Customer Reviews

Thor, Vol. 3

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

J. Michael Straczynski came onto "Thor" with the launch of the current volume (after twelve issues renumbered to continue the combined numberings of all previous volumes), and now, after 16 issues, it concludes in this volume, which collects issues 601-603 and the "Defining Moments" special (which is effectively #604). The previous two volumes were generally of good quality, albeit with flaws, and unfortunately the final one brings out many of the least-appealing aspects of Straczynski's time on the book. Some spoilers follow.

Straczynski's departure from the book occurred, for those not aware, as a result of differences with Marvel editorial. Straczynski generally prefers to work in his own corner, and one condition of his writing the title was that Marvel would give him eight issues free of any outside interference. He got that; nearly double that, in fact. But when planning began for "Siege", a major storyline that would heavily involve Thor and his mythos, Straczysnki bowed out, leaving Marvel scrambling to find someone else to write the title in the leadup period (the ball was eventually picked up by Kieron Gillen, very capably I might add).

This volume picks up from the previous one, with Thor exiled with a broken hammer following the death of his grandfather Bor, an incident that occurred because of Loki's manipulations. Loki, with the ear of the new king, Balder, continues to play everyone like a fiddle, convincing everyone else to move to Latveria, home of his ally Dr. Doom. Several plots are resolved here, such as Thor's girlfriend Sif being missing, albeit somewhat abruptly. However, others are not, and when JMS departs the book, he leaves the Asgardians in midstream in Latveria, albeit with a sense that a corner has been turned that could almost pass for a real conclusion. Meanwhile, the story of the romance between Bill, a short-order cook from Oklahoma, and Kelda, one of the Asgardians, comes to a head.

Many of JMS' weaknesse come to the fore here, particularly the extent to which Thor (the main character) and Balder are written as extremely stupid and incompetent for the dual purpose of making Loki look brilliant and allowing Bill a shot at heroism. Very little of this story should really have happened, nor could it without people inexplicably confiding and trusting Loki when they should know much better by now, and an heretofore unnoticed excessive petty legalism among Asgardians that defies common sense. Thor is remarkably passive and unexplored as a a lead character; the return of Sif, which you'd think would be a big deal, elicits only a single page of followup, and Thor is reduced to small cameos in the final two issues of the run. The one area where the book does not fall down is the art of Marko Djurdjevic, which is excellent as usual.

Rather disappointing, but I would encourage people to check out Gillen's followup, which manages to bring faster pacing, a more competent Balder, and Thor in his proper place at the center of the action.

"Thor, Volume 3"
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
(Marvel Comics, 2010)
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J. Michael Straczynski, in revamping the literally moribund "Thor" franchise, did a good job revitalizing Marvel's Asgardian mythology... Over the years, Thor has been one of the most problematic Marvel titles, suffering mainly from a too-super protagonist and a frequent lack of inspired writing: perhaps the editors were right to have killed Thor off a few years back. Nonetheless, in his brief run (which closes with this volume), Straczynski joins Walt Simonson and the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby team in crafting one of the truly great versions of this iconic hero. Although the plot drifted a bit in the last few issues, this was a fine, evocative story arc. Unfortunately, Straczynski left some balls up in the air (what, exactly, happens with Loki and Doc Doom?) but it's nice to see someone take the character serious for once. I wouldn't have minded reading more from JMS, but I'll still check out v.4 to see what happens next. Make Mine Marvel! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

I purchased this as a birthday gift for my son, who is a HUGE Thor addict... The book is truly a work of art. Beautiful, top quality pictures and paper. I also purchased Vols 1 and 2. He was very pleased. Would recommend this to any Thor fan.

I was very sad to see Straczynski's run come to a close. He was my favorite Thor writer, and his series is my favorite comic series to this date. Really it's this series and then Walking Dead at close second. I hear complaints that this is too short, for which I agree with. However, I do not believe length should make or break a comic. Straczynski's small third volume is fantastic through and through. Nearly every plot point is concluded subtlely, yet with power and emotion. I nearly broke down at the end of the hardcover due to its reign on my emotions. This is a really strong conclusion with twists that do justice to the previous volumes. All characters get great panel time and I'm left longing for so much more. Does the length upset me? If I'm dying for more I don't think I can bring myself to give it anything less than 5 stars. The Latveria storyline will continue in the next trade with the absense of JMS. Its very heartbreaking to see him go, but there's enough here to see him go on a happy note.

Another significant change in this trade is the art. Yes, he is not as good as Coipel. Where did Coipel go? They were such a perfect match, because the tone matched the art. The new artist Marko Djurdjevic is ok, but I see some real flaws in some of his panels. There's one in particular where a certain female looks like an action figure hopping out of a diner. After you read this you'll see it and agree with me. The artist needs to look back at who originally drew this masterpiece and live up to it.

Beside it being short, and short of Coipel, Volume three is amazing. If you wanted to see all the incomplete elements of the first volumes come together in one amazing beautiful circle, here it is. Bring tissues.

All of you who enjoyed the epic, fantastic reinvention of Thor by M. Straczynski into the modern era will like to see how this author brings together a few of his ideas and inventions into the final issues of his run on the character... overall, it is a real pity that Straczynski got tired of Thor so early, even if vol. 1 and 2 are far better than this last conclusion. Great points include the ends for the Bill (William III) / Kelda storyline, the return of Sif and the climax finale, which I won't reveal yet. The major delusions come from the fact that, simply said, too many threads developed by Straczynski do not come to an end, but rather stay unsolved for the next author to complete... (let's hope for the best!). Asgardians stay where they are, Thor is a convicted exile as he was, Loki stays unpunished as always was (can someone of you guys tell me WHY, after decades of treason and deceivement, Loki is STILL part of the "royal" family in Asgard? Haven't these people known what kind of villain he is? Come on!!! Bring on ANOTHER villain! Make something new!).
The art is great, although there are few memorable scenes in these last 4 issues. Overall, it is worth reading only TOGETHER WITH vol. 1 an 2, to complete Straczynski run (an exeptional one, if you consider voll. 1 and 2!) on Thor.

Perhaps I expected too much from this third volume. Perhaps, after being spoiled by the wondrous talents of both JMS and Coipel in volumes 1&2, I had expected just as much if not more of a spectacle in these final issues. Yet, after putting Thor, Vol. 3 down, I couldn't help but feel disappointment.

There are only a few reason why I feel such a way with the most prominent being 1) The Length of the volume and 2) The change of Artwork.

1) The Length of the Volume:
Now, this isn't to say that Thor, Vol. 3 is the size of a single issue but for a third volume which costs just as much as its predecessors (or at least in the same $15-$25 range) I couldn't help but feel that this volume was exceptionally shorter than the others. Sure enough, I was right. Thor Vol.1 being short itself still comes in at 160 pages (amazon.com) and Thor Vol. 2 comes in at a strong 200 pages (amazon.com). What does Thor Vol. 3 offer? A measly 112 pages (and quite a bit is cover art and random Bios on Loki & Sif along with a list of Thor collections...obvious filler). Again, after finishing the third volume I thought would it not have been a better idea to simply make two decent sized volumes? I mean really looking at it, simply make Thor Vol. 1&2 at 236 pages each and voila, it's a perfect fit (no really...all volumes add up to 472 divide that by 2 = 236). But of course, I must accept the fact that there isn't as much money in cutting out an entire volume but hey, I'd have gladly payed around $30 each for 2 big volumes. Oh well, just my opinion. But more importantly, because of the short length, this third volume just comes off as a wrap up one. So much happened in volume 2 that this one simply acts as a way to tie up any loose ends (although some argue JMS failed at this but I think he did a wonderful job with everything) and in doing so, it simply just falls flat.

2) The Change of Artwork:
I had become so accustomed to seeing Olivier Coipel's wonderfully drawn characters, his vast settings and his polished/cleaned drawings that I almost couldn't picture Thor in any other way. Now, with this third volume, Coipel is no more and instead, we are given Marko Djurdjevic. Now, Marko is by no means bad, in fact he is quite the opposite, but for me, his work in Volume 2 was incredible and yet in this volume it seems...different. His lines are messy, almost giving a gritty look to everything (which in the case of this story-line's end seems to work in its favor) and he keeps up with Coipel's ability to keep the vast scenery in check. Marko changes the appearances of some of the characters (Thor, Fandral, Bill etc.) I suppose to make them his own but, and of course this is just how I feel, but in the end I felt cheated. I really liked how Coipel drew these characters (Bill had that innocent/naive face, Fandral looked dashing and Thor was wide/powerful with an almost lion like face) yet Marko, with his sharp and sketchy lines changes all that. Again, I really liked Marko's work on the vol. 2's issue where Thor and Odin fight off the ever-resurrecting Surtur but for some reason, these issues don't come anywhere near as good and I'm not entirely sure why that is. Another specific thing that bothered me was that Volstagg appeared to be not only large in his waist, but in his height, towering over his Warriors Three brethren in past issues. Now, he's the same height (Hogun appears taller at some points) and at one point seems just as tall as an average mortal. What the hell?! Fortunately, we are given a glimpse of just why Volstagg is worthy of his reputation when he destroys some doom bots but taking away his tall stature made him seem less impressive.


All in all, Thor Vol. 3 is the end of the great JMS run on Thor and although I find it to be too short to justify a third volume and the change of artists really isn't my cup of tea, the story itself finally gets a much deserved ending and for that alone, I'd at least recommend reading this. Or, if you're like me and just want the JMS Thor collection, by all means buy it.

Thor is Best Comic on the Market by far,and especially with a price tag of 3.99 for a single comic i just gave up and will only collect trades from now on,as for the story,you can't beat it.as powerful as he is Thor still has trouble with everyone from Dr.Doom To Loki the Drama is intense and the art is Beautiful accept for Olivier Coipel who has the worst art ever

If you are a Thor fan this is a well written, well illustrated must have. Hopefully marvel will stick to the story line and not spin it off ad nauseum to multiple alternates and one shots.

Sorry. This leaden comic completing a 3 vol run on Thor is not interesting.

In Thor's absence, Baldur reigns over Asgard and due to lease and real estate renewal issues, he is persuaded by Loki to shift Asgard from mid America to Latveria, because Dr Doom offered them greener pastures. Loki regains his maleness because, and get this, he had been inhabiting Sif's body. The dying woman in the hospital was the wrong body host for Sif's soul and just in time, Loki switches to a man and Sif gets her superb body back.

A side issue has the local yokel who follows his beloved Asgardian handmaiden to Latveria, uncovers an evil plot by Dr Doom and Loki, and eventually gets killed off by other Asgardian thugs.

2 stars for the nice drawings.