Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Thor, the God of Thunder

Thread could probably do with a renaming, since Coipel left @ #600.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...!

Well I'm enjoying the bi=monthly (tri-monthly? ) Thor series still, quite a bit. I hope Thor remains exiled from Asgard for several issues now without a quick return, and in the meantime, the Sif subplot begins to reach its conclusion.

Too bad Copiel has left, he's really getting better and better with age. But he doesn't seem to stick around in one place which starts to get annoying after awhile.

Who would have thought JMS could do such a damn good job on Thor? Certainly not me. I'm very impressed thus far. I'm waiting until he's done about 20 issues or so and then I will try to read them all right through in one sitting. I suspect they're a lot better even.

Most of the comic news sites have reported JMS leaving Thor over being forced into "event"-type stories. Here's one of the stories from CBR

At least Sif returned before JMS left-- ramifications to follow?

I'm taking this as bad news.

Sure, on the one hand, we'll probably get a more consistently published Thor series. At least we better--I need a monthly comic please.

But man, this is the best Thor has been since...well, since I've been able to read comics off the stands, thats for sure (re: since Simonsin). JMS leaving after only so brief a run sucks because of how good it was. And the knowledge that another crappy Marvel crossover (which 5 out of 6 are) makes it worse.

At least JMS high-profiled Thor enough that he is an intrical part of the MU again, something that he hasn't been for like two decades prior. JMS had somehow despite my doubts managed to erase all worry and make me firmly believe in him as the caretaker to all things Asgard in the MU, and Thor is my favorite Marvel property besides Spider-Man (and I have several that contend for that spot).

In other news, I'm currently rereading the entire Thor run. I just finished Kirby's final stories and beginning Buscema's. They are majestic and amazing as I remembered them--even moreso. They are masterpieces. Maybe I'll start a thread when I have a few minutes to review them in more detail.

Just read the latest Thor and thought it was excellent as usual. Glad the Sif plot was resolved and glad he did it in one issue.

Whenever JMS uses Dr. Strange it is always well done. Bendis needs to take a page from JMS's book.

I'm actually enjoying the storyline with the Oklahoman boy on Asgard. I think ultimately that love story will be crucial to JMS' overall story--if he ever gets to wrap it up.

I think its utterly ridiculous that JMS is leaving the title. What the hell is Marvel thinking? Thor hasn't sold well in decades! For years and years, I thought I was the only Thor fan on the internet besides Mystery Lad and Stealth. Why ruin a good thing for yet another somewhat boring crossover? Ugh.

Also, one of these days I'll do a complete review of Thor's entire 40 year history. Once I catch up on the last two month's comics, I'll return to my reading (I'm at the second Mangog story).

I don't like her new costume, though. Between the choice of pink as the main colour, the plunging neckline and the general..chunkiness of it.

[If you look at the "Encyclopedia Mythologica" Handbook Marvel put out the other week, she's presented there in a costume based more closely on some of her older ones (presumably because they didn't have a reference for the new costume in time) and it actually fits a lot better with Thor's current costume. The fact that, with the dash to stick fur on them, most of the other new costumes don't fit with Thor's at all rankles a bit.]

After the special/annual/whatever it was, I was beginning to think that Sif had disappeared again, inexplicibly. Loki's continued turning up in female form sort of reinforced my doubt.

Thankfully, she and Thor had a nice long conversation and then checked into the same rooming house in Oklahoma- together, but in separate rooms.

The bulk of September's issue, though, dealt with matters in Latveria. Loki's 'gift' to Dr. Doom is quite chilling (though also sort of comical if you also happen to read X-FACTOR).

William of Oklahoma sure went up several notches in my affections. I liked him from his earliest panels, but here- wow, full-fledged heroism, toughness and scrappiness. I hope we get to see more of him in future storylines-- now's the time for some deus ex machina in a title that's crawling with- you know- deuses.

Warriors Three- love reading them... Kelda becomes more and more interesting... all to wrap up the next special/annual/whatever? Surely, folk like William and Kelda and some of the Sooners will figure in the new creators' storylines?

Read the penulminate issue of JMS's run and the quality remains as high as ever. Its too bad Marvel editorial had to screw with a good thing...I'll be sad this run is coming to an end.

I have no idea what the next creative team has in store, but I wish they'd keep the Warriors Three and Sif in Oklahoma for a little while with Don Blake. It seems ripe for possibilities! Obviously, it couldn't last but only one issue isn't enough.

I'm curious how William and Kelda's story will ultimately end. It somehow happened, but I actually care about these characters. Well done.

Having Loki back in his normal body is welcome. No other artist could ever get it right the way Copiel could. Loki's apperances elsewhere in the MU have been painful to look at.

'Boot, I agree about Sif's costume. I'd prefer the one you pointed our myself. It was cool to see her in human clothes. That whole sequence was great (funny and quick so it stayed funny).

JMS's run is now officially over. Way too soon, in one respect and overdue in another. Hopefully, Thor will be blessed with a more regular schedule for a period.

The conclusion to Bill's story <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text"> if conclusion it is, is very sad. He could return fairly seamlessly, though, as he's dragged off by Asgardians. I would've thought this would've been a good place for Valkyrie to appear, as her presence in the MU needs to be tied to this book, at least as a tangent, if nothing else. </span></span>

I haven't read the Doom/Kelda second part of this issue yet.

I enjoyed the Sif/Warriors Three/Thor pages... loved them, in fact. I hope all of these characters make frequent appearances in the MU. The W3 are naturals- they're funny and engaging wherever they appear. In this issue, there's an hilarious bit where Volstagg is naked for a time, with Sif (and others) pointedly staring at what is inferred to be a package fit for a god. Ha!

Sif traditionally felt a measure of disdain and apartness when on Earth... perhaps now, after her stint stuck in an aged body, she'll feel more connected? I think she, as a character, needs to appear in settings other than Asgard for awhile. I'm not even sure what this Sif is a goddess *of* (like Thor's god of thunder). Reading about the non-comic Sif, she's linked to a wide range of attributes (prophecy, grain, marriage, fidelity, swans) none of which I've seen used in conjunction with the comic Sif.

The future of this title has me worried. There's a creative team whose stint is meant to be temporary, a mega-event associated with Asgard (called SIEGE, I'm bracing myself already) and uncertainty beyond that.

It looks like all the Balder/Dr. Doom/Asgard in Latveria stuff will be dealt with.

I want to see Sif kick Loki's big lying butt, I know that. Probably have to settle for Thor or Balder, though.

Well, while JMS's final issue was obviously nothing special and a clear indication that he left exactly in the middle of his story without getting to the ending he wanted to tell (wow they must have really pissed him off), the new creative team has been surprisingly pretty good!

Kieron Gillen is someone I'm not familiar with though I've heard his Phonogram is a good comic (I browsed in the CBS and it looked like a lot of talking heads). But here, his dialogue is spot-on, the story is action-oriented with a good moving plot and overall it continues the spirit of what JMS was doing.

Billy Tan, who I do know, is awesome as always. The art has the explosiveness I expect from him but here it is very dark and moody and I like that--very reflective of what they are going for with Doom and Asgard in Latveria.

Overall, this is a good Doom vs. Asgard story, and one of the better Doom stories these days (of which there seems to be a lot of bad ones lately). I just reread the original Doom vs. Thor story by John Buscema and Gerry Conway in the early 70's, which is funny; I'd say this one is actually better so far so thats high praise.

I'm really glad to see Tyr, whom is a character I've always thought had an intersting roll in the Marvel Norse Mythology, walking the line between brother at arms and enemy of Thor. I hope he sticks around.

I'm also surprised that I actually do care about Kelda and want her to survive. It happened very subtly but that was JMS's plan all along and it worked. I'd like to see more of her going forward.

So far, a great follow-up from JMS after his unfortunate exit.

Gotta hand it to Kieron Gillen. This is possibly the most seamless transition following an outgoing writer with a distinctive 'voice' that I can recall. Great job.

I did think that Volstagg was a touch 'dewy eyed innocent' artwise. Unless this was a Loki-like bit of godly manipulation?

I think the degree to which Seige succeeds will be proportionate to how much the reader buys Volstagg's actions. He's at once the biggest pawn and most pivotal character being used.

It's a nice change to have such a story progressing at this pace-- it's really the only logical way to tell this story, though. Any battle between humans and Asgardians lasting more than hours would be unbelievable.

Gotta ask, though- where's Sif? And Valkyrie? Will Hela be pleased or pissed off at all the rumored Asgardian losses? Will she claim Ares?

Would the Valkyr?

I liked the renditions of floating Asgard and of Kelda, particularly. "Born I was of light and sky, of sunrises and wind." "Are you Bill of the line of Bills?" That was a quietly heartbreaking page.

Gillen's apparently going to deal with this in a fill-in issue of New Mutants of all places.

That issue was 'okay' at best, but if I wasn't already collecting New Mutants, I would have been fine reading it in the store.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying everything Gillen is doing in Thor. I could go into it all again but its largely the same praise I gave the book above. I love the focus on the Warrior's 3, Tyr, Heimdall, Balder, etc. I'm also really enjoying Kelda as part of the cast.

The Siege crossover issues have actually been quite fun. They are all Asgard driven plots anyway so it fits in here seamlessly. While Thor is co-starring in Siege, this actually lets his supporting cast get some screen time so for me its win/win. You really said it, Todd. I couldn't agree more--its like there was no transition at all.

And the artwork is fantastic!

Did anyone pick up the SIF one-shot? I sort of enjoyed it, though it was fairly free of purpose, other than being a part of Marvel's Year of Women (or whatever they're calling it) push to highlight their female characters.

It was good, at least, to see Sif up and around and kicking butt and positioned, now, to be a vital part of the THOR title (assuming she doesn't get pulled into a team title or something- which I'd love!).

The cover looked just like the old MTV cartoon character, AEON FLUX. I was both glad a little disappointed that the inside art didn't follow through.

What happened to her ability to travel through time and space? I haven't seen that referenced in a long, long time. I wonder if her status as chief of Valkyries at the end of the previous THOR series still stands?

It's also been announced that Eaglemoss will be releasing one of their lead statuette/glossy magazine combos featuring Sif sometime in 2011 or 2012. For anyone who's a fan of the character.

I also picked up the Sif one-shot based on my love the character and the Thor mythos and like you say Todd, it was a pretty enjoyable read, though it was largely free of purpose.

It was a solid Sif story and nice to see her in a leading role, as well as a nice follow-up to her strong relationship to Beta Ray Bill & Skuttlebutt. No major surprises or twists, but it was good to see Sif doing battle.

In a way, Sif's own sense of boredom mirror my own in that I too want to see Sif, the Warrior's Three and the rest of Thor's cast off on some wild adventures, whether in fantasy format or science-fiction adventures through space.

At a $3.99 price though you've got to wonder what Marvel was thinking with this. Who would buy it other than the most hardcore Thor fans?

If ever there was the perfect back-up for a comic book it was Tales of Asgard in Thor during the Silver Age, and if they ever did that again, I'd love to see Sif in the lead role, rotating with other Asgardians, particularly when Thor is on Earth having his own adventures.

It's been known for a while that Matt Fraction and Pascual Ferry would be the new Thor team, but now we finally have an official date for their first issue:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26577

I'll buy the first issue for Ferry alone (his art on Adam Strange was outstanding) although the preview is rather underwhelming.

Fraction is more of a question mark to me. His writing runs hot and cold with me, and I don't like the way he comes across in interviews.

I'm cautiously optimistic given that I wasn't thrilled about Guillen coming on and he did a great job.

Is it just me or does Matt Hollingsworth's inks in the preview kind of take a little of Ferry's dynamic away? Ferry's Adam Strange and other works were terrific (he also drew a terrific Superman) and I feel he's gotten only better over time. In that preview, I'm a little worried the inker isn't doing him justice. Something else else I'll keep an eye out for.

Fraction's biggest problem for me is he is not a bad writer, its that so many of his comics are just too bland. Reboot said it best that his Uncanny X-Men is perhaps "the most mediocre comic book on the stands". I think that's a fair criticism.

I like to joke that Fraction is only HALF as good as the hype makes him out to be.

Get it? Fraction, half...tee hee.

[Guys, I just used my new Moderator powers to edit this thread's title. I'm sure you will agree that "Coipel and the Thunder God" hasn't been accurate for awhile! It's been bugging me for a while! ]

Belated thanks, Chief.

Preview of Fraction and Ferry's first issue, due Sept. 22:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27980

unfortunately. Coipel does some rockin' Asgardians.



but this i looking pretty good, bit cartoony ...

^Looks like they're moving away from Coipel's Thor design and back towards the classic look.

<==Not surprised.

THOR's debut...

http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/thor/JIM%20083.jpg