Thor: God of Thunder #1
Story by Jason Aaron
Art by Esad Ribic
Colors by Dean White
Cover by Esad Ribic, Skottie Young, Daniel Acuna, & Joe Quesada
Reviewed by Steve Seigh
I’ve witnessed Thor do a lot of things in my time reading his epic tales of blood and sacrifice. I’ve watched him decimate hordes of the undead, reverse the misdirected rage of his brother, Loki, and emerge victorious in story arcs that rival the epicness of The Fantastic Four in scale. And for all of these displays of heroism there has remained but one emotion that I’ve never seen cross the God of Thunder’s chiseled face … fear. That’s what I love about Thor: God of Thunder #1. Thor is terrified. A slayer, nay, a butcher of gods has returned to The Nine Realms and Thor Odinson is afraid. Let another one of epic tale of the God of Thunder begin!
Let it be known that with all this seriousness going on that Thor Odison has not forgotten how to party. Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder #1 starts out innocently enough. It opens with Thor sitting perched upon the spoils of his latest victory, knocking back stein after stein of the local ale, and partaking in pleasures of the more than willing flesh. But a proud and loyal god must heed the call of a prayer, even from galaxies away. And so it’s with the tears of a small child that Thor embarks on his latest adventure in restoring peace to an all but forgotten people whose gods have vanished.
The first thing you’ll note about Thor: God of Thunder #1 is the beautiful pencil work by Esad Ribic and beautiful color work from Dean White. The style has a very painterly quality to it that suits the world of Thor all too well, in my humble opinion. The atmosphere of the book is very dark but still manages to remain majestic in its presentation. You might not want to visit any of the vile dungeons Thor must traverse but you’ll love to stare around the page, taking in every last stain and broken threshold. And although there wasn’t much in the way of action and battle in this issue, the little bit that we did get to see was expertly showcased by both artists.
I have a feeling that Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder #1 is going to surprise a lot of readers with its overly grim tone. And maybe that’s because a lot of us have grown accustomed to Fraction’s fanciful approach to the world of Thor, or the madcap antics of Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men, but this Thor appears to be something else entirely. With that said, I welcome the change. Marvel Now is supposed to be a fresh start, a re-positioning if you will. By placing Thor inside of grave circumstances right out of the gate, Aaron has already promised us something that bears weight and consequences to Thor’s entire world. If you ask me that’s one of hell of a way to write a #1 issue of a comic book featuring one of popular culture’s mightiest heroes.
VERDICT: Buy buy buy! This issue has got everything you could possibly want to usher in a new era of epic Thor storytelling. If you missed picking this one up then you need to get back in your car or whatever and get back to the comic shop before their all gone.
* This review was written while listening to the albm Koi No Yokan by the band Deftones.
