Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Thor: God of Thunder #2



I like that young Thor just hangs out in Midgard with Vikings.
After last issue’s split between the three eras of Thor, this one takes place almost exclusively in the past, with a young, Mjolnir-less Thor facing the god butcher. 

This thing is almost all action. There are a few fun pages as Jason Aaron sets the mood (he does it best with the shadowy form in the ocean fog), but things get bloody quickly. The butcher is already hard at work taking out Russian deities; that ends up being lucky, since Thor needs their Pegasus mounts to bring the fight. It’s pretty sweet seeing the two horses help Thor out, maybe seeking revenge for their masters?

For most of the issue, Aaron wisely steps back and lets Esad Ribic’s art speak for itself. The battle is stunning, with the god butcher sporting a pretty spooky look. He’s sort of Voldemort in the black and white spidey suit, with tentacle nipples. So yeah, it’s weird, but there is definitely long-term potential with this design. 

The story about the murderous god in Thor’s youth is a neat parallel, but I found that it actually took me out of the battle a bit. I actually read all the captions concerning Thor’s youth, then went back and absorbed the art. There were just a few too many words for me to feel the thrill of battle 

Good

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