Thor #1 Review

Thor #1 

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artists: Mike Del Mundo, Christian Ward
Colorist: Marco d’Alfonso (partial)
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Publisher: Marvel

Review by Michael Farris, Jr.

In Thor #1 Thor Odinson is, once again, the God of Thunder. Without Mjolnir, Thor has to go throughout earth to collect dangerous weapons that were once kept safe in Asgard, which is now a wasteland. Despite having to deal with old enemies with makeshift hammers that don’t last long, Thor’s biggest battle is dealing with the Asgardian refugees, the realm war being put together by Malekith, and Loki showing up saying he wants to help. We also get a brief glimpse of King Thor and his daughters preparing for perhaps their biggest threat yet.

I highly enjoyed last month’s Mighty Thor from Jason Aaron, so I was pretty excited to read this realm-sized double issue. At the end of it, though, I felt like I had just eaten too many cheesepuffs: empty of nourishment and full of doubts. There were a couple moments it shined, but overall, it was a little bit of a chore to read through.

For one thing, the attempts at humor largely fell flat. It lacked charm and felt forced a lot of the times. The story had spurts of action followed by long bouts of long-winded speeches about rebuilding and such that could have been seriously trimmed.

One other aspect I noticed is that, by and large, the other “fresh start” Marvel books have served as a launching point for new and exciting story arcs that are friendly to both long-time and newer readers. This one seemed more like a long setup in between exciting stories that would be a good time to go to the bathroom during a movie.

Also, to be perfectly honest, the artwork was not my favorite. There were times where the characters were well-drawn, but mostly they felt like half-finished, fuzzy versions of themselves. It almost looked like someone took a felt board and made a Thor story. The soft coloring and soft lines were really distracting, and I wonder if I would have had a better impression of the story if the art had been more to my liking.

Verdict: Skip it.

I hate to trash this book like I am, especially because a lot of what Jason Aaron has been doing has been excellent. But, while writing this review of Thor #1, I just kept thinking, “Wow I really don’t think I liked this.” I just can’t recommend a comic if there’s no joy felt after turning the last page.