Thor: God Of Thunder #11

The Team
Writer Jason Aaron Artist Esad Ribic

Thor: God Of Thunder has been a consistently awesome Marvel title ever since it’s initial launch. The threat of the God Killer has always seemed so tangible and likely to happen. While a mythical creature mass murdering other gods is far fetched, what is not is someone killing those we look up to as powerful without any mercy. The design of the character is quite regal and spacious. It is also a complicated one that would like silly in the hands of an artist who is not Esad Ribic. It is the melding of writer Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribic together that make this tale a sight to behold. Another poignant touch is the introduction of the different Thor characters to this story. The three different norse gods have distinct personalities that center around the one of the present. It is fascinating that in old age the protagonist has more in common with his father than he would probably prefer.

Younger Thor proves how arrogant the norse god can be when he rushes into battles without a care. With the three of them standing side by side there is one that sticks about some of the others, present day Thor. The killer of gods distinguished the fact last issue when he called present day titular hero his favorite. The personal touches like that are part of the reason this title shines so brightly. This title also explores the fact when exploring all three the current version of the character rises above. He does not have the character flaws of over confidence that the younger and older versions do. While he may be slightly more naive, the character does indeed mean well.

Then the god bomb exploded and the three fell together. This issue picks up on the aftermath featuring the drama of what happened next. It is an impossible feat to raise the stakes in a manner that this issue does. While editorial at Marvel usually gets in the way of good stories, they encouraged Aaron to flesh this story arc longer. Now that we have reached the conclusion, picturing the pacing done in any other manner would be a greek tragedy. This is the perfect ending to a story that should go down in history as one of the characters best.

This vast adventure story with a personal nature sticks a little more when the art is completely engrossing. Esad Ribic once again proves to readers why the artist is so exceptional with the mythical creatures. His images raise the stakes for the readers and characters. There is not a creative soul on the planet who could draw the God Killer as well as he can. While the penciller’s images do seem static at times, they can also serve as short snapshots of what is really happening. The more regal approach to the artwork here will make this title stand the test of time greatly. The washed out color palette is an inspired art choice that makes the stakes higher in certain ways. It will be a shame to lose the artist going forward into the series.

This is a masterclass in storytelling which caps off an arc that absolutely cannot be missed. It is also a tough act to follow by the great talent attached to the series.