Comic Info
Comic Name: The Mighty Thor (Volume 1)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Barry Kitson/Jay Leisten/Pepe Larraz
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2012
The Mighty Thor (1) #14
Reprints Mighty Thor (1) #12.1 and #13-17 (June 2012-September 2012). Thor is alive again, but quickly tested with a new threat. Deep under Asgardia, there is a secret long hidden away by Odin that threatens not only Asgard but the world. Thor has accidentally released the Mares and the Mares could plunge the world into a never-ending nightmare. Plus, Donald Blake was Thor…or wasn’t he? With the help of Amara the Enchantress, Blake hopes to get his past glory back!
Written by Matt Fraction, The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 3 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book. Following The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 2, the collection features art by Barry Kitson, Jay Leisten, and Pepe Larraz.
The previous volume of Thor did a lot to kind of wrap up some left over story aspects of J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor and it feels like this is more “free” for Fraction (despite the basic set-up still being Straczynski). I hoped with this freedom that I would like the title more, but it still is quite clunky.
The Mares storyline is just confusing. Often when dealing in dream storylines, you have a blurred line between reality and the dream and this occurs here…but the blur never really clears up. It feels rather sloppy and a bit of a generic approach to the story. It is a dream (or nightmare) when it is convenient and when it isn’t, there random fighting.
The Mighty Thor (1) #16
The story also tries to rectify the whole confusing Donald Blake story. By no fault of Fraction’s own, Donald Blake has always been a mess. First he was a separate person, then he was Thor reborn, then he was back again independently, etc., etc. Here, the independent Blake wants his godhood back since he was robbed of a life. He teams with Amora (who is always a fun foil for Thor and others) to do it. Amora’s plans seem non-existent and simply marching to Asgard…which of course she immediately is kicked out of.
The other story running in this collection is the story of Jeff who is a troubled teen. He listen and plays death metal. His friend is taken away after a suicide attempt and he brings a taser to school. He eventually embodies Thor with the Deconsecrator who is his death metal creation. It is meant to be an “everyone has a perspective” or how bullying leads to problems, but Jeff comes off as a bad cliché instead of a rounded teen.
The Mighty Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 3 doesn’t fix the problems with the Thor title and instead doubles down on them. I’m sure it works for some readers, but here, it doesn’t meet a level that I feel that the comic needs to be to be considered good (much less great). There are definitely worse comics and worse takes on Thor, but I wish that the story was better. Thor by Matt Fraction—Volume 3 is followed by The Mighty Thor/Journey Into Mystery: Everything Burns.
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