Thor God of Thunder #2

One of the regular customers who patronizes the comic shop I work at once remarked that Thor is only good when the mythological aspects are played up over the Avenger side of the hero.  My girlfriend made a very similar comment when she observed that part of reason she enjoys Thor over other superheroes is because Thor is just Thor; there is none of the secret identity subterfuge that comes with other comic characters.  And maybe this is why the second issue of Jason Aaron’s Thor God of Thunder is so wildly good:  it is just Thor being Thor.

So many of Marvel’s reboot/not-a-reboot titles in the Marvel Now! experiment have still been utterly dependent upon old continuity and a shared knowledge of what had previously happened to these characters before their new titles began.  For Thor however, none of these restrictions apply.  The previous issue launched readers into a new story that required no knowledge of Thor or his universe other than this:  Thor is a complete and utter bad-ass. 

Jason Aaron manages to present a story in three parts that while examining the past, present, and future of a character still manages to show development and progress with our titular hero.  It is an absolutely fantastic approach to story telling that we just do not see in comics too often.  But the innovative narrative of Thor God of Thunder is not all the Aaron is bringing to the latest iteration of the hero of Asgard.  Readers get to know Thor, especially the young Thor, so organically and so fully that I feel a little silly trying to sum up the deftness with which Aaron accomplishes this feat.  But know this:  there is not a line of dialogue in this comic that does not add to our understanding of Thor.  It is just an absolutely stunning job of putting a character into a situation and letting readers get to know and become fond of said character.  If I ramble it is because Jason Aaron has truly left me speechless.  This is just more fun in a comic than I can handle.

Part of the surprisingly wonderful aspect of the second issue of Thor God of Thunder is the continued mastery of Esad Ribic on art duties.  I have to preface my statements on the artwork in this book by noting that I very rarely enjoy the painted European style found in this book.  While the painted look that Ribic employs almost always looks gorgeous on covers, it can fall flat and hollow when it is used sequentially.  But there is something soft and malleable to Ribic’s work here that lends itself perfectly to this story.  It all seems to be composed behind the fog of memory.  I love it.  His Thor is expressive; you get the cockiness and brashness even without following the dialogue laid out.  There isn’t anything about Ribic’s work that doesn’t work with the story that Aaron is plotting in the pages of this book.

If you passed on the first issue of Aaron and Ribic’s Thor, do not worry about it.  You heard me right.  Do not worry about chasing down the issue.  Just get issue two.  No matter what you do, get issue two.  This is the cream of the crop as far as Marvel Now! is concerned and if you pass on Thor God of Thunder #2  you are missing out on one of the best efforts one of comic’s best creators has put forth to date.