Post by goldenfist on Mar 20, 2008 8:02:57 GMT -5
Ign.com review's the God of Thunder in Thor #7.
Warning: Slight spoilers here regarding the premise of this issue.
One of the reasons I've enjoyed Joe Straczynski's relaunch of Thor is because it repositions the character in a place where he makes sense in the contemporary Marvel Universe. In Thor's Journey Into Mystery days, there was relatively less interconnectivity at Marvel, so an idea like the Norse gods could just exist without having to relate to heroes like Captain America. As time moved forward and characters began coming together with the advent of things like the Avengers, the Norse aspect of the Marvel Universe made less and less sense, with Thor's book becoming less relevant. It was steeped in a obscure notion of mythology that wasn't present nearly anywhere else and as a result, I could never get into it. This relaunch has worked largely by addressing that problem from the beginning. Until now, that is, when we're back in the odd, disjointed mythology years. If you liked Thor's old book just fine before Ragnarok, rejoice! Because here it is again.
I can see a very direct correlation between Thor #7 and the first issue of this series. Both had a very specific and reasonable point necessarily related to the mythological aspect of the character. In #1, it was bringing Thor back after Ragnarok. In this issue, it's the question of "Asgard is restored, so where's Odin?" And unfortunately, both concepts can reasonably sustain about ten pages. Most of this issue is given to a bunch of monotonous droning in the typical Asgardian dialect about lineage and fathers and sons, or something. It's all terribly boring if you've been digging the tone and style Thor enjoyed in its first stage of life.
Marko Djurdjevic's guest pencils only enhance the story's connection to the mythic. It's definitely strong stuff, and absolutely in step with the material. It's just very far removed from Olivier Coipel's usual work on the book. To be honest, this feels like a separate iteration of the book entirely, like a mini-series. It's all very weird. Technically well done, but not what I buy Straczynski's Thor for.
If you were one of the roughly 10,000 people who bought The Mighty Thor before its cancellation in 2004, you're going to eat this up. But if you're like me and don't have much time for all that detached, odd-fitting Norse mythology that clung to the Thor of old, this will strike you as off and vaguely annoying. The idea of reinterpreting Odin's place in the new Asgard is sound, but I can think of enough ways to do that without breaking the successful and enjoyable relaunch style.
Review Score: 7.1 Decent
Warning: Slight spoilers here regarding the premise of this issue.
One of the reasons I've enjoyed Joe Straczynski's relaunch of Thor is because it repositions the character in a place where he makes sense in the contemporary Marvel Universe. In Thor's Journey Into Mystery days, there was relatively less interconnectivity at Marvel, so an idea like the Norse gods could just exist without having to relate to heroes like Captain America. As time moved forward and characters began coming together with the advent of things like the Avengers, the Norse aspect of the Marvel Universe made less and less sense, with Thor's book becoming less relevant. It was steeped in a obscure notion of mythology that wasn't present nearly anywhere else and as a result, I could never get into it. This relaunch has worked largely by addressing that problem from the beginning. Until now, that is, when we're back in the odd, disjointed mythology years. If you liked Thor's old book just fine before Ragnarok, rejoice! Because here it is again.
I can see a very direct correlation between Thor #7 and the first issue of this series. Both had a very specific and reasonable point necessarily related to the mythological aspect of the character. In #1, it was bringing Thor back after Ragnarok. In this issue, it's the question of "Asgard is restored, so where's Odin?" And unfortunately, both concepts can reasonably sustain about ten pages. Most of this issue is given to a bunch of monotonous droning in the typical Asgardian dialect about lineage and fathers and sons, or something. It's all terribly boring if you've been digging the tone and style Thor enjoyed in its first stage of life.
Marko Djurdjevic's guest pencils only enhance the story's connection to the mythic. It's definitely strong stuff, and absolutely in step with the material. It's just very far removed from Olivier Coipel's usual work on the book. To be honest, this feels like a separate iteration of the book entirely, like a mini-series. It's all very weird. Technically well done, but not what I buy Straczynski's Thor for.
If you were one of the roughly 10,000 people who bought The Mighty Thor before its cancellation in 2004, you're going to eat this up. But if you're like me and don't have much time for all that detached, odd-fitting Norse mythology that clung to the Thor of old, this will strike you as off and vaguely annoying. The idea of reinterpreting Odin's place in the new Asgard is sound, but I can think of enough ways to do that without breaking the successful and enjoyable relaunch style.
Review Score: 7.1 Decent