Thor: God of Thunder Volume 1: The God Butcher (Marvel Now)

by Jason Aaron

Esad Ribic (Artist) and Jason Aaron (Script Writer)

A trail of blood threatens to consume Thor's past, present and future! Throughout the ages, gods have been vanishing, their mortal worshippers left in chaos. The only hope for these ravaged worlds is for Thor to unravel the gruesome mystery of the God Butcher! In the distant past, the Thunder God discovers a forgotten cave that echoes with the cries of tortured gods--and is shocked to find himself among them! In the present, Thor follows the bloody wake of murdered gods across the depths of space. And thousands of years from now, the last god-king of a ruined Asgard makes his final stand against the God Butcher's berserker legions. As three Thors from three eras race to stop the God Butcher, the full extent of his vicious scheme takes terrifying shape! Collecting THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #1-5.

• ISBN10: 0785166971
• ISBN13: 9780785166979
• Publish Date: 14 January 2014 (first published 11 June 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Marvel Comics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 136
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780785166979

Reviews

The only Thor I read is when he is part of another team. I have not read many individual comics of Thor because the one I have were not the kind of stories I've liked, they've always bored me.

I've seen high praises for Aaron's run and to start here. I heard to start with reading this one, since it leads to some awesome stories in the future. I have not read that far, but if they are anything like this, I can't wait to read it.

In this Graphic Novel we see 3 POV from young Thor, present day Thor, and future Thor. All three Thors have encounters with a God Killer and we see the interactions they have with this being.

The story and art is amazing and I'm excited to read some more Thor. I've added his stuff to my list to read, which I've never done before.

[Quirky Cat]

God of Thunder volume one is the start of Jason Aaron's extended Thor plotline, totaling in eight volumes (Thor: God of Thunder one and two, Mighty Thor one and two, Thor: Goddess of Thunder one, two, and three, and finally Unworthy Thor). So if you've been curious about where it all starts, you now have your answer. It collects issues one through five, and is therefore a very quick read.



Quick warning first: Don't get attached to the flying horse (or really anybody but Thor, with a title that has “butcher” in the name, it's really better safe than sorry). The scene is only on one panel, so it is easily skipped.
The God Butcher is an aptly named title for this volume, as the main antagonist does just that (shocking, I know). Gorr rapidly becomes Thor's biggest foe, spreading their battles out throughout centuries. I personally like Gorr as an adversary for Thor – it's nice seeing Thor have to go out of his way and track his enemies down.
Thor is forced to investigate missing gods by using the library (gasp!) of all things, resulting in no end of amusement on my part. Very quickly we are shown just how effective and brutal Gorr really is; fully establishing him as a true opponent for Thor.
There are rapid transitions between the past (Thor on earth during the time of the Vikings), the present (self explanatory), and the future (the end of time). The transitions are sometimes jarring and confusing, and are the main reason I rated the book a four instead of a five star rating. The information gleaned from the transitioning back and forth is interesting however, so I'm glad they were added. I love that older Thor looks so much like his father in the end (and by that I mean the end of time Thor).
Overall I would say that Thor: God of Thunder was worth reading, and am looking forward to reading volume two - I'm the oddball that read the Mighty Thor and up before reading this, so I know where it ends up, but I'd like to see what happened in the middle.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[inlibrisveritas]

Thor has quickly become a favorite of mine, replacing Harley Quinn at the top of my ‘must read’ list. Mind you she is still my favorite female villain ever, but I no longer feel that need to buy all of her comic books or graphic novels. I’ve been reading the older Thor comics for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that I began buying the issues in earnest.

The thing I love the most about Thor is that he doesn’t do what other superheroes do, which is mostly hang out on Earth and fight ‘normal’ supervillains. Instead he tackles what some would call weird, but thankfully the Marvel Now! run was equipped with a fantastic writer that turns weird in to a unique and stand out piece of work. The God Butcher story arc brings something new to the table. There is a mysterious shadow cloaked figure killing the Gods (or Immortals) of all the worlds and Thor himself has a target on his back. We are given three different time lines to follow, which sounds hard to keep up with but it’s actually a really awesome way to tell the full story all at once without drawing it out longer than needed. I love seeing the three different versions of Thor because they are so different yet clearly the same.

Young Thor is brash and foolish hardheaded, he rushes headlong into battles and fights like he has something to prove and in some ways he does. He doesn’t wield Mjolnir yet and he wants to live up to the standard his father has placed before him. Current Thor is as we have known him. Still brash but willing to stop and think, and is far more caring than Young Thor could ever care to be. He still harbors old wounds and is still prone to do things deemed ‘unwise’ but they are less likely to blow up in his face. Old Thor is very much like Odin…though I would dare to say not as much of a prick as Odin can be. He’s wise and both weaker & stronger. He fears very little, but those things he holds closest to his heart hold tremendous power over him.

This is definitely a series worth reading and I love the fact that I own nearly all of the single issues. I’m sad it’s run is at an end, but I still have another 6 or so issues to go before i reach the ending.