By the Bristling Beard of Odin! The Thor Thread - Part 2

[runawayboulder]

Dan Jurgens' run got me into Thor

Really? I figured you'd been around for longer than that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'd been reading comics for a long time before that, but I was more of a Spider-Man fan. My dad loved Spider-Man and kind of passed it on to me. I started losing interest in Spider-Man in the post-Clone Saga era, between Steve Skroce's run and JMS' start--basically, the era of so-so Spider-Man ongoings, Chapter One, and various other f***-ups with the Spider-Man line. I was getting more and more interested in the Avengers, meanwhile, and on their side of the fence, Heroes Reborn: The Return had just concluded, the new Avengers, Captain America, and Iron Man series were all knocking it out of the park, and then, a few months after I'd comfortably settled into really enjoying the Avengers stuff while kinda/sorta still being into Spider-Man (mostly for John Romita, Jr.'s art), BAM: The launch of Dan Jurgens and John Romita, Jr.'s new Thor ongoing series, featuring the very first Thor #1 issue in history (since the numbering on the original series continued from Journey Into Mystery's).

I got it because of its shiny cover, JR Jr.'s art, and the collectible status (I was young and stupid), but then I actually read it and found the story pretty awesome. Thor's going about his business when the Destroyer literally drops out of the sky on the docks and straight-up murders Thor after a pitched battle, the Avengers themselves powerless to stop him. Then I read the next issue and saw this interesting, enigmatic figure called Marnot grant Thor a second chance at life, provided he bind himself to Jake Olson, a paramedic he'd carelessly allowed to die in the crossfire of his battle with the Destroyer. Then Namor showed up in #3 to battle a giant sea monster with Thor. Then increasing craziness in every issue after that, juxtaposed neatly with the paradoxically trivial yet absolutely important element of Thor trying to hold the pieces of Jake Olson's everyday life together. I was hooked pretty quickly. Granted, I'd read some Thor comics here and there, and I was exposed to him in Avengers comics, but he was kind of a face in the crowd. He never got much focus in Avengers because he had his own series, so I was drawn more to the lower-tier Avengers like the Vision and Hawkeye. But Jurgens' run really stuck with me, probably because it had such a strong start with these crazy-ass threats. Spider-Man's over here dealing with mob bosses and guys on gliders for six issues; Thor's knocking out dragons and sea monsters and sentient suits of armor every other issue. The sense of scale, I guess, really drew me in.

Even so, I kind of got bored of Jurgens' run in a couple years. I think I might've even dropped it from my subscriptions; there's a chunk of Jurgens' run, from somewhere in the 30s to the early 40s, where I know I never read those issues. But then I saw something about Odin having died, and I was like, "Whaaaaat?" So I got back into Jurgens' run right at the start of the King Thor Saga, and that satisfied an itch I didn't realize at the time but recognize I had in retrospect for real, lasting change. I mean, Thor became king and shifted his whole world around--Loki was an ally, Balder a traitor, the Enchantress his friggin' wife. Again, the scale of it was beyond anything going on in comics at the time. It was also surprisingly complex, what with the Church of Thor and that adversarial priest bringing questions about the nature of faith and worship and how the world would really react if myths suddenly walked among us, etc. More than all of that, though, it was just really good.

So yeah, after Jurgens had thoroughly hooked me, then I started going back and revisiting some of those Thor comics I'd read in passing before with a new appreciation, until ultimately I decided to read every Thor comic ever. I'm like 80% done with that now and my love for the character has only grown. Pretty sure it's gonna be a lifelong sort of deal.

tl;dr version: Jurgens' run is the first time I actually read Thor consistently and got a true appreciation for the character; then I went back and read a lot of other Thor stuff.

 

[runawayboulder]

I bet some of you long time Thor fans would get a kick out of this:

 

[Keyser Soze]

How GREAT was Thor: God of Thunder #20 this week? Jason Aaron can always tell a good story, and so the book remained entertaining throughout the "Accursed" arc, but this current storyline serves as a fresh reminder of just how much Esad Ribic brings to the book.

I think one clever thing Aaron has done throughout this run is manage to give us 20 spectacular issues without a single appearance from Loki. I first got into the Thor comics with the JMS run, and the biggest appeal of that was delighting in the labyrinthine schemes of Loki. So, Loki became firmly established as my favourite character in the Thor mythos, and following on from The Avengers his popularity has reached whole new heights, to the point where he possibly risked overshadowing Thor himself. But Aaron has made the series about Thor again, and really dug into his character - quite literally, his past, present and future - to explore what makes him such a fascinating hero. In addition to the action and the epic scope, the comic is a character study.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I could watch Old King Thor and Old Galactus be crotchety at each other over Earth's long-faded memory forever. And wow, Ribic really outdid himself on Old Galactus, too. Even as a fan who tends to enjoy pretty much everything involving Thor, God of Thunder has been a particular treat for me.

I bet some of you long time Thor fans would get a kick out of this:

Haha, that's awesome. Although, really, Thor's costume is just one of Deodato's many, many sins.

 

[Vartha]

loving God of THUNDER and LOKI agent of Asgard

 

[Vartha]

In case you guys haven't been going into the Movie Threads, Got both the Thor the Dark World and Winter Soldier Movie posters!

 

[Vartha]

made a Troll pic if you ever want to use it

 

[Vartha]

A Friend on FB sent me this! is this not Kick BUTT?

 

[seahammer]

Finally got the newest issue in the mail. First one since I got my subscription that was creased down the middle, hopefully the last.

Anyway, I can't believe that this arc ends in the next issue! It seems like it's just gearing up. I can't wait to see what King Thor does with the Necrosword. I'm glad that Aaron is calling back to that. When all is said and done and we go back to read Aaron's run in it's entirety, there will be a lot of cohesion throughout his tenure.

I didn't love the Malekith arc, but I've been enjoying 'the last days of midgard.'

 

[Webfoot Hero]

This arc seems to be ending kind of quick, even though it's been a typical 5-issue arc. I really wasn't expecting King Thor to go after the Necrosword, but if he can wield it properly, then Galactus doesn't stand a chance.

Also, noticed in the August solicitations, Thor: God of Thunder isn't listed there. Issue 24 was in the July solicitations but the description of that issue made it seem like Aaron is finishing up his Thor run. I wonder what kind of Thor series we'll get next.

 

[seahammer]

This arc seems to be ending kind of quick, even though it's been a typical 5-issue arc. I really wasn't expecting King Thor to go after the Necrosword, but if he can wield it properly, then Galactus doesn't stand a chance.

Also, noticed in the August solicitations, Thor: God of Thunder isn't listed there. Issue 24 was in the July solicitations but the description of that issue made it seem like Aaron is finishing up his Thor run. I wonder what kind of Thor series we'll get next.

Oh no, really? I hope not. If true, he didn't even get to do the Mangog story he'd been teasing. I hope it was just poor wording that made it sound that way. Maybe just this arc is finishing up.

As for this current arc finishing so quickly, the Godbutcher arc was basically one big arc broken into two pieces. Could something similar be happening here (assuming Aaron isn't leaving). I was disappointed that there was no letters page in the last issue, because usually Aaron gives some teases.

BTW, when I look at marvel.com, it has T:GOT 23 listed for June 11, 2014, and issue 24 listed for June 25, 2014. Is that not accurate?

http://marvel.com/comics/series/16729/thor_god_of_thunder_2012_-_present

 

[runawayboulder]

But I want Aaron to write Thor forever

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Eh, two years of Aaron on Thor is a pretty solid run. It's already got enough truly excellent material to stand among the all-time great Thor runs. I mean, those first two arcs with Gorr is up there with anything Simonson, Jurgens, Lee/Kirby, Conway, or Thomas did. I'm just concerned that there's no August solicitation for Thor. I mean, relaunch it, fine, but please don't give me another hiatus. The last one was after Avengers Disassembled and it lasted like 3 years.

 

[runawayboulder]

The norm has become relaunching between runs now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, and I'm fine with that. Issue numbers lost all meaning a long time ago, despite longtime collectors' desperately clinging to them. When they relaunch stuff, though, we usually hear about it ahead of time and there's no gap in the solicitations. Indestructible Hulk relaunched into Hulk with no break in-between and we'd heard it was coming. Thor: God of Thunder disappearing from the solicitations for a month with no notice is what's got me worried that we may be looking at another long hiatus.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Really been loving all of this from the start of Marvel NOW (which is were I got back into the 616) the Gorr stuff was amazing and this battle with King Thor and Galactus is just crazy good. Hope they don't keep Thor off the solicitations for too long

 

[seahammer]

Yeah, I really hope there isn't another hiatus coming. That would be awful. I mean, I'll write Thor for free, Marvel. Just give me a call.

Is it possible we're just not getting one in August because of the Original Sin event ending, and then it'll be back in September? Or could the solicitations just be incomplete?

Until I hear marvel start to talk about the end of Thor, I'll assume (cautiously) that it's going to continue without a hitch.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Also, noticed in the August solicitations, Thor: God of Thunder isn't listed there. Issue 24 was in the July solicitations but the description of that issue made it seem like Aaron is finishing up his Thor run. I wonder what kind of Thor series we'll get next.

I've been beggin for an Oeming ongoing for years now.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oeming would be good, although he seems to focus more on the indie scene lately. If this Thor series does end and someone else takes over for a relaunch, I really don't envy them. Jason Aaron's run is gonna be a really hard act to follow.

 

[Vartha]

Yeah I agree, but I hope it keeps going. I'm loving having the three Thors

 

[seahammer]

This is being discussed in it's own thread, but I thought I'd bump the official Thor thread since it is pertinent.

The news: Thor is going to be a woman.

Thread is here: http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=482907

Just for posterity's sake, here is what I posted in that thread:


Whoa! Gut reaction is negative, and I agree that this does feel like sensationalism, etc. However, I will try to post some positives:

1. Aaron is staying on. I think he really gets the character, AND he has written some good female supporting characters in his time on the title so far.
2. "Thor" has been a lot of things. He was a frog. Mjolnir was wielded by a horse-faced alien who was initially an antagonist, as well as mortal Eric Masterson for quite some time. None of that was permanent, and in retrospect those were great stories that have contributed to the Thor mythos (regardless of backlash at the original time of publication). This won't be permanent either, and even if it lasts a year, that's just 12 issues out of HUNDREDS of issues in the overall Thor narrative. I don't mind that it's a woman... other than the gender this seems pretty similar to the Eric Masterson situation.
3. I know this is just my opinion, and not everyone feels this way, but I personally LIKE stories that explore what it means to be "Worthy," and this story looks like it would address that.
4. Thor isn't being cancelled, like he was in the 2000's for a couple of years. The status quo is being shaken up, but that can really great for the creatives who hold the reins.

I'm sure there are plenty of other positive spins to put on this as well, these are just a few that popped into my mind. If someone asked me what would be the ideal Thor story, would this be my answer? No way. But is it the end of the world? No. What I want are good Thor stories, and whether or not this will be a good story remains to be seen, but at least we have a writer who (by all appearances) loves and respects the character.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

We still have Loki's solo title at least.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

This is disappointing that this series is going to end since it was probably one of the best Marvel had. I'm not sure the new series will last past 20 issues since fans seem pretty set against them sticking a woman in Thor's spot. As from other previews, we still see Thor around wielding Jarnbjorn so he'll likely be around in some fashion, just not as the focal point in his own comic for a bit.

 

[Vartha]

It won't last. I'm tired of these damned rehashed ideas at Marvel.
It's either someone getting killed or someone getting replaced because their powers have failed in one way or another.
They kind of had my interest peaked with Thor having a sister.


I'm beginning to think Marvel can't count over 50 anymore, because the books don't make it past that.