Demarcoa's Profile

While the Godpack stuff makes for a less than fun experience (and it's very much still in play in spite of Thor supposedly leaving it behind last issue) the opening pages with Thor in the rain were really well done. I liked the talk with Donald Blake too, although I'm not sure if he was supposed to come off as a whiny weenie Thor is kind of right to brush off. The bulk of this comic is all about Thor confronting the Lava Man with the Godpack showing up to help) was barely worth reading, I feel. So boring.more

Loved the opening where Galactus reviews Silver Surfer's history and origins. Ron Marz proves once again to be a creative and interesting writer, as this is a whole new take on the Korvac Quest I really liked. It really feels like a step up from the first two annuals that make up this crossover. Some of it is a little confusing but I definitely was more engaged reading this, at least up until t he big battle between the Guardians and Silver Surfer, which was sadly kind of underwhelming. Even then once we get past that, there's some cool stuff with the character Marshach weilding some of Korvac's powers for good (I think). Again, Marz is just an interesting writer.

The other story with Eros felt completely pointless, just him hanging out in a bar and meeting a crystal alien woman, or something. The last story was even weirder. Overall this is probably the best Korvac segment and origin story but isn't the best thing ever.more

I think it's pretty clever how the Korvac Quest involves the future Thor thanks to the time-travelling nature of this story and involvement of the original Guardians of the Galaxy. This annual follows a similar structure to the Fantastic Four part of the Korvac Quest, but I think the Thor one does things just a little better. The art is certainly more fun and the presence of Dargo gives this a b it of a unique flair. It's a very expressive and weird comic, chaotic but in a better way than the first part of Korvac Quest. The action is a little drawn out, though, and dominates most of the annual in a way I disliked. It also ends abruptly, with the Guardians off to check the next box in this story and that didn't feel overly fun.

The bonus stories had one focused on this Skyhawk character and I didn't much care for that, but the one with Beta Ray Bill and Ego was awesome.more

The Korvac stuff comes in heavy, opening with Korvac infiltrating Galactus' ship in a way that felt big and epic, and that's all just sort of recapping some Avengers content. I liked the TVA opening, it's fun seeing them on a comic so many years ago. Still I think this comic takes too long to get going and get the Fantastic Four even tangentially involved in these events and it feels like Korvac 's return was unnecessarily complicated. Some of the art when Korvac kicks everyone's butt is cool. I'm not against this villain returning, but I don't love how it was handled.

I liked the Volcana story better but it meanders in weird action a lot. At least there's some fun with her and Molecule Man to be had, I like their relationship even if things didn't end well here. The one retelling the Fantastic Four origins felt kind of boring, we've seen all that before and a million times since. I liked the novelty of a Super-Skrull story but it did not have great art.more

Love the art in the She-Devil parts. Very atmospheric. The story can be very meandering and weird, though.

The bonus story is something else, where a bunch of Marvel superheroes are toys that come to life just like in Toy Story. It's creative enough but all the toys really do is fight each other and then ultimately clean their owner's room with a bit of magic. At least it was creati ve.more

Coming at this from Infinity Crusade, this is just not a very impressive comic. It doesn't really add anything to the event, I'm not a fan of this art style, and the writing feels disorganized, or hard to follow.

It's a little more fun than last issue but this still feels like a tough note for DeFalco to end his big run on. Like so much of Frenz near the end there's fun panels here and there but a lot of stuff I found quite sloppy in the art. I really like the ending though. Eric becoming Thunderstrike was a cute little moment. It wasn't a great goodbye, but it wasn't without merit.

More of the same, really. Exposition, inconsistent art, and that sort of thing. Eric is kind of a terrible character, but at least this issue devotes some time from him. There's very little Thor vs. Thor stuff here and it is entirely done because of The Enchantress so it doesn't feel very organic or high stakes. Just kind of feels like content for the sake of content. Back-up story with Odin was kind of interesting I guess.more

Not a huge fan of the Gauntlet. Eric just goes up against a bunch of villains in a computer simulation of some sort. It couldn't feel more low stakes for something that should be a critical moment of Thor history. All the action didn't even look that good, though it does have moments here and there like when Eric gets enveloped in darkness. The last battle with Eric fighting himself was a litt le cliche but it was used for a sincere emotional hit that at least worked and carried us nicely to the return of Thor Odinson.more

Bloodaxe is pretty boring but it was nice to see Code Blue again, a little. Still a pretty boring comic, though. Eric still kind of sucks as a dad and a character. This era of Thor is kind of wearing me down a bit and this issue really didn't have a lot to offer.

Lots of fun characters I feel who get overlooked in a lot of Thor comics appear here, like Valkyrie, Tyr, and Hermod. Most of the comic is underwhelming exposition from Mephisto full of flashbacks to fairly recent events. I did not find Thor #454 a fun read at all. The Encahntress rescuing the Warriors Three was pretty good, though. Art still is pretty mixed in quality, if you ask me. Not rea lly sure what to make of Arko in the back-up story joining up with the Warriors Three. It was kind of just boring but the art was very expressive.more

This comic opens exactly as advertised on the cover and from the end of last issue, with Eric battling a demonic Sif in hell. I was kind of looking forward to this one because so far Mephisto has been pretty great in 90s Thor comics, and I've enjoyed having Balder around these last couple of issues. This one didn't let me down much. It's fun and entertaining and even if some of the art feels li ke it is cutting corners, for the most part this issue looks really cool and is quite creative visually. Additonally, some of the dialogue feels a little slow and weighty when we have some scenes in Asgard, or even what we get from Eric in this story.

Eric's character kind of feels like he's falling into the "Parker luck" style of superhero writing. It can make a character an endearing underdog but with Masterson it feels a little off. Maybe because he's older than Spider-Man, you just expect him to have his act together a little more. It is a pretty cool moment when Thor loses his powers to the Norn Queen. A pretty sinister moment that changes the battle with Sif in a fun, emotional way. The ending with Mephisto felt like a bit of a cop-out. It's like the villain just got bored of Eric and kicked him and his friends out of hell. Feels rushed and awfully convenient.

Bonus story has Odin beating up the Warriors Three. I think that should have been more fun that it actually was in execution. Both stories oddly end with villains doing the "I never said it was X" trope. Feels lazy coming from the same writer.more

While this larger arc is pretty fun way to close the DeFalco era out, this issue largely felt like it was just going through the motions. Mephisto fits as a Thor villain very well in my opinion. As we pivot back towards Loki it feels far less exciting. The fight between Eric and Odin felt like it should have been much bigger and more creative.

I really don't like how Odin is written in this comic. This issue seems entirely to exist to retcon a bunch of Thor continuity. It all feels so unnecessary for nothing significant to be gained. This feels like a waste of my time and some of the endless narration feels so petulant and stupid. Art doesn't have a great flow either and our characters just look so ridiculous here. Thor choosing th e Godpack over Asgard also absolutely sucks. Those people suck! Why does Thor care about them?more

Knowing the follow-up to all this and how weak the near future is for the series and its imminent end doesn't make for a great read overall. There's a creative story here with a great artist but it's not being executed properly by Ellis' writing. The World Tree stuff had a lot of potential and I like Thor's perspective on humans this issue, but it all is rushed out here with a quick conclusion a nd next to no pay-off. Even Deodato's art feels much weaker this issue. Or maybe he's just drawing grosser things.more

I feel like this story arc is too busy to really amount to anything significant for Thor's character. It's close to great and instead is kind of just bland and unfocused. Is this a story about Ragnarok? Thor dying? A Harlequin-style romance with the Enchantress? None of it is executed that well outside of Deodato's fantastic art and when Ellis focuses on the Asgardian lore stuff. I don't lik e the Constantine rip-off either. He's too visually similar to Thor and doesn't seem to offer the series much. The Enchantress stuff feels particularly awful and not great for Thor's character. Like a much worse version of what was going on in Blood and Thunder.more

Some of this writing is interesting but a lot of it is pretty corny. It could have been a cool new direction and characters with Thor but it is pretty clearly not going anywhere. I do like this interpretation of Asgard and Odin. Not sure how I feel about Ellis killing off Bill like this. Feels shortsighted. The writing with Enchantress and Thor is just plain awful.

Deodato's art is very cool. I find Ellis' writing a little hit or miss but it certainly is unique and interesting as a take for Thor. And the ending with the World Tree was quite pointed.

I don't love the art or writing in this story arc but there's a dash of fun here and there. Loki feels very underwhelming, for a while, but does have a decent final fight with Eric. This issue in particular feels like it relies a lot on dialogue and inner monologue. Zarrko has gone from mid to annoying. I kind of feel like I was trying to get through the comic as quickly as possible at a certa in point. Still really don't like the art in the back-up stories.more

Art does some interesting stuff here and there but this panel flow kind of stinks and Eric is still making that stupid shocked face he always makes. It is fun seeing the three "Thors" working together and forming the Thor Corps, but I really don't like the role Eric has taken on the team as the group sourpuss. Still when they eventually work together in combat it's pretty endearing and fun as t hey pass around a Mjolnir. Zarrko has been a mid villain so far in this story arc, but he does some fun stuff here like using old Thor villains as minions.

There's also a really sad scene with Kevin that made me sorry he has to have Eric for a dad. What a bummer that the poor kid feels his dad would be happier if he didn't have a son. This comic's kind of all over the place with stuff I found really boring but the Kevin scene really stands out and there is a fun spurt of action mid-way through.more