Thor #618 – Review

by Matt Fraction (writer), Pasqual Ferry (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and John Workman (letters)

The Story: Asgard finds itself beseiged by World Tree refugees.

What’s Good: Epic.  That’s a pretty apt description of Fraction’s story thus far, and this issue only cements that.  With refugees coming in from all over the World Tree, there’s a sense of great migration, with Asgard as a final sanctuary.  It’s a massive story and one that suits epic fantasy.  It feels downright big, and when you see all the Asgardians raise their weapons into the air and vow to fight and defy Thoth to the last, it’s a major fist pump moment, sort of like when you first watched the start of the Helm’s Deep sequence in the Lord of the Rings movies.  In other words, it’s pure fantasy comic goodness.

It’s also interesting seeing how Fraction uses Thor this month.  As has occasionally been the case with his Iron Man comic, Fraction seems comfortable with allowing other characters take the spotlight a bit, and the result is some fun character dynamics (Volstagg humorously telling Balder that he’s a crappy king).  It also makes Thor feel all the more pivotal to the book.  Having characters watch him from a distance, or having him show up to interrupt a conflict only makes the character seem, well, mightier.

Pasqual Ferry’s artwork continues to be a joy.  With all the goblins and storm colossi and various critters that storm Broxton this month, Ferry also gets a chance to let his creative juices flow.  The end result is another really visually fun issue.

I also should mention that readers complaining over Fraction’s pacing of this series should be happy this month.  The story definitely feels like it’s moving forward and building momentum and there’s a definite sense of progression.  Things are building up to a fever pitch, stands are taken, and the pieces are just about set, with the story and conflict to come being crystal clear.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: American Vampire #9 – This is becoming the Scott Snyder award after his win (for me) with Detective #871 last week, but it is impossible to ignore the artistic and story excellence of AV.  Endings to story arcs are very difficult to pull off and this was an outstanding one.

Most Anticipated: Lady Mechanika #1 – With art and story by Joe Benitez the #0 issue was very promising and featured a steampunky, attractive cyborg-ish lady who is trying to figure out her role in the world.  Definitely interested in seeing where this goes and enjoying more of Benitez’s art!

Other picks: 27 #1, Starborne #1, Batgirl #16, Red Robin #18, Chaos War Ares #1

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Sweet Tooth #16 – This was an issue that proved that Jeff Lemire can right the loud issues just as well as the quiet ones.  The action flows and so does the excitement, leading to an issue that was downright thrilling.  Really cool layouts are the icing on the cake, making this an easy pick of the week.

Most Anticipated: Fables #100 – Yeah, this is another great week for comics, with the second issues of THUNDER Agents and Superboy coming out, not to mention a new installment of Matt Fraction’s Thor.  But I simply cannot deny Fables #100, an absolute behemoth of a floppy and a landmark achievement for not only a Vertigo comic, but a creator-owned comic, period.  I can’t wait to see what Willingham and co. have in store.

Other Picks: Superboy #2, THUNDER Agents #2, Thor #618, New Avengers #7, The Flash #7

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Adventure Comics #521 – I had totally expected Brightest Day #15 to take this week’s crown, but the intense suction happening there caused me to dump even WCBR’s spoiler-free policy to trash it, leaving Adventure Comics #521, a pretty classically-styled Legion story to take the lead.

Most Anticipated: Batgirl#15 –  While I am always eager to see the Man with the Plan (Red Robin) and the Detective Comics Annual is tempting, I have to say, the cliffhanger ending of Batgirl #15, leaving her framed for a crime she didn’t commit, has the out-of-the-gates tension that will drive Batgirl #16 to the top of my pull list. Bryan Q. Miller delivers consistently satisfying stories and I’m waiting to see how my next exposure to Nguyen and Fridolfs works for me on Batgirl.

Other Picks: Red Robin #18, R.E.B.E.L.S. #23, Detective Comics Annual #12, Queen Sonja #12