Thor #800 – The End Begins and The Past Is Honored

Siguard Jarlson’s story continues in Thor #800, but there’s also a cause for celebration. Marvel marks the 800th issue of Thor with a continuation of Ewing and Ferry’s Mortal Thor story with additional stories added by Kieron Gillen and Declan Shalvey, as well as Chris Condon and Jesse Lonergan.

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Shawn!

Creative Team

Writers: Al Ewing, Kieron Gillen, Chris Condon
Artist: Pasqual Ferry, Declan Shalvey, Jesse Lonergan,
Color Artist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Writing

Ouroboros

Ewing wraps up this arc for The Mortal Thor masterfully. Ewing shifts so beautifully between the grounded story of Sigurd and the cosmic power of Odin that it is glorious to behold. Ewing continues to show his deep knowledge of not only comic lore, but Norse mythology with this story. The result is an 800th issue that continues to tell the story of Sigurd Jarlson, satisfyingly resolves the current arc, and builds excitement and anticipation for the next arc.

Worthy

Kieron Gillen chose a really unique approach to this story. While it amounts to essentially a character study, the narrative device is so unique yet so fitting for such an anniversary issue of the story. Gillen takes what has become a well-known question within the Thor mythos and flips it on its head in an interesting way. The result is an almost poetic story that packs a serious emotional punch. \

Deicide

Chris Condon makes a bold choice in choosing an alternate universe setting. The bold choice pays off as Condon manages to craft a futuristic sci-fi noir-style story that really hits. Condon crafts an enjoyable blend of detective tropes with some Marvel lore. The result is a surprise twist that could provide a springboard for some really intriguing future stories if Marvel and Condon decide to pursue them.

Art

Ouroboros

Pasqual Ferry continues to do such phenomenal work on this series. Ferry draws some absolutely beautiful panels in this issue, including shifting the panel shape in a way that both serves the story and creates a stunning visual. Matt Milla does a wonderful job shifting the colors to help us jump back and forth between the cosmic and the normal street level power within the story.

Worthy

Declan Shalvey really feels like he’s channeling the Walter Simonson era work in this story. The shading feels pulled straight from Simonson’s era, updated with modern sensibilities. Shalvey puts a wonderful focus on both impact and motion that is breathtaking.

Deicide

Jesse Lonergan provides the kind of artistic wild card that the issue really needed. The line art is raw and expressive, which is so enjoyable. The dynamic panel style could be a problem but Lonergan’s art stays tight allowing the reader to through the the panels without getting lost.

Final Thoughts

What a great 800th issue of Thor. I’ve really enjoyed the run that Ewing has been on with this series, so it was great to see that it wasn’t just abandoned for the sake of an anthology. That said, the additional stories for the issue were all so well done that I would love to see expanded versions or series based on either of them.

Overall Grade: 10/10

What did you think about this anniversary issue of Thor? Let me know in the comments