Desperately Seeking Thor – Part 2

Previously on Desperately Seeking Thor… 

Ali decided she wanted to find her boyfriend Thor. Not , like, her actual boyfriend (or Vincent D’Onofrio), but the best Thor in comics. At least for her. So she read some Walt Simonson, some JMS, and Thor: The Mighty Avenger. And that’s what you missed on Glee!

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I’m not going to lie. Simonson’s The Mighty Thor kind of spoiled me. I didn’t want to put it down. And after a couple Thor-filled weeks I was itching for something new. But I was committed to finding my boyfriend Thor, so I dove back in to the funny pages to find my God of Thunder.

 

Thor by Dan Jurgens and John Romita, Jr. (Issues#1-6)

I’ve heard a lot about Thor Speak – the verily-s, the thou-s, the fancy font. But I wasn't quite prepared for this. Jurgens uses a lot of ne’er-s, and milady-s, and Thor referring to himself in the third person. Jurgens’ run is chock full of Thor Speak. It makes sense that the other Asgardians also speak the same way (although I’m not sure why they don’t get the fancy font too). But after three issues, it felt a bit like reading a comic in a different language.

I’m not sure what exactly the build up to this story was, but instead of Donald Blake, Thor now share his body with the prematurely deceased Jake Olson. I’m not exactly a fan of Donald Blake, but at least he and Thor are part of each other. Thor just kind of inhabits the corpse of Jake and is forced to live Olson’s life for him. It makes for some good tension between Thor and Jake’s fiancee Hannah, especially when Jane Foster comes into the picture.

Then there’s the John Romita, Jr. art, which is just oh-so gorgeous. When I started to tune out the Thor Speak, the art is what got me through. Romita is amazing and his work on Thor is no exception. He draws Thor with such bravado and arrogance and it just works so perfectly. There’s something larger-than-life about his art, which makes it a perfect fit for this run of Thor.

But at the end of the day, this story just wasn't resonnating with me. I wasn't connecting to or relating with this Thor.

 

Thor and the Warriors Four by Alex Zalben and Gurihiru (Issues #1-4)

I needed a bit of a palatte cleanser. Something a nit lighter and more fun. Something like Thor: The Mighty Avenger. And that's when I found Thor and the Warriors Four.

OH MY GOD THIS IS THE MOST ADORABLE STORY EVAR!

Sorry. Needed to get that out of my system.

But seriously, this little miniseries starring Thor and Power Pack is a really sweet and fun story. With their grandmother sick and in the hospital, the siblings Power head to Asgard to bring back the Golden Apples of Idunn to make her better. In the process Loki and the Enchantress turn the inhabitants on Asgard (including Beta Ray Bill) into babies. And there’s a guest appearance from Frog Thor and the Pet Avengers. It’s a brilliant all ages story that I had a ton of fun reading. Zalben just nails the voices of Power Pack. He writes them like real kids and they each have their own personality. I would actually love to read a Power Pack/Tiny Titans cross-over. I really enjoyed this book.

There’s also a scene where baby Thor is riding baby Thorse.

 

The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel (Issue #1 – what? it’s the only one out!)

There’s a lot going on for a “Number 1” issue. Asgard moving back into Asgardian space. Loki’s a kid. Thor and Sif are a thing. It’s a lot to digest. I’m intrigued enough to pick up the next few issues. I enjoyed this issue more than Fraction’s first issue on the book (back when it was Thor #615), but I’m still not sure this is my thing. Coipel’s art, as on the JMS run, is kinetic and beautiful. So it’s got that going for it, which is nice.

 

Thor as played by Chris Hemsworth

I know this wasn’t originally on the docket, but with the Thor movie-mania and so little of Fraction’s Thor to go on, I thought I needed another Thor to throw into the mix.

In short, I really liked Thor, and Chris Hemsworth is the main reason for that. Abs aside, Hemworth is charismatic as hell. He’s able to balance the arrogance and bravado of Thor with enough humor and swagger to make him likeable (even lovable). There are many moments that, given a lesser actor, would be very silly. Like when he's yelling to the sky, arm stretched, because he can't get Mjolnir back, it could have very easily been a cheesey, cliche. But it wasn't. For those two hours, I really believed Hemsworth was a God of Thunder, and it was an utter joy to watch.

The abs don’t hurt either.

 

While I'm sure there was a some Thor I missed – I wasn't able to squeeze in the original Stan Lee and Jack Kirby stuff and I really wanted to get to Kieron Gillen's run on the book – but I've gotten a pretty comprehensive view of Thor and his many iterations. While I definitely liked some versions better than others, in general I like Thor. I like him a lot.

But the Thor story I keep coming back to in my head is Simonson's. There's some kind of magical confluence to his writing and his art that just lets you get completely swept up but the grandeur of the story. It's damn fine comic booking that, for it's time, was groundbreaking. The way Simonson uses color and layout and even sound effects, it's just cinematic. I can't wait to dive back into those trades and read more.

Just so we're clear, I still really, really love Thor: The Mighty Avenger. It will always be my first Thor. But this Simonson stuff? I think it's true love.