Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3
Gabriel De Jesus
Recap
Valkyrie fulfills her duty by ferrying Heimdall to the afterlife. Only the all-seeing god does not want to go to Valhalla. Instead Jane must take him across the afterlife of the multiverse in order to find the one place Heimdall cannot see.
Review
The journey of Jane Foster and Heimdall in Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3 is rooted in two of my favorite things, amazing visuals and continuity. After Heimdall’s death last issue, Jane agreed to take him into the unknown the only way she knows how, by pure instinct. Jason Aaron and Al Ewing craft a very text heavy journey across the afterlife realms but deliver the background and Jane’s introspection in a way that doesn’t drag the story.
There is Heven, in turmoil since the War of the Realms. Fighting through the angels, they arrive in Hades, decimated since the death of the Olympian gods in Avengers: No Road Home. Then through the Anti-Tree, where they are tortured by their past, most noticeably the death of Jane’s son. Until they finally arrive at the Far Shore, the unknown they seek on the other side.
The interior art by CAFU, Ramon Perez, Cian Tormey, Roberto Poggi, and Frazer Irving with colors also by Jesus Aburtov and Frazer Irving is amazing. They create work that shines in this issue. Their art transforms the journey from being something that Jane and Heimdall travel, to something the reader experiences with them. The stylistic shifting when they burst through to the Far Shore, provides an ethereal and surreal visual of Heimdall’s final resting place.
Final Thoughts
Aside from the reveal of Bullseye’s boss and the revelation of Mr. Horse, this issue’s only means of pushing the plot forward is to reiterate that Jane is still new to figuring out what it means to be Valkyrie. However, with the stunning art and colors by CAFU, Perez, Tormey, Poggi, Irving, and Aburtov combining with the closing, at least for now, of Heimdall’s story, it makes for a good standalone issue.
Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3: To Realm Unseen
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 9.5/109.5/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10
