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December 16 2010

Marvel Comics
Story: Matt Fraction
Art: Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth

I’m sick of this damn scientist. I put up with him in Issue 615, got sick of him in Issue 616, and now I just hope he’s the first person killed when the World Eaters attack. This time, after failing with Volstagg, Thor and Balder, Dr. Solvang pleads his case to Iron Man. At least Iron Man is able to get through to Balder, who finally explains why the Asgardians don’t seem to care. Since Matt Fraction is also the writer for Invincible Iron Man, he has a good handle of the character and it’s a solid scene between the two.

The bulk of this issue, however, deals with Thor’s quest to find his newly-resurrected half-brother, Loki. At the end of the last issue, Thor used the Odinforce to return Loki to the world of the living, for good or ill. He finds Loki in the body of a young street hustler in France; it’s another one of those great character-driven scenes Fraction’s been giving us. Loki has been reborn, but has no memories of his past deeds, merely nightmares of the wrongs he’s done. Thor gives him a second chance, restoring his memories. It doesn’t go exactly right, and Loki is back as a child. It’s almost as if Thor subconsciously brought back the ideal vision of Loki from his fond childhood memories, and not the jealous trickster that boy grew into. With Thor once again in good spirits, maybe he can get to smiting something with Mjolnir in the next issue.

Of course, we have another interlude with Thoth and the World Eaters, this time invading Nidavellir, the realm occupied by the Dwarves. They’re met with no resistance, as almost all the dwarves have fled to Earth, in an attempt to reach the safety of Asgard. With inhabitants of another realm now in Midgard, things are finally starting to come together.

On its own, this is a fantastic issue. The art is as fantastic as ever, perhaps even better, and the scenes with Thor and Loki are definitely some of the best writing Fraction’s done in years. We get just enough of the other aspects of the story to move things along, and it finally looks like some action is on the way. The only problem is with the overall picture is still the pacing. We’re now what I would assume is halfway through Fraction’s first “volume” of Thor, and as good as the writing has been, we still haven’t gotten anywhere. If the first two issues had been combined, leaving this installment intact as the second chapter, I’d be a lot more confident. Still, I can’t complain about the quality here, and I don’t know what Fraction’s plans for Thor are, so maybe the flow of the story thus far fits his overall vision for the title.

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