THOR #600

In Thor #599 the god of thunder was sent to Ragnarok after Asgard was reduced to rubble and his friends killed by Loki. For five years Thor remained absent from the Marvel Universe and when he returned it was in great form with Thor #1 penned by J. Michael Straczynski. For the next 12 issues Thor began rebuilding Asgard and retrieving the souls of his fallen comrades from the human forms they inhabited. Even Loki returned though now in the guise of a woman but still unchanged. Loki has been driving a wedge between Balder and Thor through innuendo and lies and now it's come to a head.

Moving away from the previous numbering Thor #600 picks up where the new Thor #12 left off but it takes the story into the stratosphere. Straczynski is writing again with gorgeous art by Olivier Coipel and together they bring Thor to a place he has never been before. Loki has brought back to life Bor the father of Odin. Loki has also poisoned the mind of the Thor's grandfather driving him mad with rage and creating the mirage that everything and everyone is an enemy.

As Bor ravages New York Thor arrives to figure out who this is as he's never met his grandfather before. What follows is an epic battle that includes Thor, Bor, Balder, The Dark Avengers and ends with a shocking decision by the thunder god. The action in this book never lets up but also never subverts the plot. If this is the new direction that Thor is being taken in then sign me up. If you love Thor you owe it to yourself to pick this issue up.

Not only is this original story in Thor 600 but also a reprint of To Asgard Forever written by Stan Lee and penciled by David Aja. To top it all off are two separate Jack Kirby/Stan Lee stories as well as a cover gallery featuring every cover Thor appeared on in his own run.

This double sized issue is 4.99 (a dollar more than usual) but it's totally worth it.