Demarcoa's Profile

This issue feels like a time-filler before we get to the good stuff with Mephisto. Art didn't feel complete around the action and Bloodaxe is a boring opponent for Thor, nor did it get that creative with Sif battling the forces of Hell (aside from a couple cool panels and a big showstopping ending for her). The art only really gets interesting with the Asgard stuff, while the fight is only made interesting because of Odin intervening, and more for the implications of just how corrupted Odin has become. Balder doesn't even do anything, which is a shame cause it is fun seeing him interact with Eric.more

A pretty good way to continue from the events of 450. Odin is back but under influence of a mysterious woman, the real Thor's soul is in hell, and Eric isn't much closer than where he started. I really like the writing here - it isn't dismissing what has been accomplished, but is showing that things aren't really so simply resolved, either. Art is good too, very expressive and dynamic, but Thor does have this recurring dumb expression of looking like a shocked little boy in this era. Code Blue has grown on me but I don't love how it kind of whitewashes the NYPD. Bloodaxe doesn't strike me as overly exciting but does hit some pretty strong cringe alarm bells. Sif going to Hell alone seems crazy to me. Some marks of quality but a lot of flaws overall. Back-up story featuring the Enchantress was way more fun and interesting visually.more

I hate the opening battle as Spider-Man is half-frozen in it. This doesn't make for dynamic action at all, and it gets resolved in a very confusing way. It is fun having the Human Torch back and he has a good dynamic with Spider-Man this issue. I like the ending with the painter, very creepy and closer in line to the vibes he was introduced with.

This comic definitely sets the stage a little with a big, wintery opening. Visually I found it impressive and I like the opening where Peter is helping Jarvis and Peggy with a few other superheroes showing up. It felt like a little community getting together and responding to a storm.

The stuff with Avant-Garde - the evil artists Spider-Man is facing this arc, is much weaker, which is a shame cause they were kind of interesting last issue.more

Like last comic, there is plenty of weirdness to all this. It's crazy to me people would go to a fundraiser and boo a live performer like they do here who seemed pretty competent to me. Peter has some odd lines, too, especially around his underage cousin and Colossus, but I did chuckle when some older women commented on his buns so it's not all bad!

The villain was quite creepy though and kind of makes up for the weirdness of the comic. He's powerful as all heck and coated in bugs speaking Hebrew or something like that. That's interesting and it did leave me curious as to what happens next issue.more

It feels like this Kang stuff just devolves into a bunch of messy nonsense. It's a neat idea for a crossover event but I feel it was paced and built up terribly, with Kang hardly a presence at all in the main story and mostly existing in the back-up stuff as we go over his history up until now. The writing feels so awkward here, and that feeling magnifies a thousandfold once Kang starts showing up and babbling pages of text at the heroes. This results in a duel I had absolutely no investment in as two versions of Kang duke it out. Absolute nonsense but it has a decent ending with Thor seemingly striking down a Kang who intentionally takes the blow.

The bonus content is way cooler, like a beautful rendering of Chronopolis and the Top 10 Avengers Villains.more

Cool art at times but this Kang arc is weird as hell. I feel like the Kang stuff is too complicated to be reasonably enjoyable but the time travel fun does keep each part at least a little fresh. Some of the people, especially women, are drawn very weird though and there's a certain messiness to this comic. I didn't like how that results in a misunderstanding fight with the Avengers. I do like how the annuals each have a Top 10 Villains bit, though this one is presented in the laziest way so far compared to Thor and Captain America.more

Very similar format to Captain America Annual #11, which works pretty well as an annual overall. The Kang story remains a little goofy and moves way too slow. It's a weird combination of a history lesson and abject comic book Avengers nonsense. Still the annual is a pretty good celebration of Thor with the bonus stories. I like the Top 10s.

Citizen Kang opening on a Twilight Zone parody had me pretty bemused. I did not love this art style or busy dialogue and storytelling though. It was quite strange overall and I even had trouble following the placement of the text balloons at times or what was going on scene to scene. IT kind of feels like this goes on forever.

The other stories in the annual were more fun. I like se eing what would be considered Captain America's Top 10 Villains for this time. The Falcon story was interesting.more

Mephisto has been pretty consistently fun every time he shows up in the DeFalco Thor comics. The art is so cool and this has a lot of fun to offer as a special anniversary issue. Writing can be a little dramatic at times or drawn out in others, but it all sets the mood pretty well. Loved the big battle on the rainbow bridge with Thor and Code Blue helping out Asgard. Extremely fun and very muc h lives up to the epic side of Thor, and though it all gets wrapped up with a very abrupt return of Odin, that's largely just a springboard for further adventures. Bonus stories were pretty fun too, featuring a lot of cool art, helping to make this seem like a big moment in Thor history.more

I like the idea of Peter and his family going to an art show by Alicia of the Fantastic Four series. I'm honestly impressed how much time we spend here and just let this world and these characters breathe a little bit. Very mid-range in terms of overall quality, though. Like everyone I don't like whatever was going on between Kristie and Colossus. I do like how this comic ends on the note that Peter has desperately had to use the washroom this entire evening. What a weird book overall.more

It feels like the art was overly simple for the action being depicted here. There's something about how they write Spider-Man here that felt a little disappointing. It feels like the writer is self-conscious of making his stories seem too much like an old comic book because Eric's complained about that a few times now. Still it is pretty fun with a sprawling set of action among these two heroes and two villains. I think this is one of Code Blue's better outings, too.more

It's fun enough. It's got Absorbing Man, Titania, and Spider-Man in it. A certain amount of light-hearted fun is to be expected. There's some funny moments in this comic, too, like Thor having to pay for a meal with his cape since he didn't bring any money. I really like the idea of Absorbing Man and Thor setting up a deal to trick Titania into giving up a crime spree, only for Spider-Man to kind of ruin things. A fun dynamic that follows up on content from the last time Absorbing Man and Titania showed up in a way I thought reflected pretty good writing overall. Art can be overly simple at times but does have some good Spider-Man panels when he shows up. Back-up story wasn't anything special though.more

Wow, this comic features one cool splash page early on. Very beautiful stuff depicting Heimdall's perception of reality. It's quite a fun issue overall but does have some weird moments. We learn the Enchantress has infiltrated Eric's life, but we learn that through a bizarre scene where the villain is talking to herself the entire time for no reason other than to convey the reader this informat ion. It is something that could have been easily avoided and feels like clumsy or even amateur writing doing it this way. The Asgardians rescuing Odin from the Negative Zone was fun as hell which could have made up for things, but moves a little slow and I don't love the bickering between Sif and Thor. Sif's writing isn't great here.

The biggest problem with this issue is Masterson, unfortunately. Eric's character comes across as reckless and childish in this issue, likely to help contrast him with the Asgardians. It doesn't work as well at making Thor feel like a fun character worth following, and feels like a bit of a stumble after a few solid issues. Annihilus feels underplayed and that's a real shame.more

I love the opening scenes of Eric going to the Avengers for the first time on his own. It does lead to some recap content with some lazy artwork, though. The rest of the story is pretty fun, focusing on characters like Annihilus and Sif. A lot of panels are well drawn and feature stuff like the Negative Zone and Asgard in a pretty creative way. The fight Thor has with The Warriors Three was pr etty interesting as they test Thor and hold back a little bit. Eric's whole interaction with the Asgardians was great overall. Sure, the conflict felt forced at times, but everyone's character gets to shine a little bit.more

This is a big issue that denotes a new status quo for Thor. With Odinson and Loki gone (for now), Eric Masterson is now the bearer of the powers of Thor. I really like the art in this comic and found it to be very impressive and stylish, even when it is something simple like depicting Ulik hiding out in the sewers. The writing isn't anything astounding but it does the job and doesn't get in the way of the art. If anything, DeFalco really understands the value in taking the time to show us the new normal with Thor and does a good job with that aspect. This issue in particular is quite substantial and covers a lot of ground in its story.

The real start of the show is the art, though. Code Blue and Thor battle Ulik in the rain and it looks awesome. Just one cool panel after the other, with only a few exceptions that don't look as good as they could. The Thor artists of the early 90s had ways of shortcutting panels to be as simple as possible during action. It's not bad, but you can see where they put more energy into some pages over others. Also, Thor's new costume Eric designs feels barely different than what comes before or will come later.more

This is a very character-focused issue, with lots of interesting little moments here for Eric Masterson. Earlier in this run I complained Eric wasn't given enough time to exist as a character so I appreciate how much DeFalco was able to pivot to him in the last several issues. It also allows for some time with Beta Ray Bill, Balder, and Sif which was really good, too, as Bill gets put on trial b y his own people. I found this segment well drawn and written. Not much to dislike with this comic even if it never does anything too exceptional.more

This is an extremely fun, well-drawn issue with Mephisto, Doctor Strange, and Silver Surfer in it. Eric is really up against all odds in this issue, with no powers and walking straight into hell. It's quite the moment for his character and a level of stakes we don't often get to see in the Thor series. While some of the lines were cheesy and some of the panels felt a little lazy, overall I had an absolute blast reading this comic. There's also some good set-up for future events that doesn't detract from the adventure being had here, in my opinion.more

Ew why does Thor look so creepy on this first page?! Shockingly off-putting art aside, this comic has a decent start as Thor remembers a battle back in Asgard. It's well-drawn and a good reminder of how fun Thor can be without Godpack nonsense, even if I don't love the guest artist here. The connections to the rest of the current series is threadbare, but this might be the comic's saving grace because I prefer the Asgardian characters much more than the High Evolutionary ones.more

While I still think Wyman's art is really cool even if it is a little inconsistent in quality, Thomas' writing remains shockingly bad for Thor. The dialogue feels so stilted and alien, often full of awkward exposition. The way Thor and High Evolutionary talk to each other is very difficult to relate to or even picture in my head coming out of these characters. I found the action really badly re ndered, too. As much as Wyman does a great job making creative panels and setting scenes, his action might be Thor's battles at its worst in all the 90s. They just don't convey all the beats of the battles like they want to.

A civilian is injured in this issue which I think could have been a big or dramatic deal but the art really struggles to emphasize that point. The fighting also makes Thor seem weak and careless. He ultimately loses this fight and it doesn't feel like High Evolutionary earned the victory at all. That transitions us to the biggest problem with the High Evolutionary in this time - there are way, way too many characters going on around him at this point. With multiple different factions and creations, there's no room for Thor in Thor anymore, and it is a problem that won't go away for a long time. The origins of the Godlings felt pretty badly written, too. Just pages and pages of nonsense narration by the High Evolutionary that felt written by a child. And the characters just feel so lame while Thomas' writing suggests he really kind of loves him. It's too bad cause this just doesn't work for me.more