posted
Anyone think the latest issue was actually an essay on comic books, the status quo and change? I felt it was, specifically Odin's speech to Thor and Thor breaking the cycle. And I think it was fairly brillantly done (without beating us over the head).
I think this might be the best issue yet, though I'm hard pressed to figure out why. I think JMS has hit his pace--its not a fast-paced book, but things are happening each issue and I'm feeling satisfied at issue's end.
I actually really like Jane Foster and Don Blake together (where, say, I don't like Jane & Thor), and I like the idea of a long-term build to their eventual return to a relationship.
Sif plot is a good twist.
I really liked Odin and Thor's scenes.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
#9-- Wonderful art, I thought. Particularly the scenes set in Asgard and in the snowy Rocky Mountains.
Loved the Warriors three here-- their personalites shone through, I thought.
Loki is suitably sinister and manipulative-- though the gender change is still a head-scratcher for me. What does it really contribute to the story? Wouldn't Karnilla have been a better choice for the role Loki plays here?
Thor being a bit big brother-ish plays right into Loki's hands.
Leading to the big revelation-- or bigger lie-- whichever it is.
Balder's next few appearances will be very revealing, either way.
Fun to see Frost Giants-- though it brings up some MU type questions. If Frost Giants, and others Asgardian monster-types by extension, are roaming the Earth, wouldn't they be causing all sorts of chaos? I'm glad the peripheral peoples have been resurrected along with the Asgardians, but having them *all* on Earth with few consequences is hard to swallow.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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#11-- I'm a little tired of Balder being manipulated by Loki.
Has Balder the Brave always had an owl as his signifier? Odin had the ravens... where's Thor's winged buddy?
Pages two and three contain an absolutely stunning visual whose impact is slashed by intruding panels. If you didn't consider the contents of the main image, it's an interesting layout, but part of what makes layout effective is balancing the contents of the smaller panels with the 'main' image.
The main image is that of some horned beast of burden bearing the court of Asgard, complete with canopy, half-naked maidens and bare-chested, helmed warriors standing guard. Panels along the left cut off a big part of the slope of the beast's back, obscuring just what that great animal's doing. Was Balder's owl so important here? The panel should've ended at the gutter, if not a few picas to its left.
There's a nice idea of the red canopy casting a red 'glow' across the faces of those within it in the smaller panels capturing their conversation. But the placement of the panels doesn't make the most of that idea.
Has a beast like this one who bears gods appeared before? How about a polar bear's head and fur used as a helm? Makes for a striking visual. Wonder what the Norse gods think of the dangers facing arctic animals...
A big chunk of the issue is comprised of a conversation between Thor and Steve Rogers' ghost, with Thor making a godly parting gesture of thanks and friendship. Nice scenes, though I just don't want to admit that the original Cap's really dead.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
A friend loaned me # 10 and 11, which are the first issues of the current run that I've seen since # 1. I must say that I enjoyed them quite a bit.
Thor's conversation with Cap's spirit was deeply moving, particularly the exchange about Valhalla.
Olivier Coipel's art is simply astounding; he's come a long way since his Legion days. (I agree with Todd, though, that the two-page spread could have been more effective. I didn't even realize it was a two-page spread at first, which led me to think that a transitional scene was missing between the third and fourth panels on page two.)
I enjoy this more mature take and quieter build-up of stories in some Marvels these days. Something similar was done with Hulk and Daredevil a few years ago, although those arcs went on too long and ultimately lacked any real pay off. But there is something nice about a comic book story that doesn't have to rely on super-villains or artificial drama.
In fact, I didn't even miss the absence of "thee" and "thou" in the Asgardian dialogue.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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Just read #11 and thought it was fantastic. The Thor/Cap scenes really moved me, but what I thought was especially moving was Don Blake's few words before he called down Thor. Well done.
This might be what I consider JMS's best work at Marvel. It definitely started off slow--and hasn't necessarily picked up--but its found its own pace, and that helps make it more unique.
Love that its on the most outer fringes of the MU (kudos to Marvel for allowing so many of its comics to be like that), loving the stylistic feel to the art, dialogue and pacing, and generally loving that JMS has telegraphed far in advance what Balder may do and then is playing against our expectations every step of the way, as Balder refuses to fall easily to Loki's tricks.
HWW, glad you're picking this up again.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Well, as I said, a friend loaned me # 10 and 11. Even though I enjoyed them, I doubt that I'll rush out to pick up # 12 and so on. But it's good to check in every now and then.
-------------------- The Semi-Great Gildersleeve - writing, super-heroes, and this 'n' that
From: The Stasis Zone | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
So, I read the Loki issue. Great stuff...really great, actually. Thor definitely has a 'slow burn' but I don't mind it. This is probably the best Thor has been since...oh, the early-mid 90's, if not all the way to the end of Simonsin's run.
Having Matt Fraction do Thor one-shots is kind of nice too, so when the main title runs late, we get some good Thor 'action' stories.
Man, I hated JMS so much on Spidey, but he seems to be doing a good job here. He always said it was editorial interference, so I'm glad I've given him a chance here.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
The prospect of Asgard's natives moving to Latveria makes my suspension of disbelief waver. Asgard moving around (whether it's the city-on-a-rock or the community of Asgardians) just reminds me that the word 'Asgard' accounts for much, much more than a city's populace. Trolls, frost-giants, sentient wolves, fairies, elves, etc. Literal worlds of characters. All relocated to Earth? Somewhere else 'out there'?
I'm curious about all of that.
Which isn't at all what the story in the renumbered #601 is about.
It's about Loki and Balder, William and Kelda (very sweet story between those two), and Don Blake. I've always been fairly entertained by Loki and his mischief-making ways, but now- I pretty much want to see Thor kill him. After Sif is rescued and restored (if possible) and Loki's in some other body.
Was this all a convoluted way to keep the Thunder God and his goddess permanetly apart? 'Cause the idea of Thor physically loving the body that he at least sort of got used to calling his 'brother' is... nauseating. Members of godly pantheons have done worse, I suppose. At least Loki-in-Sif is Asgardian-human-ish. And not a swan or a bull or a tree.
I like each issue as they come out, but I'm quite impatient with the Sif situation. And where's Brunhilde? I love, love, love Peter David's take on her- but I'd like to see her among her hereditary peers for a storyline or two, as well.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
In addition to the THOR monthly, Marvel has begun reprinting the old TALES OF ASGARD strip with updated colorization. A bad thing if you're talking about classic black and white movies, but a good thing when talking about older comic books.
At least in this case, it is.
I've read some of these here and there, but never all of them. I've said before, and no doubt will again, that I'm a big fan of the mythological stories in prose and in comic form. I'm predisposed to like these. Anyone who shares such a predisposition and doesn't own or hasn't read the originals from the 1960's will want to at least look through these.
Between these, the recent announcement of an INHUMANS masterwork and all the other reprints Marvel has been gracing us with (in Classic TPB, Essential or Masterwork form), they've really taken the lead from DC in the preservation of their past.
You know what? They've even been reprinting older stories alongside new ones... just like the era when I became a comics reader. It hooked me then-- I hope new readers of all ages are similarly engaged.
DC- follow their example. The time for resting on the laurels of the wonderful ARCHIVES and SHOWCASES is over.
From: Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Well I'm enjoying the bi=monthly (tri-monthly? ) Thor series still, quite a bit. I hope Thor remains exiled from Asgard for several issues now without a quick return, and in the meantime, the Sif subplot begins to reach its conclusion.
Too bad Copiel has left, he's really getting better and better with age. But he doesn't seem to stick around in one place which starts to get annoying after awhile.
Who would have thought JMS could do such a damn good job on Thor? Certainly not me. I'm very impressed thus far. I'm waiting until he's done about 20 issues or so and then I will try to read them all right through in one sitting. I suspect they're a lot better even.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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Sure, on the one hand, we'll probably get a more consistently published Thor series. At least we better--I need a monthly comic please.
But man, this is the best Thor has been since...well, since I've been able to read comics off the stands, thats for sure (re: since Simonsin). JMS leaving after only so brief a run sucks because of how good it was. And the knowledge that another crappy Marvel crossover (which 5 out of 6 are) makes it worse.
At least JMS high-profiled Thor enough that he is an intrical part of the MU again, something that he hasn't been for like two decades prior. JMS had somehow despite my doubts managed to erase all worry and make me firmly believe in him as the caretaker to all things Asgard in the MU, and Thor is my favorite Marvel property besides Spider-Man (and I have several that contend for that spot).
In other news, I'm currently rereading the entire Thor run. I just finished Kirby's final stories and beginning Buscema's. They are majestic and amazing as I remembered them--even moreso. They are masterpieces. Maybe I'll start a thread when I have a few minutes to review them in more detail.
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
) Thor series still, quite a bit. I hope Thor remains exiled from Asgard for several issues now without a quick return, and in the meantime, the Sif subplot begins to reach its conclusion.
