I tell you what, that Thor is ASTONISHING, isn't he?

Astonishing Thor #1

Written by Robert Rodi
Art by Mike Choi

Action Ash
I do love a bit of cosmic nonsense. It's been a while since Thor has been allowed to "get cosmic" (Yeah, I just invented that), having been fairly earth based in recent years. That has now been rectified.
Astonishing Thor is an epic tale of a god on a mission, starting with Thor beating up a tsunami and ending with a visit to Ego the living planet. Brilliant!

Although harkening back to a silver age style story, Astonishing Thor is told in a serious manner that drags you in and makes you feel you have begun to witness an epic in the making. As there are quite a few Thor mini series out at the moment (that will ready to be released as trades about the time the film is released. Coincidence? I doubt it), I expected this to be an OK attempt at money grabbing, but I have been proven wrong. It seems that Mr Rodi wanted to tell a good story about every one's favourite thunder god. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've read anything by Robert Rodi, and I would definitely read more.

On the aesthetic side of things, this book looks fantastic. Choi has out done himself and made it look and feel epic. From the sensational splash pages to the detailed flashback sequence, Choi has helped create immensely beautiful visuals with which to tell Rodi's star spanning story with.

At the back of the comic, I am told the next issue isn't until January, which feels like a long time to me. More importantly, will January's issue keep up the epic cosmic standard set by this first issue? Well, I guess we won't know until January.

This is exactly the type of story I think Thor needs right now. A truly great addition to Marvel's modern mythology.

4 and a half Norse gods giving natural disasters a beat down out of 5

What I got and Why

Action Ash
Let's take a look at which books are keeping me company during this cold winter week.

Detective Comics #871 - I bought this out of curiosity about the new creative team. Jock's cover for this issue is SICK!

Shadowland Power man #4 - I'm sad this has to come to an end... but it's ok. The Power man and Iron Fist series is starting in Feb and I'll be waiting.

Conan the Cimmerian #25 - Final Issue! That is until Darkhorse releases it's three new Conan series. I love the barbarian and everything, but I don't know if I want to read three different series about one character. Who am I kidding, I probably will. I don't know how Batman fans do it.

Astonishing Thor #1 - I like Thor. I like Choi. This better be good.

Legacies #5 and #6 - Missed these at the time they came out so just catching up. Amazing covers that link together to portray an epic battle from Crisis on infinite earths. Super Geil!