Immortal Thor #14: Then Along Came Zeus

Continuing its unpredictable release schedule, Immortal Thor is back after just two weeks, with Giant-Sized Thor #1 coming out next week. With the frequency of issues and tie-ins, one could become concerned that Marvel was sacrificing quality for quantity, but that’s far from the case. Al Ewing’s writing on Immortal Thor—and its many, many tie-ins—continues to be first-rate. The narration and dialogue of Immortal Thor #14 feels poignantly profound and poetic in tone, giving a sense that this is indeed a continuation of the myths that inspired this series, that we as readers are silent observers to the trials and tragedies of gods. 

As Alex Ross’ high-contrast cover promises, Immortal Thor #14 is fundamentally a “big-name heroes fighting” issue featuring Thor and Zeus, now the heads of the Norse and Ancient Greek pantheons respectively. Where the comic shines most is in its first few pages, which connect Thor and Zeus through their relationships to the goddess Gaia/Gaea. That said, new series artist Jan Bazaldua (to my knowledge, the first female artist and first trans artist on a Thor series) embraces Kirby crackle and energetic lightning shapes in a way that makes the lengthy fight scene sing. Also of note is Zeus’ new costume, whose red cape, glowing blue elements, segmented metal arms, and buzzed hair all evoke past Thor designs. While the comic never calls attention to it, it works beautifully to emphasize the way the comic uses Zeus as Thor’s foil. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth, who has taken over from long-time Thor colorist Matt Wilson, employs a similarly moody, grungy coloring style. Hollingsworth’s tight and controlled color palettes work beautifully for the most part, though the harsh blue lighting cast by the lightning sometimes leaves things looking washed out.

While this issue could easily be a smashing-action-figures-together-in-a-sandbox story, the story’s observers (including Hercules, Nyx, and Loki) keep things interesting—aiding and inconveniencing Thor in equal measure. The context is similarly intriguing, with readers and Thor alike knowing this fight is really a riddle/test set by Loki that Thor is meant to solve not only by might but by wit.