Imperative, Agents NOW
Sticking in the realm of the mega-event crossovers, Chaos War: Thor #1 was also released this week, and I have to confess I am impressed. A step aside from the gods measuring their mutual omnipotences against one another, Thor is cast from the battle and lands, well, somewhere, without his memory, where he is helped by a woman who moved to her family holiday home to mourn her deceased family. DeMatteis’ writing really manages to call into question the necessity for either gods or faith in a non-too-preachy fashion, leaving the reader with a few questions that may actually affect their real world lives.
As for where Thor is, well, isn’t everyone dreaming? What’s this woman doing here? Is this a dream? Is it the Land Of The Dead? I don’t know, but it enhances the value of the crossover above just that of a huge slug-fest. Too many super-hero titles seem to be in slug-fest season right now, so this is a nice change of pace.
The best treat I have found this week however has to be the relaunch of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Now I am too young to remember when the original series graced our news-stands but I was lucky enough to get hold of some issues a few years back. I rather think that Wally Wood would be proud.
This is one of those first issues that is a treat, rather than the standard fare, with multi-layered storytelling that does not thrust the characters origins down our throat. In fact, the central characters barely make an appearance until the last few pages, but we are given a full tour of the world they are emerging into. Either for lovers of the original series (and the many attempts of a relaunch since then), or for fans of series such as Checkmate or Suicide Squad, this will be a delight.