Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Astonishing Thor #1

By Hervé St-Louis
November 27, 2010 - 15:22

Thor must travel to the farthest reaches of the solar system to stop the planet Ego from entering the system and disturbing the balance of the weather on Earth. But Ego is there on a mission which affects his destiny and the Stranger does not want Thor to interfere. What does the goddess Zephyr has to do with this situation?

Do we need another Thor series? Of course not. This series exist only because there is a Thor movie that set for 2011. Marvel Comics always does things like that to drum up sales and the visibility of the characters set for a movie appearance. In theory, the comic books are meant to be a special introduction to Thor for casual readers because the numbering is so low. Starting the series now also gives enough lead for Marvel Comics to publish a six-issue trade paperback collection of the comic book just in time for the movie’s release. Marvel Comics continues to think that casual readers still want to read comic books after having seen them off the screen. For some comic books this is true. For Watchmen, the comic book experience became, thanks to good marketing by DC Comics, an important step before jumping to the movie edition. With Thor, there’s no parallel. Whatever story is told will rehash some aspects of many Thor stories. There is nothing definitive about Thor. Between the regular Thor series, and Thor the Mighty Avenger, I don’t understand where Astonishing Thor fits. The regular Thor series follows the life of Thor and is the current title to read. Thor the Mighty Avenger is set in a parallel universe and is much lighter and funnier. It’s also a perfect book for kids. I have no idea what Astonishing Thor is about. The story could easily have been published as a special story arc in the regular Thor series.

Still the story was intriguing and set Thor against cosmic opponents we haven’t seen in a while. I didn’t know that Thor could survive in space without breathing. Visually, the story was strong and beautiful. Ego seemed bigger than the last time I saw him in Quasar or something similar. However, I liked how he looked in this issue and much more a living planet than a floating head.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12