Thor Annual #1

This story was brought to you by Peter Milligan, Mico Suayan, a bunch of other dudes, and the letter "C". I have not read a solo Thor comic in approximately 40 years. It's not as if I have anything against the character. He didn't take my parking spot at Best Buy on Black Friday, he didn't act like an ass when I was passing him at the grocery store...you get the picture.

Anytime I have ever read a story with Thor in it, he was in another character's book, or in a team book (Avengers, for example). Only when I saw the Ultimate Avengers animated movie did I feel like this guy seemed pretty cool.

Apparently, the Thor series was recently revamped, and by recently I mean the last year or so. I saw the first trade paperback in Barnes and Noble and passed on it, in favor of something I have probably not read.

While in the comic shop yesterday, I saw the annual on sale for only a buck! They had a few other comics on sale cheap, and I passed on them all in favor of this. What I am really trying to say is I do not know jack about Thor, other than the fact that he is a thunder god with a big-ass hammer, long hair, and talks all weird.

Please understand that I could really be butchering my understanding of what the hell is going on in Thor comics... It seems that Thor has a human host, and they "trade space", in that if the human calls on Thor, the human then turns into an apparition/vision or some such stuff. Vice-versa when Thor is not Thor-ing. Again, as someone who has not read the regular series, this is what I picked up.

In a nutshell, some bad guys are after Thor because they think he is weakened, and he is. His human host pulls a little psychology out and convinces Mr. Thor that his weaknesses are more of a mental thing, and Thor whoops some booty and thwarts the baddies' assassination plot.

Interesting story, actually, and the art was crisp and refreshing, not unlike an ice cold Warsteiner Dunkel on a hot August day. After reading this, I will be picking up the trade paperback (at my comic store, gotta support my local shop).

4 out of 5 hammers.