Thor # 5
Marvel Comics
Writer: Michael J. Straczynski
Penciler: Olivier Coipel
Inker: Mark Morales

On a quest to recover as many Asgardians as possible, Thor revives a few old fellows that he really wanted to avoid. And if that’s not enough, he has to face off against the Destroyer, the magical armour blessed by Odin, with the power to defeat Thor. Can Thor survive both and assault by Destroyer and rogue Asgardians?

I like how Straczynski has brought back some old Thor villains. In fact, I was wondering, since this series started how some of the major opponent of the Thunder God would be brought back, now that it was up to Thor to decide who he would revive or not. What is of interest is how some of those Asgardians seemed to be self conscious even as they were not gods yet. I also like some of the updates that Straczynski added to the mythos. Well, for one thing, certain aspects of Norse mythology are closer to the real source than the traditional Marvel interpretation and some of the new twists will make for great stories. The bonuses of this story are the character touches with the towns folks. They are simple and hilarious.

This issue did not look as good as others. Coipel seems to have rush this one out to meet a deadline. It can be seen in Thor’s face which appears to be decomposing and less solid than in previous issues. I really hope that Coipel’s interpretation doesn’t degenerate into a caricature, the more he works on the characters. It wouldn’t be fun to watch a great piece slowly become third grade comic book material. Some of the panels with a tiny flying Thor even reeked of old comic book posing, which is not what Coipel is appreciated for.