Written by Mike Carey
Illustrated by Mike PerkinsAn all new classic tale of Thor unchained by the hot creative combo of Mike Carey (X-MEN LEGACY) and Mike Perkins (THE STAND)!! Hela lays siege to Asgard, and demon hordes are loose on Earth. Weakened and alone, Thor must make a dangerous bargain with a mortal woman in order to launch a last assault on the forces of death and chaos – as his enemies were hoping he would. Valiant Vikings, grotesque goblins, and lascivious ladies–what more could any thunder god ask for?
We all know I love Mike Carey, but as far as I know I have never read anything by him where he wrote Thor. We also know how much I enjoy a good-one-and-done, so I decided to pick this little one-shot on a whim to see how it was. Follow the cut to see if this comic was of the quality one might expect from Carey, or if I say thee nay.
I didn’t even know that this comic was coming out, so I honestly had no idea what it was going to be about. I assumed from Thor wearing his classic Jack Kirby costume that it was going to be earlier in his career, but it turned out to be even earlier than I thought it would be. This story is set back in the days of the ancient Norse, focusing on an assault by Hela on both Midgard and Asgard. It’s a pretty damn fun read, but not much more than that. Carey has some really great dialogue going for the ancient Norse characters, and it reminds me in a sense of Northlanders meets the original Stan Lee Thor. It was really entertaining to see Mike Carey do some mythologically-infused action, and makes me wonder how well he could do an actual Thor ongoing. The great thing about this issue was how it packed so much story into 24 pages. A lesser writer would have unnecessarily spread this over two or even three issues, but Mike Carey is better than that.
Another thing I greatly enjoyed about this issue was the art. Mike Perkins isn’t a huge name, as he’s another one of those artist who will often be seen working on fill-ins and supporting other artists to help meet deadlines. This issue, though, is a sign that he should do more. He brought an entertainingly rustic look to the comic that fit the tone of the story so very well, and I’d love to see him on another Thor comic. The whole team worked very well, with very intricate inks and a smooth coloring that fit Perkins style extremely well. I’ll be keeping Perkins in mind — if not the whole artistic team — for a future Fund It!, that’s for sure.
As usual, when it comes to my reviews, the main thing that prevents this comic from getting a buy-worthy rating is its price. I have to be really invested in a comic for me to pay $4 for a comic that is 32 pages including ads, and as much story as this comic packs into its pages, it’s still not quite $3.99-level in terms of its overall quality. I urge you to browse it, and recommend purchasing it if and only if you enjoy it.
Final Verdict: 6.7 – Browse (but please do at least browse it).
