THE LEGEND BEGINS! The Norse Myths tell of Gods who walked the Earth, doing great deeds for the mortals who believed in them. But Asgard isn’t real, and never was. The Gods never soared in our skies, never stood with our heroes, never fought for kindness or justice. It was all just a story. Nobody’s coming to help us. But somewhere in the city… a man is waking up. A man with a hammer. The Mortal Thor #1 is the second chapter in Al Ewing‘s three chapter Thor epic.
Asgard is cut off from Earth and a man named Sigurd Jarlson has no memory of his past, just it has something to do with a hammer. Ewing goes back to some aspects of Thor we’ve seen before, again teasing the line between mortal and immortal. Sigurd Jarlson is back as a character, the name Thor used in the past when he couldn’t change back into Donald Blake. But, why doesn’t he remember? Why is he this way? Who gave him his apartment? The Mortal Thor #1 is a mix of some aspects of Thor’s past that are either loved or hated, but an interesting aspect to explore in today’s world.
Ewing seems to want to explore “what would god think of today’s world?” with this first issue as Sigurd is forced to find work to stay housed and offered a job where he’d have to be a scab and cross a picket line. In a world where supposed religious individuals are rejecting the words of their lord, it’s an intriguing direction.
Pasqual Ferry‘s art is good. With color by Matt Hollingsworth and lettering by Joe Sabino, the comic looks kind of dreamlike fitting Sigurd’s haze as he attempts to figure out what’s going on. It just being Thor with a different name is also emphasized as the character is imposing compared to others. There’s no hiding here much like the character’s use before. Add in some villains with this issue that feel almost like a throwback in their look and style, it all comes together that feels like the visuals are mining the past to head into the next phase of Thor.
The Mortal Thor #1 is a good issue that new readers can dive into. You don’t need to know what happened in the previous volume, but it’ll help really appreciate things. Just knowing it’s Thor without his memory is enough, but with Al Ewing, that might not even be the case. The Mortal Thor #1 is the start of the next chapter and one that shows off why Ewing is such a well respected and in-demand writer.
Story: Al Ewing Art: Pasqual Ferry
Color: Matt Hollingsworth Letterer: Joe Sabino
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle