Reviewer: Daron Kappauff
Story Title: The Substance of Things Hope For
Quick Rating: Uh…where did this story come from?
Written by: Christopher Priest
Penciled by: Trent Kaniuga
Inked by: Trent Kaniuga
Colored by: Trent Kaniuga
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel
As I said earlier…where the hell did this story come from? Hot off the heels of the, admittedly mediocre ending to the Standoff story line, we get a story about a possible future featuring a young boy who finds Thor’s hammer in an abandoned subway tunnel? Again I have to ask, where is this coming from?
I know this issue was a fill-in issue, but come one…it could have at least been about the current storyline. Thor has been one of the best titles on the market lately, and to go from that to whatever it was that we got this month is just plain insulting.
Without going into too much detail, because this issue definitely doesn’t warrant it, the story takes place in the future. Thor has been missing for years, and a young boy thinks he has found him. Of course the person who he thinks is Thor, is a crazy old man who just happens to be extremely strong and virile. Next the boy finds what he thinks is Thor’s hammer, and I’m sure you can imagine where the story goes from there.
The art for this issue was interesting. I’ve never seen Kaniuga’s work before, and have to admit that I liked it. Although, I don’t know if it really would work for this title normally, it felt right for this story.
It may seem like I’m being a little hard on this story, and to be honest it wasn’t the worst story I’ve ever read. But it just doesn’t fit with what has been going on with this title. I really don’t care about a “Days of Future Past†story when we could be seeing the fallout from Standoff.
If you’ve been reading the series and are a completist, then I would say pick up this issue. But if you were looking to cut back on something, I’d say to skip this month’s Thor. Come back next month when the regular team returns…as does the All-Father.
