Immortal Thor #25: Sad Stories of the Death of Kings

“Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings” — Richard II

Thor Odinson, God of Thunder, is dead. This is made known to us from the very first page. What Marvel itself has also made known to us is that there’s a new Thor solo series starting at the end of next month. In superhero comics, death is rarely more than an inconvenience to be shrugged off after the publisher has enjoyed a boost in sales figures and perhaps sold some limited edition tat. While Immortal Thor #25 feels not altogether surprising, thanks to writer Al Ewing’s insistent foreshadowing, it’s satisfying and meaningful nonetheless. In an age of stories that warp characters and fall apart completely in desperate attempts to outsmart readers, Immortal Thor simply rewards its readers for paying attention. One gets the sense not only that the story has come to its natural conclusion, but the only conclusion that was ever possible. Immortal Thor #25 weaves together plot threads and allusions to a multitude of previous Thor series going back decades without getting either self-indulgent or fanservicey. 

The finale also serves as a passing of the baton from Immortal Thor artist Jan Bazaldua to returning Thor artist Pasqual Ferry, with an interlude drawn by Justin Greenwood. Several artists working on one story can at times be jarring and disrupt narrative flow, but the shifts in Immortal Thor #25 are well-timed and add to the richness of the story. Bazaldua thrives in action scenes, so feels constrained by the comic’s relatively static opening sequence. That said, a couple of her smaller compositions are wonderfully eerie. In a comics landscape dominated by semi-realism, Greenwood’s unapologetic cartooning, with its exaggerated proportions and heavily varied line weight, is a breath of fresh air. And there’s a sort of romance to Ferry’s linework, which is loose and fluid. 

The issue’s coloring is a mixed bag, with series colorist Matt Hollingsworth now joined by Romulo Fajardo. Bazldua’s pages feel rather busy thanks to a vast array of colors and digital texture brushes. The color palettes and brush choices for Greenwood’s and Ferry’s pages, meanwhile, are far more restrained and come off the better for it.