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View Full Version : Thor: Blood Oath #1


Will.S
09-17-2005, 02:47 AM
Breakdown:

As the comic starts we're right in the middle of a battle between Thor and Absorbing man. Beautiful splash pages and some great action in this fight and to no surprise, Thor rips him a new one before going back to his human guise as Donald Blake.

Donald being the noble guy he is, tries to save as many as he can who were caught in the wake of his alter ego's fight to make up for all the collateral damage. He goes back to the hospital and discusses with Jane Foster all this crap about genetics and religion. Donald goes to sleep thinking about what Jane was talking about and slips into a nightmare. We see grim scene of hung man rocking back and forth and another shocking picture of The Warriors Three's skulls atop wooden stakes.

This unsettles Donald and he turns back into Thor to head to Asgard. There he meets up with Heimdall and is shocked to find out that Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg are accussed of murder. Flashback to the incident, apparently they speared a shapeshifting giant and killed him by accident which explains why they're being prosecuted.

Thor angered, wants to take action but instead Odin tells Thor to calm his ass down. The Giant laughs it off and says that his son was an idiot for pretending to be a mystical sea creature out in the open but since Thor was in defense of The Warriors Three he must now accept the challenge alongside them. The Giant pretty much gives them an epic fetch quest but the catch is Thor can't use his hammer....hmm. Knowing that they have a big adventure ahead of them they have a bit of fun before they go off into the sunset for their first item.

My review:

Rock solid first issue. I'm really interested to see how Thor gets by all of the challenges without the use of Mjolnir. That's going to create some extra effort on his behalf as well as his fellow brothers in arms. The book also seems to follow the Earth Mightiest Heroes fashion of using the past to create new stories that fit into continuity nicely.

I think the whole story the Giant puts tells Odin is fishy though. We're told that Holth (the son giant) never reverted back and sank, he also never let out a peep when he was hit so it seems like a fake story that works in favor of the Giant so that he can obtain these items of power with no effort needed.

Anyway I got a kick out of the opening battle and Scott Kolins kicks ass. It's easily as good as his EMH/Marvel Team-Up work if not better. Tons of detail and a great storyteller using atmosphere.

So far the title is off to a good start as a fun Thor book in the absense of an ongoing title.

Gibran
09-17-2005, 04:15 PM
I thought this was a nice meaty issue, and a great start to the series. I'm excited to see where this goes in the next FIVE issues. Oeming really does seem suited to these characters, and Kolins delivers as well.

Btw, I think that guy on the tree was Odin.

cosmicspidey
09-18-2005, 12:53 AM
I liked this first issue a lot. I don't think I would have bouht it if Scott Kolins wasn't on art. He seems prefect for that world. I really wasn't impressed with Oeming's run to round out the Thor ongoing, but my opinion was probably a liitle tainted due to Jurgens getting the premature boot. I figured I'd give Oeming another try, and the chance to see classic Thor (who hasn't been around for a long time, seeing as how he was killed a year ago and was in the future the year before that, King of Asgard the year before that, etc.) seemed like the perfect oppurtunity. I'm glad I gave Oeming a second shot, as this is exactly what I'm looking for in a Thor title. I might have to go back and re-read Ragnarock now.

Doom Hammer
09-18-2005, 09:14 AM
I really, really enjoyed Ragnarok.

I will pick up the back issues or trade of this book when it comes out.

Lochdale
09-18-2005, 11:47 AM
I liked how Loki was portrayed. It might have been nice to have a Beta Ray Bill style treatment of Thor just to remind the readers of how tough Thor is but still. I'll take what I can get.

StoneGold
09-18-2005, 12:16 PM
Fun stuff. The problem with Oeming's earlier Thor stuff, while it's been good, it's been a little sterile. Lacking in some humor and humanity. This book seems to have it in spades though.




I'm telling you though, I'm actually kind of hoping Thor just sort of gives Herc a high five and asks him to do a solid, letting him borrow the sheep.

Gibran
09-18-2005, 03:17 PM
Oeming's Ragnarok arc was quite good, especially when you consider that it is effectively 12 issues worth of story compressed into half that amount of space. Most Thor fans were pleased with it, even though much of the cast was killed off-panel.

That's an accomplishment.

nuclearman
09-19-2005, 08:59 PM
Great to see Thor back, even though its in mini form.

This book has some similarities with both the Hercules mini and Thor Son of Asgard. They get tasks to complete and they succeed.

Are the writers getting lazy??

Don't get me wrong, love seeing Thor and the Warriors three but all these tasks and trials... wearing a bit thin.

Will.S
09-19-2005, 09:24 PM
Great to see Thor back, even though its in mini form.

This book has some similarities with both the Hercules mini and Thor Son of Asgard. They get tasks to complete and they succeed.

Are the writers getting lazy??

Don't get me wrong, love seeing Thor and the Warriors three but all these tasks and trials... wearing a bit thin.
Yeah but this time.....it's without t3h hammer!

nuclearman
09-19-2005, 09:36 PM
Yeah but this time.....it's without t3h hammer!

He didn't have his hammer in Son of Asgard either..... but he did have Sif and Balder. This time he has the Warriors Three! :eek:

I can see some trends developing.

Can't wait for the next mini... Thor is set five difficult tasks to accomplish, without his enchanted hammer, mystically handcuffed to his evil brother Loki.

Will.S
09-19-2005, 09:40 PM
He didn't have his hammer in Son of Asgard either..... but he did have Sif and Balder. This time he has the Warriors Three! :eek:

I can see some trends developing.

Can't wait for the next mini... Thor is set five difficult tasks to accomplish, without his enchanted hammer, mystically handcuffed to his evil brother Loki.
Really? Damn I have to pick up that Son of Asgard trade. BTW I can't find that Robert Rodi/Essad Ribic Loki series anywhere and I'm dying to get the Hardcover, is it out of print?

Heh, handcuffed to Loki....

nuclearman
09-20-2005, 02:33 PM
Really? Damn I have to pick up that Son of Asgard trade. BTW I can't find that Robert Rodi/Essad Ribic Loki series anywhere and I'm dying to get the Hardcover, is it out of print?

Heh, handcuffed to Loki....

I picked up the hardcover Loki earlier in the year. It is very good. I like the way Loki is portrayed - a bit like the way he's been portrayed at the beginning of Blood Oath.

You can pick it up on Amazon.