Thor #3 Review

by Nick Devonald on February 12, 2020

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Nic Klein
Colors: Matt Wilson
Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino

Donny Cates has mentioned in the past how much he’s wanted to do a Thor series. Only three issues in and we can see that he was meant to do this. He’s giving it his all and firing on all cylinders and this series is already a winner. It helps he’s joined by Nic Klein who’s art is phenomenal and Matt Wilson coloring which makes for a winning creative team.

The first three pages of this comic are epic. That’s the best way to describe them. It sums up Thor so well, showing us Cates’ grasp on the character, and then leads us naturally into the events from the last issue. Beta Ray Bill versus Thor. While not the first time these two have butted heads this still promises to be incredible. Superhero vs superhero are a staple of comics, with heroes fighting each other for the most ridiculous of reasons. Cates has managed to get a confrontation between these two in such a natural way it doesn’t feel forced at all. And the showdown is just as awesome as you would expect.

That’s one of the many, many strengths of Cates’ writing. Not only does he build up to the most incredible situations he then proceeds to deliver despite our high expectations. Another are the cliffhangers he leaves us with at the end of each issue (I literally just commented on this on another Cates’ review for Venom, also released today. You can check out that review here). He always leaves us desperate for the next issue, and then somehow he manages to up the stakes yet again by the end of the next one. I’m in awe of his writing.

This review has focused a lot on Donny Cates but it’s time to give Nic Klein his share of the praise. His art is up there amongst the best in the industry bar none. There’s a two page spread at the beginning of this issue that I would love to display on the wall it’s truly outstanding. It needs to be seen to be believed. It’s one of those pages where you could spend hours appreciating all the skill that’s gone into producing this. I would love to see some more legendary battles like the one shown here. Truly, truly awe-inspiring.

And that’s just the first of many, many moments like this where you can’t believe how good he is. This issue is almost all nonstop fighting throughout and Klein pulls it off with ease. A lot of artists lose that attention to detail during battles to focus on the combat itself, not so with Klein. Each frame is rendered in excruciating detail. Every time I open a new issue of Thor I am in awe of the level of detail that goes into his work.

Of course every good artist needs a good colorist to make the most of their work and that’s exactly what we have here with Matt Wilson. There is nothing subtle in the colors here and that’s exactly how it’s intended to be. Brilliant.

With the creative team of Donny Cates, Nic Klein and Matt Wilson we were obviously going to be onto a winner. The amount of love and passion the three of them have for this project is abundantly clear. This is shaping up to be one of, if not THE, best runs on Thor. And I can say this with certainty despite only being three issues in. That’s how good it is.

Our Score:

10/10

A Look Inside