Comic Info
Comic Name: The Mighty Thor (Volume 1)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Oliver Coipel/Khoi Pham
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2011
The Mighty Thor (1) #3
Reprints Mighty Thor (1) #1-6 (June 2011-November 2011). Asgard is rebuilding and a new danger is growing. The Asgardians have something that Galactus wants and the Silver Surfer has been ordered to collect it at any cost. Thor is about ready to lead the Asgardians to war against Galactus and the universe will tremble. Plus, the people of Braxton have had enough of the Asgardians, and Father Mike questions if they are truly gods on Earth.
Written by Matt Fraction, The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 1 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. The series follows the events of Siege and the run by J. Michael Straczynski and features art by Olivier Coipel and Khoi Pham.
I wasn’t a big fan of J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor. It had moments, but overall it felt kind of derivative of some of the storylines that came before him. Fraction is given the remains of Straczynski’s storyline and now must sculpt something new…but instead it feels a bit like more of the same.
The story is a Galactus story and that is good. Thor and Galactus have a long history with Thor seeking Galactus early on in his first book. Galactus is a bit of a god himself and it is interesting to see him face off against other gods (and those who can actually hurt him). The Galactus storyline however is kind of garbled and the whole collection almost feels like an alternate Earth since it doesn’t feel like it ties in enough with events leading up to the story and following the story (like the fact Galactus gets a new Herald and he barely ever shows up or is mentioned afterwards…when a new Herald used to be a big deal).
The Mighty Thor (1) #5
The second storyline that runs through the book is the people of Braxton which ties more into the Straczynski storyline. Asgard above Oklahoma never worked for me and the attempts to humanize the gods always fell flat. The people of Braxton (again) decide they are tired of Asgard and go to war with Volstagg about banning Asgardians from their property. It is a simple storyline that feels like it has too much time devoted to it in this collection. It also feels like this whole issue had been handled before and in different ways. I realize that the conflict wouldn’t be over that easy in real life, but it doesn’t feel like it needs to be explored so many times with very similar results.
The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 1 has the opportunity to get Thor rolling again, but it feels like it stalls instead. With Thor and the Asgardians hanging over the United States and a threat like Galactus coming to Earth, it feels like it needs to be more rooted in the Marvel Universe instead of less rooted. The events are too big to be ignored by other teams and superheroes, and while Thor could have easily taken the lead, it doesn’t seem to have much substance as a result. Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 1 is followed by Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 2.
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