posted
So something I couldn't pass up is Warriors Three for several reasons: they are three of my favorite supporting characters in the history of comics since I was a kid, they rarely get their own solo stories and Bill Willingham of Fables is writing it. And I wasn't let down.
Willingham lends his Fables-esque quirkiness, humor and love of mythology to the story in a way that makes it feel completely different from anything we've ever seen before. The Warriors Three can sometimes be a bit one note (re: Walt Simonson once said sure, Hogun was one note, but what a really good note), but Willingham makes this feel like a separate tone here than previous. I quite like it.
Penciler Neil Edwards does a great job showcasing fantasy, science and Oklahoma; his art is very Bryan Hitch-y. What puts it over the top is the inking by Scott Hanna which makes it feel much cleaner than Hitch's art.
I always like to think of the Warriors Three as the "deities of camaraderie and" that comes across here, as it should!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
Wow, I think that looks pretty good! I'm actually excited for the Thor movie. It looks a lot better than Green Lantern (not saying much) and so far better than Captain America (but to be fair, we haven't seen much of that film yet other than stills).
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I'm a bit underwhelmed by the most recent issues. Each one feels kind of like it's the same installment told from a slightly different angle. It's time to get on with facing the looming threat...
At least Click Here For A Spoiler Odin's back, apparently
What that means for Balder and others should prove interesting to read.
I think they should've left Loki 'offscreen' for longer. Surely Amora or Hela or a Frost Giant prince or something could've filled the Asgardian villain role for awhile.
How long till Asgard is back 'atop' the World Tree, do you reckon? I think the basic plot behind this story is more than sound- necessary even.
What I'd really like to read is a sort-of contemporary sequel to THOR: SON OF ASGARD- with Thor, Balder, Sif, Loki and Valkyrie forced on some adventure or another and having to deal with each other for a few months (of readers' time).
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
Loki as villain gets old, considering his fated betrayal at Ragnarok has been told, retold, undone and avoided at least twice, so far.
I think my favorite Loki moment was at the end of the Simonson run, when Surtr was attacking Asgard, and Loki sided with Odin and Thor against him. "For Asgard!" "For Midgard!" "For me!"
I like him better as unreliable resource, than cackling bad-guy, who inevitably gets his butt kicked. He's smart enough, that he should like that role better, too, after all the experience at getting his butt kicked he's gotten over the years...
I certainly don't want him to become a hero, or get redeemed, or, heaven forfend, become *nice,* but he's already got ridiculous power, and is a prince of Asgard, so there's little reason for him to be constantly plotting for no real gain.
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Well, right now he's a prepubescent boy. Not that that would exclude him from any plotting- though it would make plausible the 'no real gain' thing.
Hmmm- a meeting between current Loki and current Zeus would seem to be a natural, wouldn't it?
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
In catching up with the most recent Thor issues, I'm finding my feelings about the story are generally conflicted: on the one hand, I really don't like the actual storyline(s) being presented (in other words what is actually happening). On the other hand, this is by far the best story-telling on Matt Fraction's part I've seen from him thus far.
In terms of Loki returning (rather quickly), Odin returning, another unstoppable alien conqueror race invading, etc, I'm getting a general sense of 'been there, done that'. In other words, I'm finding it all rather bland. Though Odin has been gone awhile, in the sense of Thor's almost 50 year history, the notion of Odin returning to the cast makes me worry the series will revert to the same old, same old. I also agree with Set regarding Loki's place, but more than anything right now I need Thor as a series to be Loki-free for a good few years.
In terms of the actual story-telling, I'm actually finding it to be really tightly paced with numerous characters interacting and playing a part which makes the individual sequences very exciting. Quite a lot of this, I'm sure, is because artist Pasqual Ferry who only seems to have gotten even more superb over time. He has a very fluid style that also captures the sense of granduer Thor sould have. He backgrounds are detailed and other-worldly while his primary players are full of force.
I guess I like the individual trees but the forest is rather dull. I've generally hated Fraction's work thus far (or at least was 'meh' about it until his more recent stuff have devolved into a more 'hate' opinion). So saying this is his best effort is saying much.
I do love these characters and am glad to see so many of them playing a part still. Fraction has a tendency to use 3-4 characters (if that) while others fade into the backgrounds.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I read Thor #618 and am left on the fence whether I'll by next week's issue.
Why? Well to say the issues of Fraction and Ferry's run to date have been decompressed would be an understatement! I mean what we've gotten so far is 4 issues of looming threat! How long is a threat supposed to loom before it actually threatens anyway?!?!
I mean, I can see that Fraction is attempting to set the table of Asgard's new status quo (which btw is looking more and more like everything will look more and more exactly like it was pre-Ragnarok, I believe), but I can see this dragging even in trade form! In fact it looks like next issue everything will still loom with all of the carnage likely to start breaking out in the issue after that one!
There's some interesting stuff going on, but there's very little to keep you anxious for the next issue. It's reading like a movie where the director just couldn't delete any scenes, even the ones that were repetitive. If you're gonna charge $3.99 a pop, I think the readers should get a lot more bang for their buck. I like character development and world-building as much as the next bloke, but Thor is by definition a larger-than-life, rollicking adventure. It suffers from lacking those elements to this point.
It's a shame because Pascual Ferry is doing brilliant work on the interiors. His style here reminds me of a Manapul/Romita Jr. hybrid with a slicker edge. And the colors by Matt Hollingsworth are pitch-perfect. And seeing John Workman's letters on a Thor book again really does the heart good. If I buy the next issue, their work will be the principle reason.
As it stands, it'll be a "gametime decision". I'll flip through the book and decide on the spot whether it goes home with me. I'm pretty sure it will end with the confrontation finally imminent. But it may be too little, too late for me.
Lardy's rating for Thor 618: 2 Donuts (out of 5)
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Outrageously decompressed stories seems to be a staple of Fraction's writing. I'm definitely not a fan.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Isn't it amazing how Jack Kirby's TALES OF ASGARD (which he plotted 100% on his own from the beginning), with never more than 4 panels to a page, managed to tell more story in fewer pages than many modern writers?
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Well, frankly, a lot of those Tales of Asgard backups were practically montages rather than stories, with great hallufin' time jumps between individual panels. Compare the 5-page "how Thor lifted the hammer" backup from JiM #102 to the ~66 page retelling in Thor: Son of Asgard #10-12. The latter actually has PACING.
quote:Originally posted by Reboot: In other news, Relaunch Alert.
^Yeah, I saw that. I wonder how long it'll take JiM to melt back into Thor for a numbering stunt again? Le barf.
Seeing Coipel back for the initial 5-issue arc is tempting, but one has to wonder how far ahead he is on the pencils. Given Marvel's track record, I'm not optimistic that the book's post-#1 issues will ship on time.
And apparently, the giant arc that's had all this build-up without anything actually happening will end in March? REALLY?!?!
The odds of me picking up tomorrow's issue just got that much slimmer....
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Flipped thru Thor 619 today and decided to give it a pass. It looked like the action was picking up, but I feel it was still somehow more of the same. I'll just keep the $4 in my pocket, thank you.
Oddly enough, Fraction's Casanova is SO much better than his other stuff! Le sigh.
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
THOR 619: It's kind of a neat thing to read a 'skyfather god' telling a story to an assemblage of his 'charges'. I thought the art here was nicely evocative. I particularly liked the World Tree, though that image often does tend to bring out the best of an artist. Too bad the story ends in Odin having a giant hissy-fit directed at newly-young Loki and then another one at Thor. The former without the latter might've indicated a new approach at parenting Odin's Trickster godchild, one which might've resulted in a Norse god of mischief who isn't eeeeevil. But since there is the latter, I guess all that's signified is the pissed-offness of the King of Asgard.
Iron Man/Jane Foster/ what's his name-- their scene was amusing, but was it necessary? It's time for this story to kick into a higher gear. Thor fan admission- I've never liked Jane Foster. In Thor titles, I vastly prefer Sif as Thor's love interest. In other books, I've enjoyed Jane's appearances. There, I can appreciate the sense of tragedy that, to me, seems to cling to her. I like that a former nurse has become a doctor and I enjoy when that aspect to her is stressed. In Thor, to me, she'll always be the baffling love that Thor can't seem to leave alone.
The battle between Tyr, Balder and the evil gods (they're red! they must be evil!) ends murkily. *Is* Tyr dead? Did his wish come true? What about Balder? I hope Thor and Loki, shown to be on the way, can revive them.
I hope the red gods get some individual character devlopment. In every pantheon, there's a god or two who go against the grain of their peers. Might Loki's couterpart in the Uthana Thoth ally with the Asgardians?
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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