I did. First thing I did when I got home from work last night. It was slow and not very eventful, but that's how most of JMS' arcs start off, and I think it was the right approach to take for the first issue of a new series for a character who's not been seen or heard from in years. What did happen was mostly good. I like Don Blake more than any other mortal form Thor has had because I like medical dramas and I like the conceptual dichotomy it creates--Thor, the great destroyer of Asgard's enemies tied to Blake, the great healer. I was a bit confused as to why Blake had his own distinct personality, since anyone who's read Thor knows that Blake was nothing more than a human construct built to house Thor's essence while he learned humility; everything Blake was came from Thor, unlike Masterson, who was literally a separate person, or Olsen, who had an existing personality that Thor had to try and mimic when he continued his life. As I mentioned before, I'm iffy on the concept of man and god becoming more intertwined, since it usually just winds up making the gods look like unimpressive *****es instead of awe-inspiring deities. Also, it grates on me how writers patronize us by saying a character like Thor isn't "accessible" without a literal human side like Blake; anyone who says that a being can't be immensely powerful yet eminently human needs to read Gaiman's Sandman and take some notes.
Anyway, it was a bit boring but still a fairly promising setup. The thought that JMS will have all of the Asgardians have Blake-like human avatars isn't so galling if they're not going to be kids, as he and Millar initially planned, so I can actually kind of deal with it--just as long as the gods are still aware that they're gods and aren't just stupid humans in divine bodies. I'll wait out the first arc and see where JMS is taking things before I make any real judgments, though.
Technically, the issue was kind of hit-and-miss. JMS' narration swung rapidly from carrying an appropriate, mythic tone to droning on in repetitive nonsense. The "and then I... and then I... and then.. and then... and... then..." bit near the beginning was a prime example of the latter. But it was mostly okay, if not quite as awe-inspiring as JMS probably intended. The dialog was better. As I said, I don't know where this personality for Blake came from, but it's actually not so bad. He reminds me a little of Bruce Banner when Bruce wasn't so strung out and crazy from constantly being chased everywhere. He gives the impression that he's more intelligent than any human being has a right to be, but it's an easygoing sort of genius where he's really laid back and cool and maybe a little jaded due to all the things he's seen, as well. The art, as opposed to the writing, was spot-on 100% of the way through. To anyone who claims that Coipel draws a "fat" Thor, take a look at Thor fighting those demons at the beginning. The dude is not fat, he's just ****ing enormous, as he should be. I don't like how Coipel has Thor's hair so short, but other than that he nails Thor perfectly. The rugged face with squinty eyes and a terse, almost sour mouth perfectly suits Thor. In fact, the one area the art falters in for me is the costume, which I've never liked--I think the armor is a tacit implication that Thor's new, stronger connection to humanity has made him weak and feeble, no longer able to face the world with just his bare skin and basic cloth for protection. But I can get past the costume and still enjoy the art as a whole.
Oh, if there were any doubt that I'm a Thor fanboy, let me dispel it now: my main burning question after putting down the comic was not about the philosophical implications of the god/man divide or any narrative possibilities for future stories or anything like that. It was, "Now that Blake and the cane are back, does that mean the stupid 60-second rule is back, too?"
. The first issue was pretty kick ass i thought. I also liked the "With Faith Comes Strength" spin they are putting onto Thor. And I really liked how they made him come back in such an out of the way place. It gives Thor/Donald Blake alot more room for creation and imagination. I mean if it took place in New York...what could you really do?
