A Fraction of Thor
March 12, 2010
So it seems that J Michael Straczynski’s work in bringing back Thor to the Marvel universe will be followed up by Matt Fraction. As much as I am sad to see JMS go—given that he has probably influenced the modern Thor more than any other writer since Walt Simonson, the man who got me reading Thor—I am cautiously optimistic.
Fraction, along with Ed Brubaker, made me care about Iron Fist, and created the much lamented the Immortal Iron Fist comic. That was one of the few comics I actually followed, as in bought the collection once they hit the shelves. Since IIF has been cancelled, Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy have been about my only, solid go-to comics.
Now Fraction is going to be working on Thor. Sad that JMS had to go. I’m interested on what will happen to the comic. After Simonson left Thor, Tom DeFalco took over with Ron Frenz as artist. I stuck with the title for almost two years, but became less and less interested. These days, I don’t have that kind of patience. If Fraction doesn’t bring the awesome, as I honestly believe he can, quickly, I’ll be down to just the Guardians of the Galaxy.
I think JMS has been letting Thor slip himself. The initial few issues were great, depicting Thor as a GOD instead of a superhero who happens to be some how attached to the Norse pantheon. After the death of Odin’s Dad, the plot seemed weak. Now, JMS seem to be pandering to the Reign/Siege plot line, and it’s just not grabbing me. Maybe it’s my distaste for the way comics have been going the past few years. Mainstream comics are just not as much my thing as they used to be. I’m getting burned out on the body counts. Let the collateral damage just be fun, and try to sell comics with good stories, not body counts. 🙁