The Mighty Thor #1 Review
Weeks of Thor-mania has reached its climax with a brand new ongoing series by Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel. For those who come looking for a big story, I think you’re going to be quite happy with this one.
The Mighty Thor #1
Galactus hungers. It’s up to the Silver Surfer, Galactus’ Herald, to find a suitable food source for the giant planet eater. The Surfer does not want to lead Galactus to planets with intelligent life. Instead, he takes him to planets that can no longer support it. The Surfer hopes to find food that will sustain his master long enough for him to not constantly have to find sustenance. Meanwhile, Thor and Sif are tasked with bringing back the seed Bor once found that gave birth to the World Tree. The mission goes sour until an armored Loki comes to the rescue. However, Thor’s not a big fan of a thing as powerful as that seed being in Asgard. With the Surfer looming over Earth, ready to lead Galactus to Asgard, methinks Thor will have something much bigger than a seed to worry about.
Right off the bat, I realized very quickly this issue has a lot of stuff going on. In fact, it has a little something for everyone. It’s got the Asgardian element for those longtime Thor fans. It’s got some trippy, inter-dimensional goings on with the seed, plus monsters guarding it. It’s got a cosmic element with Galactus and Silver Surfer. It’s got a naked Sif. It’s got people questioning their faith over the presence of the Asgardians on Earth for those looking for a little headiness.
All of it is tied nicely together by Matt Fraction’s story. Every little piece is well paced. We don’t linger on anything too long, but don’t leave a scene so quickly that we’re lost or don’t understand what’s going on. This is really an adult oriented Thor story, but it doesn’t feel out of place being such. It’s a smart story even with all the crazy ideas that appear in the pages. Ultimately, it’s a really great start from the story angle.
On the art side, we’ve got perhaps THE guy to get for a new Thor series – Olivier Coipel. This guy was instrumental in the recreation of how we expect Thor to look. Coipel’s Thor looks like a warrior through and through. As much as past artists made Thor their own, Coipel’s design for the character put a new spin on the God of Thunder using classic elements we all recognized. In this first issue, Coipel’s visuals lend extra evidence that this is a more grown up adventure. Two pages in particular, acting as bookends, were stunning using the Silver Surfer in a very thoughtful and contemplative poses. I also want to commend the Color team Laura Martin, Justin Ponsor, and Peter Steigerwald. Their usage of pinks and purples and soft greens truly made the Asgard scenes feel like a whole other world. The bleeding World Tree felt like you were gazing into the portal to Oz. It’s a beautiful book to look at and read.
As much as I’d love for Asgard to get a breather from all the tragedy, I’m really looking forward to seeing Galactus show up on its doorstep. This was a very satisfying start to what’s surely going to be a really good series.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fraction’s tight story, for as good as it was, is overshadowed by beautiful art. | Very little. Just a great start that should play out really well. |
| Rating |
4 Comments
Issue 1 was fantastic, and I agree with everything you said, and back you up even further on one point. Martin’s team of colorists was phenomenal. I sincerely believe that it may have been this above the other facets of this outstanding issue that puts it above other comics. If I seem to be gushing, well, it’s deserved.
I’d love to say it’s “eye candy” but man… I don’t think that is nearly saying enough. It’s like an “eye buffet bar”. Thanks for the comment as always, Johnny!
You wrote a blog entry a few weeks ago about when you “crossed the line” and got into DC comics. I commented there about how I was getting back into comics after 15 years, and that I preferred DC (particularly Batman). Just thought I’d let you know that this new Thor series will be my first real experiment with a Marvel title. I’ve always kinda liked Thor, though I admittedly don’t know much about it. And this review made it sound pretty good. So I figured I might as well get in with the first issue, right? Went out and picked up a copy today. Really looking forward to reading it.
I think if you’ve always liked Thor, you’ll like this series, or at least find something you like in it. Thanks for the comment!