Oklahoma, even for Norse gods. Very slow indeed. For example, the gods have to attend town meetings regarding town sanitation. And go hunt boars in Texas. In fact, some times the story slows down so much that it's a little difficult to see exactly where Straczynki wants it to go. Does he want Thor to be a story about what it would be like if gods lived among men? Because, frankly, I think that's a little boring. I mean, yes, the book does have it's funny moments, but for a series like Thor I would expect there to be some cracking of troll skulls and crunching of ice giant ribs. And dragons and demons and wizards and so on. But that is not to say that I didn't enjoy the story, I just felt it was missing something...Thorish. The story does start to take some shape when Thor starts thinking about whom of the gods he does not want to come back, but that plot line never really materalizes fully here. Maybe next time...

Those who have read the excellent Loki book and are hoping that the new Loki will be portrayed just a little bit as in that book, are going to be very disappointed. Straczynski has different plans for Loki, and personally I think that's a bit of a shame.

The art in this book is excellent. The line work is very crisp, and Coipel does splash pages, action scenes, talking heads etc. with equal skill. I also want to point out the very fine coloring in this book. It reallly infuses each location with a special atmosphere, and helps lift the book up a notch.

It's evident that Marvel considers this a high profile book considering the people doing it. And the art is really good here, but I feel that Straczynski has yet to show his worth on this book. I hope he has some mind blowing plots up his sleeve, because it could really use something like that. I do recommend giving this book a try. I liked many parts of it myself, and I will be getting the next book. But if you're an old time Thor reader, don't expect the Thor you're used to!

6/10

Loki

Collects Loki #1-4 written by Rob Rodi and painted by Esad Ribic (Silver Surfer: Requiem).

As people unfortunate enough to have read Avengers Disassembled: Thor will remember, that story arc left a number of the gods dead, Loki as the ruler of what was left of Valhalla and Thor in chains at the mercy of Loki. Pretty unusual for this corner of the MU, and also a situation which Loki has more trouble coping with than he expected. This story pivots around the father/brother relationship between Loki, Odin and Thor, but from a perspective not usually employed in the ongoing series, namely that of Loki, the Trickster god. Rodi spins a psychological drama with Loki as the main actor, presenting him as a somewhat misunderstood and sad creature, instead of the evil, spiteful character that readers are accustomed to. The genius of the plot is that the ending is written in a way that makes this story function plausibly with the ongoing series, even though the Loki presented here is so different from usual Loki.

I haven't read anything else by Rob Rodi, and looking at his biography, he hasn't really been doing any other major work for Marvel. This is a big shame, because this book is really well written. Rodi has taken a somewhat average arch villain and breathed life into him. Even though he is a god (or maybe because?), Loki certainly benefits from a better explanation of his motivations than what he's been equipped with so far. And the story of Loki presented here builds on both the original myths and the ongoing series to give us a villain that is more than just an evil god. In a universe where a hero needs a villain, Loki finds himself at the bad end of a rotten deal, and this book is his first and probably only chance of redeeming himself. In the end, fate steps in to restore the status quo, and in a world of gods, this conclusion seems inevitable and yet a little sad...

The painted art by Esad Ribic is beautiful and really fits this story of gods and goddesses well. The gods are presented pretty much as they were designed by Kirby way back when, and really come to life on the page under the brush of Ribic. This book has numerous pages worthy of the poster treatment. Hel poses dramatically and enchantingly as ever, but particularly Loki stands out from the rest. His spiny posture and wrinkled face with only a few rotten teeth left, makes him look like someone you would love to hate, a character doomed to villainy. It is a testimony to the quality of this book, that it really succeeds in making the reader care for such a wretched character.

This is without a doubt the best Thor I've read in a long time, and I heartily recommend it to all fans of that series. But more that that, I recommend it to people who like well written stories, that dare to break the rules of how archetypical characters are presented. Thor is a classic Marvel series, but it also seems to be the book most difficult to relaunch for an audience accustomed to books like Astonishing X-Men and New Avengers. I haven't read the new series yet, and somehow I doubt Loke will be presented as he is here. But I hope that the series will take a hint from this book, and try to infuse some of the deep characterisation that these great characters are blessed with here.

8/10