Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Thor : The World Eaters - A lighter Thor book




Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Pasqual Ferry

Matt Fraction brings in his signature nerdy wit to Thor. The premise and the setting reminded me of the second Thor film, with Dr. Eric(Quantum Cosmologist) constantly questioning the science/magic of Nine Realms and propounding his own theories from time to time which question God Logic. The art complements the casual writing, with colors taking prominence to in depth sketches.




There is good amount of portion spent on Odin in the second half of the book, almost pushing Thor to sidelines. (Kid)Loki features too but is mostly a device. Coming to The World Eaters, they are not very well written, and mostly act as a reason for Odin to get angry and wield his not-so-niceties.




I quite liked the book, coming off from Jason Aaron’s Thor books, as Fraction makes it hit closer to home(no, literally, as Asgard is in Broxton, Oklahoma in the events post Seige) with goofy lines and panels that jump at you with wit. Iron Man also features in a nice cameo involving science and nerdy banter(what else!).

The story oscillates between Asgard(ruled now by Kind Balder) and Midgard/Broxton. Like all good books, characters often die and come back to life leading to some poignant sequences.






There is a nice add on story on the Grey Gargoyle written by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Mark Brooks, which complements the mood here, although it has more Thor-like dialog and mood than the one Fraction writes. There is also an interview with Fraction at the end where he talks about the positioning of this book in the Thor universe.