Kathryn Immonen’s run on “Journey Into Mystery” begins with a full page Lady Sif-centred reference to the movie Shaft.
Nuff said.
Written by Kathryn Immonen
Illustrated by Valerio Schiti– AN ALL-NEW JOURNEY BEGINS WHEN KATHRYN IMMONEN AND VALERIO SCHITI BRING YOU…SIF: THE BERZERKER?!
– She may be a “Lady,” but girly ain’t her style! Known by many names: lover of Thor, sister of Heimdall, defender of Asgard…Sif is the ultimate faithful…sidekick?! Immortal, please.
– When the latest crop of beasties beset Asgard, it’s business as usual for our sword-slingin’ heroine as she leads the battle charge–but that no-holds-barred zeal for glory may be the very thing that brings the realm down around her winged helm…!
How do you follow the instant classic Kieron Gillen run on “Journey Into Mystery”? By giving the reins to an inexperienced but hungry writer in Immonen, putting the focus completely on a different character, and apparently letting her do basically whatever she wants. This turns out to be (mostly) a successful enterprise.
Immonen is smart to spend the first 75% of the issue somewhat leisurely exploring her corner of Asgard. We slowly wade into the waters of a setting and a story that might not be familiar to the reader, even if they’ve been reading “Journey” already. In the wake of a burning Asgardian library, Immonen waxes on the importance of history and heritage and makes clear the idea that the Asgard of today is not that one that Sif remembers from her own youth. Immonen injects plenty humor into these scenes, casting Sif against a bunch of kids who have a variety of attitudes that are foreign to her. In truth, these are the best scenes in the book because they ensure the reader that a character arc seems to be in place and that Immonen is more than capable of choosing themes to explore and doing so in a way that happens naturally through the ornate personalities of these characters. Furthermore, her grasp of the Asgardian voice is terrific and the personalities of each character come through individually, though they all share similar speech patterns.
The issue starts to lose its sure-handedness when the first threat of this story needs to be addressed and Sif leaves the village to learn how to become a better warrior. The change in tone is a little striking as Sif becomes focused and somewhat obsessed with power. As a result, these scenes are less interesting than the slice-of-life scenes of her in the village. Thankfully, the last page features a terrific button to end on and one that will have the reader wanting to read the next issue. However, I could read a full arc of Sif just messing around with her friends and family in her Asgardian village, because it was much richer storytelling than what came after.
Valerio Schiti’s pencils were a fantastic surprise. He definitely stepped up his game for his Marvel NOW! introduction. His bold-lined, sharp style actually reminds one of Cliff Chiang, who has been doing career work on “Wonder Woman” in the New 52. Even more so, his sense of design appears to be on par with Chiang’s, who is among the best in the business at designing appealing characters and outfits. Sif’s garb, a white and red flurry of crossing patterns that should have looked ridiculous, looks incredibly sleek and befitting of a warrior. In the same way, his Lady Sif carries herself with an inherent strength, while being incredibly beautiful – something that has always been a part of Sif’s character, but something that isn’t always pulled off this well. Schiti seems more than capable of carrying the action and the comedic moments that will clearly be hallmarks of Immonen’s work going forward and he should definitely be putting himself on the radar of more comic fans with his work here.
Even though the issue stumbled a little when it got to the meat and potatoes of the first arc, Immonen so clearly has a great grasp on these characters already and knows how to entertain a reader. This is a title that is sure to exist with a lower profile among the rest of the Marvel NOW! launches, but because of a strong focus on character and some beautiful work by Schiti, it deserves to be noticed. Hopefully, it will be.
Final Verdict: 7.3 – Try the first issue, at least. Buy.
