Writers – Jason Aaron & Al Ewing
Artist- Cafu
Colorist – Matt Wilson
Letterer- Joe Sabino.

I’m very fresh to this Asgardian comic universe after many years of being away. I figured with Jane Foster being announced for the new movie “THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER” I should catch up with the goings on in her universe. There’s a nice write up at the beginning of the book, briefly outlining her life up to this point and throughout the story there are more then a few references to the past to give you a good sense of where she is at. On to the review.

Other than curiousity, the art was a strong factor in me picking up this book. From the detailed, magnetic, youthful, looking cover by artist Mahmud Asrar to the strong, angelic inside art of artist Cafu(The first panel is worthy of being a portrait on any wall. Beautiful crafting),I thought the art was on par with the writing in this book, and that is a rarity for me. Facial features, background landscapes, costume renderings, Realm stylings, you name it. All of it really worked for me. Was pleasantly surprised by this. Though in retrospect I shouldn’t be, as Jane Foster is going to be playing a big part in the MCU so it would make sense she is getting” A” talent treatment here.

Jason Aaron & Al Ewing’s writing was also pretty strong in this premiere issue. I love dialogue driven books and this one held up nicely. The first person Jane Foster dialogue gave us some insight as to what came before, so the reader never really had a large amount of questions about why certain things were the way they were. The story some very interesting secondary character introductions(new to me anyway)that I suspect will make for some interesting conversation and storylines down the road. A large key to me for this book will be keeping a balance between the God and the girl(I know she’s not a girl but it’s rhymed and it’s my review).Strong secondary earth bound characters will help with that.

Other then the strong art , the other unexpected surprise of this book was the down to earth feel it had to it. If you liked the Don Blake/ Thor “balance” trials and tribulations of the original series you might feel a bit of nostalgia for this first issue. That and just a pinch of Peter Parker/ Spider-Man life balancing is in there also. For a “Goddess” book I found this ingredient very well done and dispensed through the book. Every good first issue needs a hook to bring you back. This one ended with a page turner, and brought in a villain I would not have associated with this title, and that’s a good thing. Far too many times the arch nemesis is trotted out to pop a first issue and I feel many times that is done too soon. Add to the fact that this villain is now “amplified ” and it’s going to make for an interesting second issue.

I did have a few issues with the overall story. There seems to be a bit of a clique’ to send the hero up against (insert D level villain here) to get the issue started off with a bang. There was more to the story this time, and it recovered nicely, but would have been cool if it could have been avoided completely. Also I found the scene transitions with a few of the characters a little too cut and dry. Overall , I enjoyed the story a lot more then I thought I would. If your looking to try something new, I’d recommend giving it a read. Between the art and writing I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Til Next time

Scott