Thor: God of Thunder 23, Silver Surfer 3

Thor: God of Thunder 23
Aaron (w) and Ribic (a) and Svorcina (c) and Sabino (l)

Thor fights the Minotaur, now fully transformed, and a legion of trolls with some help from Roz Solomon while, far into the future, King Thor teams with All-Black the Necrosword and, with the aid of his granddaughters, fights off Galactus. In the present, the more pressing storyline, Thor, able to unleash his true power on the Minotaur without the worry of Agger's lawyers or perception as a good guy, defeats Minotaur, though loses track of him, allowing Agger to return to human form and move on.

Strong issue for the book to pause on as THOR: GOD OF THUNDER and LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD are put on hold to team together for THOR AND LOKI: THE TENTH REALM. Though Agger is not yet out of Thor's hair, it's a nice win for the thunder god as he realizes how hard corporations can be to beat. Some of the writing in this issue is exceptional, some is a little choppy at times, but it's overall certainly an easy and worthwhile read, not least because of Ribic and Svorcina.

Total Score: 4/5


Silver Surfer 3
Slott (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c) and Cowles (l)

Dawn leads Silver Surfer to the Never Queen's heart and Silver Surfer uses the power cosmic to keep the Impericon together while the civilians and hostages therein flee. Dawn is tasked with bringing the heart back to the Never Queen and, with the help of some of the freed hostages, succeeds as Surfer bests the Incredulous Zed in combat, unintentionally killing him in the process. Eh, couldn't be helped, right? Anyhow, Surfer and Dawn set off to return to Earth as the Never Queen and her beloved Eternity are reunited.

In just its third issue, Slott and the Allreds continue to make a push to keep this book rather light and fun, even if there are dark moments or tones. It embraces the fantastical and demands the audience revel in it rather than be confused or overwhelmed by it. It's a book that knows itself and both wants to give the audience something worth reading but also not take itself too seriously (as such, you get nods to how crazy it is that the power cosmic ends up occasionally being some sort of undefined panacea). Sometimes the tone of, say, Silver Surfer gets a little muddled in this, unsure if he's that classic, seemingly cold character or if he has a sense of humor that rarely comes out, but I think that's something that will define itself more in time (though, you could also argue, it's already defined itself because the past doesn't matter, that what's in this book is the definition). Slott is very clearly having fun with this new series and the Allreds were a perfect team for this blend of fun and fantastical.

Total Score: 5/5