Jason Aaron could write a vacuum cleaner repair manual, and I would read it. Every week. For the rest of my life. He’s that damned good. Thor: God of Thunder has been my must-read title since my good friend Jeff Vice plunked issue one in front of me so many months ago. Point: if not for this comic, I wouldn’t have found the other Marvel NOW titles that have pulled me back into the fold. Point: Science Fiction and Fantasy has never been this good. I’m serious. There is magic here, real quantifiable magic that smacks you across the face like a star-shark. Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic have created a comic for the ages; something to stare at, jaw agape, wondering how it could possibly get any better, knowing full well that it simply will.
Thor from the Viking Age, Thor the Avenger, and Thor, King of Asgard, all in one title, bound together by one foe, in three time-lines. Now, with issue 8, we get all three versions of the God of Thunder together, to take on Gorr the God Butcher. Gorr has enslaved a horde of gods from all times throughout the universe. He has them mining stars to build a bomb that will destroy every god that ever was. Let’s just leave it at that. Go read the damned book!
The Good: Everything in this book is perfect. The dialogue jumps off the page. The art is painterly and inspiring. Thor, as drawn by Ribic, is beyond heroic; this is what a god should look like.
The Rad: King Thor’s contempt for his younger selves: “Hela’s pale bosom, boy! Go polish thine hammer or practice growing a beard before I cast thy ass overboard”; “Yes, lucky me. Another one”. Thor and his yet to be born grand-daughters. Starsharks. Gorr’s son explaining why Gorr wants a universe without gods. Young Thor summoning lightning. King Thor and Avenger Thor’s bickering. “We’ve no more Ale”. King Thor’s ship. Every single panel of art.
The Fugly: My only complaint with this book? That it ends. Waiting another month is more than my mere mortal mind can fathom.
Thor: the God of Thunder is available now at your local comic shop. And just in case you didn’t catch it, it’s highly, gushingly recommended.