Though dense at times, War of the Realms transforms a dreary Midgard into an icy, fiery post-apocalyptic hellscape and the end result is an astonishing book that well worth taking in. Read Full Review

You've got to buy this book. This is modern Marvel Comics at their finest. Every hero gets a great scene and the villains are glorious. Even if you haven't read a Marvel Comic in years, you can jump in and be instantly immersed in this tale. The visuals are staggeringly epic, be they the inhabitants of the realms or the familiar faces on Earth. This is why comic books continue to thrive and inspire. This War is for everyone. Get a copy while you can. Highest possible recommendation. Read Full Review

Russell Dauterman does an amazing job with the art in this issue. Everything looks beautifully detailed and full of motion. Read Full Review

This is a very well written comic that's paced to perfection, delivers many fun moments for the various heroes, and establishes the stakes in play very well. It's also drawn by one of the best teams in comics. The voice of each hero is so strong War of the Realms is a must read battle. Read Full Review

If the rest of the event is this good you're gonna want to follow it. Read Full Review

Bottom Line: This event is off to a strong start closing out Aaron's time in the ten realms with a bang that could be heard clear across the Bifrost. Read Full Review

Outside some flow issues, War of the Realms gets it right and while another epic, crossover, this is one that feels fresh, almost cinematic. Read Full Review

A gorgeous and kinetic comic from creators making some of the best superhero comics right now. Long-time Thor readers will absolutely love this book, while new or casual readers may be a bit less prepared. The artwork alone, however, is worth the price of admission. Read Full Review

I am happy to say that I am now full in on the War of the Realms Event. Jason Aaron gives us a start that is great for new and old readers alike and Russell Dauterman just kills it on art. With one issue Aaron has made me a believer. Read Full Review

War of the Realms #1 delivered exactly what I want from a big event comic: a big epic story that I could jump into. All my favorite heroes coming together and fighting a huge battle. Yeah, it is not "world-shattering" story or a thought-provoking piece, but it delivers what it is supposed to a big blockbuster event. The art matches that tenfold as Dauterman and Wilson make a marvelous team with some truly splendid pieces throughout the issue and overall sublime sequential work. Now, I don't know how I will feel as War of the Realms spreads out into a thousand different issues (literally), but for now, this main book is definitely worth your time and money. Read Full Review

But some occasional slowness cannot sink the heavy metal fun that is War of the Realms #1. Armed with a bombastic script from Jason Aaron and expansive, richly colored artwork from Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson, this opening issue swings for the fences and largely clears them. Could it have lost a few pages in the middle? For certain " but even with its occasional pacing hiccups, War of the Realms #1 is one of the rare excellent starts for an event. While it's impossible to tell what this war will bring in future installments " especially given the numerous tie-in books for this event " this debut heralds big fun and even bigger stakes for the mythic side of the Marvel Universe. Read Full Review

Visually stunning and suitably epic, this is an event comic that earns the moniker, even if this first issue does more set-up than it ought to. Read Full Review

It's Here! It's Here! It's Finally HERE!! The War of the Realms has begun and if you haven't been keeping up then you're in more trouble than the God of Thunder and Marvel's Hero's as they battle Malekith's Massive Army. Get happening on catching up ASAP because this war is going to be Epic. Read Full Review

WAR OF THE REALMS is a classic Marvel epic in all the best ways. Read Full Review

The epic battles, the fantastic art and cool character moments - all accounted for. What more could you ask for from an event? Read Full Review

On the strength of the writing and art alone. this earns its score. The concept is nothing new, take away all the trimmings and it's basically Earth's heroes defending from another threat. But by opening with a great battle. at least it starts with the impact a major event should. I'm not invested enough to read all the tie-ins and specials, frankly, just seeing those checklists are starting to make me shudder, but I'll enjoy this as a self-contained event. Good quality is hard to maintain, but this creative team gives the impression that they can constantly level up. Read Full Review

Overall this story was a great start to what may be the most exciting Thor driven event Jason has ever had. The art by Russell and Matthew was great, bringing all the colors they could to a war of mystical madness. Read Full Review

War of the Realms kicks off with big, bombastic and crazy action! I wish there had been some subtlety or cleverness, but the artwork more than makes up for that. Read Full Review

Aaron's script is accessible and compelling, and the art from Dauterman and Wilson is spectacular. Read Full Review

Aaron and Dauterman waste no time getting to the action in this story, delivering a killing blow in the first couple of pages. As this is a continuation of what has been happening in Thor for a while now, the creative team doesn't need to spin their wheels, to slowly build up or explain what has been happening so far. Read Full Review

This first issue does a solid job of setting up the series - and the enormity of the challenge facing Earth's heroes - but it also highlights the down side of an Event that uses magic-based characters as the heavies - there's almost no limit to what they can do. Read Full Review

War of the Realms is off to an enjoyable start, but it doesn't do much to change the typical event comic formula. Read Full Review

To comment on this article and other Comic Book Revolution content, visit our Facebook page, our Twitter feed or Rokk's Twitter feed. Read Full Review

I understand the significance of the "Journey into Mystery" title, it being the original title that Thor was introduced in at Marvel, but nothing drew me into the "mystery". These characters, as new as I am to them, the format of writing and the lack of character in each of them left me not caring about any of them. As excited as I am for what's coming up next in the main title of "War of the REALMS" this only shows that I may want to skip a good majority of the tie ins for this event. Read Full Review

The event thats been brewing since 2014 is off to a great start as Jason Aaron gives us his best storytelling and Russell Dauterman gives us his amazing art. Seriously, Dauterman’s art is 1000x times better than Mike Del Mundo’s art. War of the Realms 1 doesn’t feel overcrowded at all like most events do and I can already safely say War of the Realms is Marvel’s best event since Secret Wars (Not much of a contest considering the events before WotR were Inhumans vs X-Men, Civil War 2, Secret Empire, and Infinity Wars). This issue is extremely satisfying considering that it pays off on almost 80 issues of Thor. My one problem is Loki’s death. It was perfectly written and drawn by Aaron and Dauterman but what’s the point if he just gets resurrected in July for his solo series? more

So nice to have Dauterman back on art for Jason Aaron's Thor. What a visual feast.

This is awesome!!!

I reread all of Aaron's Thor run this week in preparation and this feels super satisfying to read as a result. This brilliantly sets the stage for what will be coming in this event and how it will affect Thor's life. Also, every page by Russel Dauterman is stellar and worth the price alone. It's too early to call it now but if the rest of his run was any indication, I'm certain this will be an incredible finale.

Howard for president.

I think the main thing to highlight is the drawing. I loved the out of focus effect on some of the background elements. Perfect balance between humor and action. The premise is good and really makes a good sense of danger for our heroes. I can't wait to continue reading this story.

Great first issue setting up the rest of the series. Thought Odin would play a bigger role though after his appearances in "Avengers" and the last issue of "Thor".

Hard to follow in some places but overall really fun.

OVERVIEW

The War of the Realms #1
a) Writing/Script= 7.8/10 (Jason Aaron)
b) Art= 9.2/10 (Russell Dauterman)
c) Colours= 9.8/10 (Matt Wilson)

Average= 8.93/10

Jason Aaron does a good job catching us up with the story of this War of the Realms. I have no prior knowledge on the lead up to War of the Realms but i still found myself not being lost. The only thing i would like to know is the reason why Malekith is doing all this, thats all.

There were some writing issues and most of that has to do with the comedy. This story doesnt take itself too seriously and thats good, but sometimes Jason Aaron writes in cringey dialogues where there shouldnt be any. This immediately took me out of the story's momentum but it doesnt hurt it overall that much. I also didnt like how he wrote Spiderman. Spiderman had his 15-year-old dialogues and was acting like Deadpool a bit. Also, there were deaths and destructions in this book that i just felt that it wont be permanent. Its just something that almost everyone has a problem with all the events these days.

The art by Russell Dauterman is always phenomenal but Matt Wilson's colours is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!!

Overall, a solid start to and event with good writing and great art with beyond awesome colours. Just hope the event ends as good as it started. more

This was a ton of fun.

This is going to be a fun event. Needless to say there will be some major character development by the end of this thing but it’s split into so many titles I hope it doesn’t run aground by making the series too convulted to keep up with. The start is in line to be great.

New York is for lovers !!!

Finally, a Marvel event that actually is well-written, with an incredible art. I haven't read Aaron's Thor in a long time now, so I thought I might be a bit lost here, but no, it's all good. I'm not planning on picking up any tie-ins besides the books that I already read, so hopefully I won't miss out much, as this seems to be a very good story.

This is great.
The story is simple, Malekith has conquered all the 7 realms, the earth is his new target.
Easy, right?
Yes it is but in this pages there’s a lot of pathos, twists and the pace is great.
The art of Dauterman is gorgeous, it’s one of the best artis that Marvel has right now, the way he puts the panel on the page is not only fantastic but it is a real gift to the reader. His pages are full of pathos and emotions.
A really good start BUT I am worried about the tie-in issue of this series that are A LOT, too much tie-in, really.

If this is Jason Aaron’s last ride with Thor, it’s off to a great start. He laid the foundation, introduced the characters, and left it at an epic spot with a dueling banjo of hammers, blood, and destruction that truly rival any “crisis” as of late. Aaron’s has been building to this event for years while also giving us tremendous stories along the way instead of one say 100 issue story arc all about one long drawn out event.... anyway, this is how it’s done and I think you’ll be pleased with this new age yet classic tale!

I haven't read any of Aaron's work in a long time. And this was still pretty good. That's saying something.

Missed Dauterman and Wilson's art so much

Thor heads will rejoice at this long awaited and beautifuly orchestrated setup. Art is gorgeous, fights are beautiful. Voices and writing is good (except spiderman). I disliked how wordy it all was but loved Thor killing frost giant after frost giant and that.dope last page. A promising looking event so far.

A solid start to Jason Aaron’s mega-event, War of the Realms should please long-time comic book fans and casual readers alike.

With a tone that would fit seamlessly into the Marvel films, Aaron offers an epic tale that touches all the mystical realms of the World Tree, but focuses on ‘Midgard’; home of Spider-Man, the Punisher, Daredevil, the Avengers and the rest of the company’s comic book universe.

Malekith, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, has been planning a complete takeover of the nine realms. With an army ready, and alliances made with some of the most vile of villains from across the universe, we witness him unleash a multi-pronged attack against his enemies, including Odin, Thor, and the heroes of Earth. As expected, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (and a handful of Asgardians) don’t plan on standing by and letting Malekith's horde of trolls, frost giant, and dark elves take over Manhattan without a fight.

While a lot to catch up on if you haven’t been paying attention, there is a good introduction page complete with recap and “team rosters”. I found it easy enough to jump in without being well-versed of past events. The story is well-paced and clear; a tough task considering how many settings and characters are involved. With a terrific mixture of action, drama, and comedy, it felt as if Aaron was deliberately trying to emulate the feel of films like Guardians of the Galaxy, or Thor Ragnarok. I don’t know if that was an intentional decision or not, but I think it is a good result. My only complaint is that I felt the “reveal” was given up a little early and could have had more impact if delivered nearer the end. A small quibble.

The art by Russell Dauterman is expressive and energetic. It conveys both gloom and whimsey well but I feel the storytelling suffers at time from heavy rendering.

Aaron has been working towards this story for quite some time, weaving storylines together, placing pieces on the board, and building up to a massive crossover that has promised (once again) to “...change the very face of Marvel!”. While I am not sure if this story will live up to that hyperbole, I am looking forward to see what adventure awaits.
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Time to dive into Dauterman's brilliant artwork. The war has finally reached Midgard after years of foreshadowing. I just hope it amounts to more than just a bunch of splash pages in New York, which the majority of what we get in the first issue.

It was okay. I think I need to reread Jason Aaron's Thor run, I'll probably appreciate this a bit more if I do.

I had high expectations but i was disappointed. It's just not for me. I'm taking this event off. I just couldn't get into Aaron's flow and his spider-man talking like a 14 year old just took me right off. Plus all these characters dying again and again is meh. The art is absolutely stunning but that's not enough for me. Also the amount of tie-ins is beyond what i can afford. I Hope everyone else enjoys it!

Reminds me more of Jason Aaron's Avengers work than Thor. WOTR mainly consists of apocalyptic action interspersed with humor--which is fine--but most of the war has already been told in previous Thor issues and there's no pathos or cleverness to make-up for all the boring carnage.

A chore to read.