'The Unworthy Thor' – Aaron, Coipel, Jacinto, Wilson (Marvel)

I gave up on keeping up with the ins and outs of the Marvel universe a long time ago, at least with the comics. It's too big and far too complicated for what little time I have left in the day. I will always make time for a new Deadpool trade but everything else?I keep up with the big yearly events and spend the rest of my time dipping into comics depending on whoever I think has done a good job in whatever MCU film I watched last. Which reminds me, my 'Far From Home' DVD is still in its wrapping... But anyway.

It was roughly that approach that led me to pick up a copy of 'The Unworthy Thor', that and having enjoyed Jason Aaron's 'The God Butcher' when I read it a couple of years ago. 'Baal' (see yesterday's review) had also proved to be quite the intense read in some places and I thought a bit of comic book reading would take my mind off it, for a bit, until I moved on to my next book. As luck would have it, 'The Unworthy Thor' was quite the intense read as well...

Unfit to lift his hammer, with another now wielding the power of Thor, the Odinson's desperate quest to regain his worthiness takes him out into the cosmos - where he's learned of the existence of a mysterious other Mjolnir! This weapon of ultimate power, a relic from a dead universe, is the key to the Odinson's redemption - but some of the greatest villains of the Marvel Universe are anxious to get their hands on it as well. And when the Realm of Old Asgard vanishes, the Odinson's hopes might go with it - unless good tidings from Beta Ray Bill offer fresh hope! Can the Odinson reclaim his honor, or will the power of thunder be wielded for evil? Let the battle for the hammer commence!

So Thor lost his hammer... I still haven't read 'Fear Itself' (it's on the list) but I know that for some reason, Thor loses his hammer and later on, someone else gets to wield it instead (now there's a comic book I have read and it was a good one).

In the meantime, what we have here is the story of a god who must drag himself up from rock bottom and work out what his purpose is now that Mjolnir rests in the hand of another. Is the Odinson really unworthy and what will he measure himself against in his search for some kind of redemption? These are all the difficult questions that Aaron poses, of Thor, and he doesn't shy away from answers that ask a lot more of the God of Thunder. These moments come between little looks into the past where we get a glimpse of Thor's growing relationship with his hammer (stop sniggering...) What I liked most about these parts is how the artwork just suddenly completely changes; I can't think of a better way to higlight these moments than that. It's definitely an intense read then, made all the more intense by confrontation with some pretty awe inspiring villains and what feels like page after page of all out battle and quite possibly my new favourite talking dog (seriously).

If 'The Unworthy Thor' has one fault, it's that it can sometimes feel like it's more concerned with setting up plot strands to be resolved in future collections rather than telling its own story. The book falls on the right side of the line, in the end, but sometimes you can't help but wonder.

On the whole though, 'The Unworthy Thor' is another hit from Jason Aaron, more than ably assisted by the artwork of Olivier Coipel, Kim Jacinto and Matthew Wilson (and all the others whose names didn't make it onto the cover). If Jason Aaron does nothing but write 'Thor' for the foreseeable future, he might get bored but I would be very happy.