Norse Mythology II #2: Can’t I Just Have A Sip?

I enjoyed the art in this issue.  The character designs are great and it gives a realistic but fanciful air to the story which is appropriate for this tale of myth.  The only complaint I have is the lack of caption boxes.  The test is just in the art without any delineation between the text and the art.  Not a major grievance at all but it takes a little getting used to.

I particularly liked the effect of Odin changing from one form to another.  The coloration is a lighter and has almost a hazy appearance in addition to including the original form and the new form coming out of the original form.  It visually represents the change and it is a great transition as there is some form of action like a chase scene afterwards.

The story is an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s prose work Norse Mythology.  I have not read the work but I did listen to an audio production oand the comic adaptation is faithful to the original. Of course, this is a retelling of the classic Norse Myths involving the World Tree, Odin and Thor.  I particularly enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek way the stories are told.  The writers are not making fun of the original stories but instead are adding modern sensibilities which makes this accessible to audiences of this day.

For those of us who know more Marvel lore than Norse mythology, this is surprising. Thor is not the blond haired hero of the Marvel Universe. Thor is characterized here as he is read in the original myths.  Thor is a redhead and he is brutally violent. He thrives on violence and food and not necessarily in that order.  Odin on the other hand is a man who is willing to do anything, including lie and cheat to get what he wants.  This is a far cry of the moralistic Odin we see in Marvel.  With that said, I am glad that these are the original characterizations of these characters.  This is a great way to bring the original Norse tales to the masses of this century.