Thor The Mighty Avenger was, near as I can tell, aiming to be a Thor book for people interested in the character after seeing the first Chris Hemsworth movie, while not exactly sticking to the premise the movie established. Easy entry point, essentially.
Thor is banished to Midgard (ending up in Oklahoma), and separated from Mjolnir. He meets Jane Foster, recently appointed head of the Nordic History department at a local museum, who decides to help the brave (if a little confused) homeless guy. Thor eventually regains Mjolnir, adventures ensue.
Langridge's Thor is young, by Asgardian standards. He remembers visiting Midgard as a child, but didn't think the mortals would remember him (in the book Jane shows him, Samnee draws Thor more like the Jack Kirby design.) He's hot-tempered, impulsive, petulant at times. He spends more issues fighting other heroes - Giant-Man, Captain Britain, Iron Man, Namor - than he does what you could call villains. But he's sweet on Jane, and the two of them sort of dance around the issue. She helps him acclimate to Earth, and he helps cheer her up when she's frustrated by work.
Samnee at this point is a year and change away from working with Mark Waid on Daredevil. He already knows how to draw a fight scene, and how to make Thor look powerful, without overdoing it on the musculature. This isn't Simonson's Thor, or even Ron Frenz', but he's younger, he wouldn't be as bulked up. And Samnee makes him look charming when the scene calls for it, you can see how Jane would be interested even when he just seemed like a kinda crazy homeless guy.
Samnee goes easier on the shadows here, understandably, and Matthew Wilson's colors are brighter here than on that book, too. Even if Thor's on Midgard, there's still an otherworldly, fantastic element to him that should be brighter and more colorful.
The central mystery - which is not resolved before the book ends with issue 8 - is why Thor's been banished to Midgard. He recalls arguing with his dad, and his friends keep making reference to him needing to learn a lesson in humility, but the specifics are lacking. The reason (or a reason, at least) Thor doesn't remember is given at the end, but the gaps aren't filled.
2 comments:
I bought both volumes of this, just before they released a single-volume version with added content. Grr.
It's a lovely book and I would have been quite happy to see more. Langridge's storytelling has a light, whimsical feel that I always enjoy -- I remember quite liking Fing Fang Four too -- but Marvel always sticks him on non-continuity stuff, and that's usually the kiss of death for any chance of ongoing success.
I didn't know there was a collected edition. I bought the two small trades because I remembered Sally at Green Lantern Butts Forever was very fond of the book. I was definitely curious to see what Langridge had planned, or at least learn what it was Thor did that got him banished.
Post a Comment