Sif has arrived just in time to stop Thor from completely giving in to his new power. It’s a good thing to as she is probably the only one who could make him listen. Spoilers for Thor #4 follow.
The first three issues of Donny Cates and Nic Klein’s Thor run have been great. Fantastic writing combined with gorgeous art is always going to be an excellent combination. That continues to be the case in this issue as we enter the penultimate issue of this first arc of their run. That isn’t to say that this issue doesn’t have issues, because it does, but the quality is still very much on display here. This is another great issue in what is making to be another great Thor run.
What has made this series so great so far has been the excellent character work that Cates and Klein have done. Sure, the Black Winter is interesting, but at a certain, universe ending threats become stale in storytelling. What matters though is the conflict for the characters and that’s what this issue does well. It brings Sif and Thor into conflict in a believable, yet still caring way. When Beta Ray Bill and Thor came into conflict, it resulted in a continent destroying fight. Whereas when Sif and Thor came into conflict, it was a shouting match sure, but one that was resolved non-violently.
This all comes down to how Sif is portrayed in this issue. Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of Sif. She’s been cool in the past, but nothing has popped out to me about the character. However, this issue made me fall in love with her character. Cates writes her in an almost Wonder Woman sort of way, while Cates draws her with a bit of snark that is completely endearing. It’s a great combination for the character and it will be exciting to see when she returns.
The biggest problem in this issue though is the pacing. The first half of the issue is entirely surrounding the Thor/Sif conflict, while also setting up a future story with Loki. As for the second half, that’s where the actual plot of the arc kicks in. So much of the past two issues have been character-focused that the plot really hasn’t moved forward at all.
This creates a problem when you are telling a grandiose story as it doesn’t allow many pages to tell said story when you have focused so much on individual characters. To me, this is fine as it allows readers to like and glom onto these characters, but from a simple storytelling perspective, it does lead to rushed story points. It’s a bit of lose-lose situation that doesn’t largely detract from the enjoyment of the issue though.
As mentioned though, Nic Klein’s art throughout this issue is once again superb. He allows for each character to become their own thing, each with their own mannerisms, which is the best thing an artist could do here. Not a single character feels stiff, which allows for their distinctive personalities to shine through.
Plus, his art is often just metal as hell. Throw on some Ice Nine Kills or Slipknot in the background and jam that while reading this and you’re golden. But in all seriousness, Klein’s artwork is awesome. He combines a great sense of beauty into what should only be brutal in a way that most artists aren’t able to. If Russel Dauterman was the perfect choice to draw Jane Foster Thor (he was) then Nic Klein is the perfect choice to draw Herald of Galactus Thor.
CHECK OUT: Thor #3 Review: The Herald vs. The Worthy Successor