http://comicbookdb.com/issue.php?ID=54592
Writer/Artist: Michael Avon Oeming, Andrea DiVito
Publisher: Marvel, $16.99
Why You Should Know It:
Straight up, this is one of the best modern Thor stories of the past decade you could ever recommend to anyone. If you have a superhero fan who has just been on the lookout for a good introduction to Thor and his world, this is a great choice. If you have a customer who is interested at all in mythology, this is a great choice. If you have anyone who just likes a kick-ass epic story, this is a great choice. This is also a core piece of the Marvel Thor's current history in case you have anyone jumping onto the current series by Straczynski. Everything happening over at that current title is coming directly off of this six issue series.
This story technically fits in with all the other Disassembled collections, but I don't view it as necessary to understand the others and I view the others as generally a waste of time when compared to this one. It's my fondest dream that this story will be repackaged as an over-sized HC on it's own and just retitled Thor:Ragnarok. There are plans to merge it with the other Disassembled titles with a fifty dollar price tag. I would recommend just doing the soft cover collection, but it seems to go in and out of availability so keep an eye out.
Personal Review: It should be fairly obvious at this point that I love this book. Partially it's because I am a huge mythology buff. It is very obvious that Oeming is as well, as evident by his other series the Hammer of the Gods. In the Ragnarok story, he perfectly blends together the actual Ragnarok story from Norse mythology with the establish Marvel Comics history of Thor. What you get is a huge epic story that was a temporary send off to the Thor character as Marvel decided it was time shake things up (again). And while I distaste the need for Marvel to do things like that, I have to really give them credit on their choice of creators on this project. Oeming has a good handle on the characters and the myths, and you can tell he is a fan of those that came before him, especially Kirby & Simonson.
DiVito is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated artists in the industry today. This project combined with his work on Marvel's Annihilation are the best example I can give you for utterly cosmic and epic storytelling. He's clean, does great layouts, and knows how to put together scenes that just make you go 'Oh, snap!'. Also? Beta Ray Bill.
OH SNAP!
http://www.marvel.com/universe/Beta_Ray_Bill
If you like this, then try:
Thor: Blood Oath, Hammer of the Gods, Stormbreaker, The Life Eaters, Annihilation
Related Sites:
http://www.hiddenrobot.com/MIKEOEMING/
http://www.comicartcommunity.com/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=389
Printer-friendly version
