Thor Annual #1: Rainbow-Bridging the Gap

In this year’s Thor annual, Thor is facing off against M.O.D.O.K., who has decided to rebrand himself as M.Y.T.H.O.S. and rewrite reality by bending the Bifrost to his will. The meat of the issue, written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, can best be described as an abbreviated, albeit a derivative version of the Secret Wars/Battleworld (2015) and Infinity Wars (2018) events of years past (which similarly saw villains rewriting reality). Their approach to M.O.D.O.K., meanwhile, feels fun and fresh (even a tad tragic). 

Artist Ibraim Roberson’s gritty artwork sustains the tone set by artist Nic Klein in the previous series. Also, it lends some much-needed gravitas to M.O.D.O.K./M.Y.T.H.O.S., who might be a supervillain but is often difficult to take seriously. Every page is genuinely gorgeous thanks to Roberson’s dynamic compositions and inventive page layouts, colored by Dan Brown with an array of glowing, jewel-like tones. 

Along with the main story, this annual includes a prologue for the new Thor series beginning in August, written by incoming writer Al Ewing and drawn by incoming artist Martín Cóccolo. Their story succinctly explains Thor’s redesign (or, more accurately, de-design). The shift in narrative tone to something bright, hopeful, and nostalgic (aided in no small part by returning colorist Matthew Wilson) is unquestionably jarring after such a grim series but nonetheless welcome.

Ever since Loki: Agent of Asgard, it’s seemed clear Ewing is meant to write  Thor. Next month, we’ll find out if that holds true. So far, all signs point to yes.