Customer Reviews

Thor: Vikings (Max)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have followed the Thor series off and on since encountering it as a kid back in the late 60's, but I was quite stunned to see this shockingly offbeat, but utterly engrossing, take on the Thor universe from Marvel's "mature" imprint, Max. This series is as graphic in its depiction of violence as I've ever seen from a mainstream publisher and even underground grue legend S. Clay Wilson will feel like he's been outdone in some areas ! But no matter how over-the-top the violence is, it's integral to the storyline, in which a boatload of Undead vikings arrives in NYC to loot, rape, and murder to their heart's content. Thor's initial encounter with Jaeckelson, the viking leader, is memorable in its brutality and leaves the reader feeling like they've been punched in the stomach. The ensuing chapters detail Thor's collaboration with other Marvel universe heroes, and their efforts to defeat the onslaught. They also introduce some memorable new characters that I, for one, would like to see appearing in a sequel (?) at one time or another.

Glenn Fabry's artwork, while sometimes a bit awkward in rendering human forms in action, succeeds quite well in capturing the apocalyptic tone of the story. Whether focusing on up-close action involving hand-to-hand combat, or aerial battles that offer a relatively drastic change in perspective, the immediacy of the struggle between Thor and his adversaries is effectively communicated without being so cluttered or self-consciously "artistic" that the reader is left peering at the page and trying to puzzle out exactly what's happening. In light of how pervasive the cartoony, expressionistic style of comic art is nowadays, Fabry's straightforward, realistic draftsmanship is exactly what's required to give Ennis's plot the graphic intensity it needs.

Forget the overwrought, encrusted, heavy-handed melodrama so typical of much of Marvel's output over the past two decades. Thor: Vikings is an unadorned battle between good and evil and never shies from revealing how violent and cruel such a primeval conflict can be. The intensity of the conflict is relieved every now and then by some black humor, but upon finishing the book there was no avoiding the feeling that I'd just been treated to the Battle Royale of the Marvel universe.

Thor: Vikings is very far from being the best Garth Ennis (Preacher, Hellblazer, Punisher) has to offer; it's an insignificantly entertaining action comic at best. Still, it shines with Garth Ennis's bleak and self-aware sense of the absurd, and even if it lacks severely in plot and characters, it's still a fun read, written with some wit and humor, with some wonderfully crafted action sequences. Ennis clearly had lots of fun with Vikings, and he completely let go with the absurd and ridiculously bloody violence and gore that he so loves.

The simplistic story is helped along by fantastic artwork by Glenn Fabry. Fabry is one of the most crafty masters of anatomy in the field (he even wrote a couple of instructive books for drawing muscles and human forms) and his highly detailed and sensitive art compliments the action scenes; it works particularly well in the wide, crowded panels, where Glenn gives as much attention to each and every bloody detail as he does to the overall compositions. The page layouts are fantastically dynamic, and all of that makes Thor: Vikings a quick and fun read that grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let go till the last pages. It's far from being a masterpiece, and it's certainly among Garth Ennis's lesser creations, but it's worth the effort for fans of Ennis's and of Thor's, and for those who enjoy well crafted and highly violent fight sequences.

Collecting the five issue mini-series by our favorite mad Irishmen scribe Garth Ennis (Punisher, Preacher); Thor: Vikings finds the classic Marvel hero defending modern day New York City from an immortal clan of blood thirsty vikings. The storyline and presentation is pure Ennis style mayhem: loads of bloody violence combined with an outrageous sense of dark humor; a combination which made his works on The Punisher, Fury, and Preacher so sucessful. The art by Preacher cover artist Glenn Fabry is more than solid artwork, though Darick Robertson (who did the art for Ennis' Fury and the recent Punisher: Born) would have been a better choice to illustrate all the bloody carnage. While Thor: Vikings is a great read to be sure, it doesn't strike the same gold as Ennis' previous works, but it doesn't try to either. All in all, fans of the great Garth Ennis should check this out.

First off this is my first Amazon Review. This book was so awesome I feel it deserves that. I will first post the issue I had with it. First Thor wasn't as tall or muscular as his character should be. He is portrayed to be tall, but not as tall or muscular as the Thunder God is portrayed universally in his comic. He stands as tall as a normal tall Nordic man, and more lean then truly muscular, and some tall Nordic types in the book are even taller then him. Second the implication that a botched rune magic gone empower up a damnation spell and make an individual mightier then the Mightiest God of Asgard strikes me as a bit wrong. And third I would have liked a bit more development explaining how the Knight Magnus accepted a pagan god as a noble and true ally. It makes sense for him to potentially do so, but it feels like they just cut that part. Last and perhaps most important is their is a page of political satire that just feels completely out of place. For one thing it is too over the top to the point of bringing out of the story, after the book did such a good job of bringing me under its spell. Second I prefer to keep politics out of the story. I like it when it is part of a story, after all Captain America has done great stories about that, but this just felt inserted and unnecessary, as if it was pointlessly trying to divide the readers of the book.

I would also mention the superhero response besides Thor to the situation is handled only in one page, but I can accept that as it is meant as a limited series Thor comic. Honestly if this was even an issue or two longer I think it would be nigh unto perfect!

Now back to the good part!

By the Beard of Odin this was magnificent. Be warned it is ultra brutal, but it literally brought a tear to my eye by the last page along with that oh so appropriate shiver you get when something is cool. Seriously if you can handle the violence and implication of sinister undying Vikings sailing to rape and pillage Manhattan and then the Continent entire, then read this! This is Perfect for Halloween!

The feeling from reading the book from the beginning to end, and the satisfaction I got from it afterwards erased any complaints I had about the book, and justifies a 5 star rating instead of a 4 star rating. I sincerely would have wished he designed this as a 10 issue mini series rather then a 5 issue, and Hell even one more issue would have been sooo satisfactory! I could not stop reading it after I started! That is a great sign of a comic. I just had to know how things would turn out after you saw the first appearance of Thor. Let me just say he get his wrists broken and it goes downhill from there. You just have to read to finish the story, and it takes exciting turns when they bring aboard three new characters halfway through the series. Verily this is a worthy read!

And Thor just added a new phrase to my Gordon Parlance! Tis On!

First off, I'm a big Garth Ennis fan. Glen Fabry is also an excellent artist, but...his rendition of Thor isn't quite good. What we have here is some skinny-long hair-hippie that poses as Thor. Did the artist do this on purpose? Did Ennis tell him to draw Thor in this weak-looking stature? I think he did, because it was more humorous than straight drama-action.

The story - well, what can you say from Ennis? His stuff is totally out there and he continues it with Thor. I love the fact that we can go all crazy with Thor as a character and total mayhem! You will not see something like this in the regular Marvel Universe! It was a fun read if you want to see a Thor series that's totally out of character!

Do I recommend that you buy it? If you're a Thor fan, go for it. Just to see something different. Ennis brought something different to the table and it almost work. Not his greatest stuff, but fun to look and laugh about it.

Ennis keeps it straight and simple. No need to know all the intricate details about Thor's continuity. No need to buy all the Thor back issues by Walt Simonson to make heads or tails of the story. No need to buy a bloody Marvel Encyclopaedia hardcover to get background info on Asgard, Don Blake and the Thunder God's supporting cast. And screw Beta-Ray Bill's horse face already! All you know need to know is that Thor is going to get thy mighty ass kicked by zombie Vikings who live for the sole purpose of raping & pillaging.

The plot has the same effect of cranking up the classic Sex Pistols' album, Never Mind The Bollocks, at a party filled with virgin teenagers who adorn their walls with posters of Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias & Britney Spears. The dialogue is maniacally hilarious while the characters make Hannibal Lector look like a girl scout. If you are easily offended, faint of heart and believe that the bland, gutless writing style of a Geoff Johns is what will save the industry, then I suggest you crawl back into your parents' basement and await the next issue of Superman. The industry needs more talent like Ennis to shake its creative status quo. Enough of catering to the weak, feeble minded geekazoids already!

Glenn Fabry's painted artwork is always stellar but I have never been awe struck by his pencilling style. The interior pages of Daredevil: The Target & The Authority: Kev lack the intensity of his Preacher and Hellblazer covers. I expected to be disappointed by Fabry's pencilled renderings again but this time around, I am pleasantly surprised by the realistically portrayed details and background work within the interior pages of the comic.

What is also a vast improvement on Fabry's behalf is his storytelling skills. The panel designs make for a clear and concise flow of the script while the cinematic angles are dynamic enough to give Ennis' script the solid visual that it deserves. Paul Monts' coloring cannot be overlooked. His skills and hues brings a rich texture and depth to the final art work.

Thor: Vikings is a breath of fresh air from the diarrhoea type plot lines that have been constantly regurgitated in the character's ongoing series for the past 15 years. Finally, a different approach has been taken to tell a Thor story. One where the name of the game is to actually entertain the audience with a healthy dose of over the top action. After all, Marvel Comics' Thor is a super-hero character ... not a soap opera one!

First, what's good:
The artwork is amazing! Glen Fabry does a great job, very detailed stuff.

What's bad:
The story is like a B-movie script. Something the robots on Mystery Science Theater 3000 would have a field day with. It's just plain hokey. About the violence/gore, I don't mind it if there's a good story that requires it. We don't have that here. Too many severed heads! And the evil zombie Vikings look like something out of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Kinda goofy.

I bought this book after reading Garth Ennis' "Preacher" series (a fantastic set of books that you should buy), so I had my hopes up really high.

Check out Ennis' "Fury" book, about an aging, cranky Nick Fury. I enjoyed that book much more than Ennis' attempt at a Thor book. His newer MAX run on "Punisher" has been good too.

THOR: VIKINGS plays so loosely with the Marvel Universe that I'm hard pressed to see how it was even conceived of in the first place. Once again, Garth Ennis sullies a mainstream Marvel character with his standard shock-value writing style, apparently thinking that he's still writing Preacher, instead of Thor, Nick Fury, Punisher, etc. It must be too much to ask for him to do some research on these characters and fit his story to them, instead of forcing them to fit his story.

Anyway, at first glance, the plot is pretty good: Thor and Dr. Strange snatch 3 warriors from various historical periods to help them fight a crew of zombie vikings that have invaded Manhattan. I'm not in the mood to go any further than that, so on to the problems: first, the situation depicted in this book is so huge, so catastrophic, so unbelievably traumatic, that it's absurd to present it as just a Thor story, rather than a story involving the entire superhero (and even supervillain) population of Manhattan. I mean, thousands of people are being killed, eaten, raped, etc., and to only show one panel featuring the rest of the Avengers among the struggle is pretty odd. Then, Thor is ridiculously underpowered for a Norse god - even one that is faced with a curse gone wrong - and he only gets the power to fight back after Dr. Strange gives him a magic potion??? Come on: Thor has stood toe to toe with the major powers of the Marvel Universe, yet he gets tossed around by a dead guy! Furthermore, Dr. Strange is portrayed as an arrogant snob (okay, he used to be, BEFORE he became the Sorcerer Supreme), and he's written just like John Constantine. Finally, the warriors recruited by Thor and Strange seem oddly at peace with the situation, especially the Teutonic Knight, who is shown to have no mercy for those not on the side of Christ - then why would he throw in with a Norse god and a sorcerer? So, too many continuity-based and logistical problems ruin this story for me. It could have benefited from some serious rewriting and editing. Glen Fabry's art is excellent, as always - it's really nice to see him back doing some interior work instead of covers, and it's the only thing that saves this collection. Still, my high regard for Walter Simonson's work on Thor won't let me rate it higher than 2 stars.

First off let me say that the best thing about this trade is the artwork, which is gorgeous, and if you're a fan of Glenn Fabry it's not to be missed. However the story is pretty tame/lame, and the things in the story that make the MAX label warranted seem like extranous Ennis-isms thrown in just because they could. Certainly not your normal Thor/Dr. Strange tale as it carries much more of an elseworlds/mature theme to it, but that doesn't change the fact that after the first chapter there's nothing particularly great here.

Ok i love gore and action but i need more than just that, here we have five issues collected (the whole mini series) and Ennis just tries to pack as much gore as he can, the problem with Ennis..he can't handle too much freedom, he is like a kid in a candy store, he tries to see how far he can go and forgets to add anything important like a good story into the mix.

buy the Jerguns or Simonson Thor trades, money well spent for stories with high adventure and a story as well.