Thor #801 Review
And thus begins, the quest for Thor! Thor #801 brings a new beginning for Al Ewing’s tale of the Immortal Thor. Sigard Jarlson finally knows who he is, what he may be and now he is faced with a choice. Does he stay on an earth where magic and hope are slowly dying, or does he take the Journey into Mystery to bring back Asgard and with it resurrect The Mighty Thor?
Thor #801 is a major turning point, while the last 15 issues have been focused on Ewing talking about the evil of corporations and the capitalism that seems to be trying to supplant itself as the god of modern society, now we bring back the fantasy as Sigard now must travel the 10 realms hoping to bring back Thor. The lighter, more colourful fantasy of Immortal Thor has now been replaced with something far darker as Sigard is still just a man in a realm of gods. Ewing really makes this contrast work well with Sigards’s last conversation on Earth with his love interest Kris and his first conversation with the creatures of Hel where our story begins. It feels like a switch has been flipped and now Sigard is a character very out of place in what to a Thor reader feels like far more familiar surroundings. Whilst keeping all the grit and brutal qualities that made The Mortal Thor so engaging. It is a wonderful inversion Ewing employs to keep the story engaging even with a little bit of payoff for plot threads from Ewings Venom run which is just about to conclude.
I mentioned the book feeling far darker and while yes Ewing contributes a lot to that, Pasqual Ferry absolutely knocks it out the park this issue. They so perfectly show the contrast between the real world and Myth that you almost feel as disorientated as Sigard. And unlike Immortal Thor where things seemed brighter, there’s an edge to this part of the tale that fits it so well, the impact of crushing bones and flesh just feel so visceral now and it really pays off in giving things stakes. Matt Milla especially does a lot of heavy lifting here; it’s a delicate balancing act to make your colours feel muted without making them dull. Making things feel darker without making them muddy and Milla just makes it look effortless. The muted colours build upon what Ewing and Ferry have created so well, starting our tale in the depths of Hel, it just feels so atmospheric and through that it takes this book to another level.
Ultimately, we don’t know if this is the beginning of the end of Ewing’s time on Thor, we have an end goal and basing this runs length by the previous logic of immortal Hulk being 50 issues, we have 10 issues to go but we can only wait and see. All I know is this is your jumping on point if you like your Thor with more fantasy, it feels like a tale beginning its ascension to a climax and I cannot wait to see where it goes.
View on Kindle Store
Buy from Third Eye
This post contains affiliate links. We receive a small commission if you buy through this link.
