Trial of Thor #1

Now that JMS is leaving Thor, I'd love to see Peter Milligan take over. He is such an oddball writer, I find myself loving his stuff. He's like a toned-down Grant Morrison, but not so changed that I don't like his stuff almost as much as Morrison's. In this one-shot, Thor is accused of killing random Asgardians. It seems the ongoing war with the frost giants has already driven some heroes to madness, so it is not impossible that Thor, the greatest warrior of them all, would also go crazy. Odin tasks the Warriors Three with finding out if his son is responsible for these murders. The Warriors do a primitive version of CSI, along with some mage-ing to figure out if there are Uru traces on the victims. When there are, a warrant is sent out to take down Thor. I loved seeing the "classic" Asgardians sent to take down Thor. They included Tyr and Karnilla, two background Asgardians who have neat looks, so either Milligan or artist Cary Nord have been flipping through old Marvel Handbooks. The Warriors Three eventually throw in with Thor, even though they think he's a murderer.

Of course, it is all an evil plot from the dwarves and frost giants, so the four heroes go on a kill-spree to clear Thor's name. The actual plot is fairly by-the-numbers and uninspiring, but the characterization and details are excellent. I loved Milligan's take on the "heroes" of Asgard, and his throwaway lines like the one about Valkries screaming themselves hoarse were fantastic at building the fantasy world needed for the story.

Cary Nord's art was perfect for this material. After years honing his barbarians on Dark Horse's Conan title, he is a natural at drawing the brutal Asgardian world. The savagery of combat looked tremendous. His take on the classic Asgardians was fun too, with his Hogun the Grim being especially cool with his bushy moustache.

Good