The Mighty Thor #8 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Pasqual Ferry (art), Frank D’Armata (colors), and Joe Sabino (letters)

The Review:  This is one of those comics that I hate reviewing.
On the one hand, it’s a pretty good read.  It doesn’t do anything wrong, and does quite a bit right, but in order to manage this, it’s a book that plays it safe and keeps its ambitions lower than they should be.

I am, of course, referring to Tanarus.  All told, I like the character.  Fraction gives him a unique, brash, fun-loving demeanor that makes for a lively presence.  Better still, when Fraction reveals Tanarus’ true nature, he cuts a surprisingly sympathetic figure.  It’s hard to really go into without spoiling, but it looks like Fraction is building a story around a bad guy from a bad crowd learning to be something more, but still subject to the pull of those evil associates.  This lends itself to the creation of a character in a precarious position; moreover, we get a character whose been empowered and elevated but also entrapped.

Overall, though, Fraction gives us a comic that feels very….”Thor.”  There’s a heavy focus on Asgard, Asgardian politics, intrigue, and magic.  Already, I’m loving Loki’s position of being the only person to know that things aren’t quite right.  It makes an isolated character that no one trusts all the more isolated and powerless.

Fraction also brings back Kelda.  In so doing, he shows us the inevitable, wasted endpoint for the character.  It’s kind of weird seeing her suddenly in this state as we never really saw exactly how she got here, but it makes sense.  It’s nice to see Fraction bring her back in a significant way that is a logical next step for the character.