Thor #1 Review: Mjölnir's new Groove
Reading time: 4 minutes
Author Jason Aaron made a pretty hard left turn when the author introduced his new idea for Thor in his main Thor: God of Thunder title. Depowering the Odinson Thor during Original Sin was just the start of this story, as Thor tirelessly is trying to pick up Mjölnir. It’s made all the more impactful when Thor leaves for just a second, and somebody else picks up his hammer. Somebody slightly different. If this were a slightly more conventional narrative, the story would probably start here, but it doesnt. Aaron goes back to the moment with Thor still on the moon, and builds out the plot for the title from there. In fact, this story actually starts in the bottom of The Norwegian Sea with a couple of members of the Roxxon foundation. This massive shift in scope for the title’s plot will likely payoff, but not right away. Thankfully, the foundation of a menace is more clearly established in the space of this first issue, but at the same time, this book is not pandering at all to the reader.
Thor #1 is probably not going to give you all of what you want, but it might be a better comic for doing so.
It’s also refreshing for Aaron to pick up on the Roxxon plotline so quickly after the last Thor story really fleshed out that last arc. Despite the six page opening that may throw readers off track, the rest of the comic is slightly more conventional, focusing deeper on the rest of the Thor supporting cast. All the shifts in status quota has given host to a Thor universe that is very different from the regular continuity. In fact, moviegoers just jumping into this comic will have a problem keeping track of everything that is different in the issue. Which is another problematic part of the title, there is a slight page of text, but other than that, the readers is sort of on their own left trying to pick up the pieces of what exactly is different. If they want that final glimpse of the new Thor character, they are going to have to wait until the very last pages of this comic.
Aaron takes risk after risk in this issue, and for being so absurdly playful, it’s hard not to sit in awe of what the author has crafted here. He brings up three separate villains for the previous story without a whole lot of context, jams in a major plot revelation, and then hits the gas afterwords. If this story was conventional, it likely wouldn’t carry the same weight or gravitas that it truly does, and next issue could be a major smackdown with the new Thor and a whole bunch of bad players taking shape. In fact, a fight needs to be present in the next issue. Another part of this story that puts some distance between the narrative and the reader is the sense of mystery present in this title. We have seen some plots in superhero comics get caught up in who could possibly be under the mask, and endlessly teasing the reader. Stories the Black Panther relaunch, Red Hulk, and Doom 2099 all had obfuscated identities of the main character that was kept from the reader. Aaron is a strong writer, and will hopefully not fall into that same trap.
This brings us to the art of Russell Dauterman. Many have been comparing the artist to Esad Ribic, Aaron is not repeating himself here so it seems fitting that there is a different creator assisting with pencils on the title. The relatively new artist employs some truly wonderful craft in this comic. His style has a strictly independent creator feel, that allows the reader to form a more intimate bond with the story. One part of the art here that is essential as to how wonderful the craft looks is none-other-than the color palette by Matthew Wilson. Due to so much of this comic taking place in otherworldly locales like the sea and moon, it is essential that the story have a concrete color scale that paints the different characters, and strange lands with clarity. That level of craft is reached by both Wilson and Dauterman, who craft each part of the world with a different color or drawing style. While this story is sparse on action, each scene seems like it is building to something else mainly because of how the penciller lays out the page. Crooked panels are a great technique that can further engage the reader into the story. The last two pages of the comic in particular are a wonderful piece of sequential art that is written like a love letter to medium specificity.
Thor #1 is so many things, but above all, it is an experiment in the space of mainstream comics that should make long time readers happy. Newer fans of the character may want to start with the previous run during Marvel Now, and then move over to this story. Dauterman and Aaron should be proud of the work that they have crafted in this ambitious first installment of their comic.
Support Us
Enjoyed this article?
Supporting us on Ko-fi helps keep Comic Book News UK running and lets us continue championing indie comic creators across the UK. Every contribution makes a real difference.
100% goes towards supporting indie creators
