The Good
This book gave a surprising amount of plot without making things confusing; while the "Shattered Heroes" band is displayed quite priominently at the top, this issue of THE MIGHTY THOR features storylines from a lot of the book's past. Seeing Silver Surfer trying to get a job during a truly amazing sequence of dialog was just a treat, and getting a look at what Volstagg and the gang are up to is also nice to see.
I'm really happy that Fraction didn't make us wait to figure out what the deal with Tanarus was; if he had, I think a lot of people would have been turned off by the attempt to shoehorn a new character into the book like he was always there.
It's great because we now have a better understanding of what the characters are doing as they try to solve this problem, instead of wracking our brains trying to figure it out ourselves. In the end, Tanarus' "origin" doesn't mean much to the plot: what's interesting is how Loki is going to convince everyone that he's not crazy.
The Bad
Not much! I like a lot about this issue, and it's a surprisingly good introduction to a lot of new storylines. However, as a result, we don't get to explore any one of those too deeply.
The Verdict
Back during FEAR ITSELF #7.2, I said that Tanarus seems like a bit of an ass; I'm actually glad I was right about this, and that Marvel wasn't expecting us to take him seriously as a replacement for Thor. I fully expect the "right" God of Thunder to be back in the winged-hat and chainmail in the next couple months, especially after a nice jaunt to the underworld.
To be completely honest, this book has the potential for five-star reviews; this issue is just one of many "set-up" issues for Shattered Heroes and as such, needs to spend pages planting seeds for the months to come. Because that time is spent on set-up, I feel we don't get to delve as deeply into the plot as I'd like.
In short, it kept me wanting more, but didn't blow me away. Kudos to Fraction for keeping his work solid.
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