The Eve Of The War Of The Realms In Thor #11
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
On the eve of the War of the Realms, the Mighty Thor dives deep into the sun in the hopes of retrieving more remnants of Mjolnir. He finds nothing, and Freyja calls him back out of the star. She shows Thor that his despair has been affecting the weather of Earth, and the two work to calm the storms and save lives. Elsewhere and elsewhen, the signs of war are abundant. All-Father Thor mutters about the war in the far future while in a deep sleep, and Volstagg awakens from his coma yearning to once more become the War Thor. Meanwhile, Jane Foster receives shocking news.
Thor #11 is the final issue of the comic before the beginning of The War of the Realms. Thor knows it’s coming, and he’s terrified that he will not be enough to save Midgard.
This comic serves mainly to set the stage. We know what is coming; Jason Aaron has been setting up this story since the early days of his run on Thor: God of Thunder. Thor #11 shows us where the Asgardian cast are, both physically and mentally, before the bloodshed begins. We see not only Thor, Freyja, Volstagg, and Jane; we also see Odin, Loki, Lady Sif, Valkyrie, Malekith, and even the Daughters of Thunder.
Admittedly, little is done to advance any form of plot outside of the news which is given to Jane Foster. The book does also work to deepen the connection between Thor and Freyja, and that’s both endearing and compelling.
Lee Garbett joins up as guest artist on this issue. His work suits Thor excellently, and it adds depth and emotion to every scene.The opening scene of Thor and a swarm of hammers diving into the sun is powerful and outright beautiful. Garbett does some great work here, and the color work of Antonio Fabela makes it all the better.
Thor #11 is a damn good build-up issue to the hotly anticipated War of the Realms. The extended cast of this comic are waiting in fear and anticipation for the conflict to come, and I find myself fairly excited too. Regardless, this one gets a recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
Thor #11 comes to us from writer Jason Aaron, artist Lee Garbett, color artist Antonio Fabela, letterer VC’s Joe Sabino, cover artist Mike del Mundo, and variant cover artist Nao Fuji.