Broken Frontier

With most comic book movies, the series the movie is based on will often be either rebooted or shaken up considerably (often to match the status quo of the film) in an attempt to draw in new readers. It’s not uncommon for these reboots or stories to feel like they have little to do with the previous story, and more to do with the film, but with Marvel’s The Mighty Thor, that is not the case. The Mighty Thor has little to do with this year’s Thor film, and instead directly continues Matt Fraction’s run on the character. While that may not have made it an ideal jumping on point, if you’ve made it to issue two, it’s safe to say that you’re probably going to stick around after this one.

Before I get any further, I have to first talk about Olivier Coipel’s art along with the inks by Mark Morales and coloring by Laura Martin. This book looks absolutely stunning, and I have a hard time believing that if you are interested in Thor, the art alone won’t sell you on the book. Coipel draws Thor with such power, even when he has moments of weakness, that it’s clear why they chose to use his version when designing the movie’s likeness. Coipel’s sense of action is also impeccable, best displayed when Thor defeats a monstrous creature with ease, and the new “Brigade of Realms” do their best to do just that. In short, Coipel invokes stunning imagery that is the new standard for Thor stories.

As long as I could go on about the art, there’s still a book full of characters and dialogue provided by Matt Fraction, and with a mysterious plot unfolding completely separate from Fraction’s current mega-event Fear Itself, it’s clear that this actually takes place before Marvel’s latest crossover. This book centers around three central plots: Thor dealing with the wound he received from the World Tree’s roots in issue #1, Odin’s secret meeting with Heimdall, and the arrival of the Silver Surfer. While it’s a lot of story to tell, it’s handled very well here, with not a single scene feeling rushed, and each character’s motivation strongly delivered by Fraction.

To me, Thor is one of the hardest books to write well in comics. It’s easy to write about him being a god with a hammer and kicking butt, but to make him occasionally seem vulnerable when appropriate, and to make the mysteries surrounding him in Asgard seem relevant, is something of a task. Fraction makes it all work like a charm

Something else I appreciate about Fraction’s Thor is the return of the ‘impetuous warrior’ direction to the character. While it’s nice to see Thor as a purely heroic Avenger, I also like the idea that sometimes he can be brash and cocky, and he sometimes leaps into a fight before it’s absolutely necessary. It’s important to remember while that Thor is an immensely powerful hero of Earth, he’s also a member of a warlike pantheon of gods, and the idea of him always being a jolly person seems a bit out of place.

While The Mighty Thor may not have been the best candidate for a reboot due to its continuing a previous story, it isn’t hard to pick this issue up and see what makes Fraction’s Thor book so good. There’s a lot to like here, and this issue builds momentum towards what should become a big story in the Thunder God’s future, and some big beautiful battles are sure to come.