At No. 9 on the graphic books hardcover best-seller list this week is Volume 1 of “Thor: God of Thunder,†which reprints the first five issues of the latest series devoted to Thor, one of Marvel's top heroes. The series is written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Esad Ribic. The first word to describe the result of this creative team is: Wow.
I've read a bit of Thor in the past, but I've mostly experienced him as one of the many colorful heroes in the Avengers. I never gave his godhood, or his long lifespan, much thought. Thankfully, Mr. Aaron has taken care of that for me in this story arc, introducing a menace known as the God Butcher, who travels across space and dimensions to murder all manner of gods and goddesses. Mr. Aar on has crafted a tale in which Thor confronts this threat at three points in his timeline: a younger, brasher Thor, the modern-day incarnation and one at the twilight of his career. The scope is epic and the stakes are high. The artwork by Mr. Ribic is stunningly beautiful, adept at capturing the quiet moments, the grandeur of the mighty beings being eliminated, and the incredible ferocity of the battles between Thor, in each of the time periods, and the God Butcher.
This volume of Thor is part of Marvel's “NOW†initiative, which restarted many of the company's signature series. The Hulk, Captain America and various groupings of X-Men and Avengers have been nothing short of impressive, and now Thor happily joins those ranks.
As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.
