It's great being a Thor fan these days. What with the movie coming and tons of cool hardcovers, statues, action figures, video games, documentaries and bedsheets (?!?) devoted to the hammer-wielding Asgardian. Now, if you have followed this blog (and others that I write in), you'll know that Thor was my favourite character growing up. In fact, his was the only monthly comic that I collected religiously all the way until I was about 16 years old. (Actually, I still can't believe that we're really getting a real THOR movie! The closest we got as kids was that silly Thor and Hulk feature film...)
However, I found that I lost interest in the character since about 8 years ago. The last time I was really excited about Thor was when I picked up the Walt Simonson Visionaries TPB volume one in the early 2000s. I even bought several books on Norse mythology and then locked myself in the local YMCA for an entire weekend just reading about the Norse gods and frost giants and Ragnarok.
Recently, I picked up the "Acts of Vengeance" omnibus and reread the issues of Thor within that humongous collection. Those were the issues that I read as a kid. Tom DeFalco wrote them and Ron Frenz drew them. Thor (and the New Warriors) took on the Juggernaut. Thor shared a common existence with architect Eric Masterson, Hercules (weakened after the ordeals in the "Under Siege" storyline over in the Avengers title) stayed in Eric's house and befriended Eric's son, Kevin Masterson. Loki was masterminding the entire "Acts of Vengeance" on the Marvel-U and finally, Thor discovered the whole plan with the help of Dr. Strange. I found myself rekindling my love for those childhood tales...
Then came the JMS Thor Omnibus that I finally worked up the courage (and cash) to purchase yesterday morning. I have read many reviews praising the JMS run as the best since Simonson's legendary run in the 1980s. However, I have been hesitant in picking it up. I liked the art by Olivier Coipel in "Siege" where he drew Thor, the Warriors Three, Balder, Asgard, etc. But like I said, I just couldn't find it in me to read Thor again. Especially a Thor that I feared was nothing like the one that I grew up reading every month. Reading the first 8 issues collected in this massive volume (the 2 Fantastic Four issues that served as a prologue to the run and issues 1-6 of the new monthly series), I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I enjoyed the book so far. True enough, it does not really feel like the Thor that I used to know. The Thor I grew up with was more jolly and fun - while noble and classy because he spoke Shakespearean! JMS' Thor is more reflective of the times that we live in (as well as the backdrop of the Marvel-U of the past several years - namely, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Disassembled, etc.) In fact, in one issue, JMS pushed the "relevance" card too far and had Thor visit the post-Katrina New Orleans. The issue really didn't work because whenever real-world events get pushed into comicbooks, the characters end up looking irrelevant, absurd and plainly out-of-place. Thankfully, JMS was smart enough to quickly move on to a really cool Thor vs. Iron Man scene that fans have been dying for since Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic did the dastardly deed of cloning Thor during "Civil War". It was hugely satisfying to see Tony at the receiving end of Thor's righteous wrath.
However, there is a deep sadness and loneliness in Thor throughout - like I said, the jolly giant thunderer I once knew really wasn't there anymore. JMS tried to inject in some humour using smalltown quirkiness - specifically the friendly but cranky citizens of Oklahoma (where Thor and the newborn Asgardians suddenly moved in as neighbours). This element worked at times when JMS was not going overboard but at times, it descended into self-referential humour that felt unneeded and distracting.
Another thing is that Dr. Don Blake is back but appears to have a separate existence from Thor - while sharing the same body. It's a bit confusing since we know that Don Blake really is Thor (like Sigurd Jarlsson during Simonson's run) and not like Eric Masterson or that bloke during Dan Jurgens' run. However, Don Blake has very little opportunities to shine at all. The irony is that, he displayed far more character and independent existence when he really was Thor but now that he has a separate existence, his personality is subsumed into Thor's! Or maybe what we really need is another love interest like Jane Foster to make Don Blake step out of Thor's shadow for a while. The most interesting thing to happen to Don Blake so far is that he's now a volunteer doctor with "Doctors Without Borders". Other than that, he's mostly a placeholder and we just wait for the moment every issue when he taps the walking stick and transforms into Thor.
All in all, the first part of JMS' run is worth a read. I've been told that things pick up from issue 7. Will write more once I've finished reading the whole book... :)
