REVIEW: ‘Thor,’ Issue #13

Thor #13 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Donny Cates, illustrated by Nic Klein, colored by Matt Wilson, and lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino. Donald Blake is free from his fictional paradise, and he needs vengeance against the Gods who imprisoned him there. To take them on, though, he’ll need the power of the Odinforce.

Previously, Thor remains trapped beneath the world tree in the alternate dimension where Donald Blake had formerly resided. That was before he went insane and swore vengeance against all of the gods touched by Odin’s power. Throg, Lockjaw, and Valkyrie attempted to stop the lunatic, but with the power of other Thor’s and Jormungand, the Midgard serpent, he has become an unstoppable force. His sole desire is to learn the source of Odin’s power and bring him down once and for all.

Now, in Thor #13, we catch up with Jane Foster, the current Valkyrie, who has found the All-Father slumming it in a galactic dive bar. Jane catches the former King of Asgard up on all of what’s been happening, and for the first time in a long time, Odin feels a spark of passion. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange, having learned that Blake ransacked his sanctum, attempts to remedy the situation by freeing the Asgardians from the blood dimension.

Cates has just had so much fun with this series, and his passion for reestablishing prior characters from the treasure chest of forgotten toys really shines through. This issue, however, definitely slows down the pace given it’s essentially off the back of an action-packed issue and setting up another in the subsequent issue. So while the story itself doesn’t leave a lasting impact, there is enough of a setup from the narrative, plus the image from the final panel, that it promises the potential for an action-packed face-off next month.

The whole “Prey” storyline within the Thor series has been a refreshing take on the Blake character. Given this man was previously a plot device created long ago to allow Thor a human secret identity to teach him humility and exist without drawing attention to himself. Whereas now, Cates has twisted the very essence of the character to create a nega-Thor, one imbued with just as much power.

Klein’s artwork is delightful to absorb. The level of inking and detail that goes into the pages is quite astounding. In one particular panel, Klein, over one page, depicts roughly 10 characters on a page with a bewildering level of detail leveled in. One aspect of Klein’s overall style that I adore from this series is the posing of the characters that encapsulate the dialogue and the facial expressions. That kind of work goes above and beyond adding an additional level of subtext to the series.

The coloring from Wilson serves to add value to the series and deepen the work from Klein. Wilson handles the elements of magic and uses powerful elements extremely well, capturing these ethereal color schemes.

Sabino’s lettering is very well placed, and given the issue is heavy dialogue and a slower pace, the positioning of the narrative and speech bubbles becomes imperative. There was some great use of the design of the onomatopoeia, which is both lively and captivating.

In general, while the issue doesn’t solicit an evocative reaction, it does lay the pieces in place to set up for a glorious final showdown between Thor and Donald Blake. Cates has done well to position the pieces of his plot to keep the readers firmly hooked every month. It’ll be fascinating to see how this one concludes, and I, for one, can’t wait to see it. Knowing Cates, he’s got more in store for these characters than we can anticipate!

Thor #13 is available wherever comics are sold.