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[ReturnoftheMack]

Good issue.

Interesting take on the Warriors Three.

I thought the frost giants wearing nazi outfits was kind of dumb.

Hooked me just enough for one more issue. Why did they never show Donald Blake's face?

7/10

[Punchy]

A lot of books have been doing a double page spread for the credits lately, I believe Superior #1 has one too.

[Punchy]

Ultimate Comics Thor #1(of 4) - 'Ultimate Thor' - Hickman, Pacheco and Vines

Story - If there's one word which sums up the first issue of Ultimate Comics Thor, it's this;

Disjointed.

What we have here is quite possibly a good comic, but it reads more like 3 alright comics. Hickman and Pacheco have set up 3 timelines here, and they seem at the moment rather disconnected.

The first of these timelines is described as 'Now', but is actually a few years ago in the Ultimate Universe, when Thor was in the custody of the European Union of Super-Heroes. We get a nice guest-appearance from Ultimate Captain Britain, and then... Donald Blake shows up to talk to Thor. As fans of regular Thor will know, Donald Blake and Thor are one and the same, so it's an interesting twist to have them be separate people in the Ultimate Universe. Interestingly we never actually see Blake's face, which indicates there could be a twist to come.

The second timeline is during WW2, and is set to involve a battle between Thor and a group of Nazis led by Baron Zemo. I'm surprised we haven't seen Thor take on Nazis beforehand, as it's a very good idea. Hitler was obsessed with the Occult as we all know, and there is a certain Norseness to their Aryan ideals, so it'll be good to see them get a good hammering. But this is completely disconnected from the story set in the present, what does it have to do with Thor and Blake in Brussels? Hickman also gets to play with symbols again, one of his favourite things.

The final timeline is set aaaaages ago in Asgard, and features teenaged Thor battling Frost Giants alongside his brothers Loki and Balder, forming the Ultimate Warriors Three, which is a cool nod, but I want some Ultimate Volstagg action! Once again, this is well done, but what does it have to do with Thor Vs Nazis? Or Thor in the present? At the moment, it seems like Hickman had 3 ideas of what kind of Ultimate Thor story he wanted to tell, but wasn't sure which was best, so he just did all 3.

Hopefully the next 3 issues will make these seemingly disparate story threads come together and make sense, there are references to a 'Poetic Edda' throughout, so that could definitely have some importance. But do we trust Hickman to bring it all together? Most of his other books have this same problem of disconnectedness, Fantastic Four has only just begun to tie the threads together, but is 3 issues enough?

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this issue, each segment was strong enough on it's own, but when there seems to be no reason why they are together, it makes an unsatisfying whole.

Art - Carlos Pacheco makes his second foray into the Ultimate Universe, after Ultimate Avengers 1, and his work is as reliable as usual. I did feel at times that Dexter Vines' inks were a bit too heavy. Pacheco misses Jesus Merino, who elected to stay at DC. Not his peak, but still strong, and a perfect fit for Thor.

Best Line - 'The world tree burns... surely this is the end of all things' Suitably ominous.

7/10

[Zero]

it makes an unsatisfying hole.

Ooooooooooh yeeeeaaaah

[Eli Katz]

A lot of books have been doing a double page spread for the credits lately, I believe Superior #1 has one too.

Yikes. Really? That's terrible. Why are creators using new gimmicks to decompress comics further?

I'm tired of inefficient storytelling in comics.

[Punchy]

Yikes. Really? That's terrible. Why are creators using new gimmicks to decompress comics further?

I'm tired of inefficient storytelling in comics.

I don't think it takes the place of story pages.

[Punchy]

Ooooooooooh yeeeeaaaah

Oops, edited.

[BlueStreak]

I'm leaning towards Knight and Squire #1 for next week's pick, but I'm open to suggestions.

[******]

I'm leaning towards Knight and Squire #1 for next week's pick, but I'm open to suggestions.

Knight and Squire seems like the most likely selection to be awesome.

That or Tomb of Terror would be my pick.

[Stephen Day]

Knight and Squire seems like the most likely selection to be awesome.

That or Tomb of Terror would be my pick.

From a selfish point of view I'd prefer Tomb of Terror because I'll be getting that one.

[BlueStreak]

Knight and Squire seems like the most likely selection to be awesome.

That or Tomb of Terror would be my pick.

There's a lot of good books out next week, but a lot of them are in mid-arc or have been reviewed in the not distant past.

I also was thinking about Victorian Undead Special.

[Stephen Day]

There's a lot of good books out next week, but a lot of them are in mid-arc or have been reviewed in the not distant past.

I also was thinking about Victorian Undead Special.

I think that would be a really good choice.

[guitarsmashley]

Ultimate Comics Thor #1(of 4) - 'Ultimate Thor' - Hickman, Pacheco and Vines

Story - If there's one word which sums up the first issue of Ultimate Comics Thor, it's this;

Disjointed.

What we have here is quite possibly a good comic, but it reads more like 3 alright comics. Hickman and Pacheco have set up 3 timelines here, and they seem at the moment rather disconnected.

The first of these timelines is described as 'Now', but is actually a few years ago in the Ultimate Universe, when Thor was in the custody of the European Union of Super-Heroes. We get a nice guest-appearance from Ultimate Captain Britain, and then... Donald Blake shows up to talk to Thor. As fans of regular Thor will know, Donald Blake and Thor are one and the same, so it's an interesting twist to have them be separate people in the Ultimate Universe. Interestingly we never actually see Blake's face, which indicates there could be a twist to come.

The second timeline is during WW2, and is set to involve a battle between Thor and a group of Nazis led by Baron Zemo. I'm surprised we haven't seen Thor take on Nazis beforehand, as it's a very good idea. Hitler was obsessed with the Occult as we all know, and there is a certain Norseness to their Aryan ideals, so it'll be good to see them get a good hammering. But this is completely disconnected from the story set in the present, what does it have to do with Thor and Blake in Brussels? Hickman also gets to play with symbols again, one of his favourite things.

The final timeline is set aaaaages ago in Asgard, and features teenaged Thor battling Frost Giants alongside his brothers Loki and Balder, forming the Ultimate Warriors Three, which is a cool nod, but I want some Ultimate Volstagg action! Once again, this is well done, but what does it have to do with Thor Vs Nazis? Or Thor in the present? At the moment, it seems like Hickman had 3 ideas of what kind of Ultimate Thor story he wanted to tell, but wasn't sure which was best, so he just did all 3.

Hopefully the next 3 issues will make these seemingly disparate story threads come together and make sense, there are references to a 'Poetic Edda' throughout, so that could definitely have some importance. But do we trust Hickman to bring it all together? Most of his other books have this same problem of disconnectedness, Fantastic Four has only just begun to tie the threads together, but is 3 issues enough?

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this issue, each segment was strong enough on it's own, but when there seems to be no reason why they are together, it makes an unsatisfying whole.

Art - Carlos Pacheco makes his second foray into the Ultimate Universe, after Ultimate Avengers 1, and his work is as reliable as usual. I did feel at times that Dexter Vines' inks were a bit too heavy. Pacheco misses Jesus Merino, who elected to stay at DC. Not his peak, but still strong, and a perfect fit for Thor.

Best Line - 'The world tree burns... surely this is the end of all things' Suitably ominous.

7/10

You give a comic a bad review and it scores a 7? You can complain about my reviewing all you want but if something sucks say it sucks. A 7 for "disjointed" story really shows you sucking the marvel teet.

[Punchy]

You give a comic a bad review and it scores a 7? You can complain about my reviewing all you want but if something sucks say it sucks. A 7 for "disjointed" story really shows you sucking the marvel teet.

I said I enjoyed it, but had some problems with it. That's a 7.

[thefourthman]

There's a lot of good books out next week, but a lot of them are in mid-arc or have been reviewed in the not distant past.

I also was thinking about Victorian Undead Special.

yes, please.