The Immortal Thor has been a series with an ingenious new take on the storied God of Thunder, and this week’s issue is no exception. The series has introduced gods that came before Asgardians that are far more raw and greater in power, as well as a nifty mystery concerning Thor comics getting into a villain’s hands. The fourth-wall-breaking potential is high as Al Ewing and Martin Cóccolo dip into a story within the story, but does it try your patience?
Immortal Thor #6 opens and closes with a comic book. It opens with a fire in a panel of a comic, which then transitions to a fire Loki and Thor sit at. Loki talks to Thor in the present and then tells him a story of their past. Ewing uses this story within the story to have Thor remark on his behavior in the past, which helps convey his growth as a character over the years.
All the while, Ewing is playing with language as he utilizes the older style of speech and writing in dialogue to bring us back. It’s frankly a little hard to understand, but longtime fans will appreciate the nod to the past. There’s even a nice four-panel sequence showing different versions of Loki. It’s exciting to see these elements at work as it’s proof enough Ewing is diving into the history of Thor and recontextualizing it.
Let me tell you a story.
Credit: Marvel
As a retelling of a Journey into Mystery tale, the general plot will bring fans back to the old days. The main story has Loki and Thor travel a road filled with peculiar changes. They encounter scary paths, dangerous threats, and a problem to solve. That problem shows how these two characters tackled problems in the past: Thor hits things hard, and Loki uses magic. In both cases, they fail. As the first part of a story, one can see there are touchstones here that’ll matter later.
As if to tease the reader, we don’t even get to the tale’s ending, but instead, a cliffhanger that’s all too familiar for this series. This issue also takes a while to get going, and by the end, it very much feels unfinished. Gone are the satisfying reveals previous issues have had, but instead, the tease for something to come. This isn’t a bad issue, but one that you’ll put down and think, “It didn’t do quite enough to satisfy.” This is especially true when compared to previous issues.
There are a few pages in this book that are visually stunning. Cóccolo and color artist Matthew Wilson nail a scene in a dark forest with a gate. The gate is incredibly haunting, which makes the cheery smile on young Thor’s face all the more hilarious. The scale of a giant is also well done. Whenever you see a comic book page in the comic, it’s done in a way that feels special and otherworldly.
Discover stories within stories in The Immortal Thor #6. This issue takes its time getting going while also serving as the first part of the story, cementing the fact that it’s a good setup but not quite enough satisfaction to satiate a monthly reader. That isn’t to say the setup isn’t good, because it is, but as a single issue, it leaves you wanting. Still, I’m dying to know what the creative team does with the comic inside this story.
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