Thor: God Of Thunder #8

by kanchilr1 on May 13, 2013

Thor: God Of Thunder has always been a cerebral series that takes it’s time to impress it’s readers. This approach has been tried once before with readers in J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor run. This approach worked then and it still works now. Pacing like a slow mystery action title has worked since the very first issue. Speaking of mysteries this entire story-arc is based around the revelation from last issue. Piecing together the plot has been the best part of this series so far. Readers never have a clue what exactly is going to happen. The different generations of Thor and how exactly they relate is a mind bending prophecy that only a scholar could answer at this point.

Even though this title has a very serious tone, writer Jason Aaron is not afraid of injecting humour. Watching two Thor’s venture together throughout time and space has been hilarious, a line about the snoring of the allfather should be enough to leave readers in stitches. When the favored son of Odin introduces himself to a band of runaway gods there is another scene that is chock full of belly laughs.The climax of this issue is beautiful and obvious, yet as a reader I never guessed it. At the end of this issue readers may have a different opinion on who the God Bomb really is. There are time travel stories all over the Marvel Universe right now and it is a testament to the quality of this title that this book manages to stick out amongst the others. A conversation between the son of Gorr and Thor highlights the fact that amongst all of the insane plot conundrums driving this series, the main idea behind it is still simple. A mad god believes that all of the other gods deserve to die. Watching the younger thunder god becoming humbled in that situation is another interesting piece of the puzzle.

Esad Ribic has been delivering the work of his career in these interior pages. Ribic’s art can encompass cerebral talking heads, bombastic action, and earth shattering humour. At times his images are drawn with such detail that they do not flow well as comic book pages, moments like that are still few and far between. His style of drawing is very cinematic and makes the comic feel like a film whenever big spaces are rendered. Many artists would have troubling making these three Thor’s look different, but Ribic’s designs make all three sons of Odin distinct. More importantly the villains of the title look terrifying, the blackness surrounding Gorr and his son is truly menacing. Which is why Ive Svorcina’s colors deserve some applause. The color palette is diverse in each locale of the comic, this is something that would be overlooked in a lesser title.

In the next issue of this series the hammer’s will talk. While this entire chapter was nothing but a simple setup issue, it was completely riveting. Art is truly in the eyes of the beholder and this issue is completely awesome by and beholder willing to take part. There is a storm brewing in these pages you would do yourself a favor by being present.

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside