Thor: God of Thunder #4

I think I heard that this run of Thor was featured on Big Bang Theory, right? Interesting choice. Jason Aaron is still telling the story of the God Butcher, a nasty customer chopping his way through the pantheons of the cosmos. Aaron’s approach is quite interesting, but not very friendly to a new comics reader. The story is still jumping around in time, and there were actually a few panels where I had to go back and re-establish where we were in the narrative.

In the past, the Butcher is taunting a captured Thor, and we know that from the other parts of the story that something interesting happens here. Something that makes the Butcher change Thor’s spot on the checklist. Current Thor teams up with a pitiful god of waterfalls to research the Butcher’s current plan. It involves time travel, so maybe that explains why we’re seeing three differently-aged Thors as the leads in this story. I love the addition of the new deity, he’s sad, but funny, like a good action movie sidekick.

The (chronologically) last segment features Thor as the last living God, fighting off waves of the God Butcher’s creatures. This Thor has essentially given up, but I’ve got to think the arrival of that guy on the last page will make a difference. Aaron has done a great job with time-switched approach. He’s created a mystery comic filled with action and the “big” settings we expect from Thor, but with a feel I’m not used to. Thor isn’t usually doing research in libraries!

Esad Ribic’s art is stunning, as always. Some of the pages with the God Butcher torturing Thor actually gave me chills. The Butcher’s design is still a bit reminiscent of Voldemort, but he’s different enough that he works. I love the rage that is apparent in his face and dialogue, what did the gods do to get him so angry?

Good