Oh Hel!!!
Writer: Jason AaronArt Team: Mike Del Mundo
Marvel Comics
Release Date: June 27, 2018
Cover Price: $3.99
Marvel's Fresh Start sure has a crazy release schedule so far. Don't they know I'm a man with a job and was planning on these being monthly titles? I mean at first some books came out monthly, now they're coming bi-monthly, some every three weeks, I cant keep up with whats going on. Anyway enough about my personal problems, lets get into Thor #2, right off the heels of Thor #1 still fresh in every one's mind.
I enjoyed the story of Thor's latest relaunch and was excited for where we were headed, even if I didn't really enjoy the art much. However this issue the story doesn't progress much, introduces us to another batch of characters (if you aren't familiar with them already), and that's really about it.
Things kick off with Thor greeting his half brother Balder the Brave, and his companion Skurge the Executioner, on the heels of our cliff hanger from last issue, and as they try to figure out a plan of action in Hel. They are quickly attacked by fire goblins, which in theory are cool villains, but with the art continuing its already muddy and confusing style the villains look only one quarter as cool as I think they should. This also leads to confusing transitions, and with things fading in and out of panels, it continues to hurt and bother my eye balls.
Karnilla, Balders wife, comes to save the group from the attacking enemies and brings up our next problem they must deal with Sindr. Speaking of Sindr she's trying to recruit the Tribal Chieftains of Hel to help her be the new ruler, and has to lay down the law to get her point across, so everyone 'left' gets the message.
With the good guys now understanding their back are up against the wall they devise a plan of attack. Their idea however is not so great. The group heads off to a Demon train we saw glimpses of earlier in the issue containing what they think will be their secret weapon. Turns out what they unleashed is all out 'Hela' and we'll have to wait another few weeks to see where it picks up from here.
Overall, Thor #2 was a step down from the introductory issue, and although the story was heavy on action it was also heavy on dialogue, that didn't do much but introduce us to a new batch of heroes, villains, and maybe traitors, all fighting for the right to control Hel. I'm still interested in where this story goes, and have faith Jason Aaron will get things back on track quickly, but this was one of the least enjoyable issues of Thor I've read in awhile mostly because it is so exposition heavy.
The art I continue to struggle with and at this point, even back to his time at Avengers, its just flat out something I don't find enjoyment in at all. The color and shading choices for the enemies this issue really muddy up the scenes, and even worse the transitions at times, which can make the story seem like it makes little to no sense. At one point I thought Thor was actually slugging Thori with his hammer and had no idea what was happening until I really really studied the page. The art just flat out pulls me out of the story I want to enjoy. It really does hurt my eyes (yes I'm saying that again, it just has that magic eye effect on me, and I cant look at it too long).
Bits and Pieces
Thor #2 has a decent enough story still setting up the threats were dealing with alternating in just enough action to keep the book interesting. If you're unfamiliar with the characters you may get more mileage out of this issue than I did, but if you have a history with the cast the exposition most likely wont do much for you. The art style continues to baffle me as transitions, coloring choices, and character designs just aren't what I enjoy. I hope there may be a change coming in that department in the near future.
6.0/10
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