*Here’s a suggestion before I get this review starting. Do yourself a favor and pick up the soundtrack from either ‘300’ or ‘Beowulf’. Then put it on a CD player, your Ipod, or whatever you listen to music too. Crank it up to the highest volume, and then read this thing. Cause trust me when I say that this feels like an epic action film.*

While J. Michael Swiercyznski is writing the ongoing Thor series, there have been very few writers who have touched the Norse God. Those who have tried to write Thor, in either as a cameo or on a one-shot, haven’t done a very good job. Maybe the problem is that they are trying to write Thor while also trying to respect what JMS is doing currently which is certainly no easy feat. But what Matt Fraction decided to do was to go back in time with Thor and tell an original story on his own. Can he succeed in telling an original story? Or fail as so many other writers have done with the character?

There’s no denying it (or stalling this any longer) this is a very fun comic. It collects the four one-shots that Fraction did but it’s more of a mini series then anything else. The stories are very loosely connected but there is one certain plotline that connects them all. Fraction just has a perfect voice for Thor. While I love the JMS Thor, I do cringe a little when it comes to the Old English that is used during his stories. It’s very difficult to perfectly use this style of language but Fraction just nails it with this. The story is never hard to follow and there is a ton of humor involved as well. Finally there is a forth one-shot in here where Fraction does use the current Thor setting, and he’s just as good writing Thor here then from in the past. Also, Fraction does a very good Loki; usually I was rooting for him cause I felt so bad on some predictaments.

The art for the first three one-shots are balanced by two different pencilliers and colorists. Most impressive of all the artists on this comic is Patrick Zircher. Never heard of the man before, but man I want him to do more mainstream work. They are just so beautiful to look at; it kinda looks like a more gritty Coipel if you look closely. But perfect character designs, perfect action scenes, perfect backgrounds. Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Not to say the other artists involved arent beautiful either; their work is. But Zircher just jumped out to me when reading this. Also, not to spoil anything, the forth one-shot has a bunch of different artists as cameos. Trying to mimick the older style of Thor over the years, it was just a blast to see older designs of Thor or Loki.

If JMS suddenly had to leave his Thor book; I would want Matt Fraction to take over. Not to say I want JMS to leave, but clearly this series of one-shots show that Fraction is ready to write the Thunder God. He has the perfect voice for the Old English setting and knows how to write every different God that is in this book. With also great art to boot; this should be read by anyone who is a Thor fan or just a comic fan in general.