One of the more dissappointing books for me has been Matt Fraction’s “The Mighty Thor”. Thor versus Galactus drawn by Olivier Coipel just screams success. But after a promising first issue the series never gained any strong footing. In fact, it’s been all over the place. For me, the main story has dragged while the two side stories involving Loki and Volstagg haven’t kept my interest. Issue #5 finally provides a taste of what I’ve been wanting from this creative team. Fraction puts together a sturdier more cohesive issue here. The story moves at a crisp and more fluid pace and at last there seems to be a genuine feel of danger. I’m still not sold on the Volstagg story and his conflict with the people of Broxton. It is more subdued and Fraction eases off of the small town Christian stereotype a bit, but it still feels a little weak considering the gravity of the other battle taking place.

It was also good to see Olivier Coipel back in full form. His pencils in the last couple of issues seemed uncharacteristically inconsistent and at times rushed. But here we get some of what makes Coipel great. The large-scaled and beautifully detailed fight sequence between Odin and Galactus offer some of the best panels of this series. We also get some of the same fun and energetic page layouts that Coipel is known for. It’s not a visually perfect issue but, like the story, it’s a step up and a lot closer to what we expect from such an accomplished artist.

I had every intention of dropping this title but for some reason I picked this issue up. I’m glad I did. The book’s cool, polished action sequences are a lot of fun and help cover up the weaker parts of the story. And even with the issue’s strange, head-scratching ending, there’s still potential for the next book. This title still doesn’t seem to be as good as it should, but issue #5 does start moving things in the right direction again.