The JMS Dilemma

Joe Michael Stracynski’s 16-issue run on Thor, which recently ended and is likely to have a strong influence on the upcoming Thor movie, sucks. It is not a good Thor story, and no, its not even fit to hold the Walt Simonson run’s used underwear.  Before we get to that however, let me preface this a little bit.

I, for the most part, enjoy critically acclaimed comics. I love the recent Eisner award winning series like Brubaker’s Captain America and Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man. I loved Chew. I enjoyed Sandman, Ultimates, and Transmetropolitan, I even enjoyed JMS stuff like Supreme Power and his Amazing Spider-Man run- what I am trying to highlight here is that I consider myself a lover of comics, and, generally, if it is considered a critical success, I can see the comic for what it is and enjoy it. I am not getting on a soapbox and trying to talk about how screwed up everyone’s taste in comics here is. I am not one of those guys who go into the shop every week and complain about how superhero comics have gone to shit and how John Byrne and John Buscema need to come in and fix everything. 

That being said, JMS’s Thor run sucks butt. Worst of all, its status as a critical success is likely to influence the new Thor movie and screw everything up.

I consider Walt Simonson’s run on Thor to be one of the best single runs on a comic series of all time. Now, it is not for everyone. That being said, it is one of the best examples of pure fantasy in comics, of creating a world and a set of characters that absolutely blows the imagination. Simonson constantly reaches out and excites the reader. Asgard is a land of wonders and awe like no one is supposed to be able to possibly imagine - this was the mindset Lee and Kirby took creating it, and Simonson nearly perfects it. His characters are fleshed out and believable, but never at the expense of the action and splendor. There are some specifics he also follows - he recognizes that Thor himself is not a dynamic character, but instead more of adventuring hero archetype similar to Hercules. Thor is not entertaining because of his character complexities, he’s entertaining because he is everything we are not - a God with no obligations to daily life as we know it, with unimaginable power. Simonson embraced this whole-heartedly, as Thor was the hero, the adventurer, while characters like Balder carried the depth and pathos. Without dwelling too much longer on this, Simonson absolutely nailed what makes a Thor comic fun.

Right outside of the gate, we knew that JMS was not going to follow this model, and, honestly, that is not a bad thing. Writers should establish their own niche. For the most part, in the beginning, I think he was doing a good job at that. This was a Thor who had been through more, and was less whimsical. With the exception of an absolutely terrible issue #3 (more on that later,) JMS had a blend of character establishment, action (although it was very subdued and not nearly plentiful) and pathos to the character that more or less worked. 

It was not fantastic stuff - the first 6 issues were excessively decompressed and not much really happened - but it was a decent start. It’s hard to compare a modern comic to one from 20 years ago, as decompression has become such a necessity to the trade market, essentially eliminating any chance of the rapid-fire pace of the Simonson stuff, but, regardless, this was an incredibly slow start by any standard. Thor really only cuts loose and is challenged physically once, in issue 5 by the Destroyer (in fact, in the 16 issue run, Thor is only really brought to his limit twice including this moment.) Uh, really? I am reading Thor, not Daredevil, right? It’s like watching Conan the Barbarian, but the extent of the story is up to the temple scene, and the rest is Conan sitting around contemplating what to do. Honestly, it’s kinda boring. And again, in six issues, where do we get? To the status quo. Isn’t that something you try to establish a little earlier?

As for issue 3, it is a great representation of JMS’s weakness as a writer - his ego. He cannot get his politics out of his work. Iron Man, here, is such a ridiculous mockery of the character that I cringe reading it. I remember people got pissed when Thor was portrayed kind of dumb in Loeb’s Hulk, but Iron Man, in this instance, is much worse. He plops down, tells Thor to pack his shit and come with him, and basically threatens Thor to his face. This is the same fascist, money-mongering corporate villain that JMS wrote him as in Civil War, and it is so ridiculous and out of character that it ruins the issue. The whole fight scene seems like some kind of left-wing power trip, with Thor kicking the tar out of right-wing corporate America. I really didn’t need to read that, although I will admit Coipel’s art is gorgeous in it. 

After the first six issues, we get a two-issue arc with Marko Djurdjevic on art, and, honestly, it’s not bad. We learn the origin of Odin and develop Thor and Odin’s connection a little. We also get a fair amount of story, although, again, little on the action department (pretty much two pages per issue) and JMS characterization of Surtur, the end-all-be-all badass, is just a grunting orc with no discernable personality beyond "evil". Odin even fails to convey the majesty and stature that he should, as the fight is really little more then a scene from Lord of the Rings of some guy killing an orc. Again, JMS’s scaling back of the scale of Thor drains the excitement, robbing Thor of one of its intrinsic qualities as a comic. Regardless, it’s an ok little arc. 

From then on, the suckitude begins, and it begins hard. Issues 9 and 10 focus on Loki and Balder’s relationship, which is, frankly, ridiculous. I understand not being a slave to continuity, but seriously, Balder and Loki? Balder, the guy who chopped off Loki’s head in the Simonson run, the guy who was KILLED by Loki, the guy who, out of everyone, has ALWAYS seen through Loki’s lies? Now he is listening to and trusting him? Bwuh? Weird continuity gaff aside, little happens besides a lot of talking and Balder discovering he’s Thor’s half brother. They kill a troll, though. I guess that’s cool. If you’re wondering what Thor is doing, he is sitting in a chair. In fact, in issue 9, all we see of him is his feet, the start of a frustrating trend of ignoring Thor that gets steadily worse until the end of the series. Regardless, these two issues just bored me. So little was happening, and we hadn’t seen Thor do anything cool since fighting the Destroyer for three pages in issue 5. 

Issue 11 was mainly a Captain America tribute issue, as well as Loki continuing his games. Not a terrible issue, but kinda irrelevant and, AGAIN, very light on any kind of excitement. Issue 12 is actually a fantastic Loki-centered issue, probably the best of the whole run, although, again, no Thor to be seen. Regardless, it’s an excellent issue.

Finally we make it to 600. It is, FINALLY, what I was waiting for - a knockdown, drag-out fight. It is brutal, beautifully drawn, and damn satisfying. The story implications are a little flimsy (Loki can hex Bor? Really?) As everyone continues to be a little dumb around Loki, but at least it’s satisfying. That feeling does not return.

The last 4 issues of the run are absolute shit, for one pure reason: they are so fucking boring. Issue 601 - Thor sits around with his hammer. We see him for one page. 602 - Thor frees Sif. We see him for 1 or 2 pages. 603 - Thor stands around with Sif. We see him for 1 page. Giant-Size finale - We see Thor for 1 page. WHAT THE FUCK DUDE? Sure, other stuff is going on, but isn’t JMS kinda missing the boat here? Early in the run, Thor didn’t do much, but at least he was in the book. Now, in the last few issues, JMS pet character, William, some redneck hick from Oklahoma, takes the spotlight. His valiant contribution? Telling Balder Loki is up to no good. Yeah, big surprise dumb dumb. And Loki’s insidious plot? To kill Don Blake with Doom-bots. Seriously, 16 issues of buildup and that’s IT? Doom-bots? Am I supposed to feel any kind of suspense? And the big payoff: Don Blake has a limp again! Did anybody give a SHIT that Don Blake didn’t have a limp? Does anybody care about this at all? Also, what was up with the Sif body swap? Why did Loki even do that? Did he really just want boobs for a while? It seems to serve no purpose in the end.

Now, I understand JMS was cut short on his run. Regardless, the ending was shit. If he had 6 more issues to tell it, I still think it’d suck, we’d just see a lot more Thor sitting around and maybe a longer Doom-bots getting wasted scene. But seriously, this is the culmination of JMS "legendary" run, one on par with Simonson? Are you kidding? In the end, this wasn’t even a Thor book. 

So, I’ve just spent way to long talking about why I hate this run. Why does this even matter, besides me challenging the popular opinion? It’s because I have this dreaded feeling that it’s going to influence the movie. I am really worried that Branaugh is going to take the subdued angle, with the action being really LOTR-ish and not having these guys cut loose. I doubt were going to see Thor throw his hammer through a frost giant, or gut the Midgard serpent, or go toe-to-toe with Surtur. Honestly, that is robbing one of the things that make Thor cool. 

I will say this: I can’t wait for Fractions Thor. I loved Ages of Thunder, and can’t wait to see how he handles the ongoing proper.