Robin Lewis
Mar 24, 2008, 01:00 pm
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_col.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_colt.jpg" alt="Thor #7" hspace=10 align=left></a> Reviewer: Robin Lewis, lucillerobin@aol.com
Story Title: Father Issues (Part one of two).
Thor revisits the one part of his past that's still left behind.
Writer: J Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Marko Djurdjevic
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist: Marko Djurdjevic
Variant Cover: Oliver Coilpel & Marko Djurdjevic
Assistant Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Editor: Warren Simons
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published By: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
I've never been a regular Thor reader. As well as the overpowering threat of over five-hundred issues of continuity lurking behind the character there was the fact that he was practically omnipresent in the pages of the Avengers. Those who wanted their fix of 'By my troth' and 'I say thee nay' could happily find their supply right there, free of any complications, and so it was with me. And then Marvel splintered the World's Mightiest Heroes into pieces during Avengers Dissasembled, formed a new team out of the ashes (which was then broken apart again during Civil War and then re-formed into two teams), and Thor has been conspicuous by his absence. Rumours of a Neil Gaiman revival of the character were rife at one point, though it came to nothing. And then the arrival of Clor during Civil War was another false start for those anxious for the Thunder-God's return. And then we got J. Michael Stracynski's leisurely easing into a new dawn for Donald Blake and his hammer-wielding alter-ego. It's been an odd revival in some ways, one that has seemed to amble along at times, in no hurry to introduce Thor's new setup or to get him back into the mainstream Marvel universe. A few twists to the old Thor's world have been introduced (Loki wears a bra), but in the main things are back as they were: we have Asgard, a large number of his traditional supporting cast in the background and Thor and his hammer centre stage. There can be no denying that it's been, so far, a very successful relaunch. Marvel's decision to let the character lie fallow for several years before bringing him back are now paying dividends as fans snap up the new book with a real enthusiasm for the return. And now the set-up appears to be complete, Stracynski can get started on ol' blondie's new adventures, right? Maybe, but before that, we have one more ghost that needs to be laid to rest.
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_col-var.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_col-vart.jpg" alt="Thor #7 (variant)" hspace=10 align=right></a>Conciously choosing to avoid bringing his father back into the world (and thus hopefully break the endless cycle of creation and Ragnarok) means that Thor is now head of the household, and the burdens of his father now lie on him. And the privileges, of course. One of which is locking yourself in an inviolable coffin when your strength is depleted to recover. Odin's sarcastic and needling ravens may choose to keep him company when he does so, making him liable wish that his hammer was a twelve-bore shotgun, but there, in the newly renamed coma of 'Thorsleep', a better understanding of his new position may await him. And meanwhile, his alter-ego is surprised to find himself suddenly freed by Thor's isolation and decides that a little personal time is called for, far away from the halls of Asgard and all that tiresome theeing and thouing. Those hoping for a slam-bang adventure into dangers untold after the first six issues of Thor are going to be dissapointed, but for everyone else there's much to enjoy here.
The art's lovely, and perhaps Djurdjevic is a better match for this particular story than Coipel would have been. The mythological scenes are beautifully depicted, and the battles set against snowy landscapes are wonderful. And Stracynski is obviously enjoying his chance to revel in the old Norse myths. His Olde English dialogue isn't overly ornate and evokes the necessary mood of legend the Asgard scenes need, but his deft touch with Blake's scenes amidst the new Mid-West location of Asgard has given the book a much-needed note of deadpan humour to leaven all the weighty mythological stuff. There's less of that in this particular story, unfortunately, making it a tiny bit less triffic than the preceding six issues, and without that element of levity I'm not entirely sure how interested I'd be in reading an entirely 'straight' Thor book, but Stracynski has some spadework to do here to cement Thor's new role and a little leeway doesn't seem too much to ask. Aside from this absences of humour the niggles are few and far between. In a universe with about thirty-seven existing pantheons the bringing up of any particular creation story inevitably raises some eyebrows. Having Odin take credit for man's creation when just over the next rainbow Zeus would probably be harrumphing at his cheek (and behind him the Celestials would be putting a black mark next to both their names) momentarily breaks the effectively mythic atmosphere of the story.
Hopefully next issue will wrap up Thor's daddy complex and get to work on setting out a new direction for the book to take now that the set-up is finished. It's been a very enjoyable journey back into Thor's world, but it'll be good when he comes to terms with his past. Then we can start reading about his future.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thornone.jpg
Buy Thor #7 online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2743&cat=THOR)
Story Title: Father Issues (Part one of two).
Thor revisits the one part of his past that's still left behind.
Writer: J Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Marko Djurdjevic
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist: Marko Djurdjevic
Variant Cover: Oliver Coilpel & Marko Djurdjevic
Assistant Editor: Alejandro Arbona
Editor: Warren Simons
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Published By: Marvel Comics (www.marvel.com)
I've never been a regular Thor reader. As well as the overpowering threat of over five-hundred issues of continuity lurking behind the character there was the fact that he was practically omnipresent in the pages of the Avengers. Those who wanted their fix of 'By my troth' and 'I say thee nay' could happily find their supply right there, free of any complications, and so it was with me. And then Marvel splintered the World's Mightiest Heroes into pieces during Avengers Dissasembled, formed a new team out of the ashes (which was then broken apart again during Civil War and then re-formed into two teams), and Thor has been conspicuous by his absence. Rumours of a Neil Gaiman revival of the character were rife at one point, though it came to nothing. And then the arrival of Clor during Civil War was another false start for those anxious for the Thunder-God's return. And then we got J. Michael Stracynski's leisurely easing into a new dawn for Donald Blake and his hammer-wielding alter-ego. It's been an odd revival in some ways, one that has seemed to amble along at times, in no hurry to introduce Thor's new setup or to get him back into the mainstream Marvel universe. A few twists to the old Thor's world have been introduced (Loki wears a bra), but in the main things are back as they were: we have Asgard, a large number of his traditional supporting cast in the background and Thor and his hammer centre stage. There can be no denying that it's been, so far, a very successful relaunch. Marvel's decision to let the character lie fallow for several years before bringing him back are now paying dividends as fans snap up the new book with a real enthusiasm for the return. And now the set-up appears to be complete, Stracynski can get started on ol' blondie's new adventures, right? Maybe, but before that, we have one more ghost that needs to be laid to rest.
<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_col-var.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/marvel/0208/THOR2007_col-vart.jpg" alt="Thor #7 (variant)" hspace=10 align=right></a>Conciously choosing to avoid bringing his father back into the world (and thus hopefully break the endless cycle of creation and Ragnarok) means that Thor is now head of the household, and the burdens of his father now lie on him. And the privileges, of course. One of which is locking yourself in an inviolable coffin when your strength is depleted to recover. Odin's sarcastic and needling ravens may choose to keep him company when he does so, making him liable wish that his hammer was a twelve-bore shotgun, but there, in the newly renamed coma of 'Thorsleep', a better understanding of his new position may await him. And meanwhile, his alter-ego is surprised to find himself suddenly freed by Thor's isolation and decides that a little personal time is called for, far away from the halls of Asgard and all that tiresome theeing and thouing. Those hoping for a slam-bang adventure into dangers untold after the first six issues of Thor are going to be dissapointed, but for everyone else there's much to enjoy here.
The art's lovely, and perhaps Djurdjevic is a better match for this particular story than Coipel would have been. The mythological scenes are beautifully depicted, and the battles set against snowy landscapes are wonderful. And Stracynski is obviously enjoying his chance to revel in the old Norse myths. His Olde English dialogue isn't overly ornate and evokes the necessary mood of legend the Asgard scenes need, but his deft touch with Blake's scenes amidst the new Mid-West location of Asgard has given the book a much-needed note of deadpan humour to leaven all the weighty mythological stuff. There's less of that in this particular story, unfortunately, making it a tiny bit less triffic than the preceding six issues, and without that element of levity I'm not entirely sure how interested I'd be in reading an entirely 'straight' Thor book, but Stracynski has some spadework to do here to cement Thor's new role and a little leeway doesn't seem too much to ask. Aside from this absences of humour the niggles are few and far between. In a universe with about thirty-seven existing pantheons the bringing up of any particular creation story inevitably raises some eyebrows. Having Odin take credit for man's creation when just over the next rainbow Zeus would probably be harrumphing at his cheek (and behind him the Celestials would be putting a black mark next to both their names) momentarily breaks the effectively mythic atmosphere of the story.
Hopefully next issue will wrap up Thor's daddy complex and get to work on setting out a new direction for the book to take now that the set-up is finished. It's been a very enjoyable journey back into Thor's world, but it'll be good when he comes to terms with his past. Then we can start reading about his future.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thorfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/thornone.jpg
Buy Thor #7 online now from X-WORLD and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=2743&cat=THOR)