Immortal Thor #19: This One’s for Everybody Else

Reading this week’s Immortal Thor #19, I couldn’t help but think of two things: Marvel Comics #1000 and speed-dating. Like the bulk of Marvel Comics #1000, published in 2019, every page of Immortal Thor #19 is done by a different artist (save first and last, both by Jan Bazaldua). Marvel Comics #1000 attempted to show Marvel’s scope and 80-year history through a smorgasbord of one-page flash comics by a variety of creative teams, all tied together with an overarching story penned by Immortal Thor writer Al Ewing. Ewing is now attempting a similar feat in the context of an ongoing series. 

Immortal Thor #19 gets its subtitle “Tales of Asgard” from a 1968 Thor spinoff series and, like its namesake, focuses on Thor’s supporting cast rather than Thor himself. Alex Ross’ cover, featuring Thor and Thor alone, seems a missed opportunity if not outright misleading. The issue’s opening page shows Thor as a speck on the horizon, quite symbolically out of focus, as he leaves Asgard to seek advice from a far-away friend. “Tales of Asgard” is structured as a series of conversational vignettes, various characters jumping out for others to jump in, like a game of dialog pass-the-baton. Some established fan-favorites remain sidelined: Thor’s chums the Warriors Three eke out a one-panel cameo, while Hela only appears on Bazaldua’s variant cover. But amid all the back-and-forth, there are glimpses of profundity. This is especially true of Ewing’s characterization of Enchantress and her son Magni, who get the most emphasis. 

Pairing these glimpses at various secondary characters with a constantly changing roster of talented artists, the comic creates a sense of breadth and multitudinousness. Much like speed-dating, being introduced to a wide variety of artists in quick succession (many of them former Thor artists) is exciting but comes at the expense of getting to know anyone’s work well. One may glimpse an artist’s knack for composition or struggles with anatomy; one may even glimpse something truly beautiful. (While Marvel Comics #1000 credits artists directly on their page, Immortal Thor does one group credit at the end, making it harder to tell who’s who.) The same speed-dating experience feels true of the characters. Like Marvel Comics #1000, Immortal Thor #19 offers novelty, certainly, but at the expense of depth and sustained focus. And while this seems like a comedically abbreviated redux, it would be delightful to see Tales of Asgard revived as a proper anthology series with a new story and creative team each issue.