Thor: The Death of Odin (Thor, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Marvel has stupid writers and editors working for them...
Review: If you wanted to know why people don't read comics anymore, it's because of junk stories like this, thanks to fool editors like Tom Breevort and dumb writers like Jurgens (the fool who killed Superman). Between the lousy script and the poorly drawn artwork, this is why comics don't sell anymore. The writers and editors stopped trying.

Rating:
Summary: The King Is Dead....Long Live The King!
Review: Since the book is called The Death of Odin, I don't think I'm spoiling any surprises when I say that, YES, Odin does indeed die. For now, anyway. I mean, as much as Writer Dan Jurgens says this is for real, we all know that as soon as someone else gets a chance, they'll bring him back; I mean, this is Marvel Comics! No one stays dead except for Uncle Ben & Bucky!

But for now, Odin is dead; We even get to see the body, which is unheard of in comics. The first half of the book details the battle waged between the Asgardian Gods and Surtur, a being so powerful that Norse Mythology credits him with ripping the core out of Midgard (Earth) and hurling it into space, creating our Moon. Hopelessly overpowered, things are looking bleak indeed for our heroes and Heroines, until Odin intervenes, sacrificing himself to strike down Surtur. The remainder of the book witnesses Thor's less than willing ascension to power as Lord of Asgard. The last half of the book is very strong; Jurgens really does a good job of portraying Thor's nobility, and the devotion he felt to his deceased Father. The first half doesn't work quite as well.....I don't read Thor every month, but I have a pretty good level of familiarity with the book and it's characters; Anyone who doesn't will be totally lost. If Marvel hopes to make these trade paperbacks accessable to new readers, they need to invest in some new material, namely a "Who's Who" or "What has gone before..." page. I knew Jake Olsen was Thor's civillian identity, but: Why does his partner seem to be from Asgard also?; Why does his Doctor know he's Thor?; Why does his Doctor's Husband ALSO seem to be from Asgard? Who or what is "Thor-Girl", and why the heck is she so powerful? I knew the answers already, or was able to piece them together from books I had read already, but I'm not sure how much of this would make sense to a newcomer. Newer readers might also wonder why the last story has no words: A while back, Marvel decided that every book they published in that particular Month would be a "Silent" issue, telling the story in pictures only. It works well here- Jurgens tells an emotional tale in which various Asgardians reminisce about their fallen King.

The Art, by Stuart Immonen, is very bland, and isn't good at conveying the epic battle sequence Jurgens seems to be trying for; Jurgens, for his part, doesn't make Surtur seem like much of a threat; Walt Simonson, in his legendary Thor run, almost had Surtur destroy the entire Marvel Universe. Here he seem like nothing but a big flaming dude with a sword. I'd recommend this book for the last half only....