REVIEW: Thor #615

Thor #615

Written by Matt Fraction

Art by Pasqual Ferry

Colors by Matthew Hollingsworth

Letters by John Workman



$3.99 / 40 Pages / Full Color 



Marvel Comics

Thor #615 sees the start of Matt Fraction's long awaited run, and as he's teased in the months since the announcement, it's all about shaking the World Tree. He's got it by the trunk and the needles are falling. But who knows just what kind of goodies lurk up in those boughs, or just how much sap might sully his vest. It's a big, old tree.

Let's first contend with the 8000lb Frost Giant in the room. There are two Thor ongoings right now (and a pretty compelling mini in the works too), and while this is the in-continuity main title, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee are currently producing one of the most entertaining books under the Marvel banner in My Boyfriend Thor Thor: The Mighty Avenger. It's like the pudding cup in your lunch bag. It's like, Keep your Goldfish crackers, man. This pudding be sublime. Anyways, nobody likes the graham cracker ones anyway. What's your mom even on? So there's bound to be some comparing and contrasting. That said, Thor's pretty versatile, and as much as we love his madcap, all-ages title, the guy's got some chores to do over in the other Marvel.

While the hero of Langridge's book is only about as stubborn as a Mjolnir, Fraction's Thor carries the weight of several worlds. Though the Siege has ended and Osborn paces his prison cell, Thor's world remains in disrepair. Odin's in His REM sleep and all's not so right with Asgard, her noble King Balder so burdened by self doubt, he can barely warm his own throne. There's also the matter of Loki. Gone. Obliterated. Scattered to the winds. He was an adversary, but a brother as well. Thor aches from the absence of the Macaulay Culkin to his Elijah Wood. There's some serious ennui, lending this Scandinavian hero a little more Danish melancholy than Norse ferocity. That dismiss this Thor as humorless though. One of the stronger scenes in this issue sees Thor bickering with his alter ego Donald Blake over custody of their shared physical form. They respect each other, but that doesn't mean they like this arrangement. It's sort of like your parents' divorce, but no extra Christmas. Even Thor's weighty struggles with the loss of Loki and the politics of his Father's kingdom, easy to condemn as maudlin, turn out to be pretty compelling. Thor's an outsider, and shaky new status quo makes for good drama. 

What doesn't quite work, at least at this point, is the inclusion of some cosmic elements. We witness the invasion of the plain known as Alfheim (not to be confused with Melmac) by some Red Guys whose dialogue always ends with a white celestial wisp of some kind. This perhaps signals the beginning of an extradimensional shift hypothesized by a quantum cosmologist back on Midgard named Dr. Eric Solvang. Solvang is the first character we see in this issue, and he's really the only character we see (other than the hint of Dr. Jane Foster) for three pages and 18 panels. I'm fine with talking heads and repeated panels, but even given a bookend punchline at the end of the issue, it's an indulgent stretch of exposition on Fraction's part. Especially seeing as it's the first issue and is a discourse on string theory as it relates to mysticism. Periodic pauses for jokes aside, it's a lot of telling. Not a remarkably strong introduction for Pasqual Ferry's art either, which doesn't really blossom until we reach the vibrant and snowy world of Alfheim. Ferry's art is lush and otherworldly, perfect for those alternate dimensions. He does a pretty decent Thor too, though those Asgardian pages lack the gravity of Coipel's recent run. With so much of the story harkening back to the beginning of this new chapter and JMS's arc, it's difficult not to look for that visual flair. This is much more whimsical though, and with time, there might be some warming up to do. As for right now, it's not readily apparent that the creative team gels. Fraction is introducing hard science, not just the trippy sci-fi of Simonson's run, but something a ways more serious and heady. Do Ferry's lithe and fantastical figures ultimately complement that vision?

This is an ambitious start with some compelling themes, headier than the other Thor ongoing, but is it venturing too far in the opposite direction? Does Thor operate as successfully in a world similar to Tony Stark's? There's a storm brewing, and after a night's sleep and a second reading, I'm willing to ride it out a bit longer. It's a big, old tree after all. 

Story: 3   Art: 3    Overall: 3