Desperately Seeking Thor – Part 1

It’s no secret that I’m a bit zealous in my love for My Boyfriend Thor Thor: The Mighty Avenger. But what most folks don’t know, is that up until quite recently, this was the only version of Thor I knew.

Ironically, these past few weeks I’ve actually turned into that kid from Adventures in Babysitting, diving head first into Asgard and reading as much Thor as I can possibly absorb. Armed with suggestions from friends and the Where Do I Start with Thor reading list, my quest was this: to find My Boyfriend Thor, or at least a version of the character that I thought of as the Definitive Thor.
*Note: The issue numbers are the issues I’ve read, not necessarily the creators’ full run on a title.

 

The Mighty Thor by Walter Simonson (issues #337-348, 1983)

The name Walter Simonson is pretty much synonymous with Thor. His run on the title is held up as the essential work on the character. With the omnibus being released recently, I was bequeathed copies of the old trades by a kindly dirigible pilot.

I’m not going to lie. I was kind of intimidated by this. It’s a comics classic that I had never even thought of picking up until recently. It was also going to be very different from the Thor I grew to love in Thor: The Mighty Avenger, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like that very much. To top it off, it’s a run from the early 80s. Comics from that era tend to be a bit… dated. But I dove right in anyway.

Simonson throws you into the deep end of the pool. Baldar, Sif, Donald Blake. All in the first couple pages. I’m glad this first arc was the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and his encounters with the Asgardians, it made the learning curve a bit less steep. 

This is cosmic Thor. Epic even. But after the first couple issues, I got swept up in the grand scope of everything and started to really fall in love with the book. I think what helped the most with this is Thor spending most of his time in space or on Asgard. He spends little time on Midgard,* which makes it easier to accept some of the less street-level elements, like the Rainbow Bridge, Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, Volstagg sitting on guys.

The art in this book is really quite amazing. It took a while for me to notice because it’s kind of subtle and I’ve been spoiled by modern comics, but the visual storytelling is fantastically cinematic. From the camera angles, to the colors, to the infamous sound effects, Simonson really pushes the envelope and delivers something truly unique, especially for the time. The character of Thor himself is a likable and well developed character, but I don’t adore him that way I do Roger Langridge’s Thor. However, I’ll be hard pressed to find a Thor story I love more.

Plus Simonson’s Thor is a Mets fan.  

*Earth. Sidebar – Every time Simonson used the word Midgard–Every. Time–there is a footnote to indicate Midgard is Earth. Great for when people are just jumping on to an issue. Torture when you’re reading a collected edition.

 

Thor by J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel (issues #1-6, 2007)

Straczynski is credited with modernizing and revitalizing Thor. He took an unrelatable Thunder God and brought him, literally, down to Earth to make him more accessible. The majority of Straczynski’s run on Thor was quite successful and received more than a fair share of praise from people. And not just the internet hive mind, but from people who’s opinions I value and trust. So despite having my own reservations about JMS, I really did go into this with an open mind and a bit of optimism.

Let’s suffice it to say that I still have reservations about JMS. There are patterns I find in his writing that pull me right out of the story. That said, Straczynski is quite good with character moments. His characters never feel shallow; they are fully realized and fleshed out. JMS uses Donald Blake as a real part of Thor and not just a hokey plot device. I totally buy Thor as a lonely, abandoned god. And the show down between him and Tony Stark did give me chills.

Olivier Coipel’s artwork is very striking and I really dig his redesign of Thor’s costume. He balances the grand scope of Asgard and the quiet simplicity of the Oklahoma plains beautifully. On the other hard, his action scenes are full of electricity and energy. He plays with panel layouts a bit and, as ridiculous as it sounds, draws lightening amazing well. And it gives these scenes a real sense of urgency. Coipel’s art is very evocative, because of him you can really feel a scene instead of just seeing it.

This run of Thor is a good, solid comic book. But at the end of the day, it just doesn’t resonate with me the same way Simonson’s Thor does.

 

Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Rodger Langridge and Chris Samnee (issues #1-8, 2010)

As I mentioned earlier, I adore this book. I quite affectionately call it My Boyfriend Thor. And when it was cancelled, I was devastated. To be fair to the other books, I wanted to give it a re-read along with everything else to see if this truly was My Boyfriend Thor.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, I really do love Thor: The Mighty Avenger. This title just exudes pure joy. Roger Langridge creates the perfect balance of adventure, romance, and humor. While the fish-out-of-water is not by any means a new way to tell a story, the way Langridge handles it in Thor: The Mighty Avenger feels fresh and fun. I find it does a much better job at "grounding" Thor in the real world than Straczynski's tale of lost gods.

I still grin like an idiot when I read this book. I still giggle and cheer and swoon at all the right moments. I think a lot of that has to do with Chris Samnees art. Again, I know I'm in broken record territory, but I adore this art. Samnee is an artist that . I can't wait to pick up Captain America and Bucky this summer. His characters are so expressive you often don't even need the word balloons to know what's going on. The "acting" of his characters is Oscar worthy, and I think his storytelling is getting stronger as he continues to work. Not enough people talk about colorists and the important work that do in comics. Matt Wilson totally nails it on this book. His bright, vivid colors complement the fun and adventurous tone of My Boyfriend Thor perfectly, adding another great element to the story.

I'm gushing again, I know. But this book is so very special and wonderful that it's very hard for me not to gush.

 

That's all I've got for this now. But I’ll be back on the case in two weeks to wrap things up with Thor by Dan Jurgens and John Romita, Jr.; Thor and the Warriors Four by Alex Zalben and Gurihiru; as well as Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel's current run on The Mighty Thor. 

Will Ali stay faithful to her boyfriend Thor? Or will Simonson sweep her off to Asgard? Perhaps another God of Thunder will win her heart. Tune in to find out!