Friday, July 6, 2007

Book of the week 7/5/07 Thor #1



Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils by Olivier Coipel
Inks by Mark Morales
Colors by Laura Martin
Lettering by Chris Eliopoulos


I have to express right away that I was extremely shocked that I liked this book, I've actually always hated Thor as a character. I mean I thought he was cool in the big battles but I have never bought a Thor book.....until today.

I was intrigued when I heard that Thor had died and like everyone else it was a huge shock when he returned in Civil War.....until it turned out that he was a clone. I wasn't even planning on picking up this issue but I'm a fan of Straczynski and after House of m, I will buy anything drawn by Coipel. And I am ever so happy that I bought this book.

The story revolves around Donald Blake, Thor's alter ego, trying to convince the norse god to come back to earth and that he is needed. The contrast between the two characters as being separate and the same is very well done by Straczynski and Coipel art is just beautiful and poetic.

Fallen Son: Iron man moved me this week but this book made me fall in love with a character that I have previously disliked and it did it all in one issue, to me that gets the nod as the book of the week. Let's hope this team keeps up the great work!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey guys my is Aaron and I've been listing to you guys a little while now when I saw your guys thread on the revision3 iFanboy forums. You guys are fun and are definitely improving is with each podcast. It's a shame really that my first comment has to be a negative one as a checked your guys pick for this week.

On Thor#1

I ah … don't know what happened!? That about sums it up.
That was the main gist of this issue to confuse the reader as much as possible by filling it with dialogue and weird situations.

Thor is in limbo somewhere in his pajamas when he gets disturbed by is alter ego Don Blake or is he Thor’s alter ego? Or are they the same person? Do they even exist?! I don't know and I don't even think that JMS knows!
This whole issue is full of dialogue with double meanings to the extent that I don't even know what the hell they were talking about anymore. A book like this particularly a first issue should be new reader friendly and this was not in the slightest, is this the X-man!? Do I need to know years of continuity in order to understand this book? That's what it seems like as JMS’s job of explaining why Thor is back is a poor one at best, Thor keeps on saying that I've done this and I’ve done that but what he hasn't done is explain why the hell this is happening!

This books only saving grace is the art. Oliver Coipel’s art is excellent, having not seen him since House of M it's great to see his work again. However I can't buy this book on art alone some people can do it but I just can't, I need to have some sort of basic story at least to follow.

JMS I thought was really good at starting things but really bad at finishing them but with this issue he’s proven me wrong.

Sorry to be so negative but I felt very strongly on this issue, I hope you don't take it personally because I like your show.

David said...

Hey Aaron thanks for the comment and no need to be sorry. I understand what you're saying and that the issue was a little confusing but like I said on the podcast I thought it was really poetic and I loved the contrast between Thor and Blake.

But hey I know that it wasn't for everyone.

What was the best book you read last week?

David said...

picked up thor #1 a week late, based partly on my own interest and partly on this pick. i didnt love it, but it was kind of neat. the art was fantastic, and it sort of set the stage for thor's return; in some ways, it felt more like an issue #0, with thor's literal return coming at the book's end. but it didn't bother me - the book honored thor's godhood, and helped to set the tone of what the circumstances of his return are.

i can't tell whether or not the series will be any good, but this was a reasonable introduction. looking forward to #2.