Unbinding Stone of Plot Devices
Not Recommended (unless you are collecting this series and want the "conclusion")
This was a very disappointing end to a story that had quite a bit of potential. It felt rushed and hacked together. The only real saving grace was the art, which was fantastic. I guess I should give the creative team credit for actually tieing all the loose ends - each of the various plot threads did come to some kind of a conclusion. It was just a shame to read and experience this kind of rushed ending to a pretty decent and creative story-line. It is as if they had the ending they wanted (the last few pages of this issue) and needed to form a story around it. It reminds me of the Vengeance mini-series - a story-line that was created solely based on six beautiful pieces of artwork. At least that series had some real depth by its end, this, not so much.
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Story: 2.0 / 5.0
Very disappointing end to the decent story that led up to this issue. I was wondering how all of the various plot threads would be tied together in just one more issue... and unfortunately, it was done with haste and lacked vision for the story that had already unfolded within the mini-series. There was so much potential for each of the threads, each of the plot devices, it could have gone in any number of ways. It would have been much better ending if this mini-series concluded with a mystery, leaving stones unturned, questions unanswered. Instead, it went down the "easy" path, where everything is resolved and we end with an empty feeling in our gut.
Cover Art: 4.0 / 5.0
Very consistent with the rest of the mini-series, I thought it was great. It represented the story inside better than the actual content of the story itself. Heck, if the actions on the cover actually occurred as illustrated, the book may have been better off.
Art: 4.0 / 5.0
Again, the art in this book was its only real saving grace. It was full of bright colors and great detail - though it did look like the creative team was better at drawing the Deviants and Eternals than Thor. Either way, it was a pleasure to look at each panel and turn each page to see the beautiful visuals - it is too bad the story didn't align better with the art.
Overall: 3.0 / 5.0
The score would have been lower if it wasn't for the art. It wouldn't have been so bad if at least one of the climaxing cliffhangers had been resolved by something other than a hasty plot device meant to resolve everything in one fell swoop. By the end you wonder why this even had Thor in the title. It may have made more sense as a Deviants/Eternals mini-series - but then of course it wouldn't have caught the attention of the readers who woefully picked it up. I definitely will not be getting this as a collection in either HC or TPB. I am glad there are so many other books available that far surpass this mini-series - a story that could have easily been told as a Thor One-Shot.
The biggest let down for me is that this mini-series was my first read/review. I started my reviewing hobby with Issue #1 of this series. It is just a shame that five months later, as I approach 150 reviews that this series ends this way. I guess they all can't be winners - I guess my expectations were just set up a bit too high.
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