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lilmatt050's review against another edition
5.0
To check out my reviews: https://dancinginth3dark.wordpress.com/2018/05/26/thor-god-of-thunder-vol-1-the-god-butcher/
After reading the first volume of Girl Thor, I am actually glad that I am reading this one finally because I am pretty much connecting the dots and learning that this first volume sets up the plot for how Thor will lose his belief that he is worthy. We get to discover Thor in three aspects of his life: past, present, and future. I'm curious to know whether Jason Aaron already had intentions for a woman Thor because the future Thor as an old man opens up major discussions now as to whether Thor actually defeats her or rather she gets killed and he assumes his duty as the God of Thunder.
The essential plot for this first volume deals with Thor being summoned to this barren planet after a little girl prays to him. When he comes to the rescue and saves this planet he discovers that they do not worship any Gods. He is utterly shock by that news that Gods do not exist in this part of the universe and does some detective work to discover that the planet had at one point several Gods over a 1,000 years ago but they were all butchered. As he follows the trails of evidence he comes to realize that this God Killer is someone he has dealt with in the past and sadly that means he is still alive.
Cue to the past. We are sucked into the Vikings era and we get to see Thor being the stereotypical macho man of a God without his hammer replaced instead with an axe. He lives among the mortals and lives up to the tales that are written about him in Norse Mythology. Once again on a mission he discovers a beheaded Indian god with fears in his eyes. He explores the territory and finally encounters the villain that will ultimately be his demise. The creature's name is Gorr and he wants to kill every single God and Goddess.
What I enjoyed the most about Gorr is his logic actually makes sense and it brings up the discussion whether he is truly the villain or could it possibly be Thor who wreaks havoc and the brink of destruction. Gorr dreams of a world where mankind of any race does not have to rely on Gods and Goddess because at the end of the day these immortals accomplish nothing when they are needed the most. Thor is the exception where he seeks justice for the innocent but even though he always saves the day it leaves a vacuum for villains to rise up and cause more destruction leaving the entire galaxy in constant chaos for him to repair. If Gods cease to exist then the ideas of wars, miracles, and other aspects of religion would be erased and we will be better off in Gorr's point of view. He doesn't attack the humans at first because his beef is strictly with the divine and yet doesn't shed a tear for what he deems human frailty.
Cue Present Thor. Now that he has discovered that Gorr is still alive his next mission is to discover what Gorr is up to and how to find him which is harder than it seems. Gorr keeps following the trail of missing Gods and is shocked that Gorr has murdered them by the thousands and he is actually scared that there is a possibility that Gorr may succeed in wiping off all the Gods in every universe. Cue future Thor. We witness Thor as an old man, long white beard, a metal arm and utterly defeated. He has his hammer by his side and yet he wants to die. He is the last known God in existence and no matter how many times he fights Gorr and his hounds, in the end Gorr keeps him alive and refuses to show mercy unto Thor with a respectful death.
I believe deep down the Future Thor is a parallel universe where Gorr actually succeeded in his wish of changing the course of Immortality and the creation of the Universe. Present Thor in the end gets sucked into a time machine blood pool and ends up in the future and now both of Thors have an actual winning shot of defeating Gorr once and for all. The illustrations in this graphic novel was fascinating to see and what a total difference when it mirrors to the woman Thor. Jason Aaron knows how to keep my attention especially with him writing for Star Wars, I am definitely hooked on this Thor series and his character is growing on me. He is not my favorite Avenger and hopefully the upcoming volumes will keep my intrigue. I need to know the backstory of Gorr and how he became this fantastic villain!
After reading the first volume of Girl Thor, I am actually glad that I am reading this one finally because I am pretty much connecting the dots and learning that this first volume sets up the plot for how Thor will lose his belief that he is worthy. We get to discover Thor in three aspects of his life: past, present, and future. I'm curious to know whether Jason Aaron already had intentions for a woman Thor because the future Thor as an old man opens up major discussions now as to whether Thor actually defeats her or rather she gets killed and he assumes his duty as the God of Thunder.
The essential plot for this first volume deals with Thor being summoned to this barren planet after a little girl prays to him. When he comes to the rescue and saves this planet he discovers that they do not worship any Gods. He is utterly shock by that news that Gods do not exist in this part of the universe and does some detective work to discover that the planet had at one point several Gods over a 1,000 years ago but they were all butchered. As he follows the trails of evidence he comes to realize that this God Killer is someone he has dealt with in the past and sadly that means he is still alive.
Cue to the past. We are sucked into the Vikings era and we get to see Thor being the stereotypical macho man of a God without his hammer replaced instead with an axe. He lives among the mortals and lives up to the tales that are written about him in Norse Mythology. Once again on a mission he discovers a beheaded Indian god with fears in his eyes. He explores the territory and finally encounters the villain that will ultimately be his demise. The creature's name is Gorr and he wants to kill every single God and Goddess.
What I enjoyed the most about Gorr is his logic actually makes sense and it brings up the discussion whether he is truly the villain or could it possibly be Thor who wreaks havoc and the brink of destruction. Gorr dreams of a world where mankind of any race does not have to rely on Gods and Goddess because at the end of the day these immortals accomplish nothing when they are needed the most. Thor is the exception where he seeks justice for the innocent but even though he always saves the day it leaves a vacuum for villains to rise up and cause more destruction leaving the entire galaxy in constant chaos for him to repair. If Gods cease to exist then the ideas of wars, miracles, and other aspects of religion would be erased and we will be better off in Gorr's point of view. He doesn't attack the humans at first because his beef is strictly with the divine and yet doesn't shed a tear for what he deems human frailty.
Cue Present Thor. Now that he has discovered that Gorr is still alive his next mission is to discover what Gorr is up to and how to find him which is harder than it seems. Gorr keeps following the trail of missing Gods and is shocked that Gorr has murdered them by the thousands and he is actually scared that there is a possibility that Gorr may succeed in wiping off all the Gods in every universe. Cue future Thor. We witness Thor as an old man, long white beard, a metal arm and utterly defeated. He has his hammer by his side and yet he wants to die. He is the last known God in existence and no matter how many times he fights Gorr and his hounds, in the end Gorr keeps him alive and refuses to show mercy unto Thor with a respectful death.
I believe deep down the Future Thor is a parallel universe where Gorr actually succeeded in his wish of changing the course of Immortality and the creation of the Universe. Present Thor in the end gets sucked into a time machine blood pool and ends up in the future and now both of Thors have an actual winning shot of defeating Gorr once and for all. The illustrations in this graphic novel was fascinating to see and what a total difference when it mirrors to the woman Thor. Jason Aaron knows how to keep my attention especially with him writing for Star Wars, I am definitely hooked on this Thor series and his character is growing on me. He is not my favorite Avenger and hopefully the upcoming volumes will keep my intrigue. I need to know the backstory of Gorr and how he became this fantastic villain!
abookdork's review against another edition
4.0
I never thought I would get into Thor, but Jason Aaron has me hooked!
rach_22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Murder
lonecayt's review against another edition
3.0
The art was beautiful, and the story was well-told. I think the main problem I have with this book is, well, Thor. I don't find him to be a very compelling character.
trike's review against another edition
5.0
One of the problems with mainstream superhero comics is that we know the hero isn't going to die. Or if they do, it doesn't take and they come back. Can't mess with the franchise, after all.
So titling this "The God Butcher" and making it about a creature who kills entire pantheons, leaving planets without their gods, gave me a bit of hesitation. Fortunately Aaron doesn't go in for that fake melodrama of pretending to kill the main character. Instead, he writes an epic fantasy as a murder mystery, one that spans the universe and thousands of years.
Right away we see Thor as a (relative) youngster palling around with Vikings in the 8th century, then in current day consulting with Iron Man briefly and then at the end of his life, gray-haired and one-armed, the last god of Asgard waiting for the titular God Butcher to finish him off. So there's none of this false tension of "will he die or won't he?" that writers try to pass off.
My only minor quibble is that he uses "I would have words with thee", Thor's new catchphrase that everyone went "Oh hell yeah!" when he first uttered it, but now it's being overused. However, he does have an original legitimate "fuck yeah!" moment early on to balance out the borrowed one.
The art by Esad Ribic is spectacular. I've been a fan of his since I first became aware of him and it was the initial reason I picked the book up at the library. 15 minutes later I had read the first chapter and was hooked, so I grabbed all three volumes. Very much looking forward to the next two installments.
So titling this "The God Butcher" and making it about a creature who kills entire pantheons, leaving planets without their gods, gave me a bit of hesitation. Fortunately Aaron doesn't go in for that fake melodrama of pretending to kill the main character. Instead, he writes an epic fantasy as a murder mystery, one that spans the universe and thousands of years.
Right away we see Thor as a (relative) youngster palling around with Vikings in the 8th century, then in current day consulting with Iron Man briefly and then at the end of his life, gray-haired and one-armed, the last god of Asgard waiting for the titular God Butcher to finish him off. So there's none of this false tension of "will he die or won't he?" that writers try to pass off.
My only minor quibble is that he uses "I would have words with thee", Thor's new catchphrase that everyone went "Oh hell yeah!" when he first uttered it, but now it's being overused. However, he does have an original legitimate "fuck yeah!" moment early on to balance out the borrowed one.
The art by Esad Ribic is spectacular. I've been a fan of his since I first became aware of him and it was the initial reason I picked the book up at the library. 15 minutes later I had read the first chapter and was hooked, so I grabbed all three volumes. Very much looking forward to the next two installments.
hootinglance's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed it. Makes me want to see the film again cause it was actually more faithful than I realized
aroldo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jimhart3000's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5