The Long Way Home': EW dives deep into the Buffy sequel comics

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="article-main-image" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1rem 0px 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; color: #2090b4; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="height: auto;"><img alt="" height="380" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/02/20/buffy-season-8.jpg?itok=ALsWPbwp" style="box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" title="" typeof="foaf:Image" width="612" /></span></span></div> <div class="submitted" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: normal; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 122.4375px;"> <br /></div> <div class="submitted" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-stretch: normal; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 122.4375px;"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</em><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;"> needs little introduction. One of the most beloved television series of the mid-’90s and early aughts, Joss Whedon’s seminal TV series ran for seven seasons and 144 episodes that now live on Netflix, ready to be discovered by new fans every day. Less well-known (to those who aren’t hardcore </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">Buffy </em><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">fans) is that the story of Buffy and the Scoobies is still going on to this day, via Whedon-sanctioned comic books published by Dark Horse Comics.</span></div> <div class="article-body" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 122.4375px;"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Beginning with <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy: Season 8</em>, which ran for 43 issues between March of 2007 until January 2011, Joss Whedon teamed up with artists like Georges Jeanty and Karl Moline and led a team of writers from both the TV series and other acclaimed comics to tell the official story of what happens after series finale “Chosen,” which left Buffy and the gang standing over the crater where Sunnydale once stood—after destroying the Hellmouth and awakening Slayers all over the world. Currently, the comics have made it all the way to Season 10.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> With all that <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy </em>just lying there waiting to be discussed, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">EW </em>comics shaman Joshua Rivera (a huge <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy </em>fan who is diving into these comics for the first time) and ace intern Jennifer Maas (a huger <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy </em>fan who has already read them all) are teaming up to recap and discuss <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em>’s life after TV. In this first discussion, we talk about making the transition from television to comics and the first five issues of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Season 8</em>, which include the four-part “The Long Way Home” story arc and the standalone story “The Chain.” </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Future columns will feature either Jennifer or Joshua taking on two arcs at a time, before we team up once more for the <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Season 8 </i>finale. With that bit of housekeeping taken care of, let’s get to it:</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Let’s start at the beginning: How’d you come across <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em>season eight?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong> I came across <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> season eight at the same time as I was binge-watching <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> on Netflix in 2011, several years after the show went off the air. I knew I would be out of episodes soon, and my brother, who had forced me to finally get around to watching the show, told me, “You know, they continued it in comics.”</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Suddenly, I wasn’t scared to get to the end of season 7.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JOSHUA: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Was it your first comic book?</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY:</strong> Comic book, yes. I read graphic novels in college—<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Maus</em> I and II and <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Logicomix</em>, which was an assignment given to me by my philosophy major boyfriend. So, yes. Pretty much first comic.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JOSHUA: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Gotcha. I’m curious then—how did the experience of reading a </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Buffy</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;"> comic measure up to watching the series? Were you pleased? Did it take some getting used to? </span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>You know, it took a little getting used to at first, because l was skeptical of looking at the characters as “cartoons.” But that went away really fast as the art is sophisticated and they look like themselves. They are not cartoons. I see the characters, just as if they were still on TV. But the thing that really put me at ease was the trademark <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em>-speak. The characters were still themselves. They talked like themselves. They did what you would expect them to do. That made it enjoyable from the beginning. I began to appreciate the level of detail in the art more and more—and then looking at them as pictures didn’t bother me.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Oh yeah—Whedon keeps all of the characters intact in the transition, and while I’m only reading them for the first time, I understand that future writers do a really good job of staying true to their voices as well.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>Yes, they really do. This first arc was penned by Joss himself, and several more have been since. He’s the “executive producer.” The comics always keep <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> true to what it was. I think there wouldn’t be a point in continuing it if that weren’t true.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA:</strong> He also assembles a dream team of former Buffy writers and legendary comic scribes like Brian K. Vaughan, which is really exciting.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> What I thought was interesting about this first arc—and we’re talking the first five issues, which covers Season 8’s first storyline, “The Long Way Home,” along with the standalone story “The Chain”—was how it immediately picks up where the show left off, but also proceeds to do stuff you’d <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">never</em> see on the show, mostly because of budget restriction.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JENNY: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Yes. That is one of the things I had to realize on my own, oddly enough, as I proceeded with the season. </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Why are they doing these stories they’d never done before? Wouldn’t that have been cool to do in Season 4? </em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Oh, it’s because <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">drawing</em> that is easier than building that.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Exactly! So you get stuff like Giant Dawn (yup, that happens), and you’re like “This is weird!” But it also works, because it’s rooted in her relationship with Buffy after all that’s happened—which is a totally <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> thing to do</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>Yes. A completely <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> thing to do, and also to have Buffy talk down to Dawn as if she’s still a child when Dawn is this giant (and college-aged, as the book mentions she was attending Berkeley) is so funny, and so <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em>.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Which is a good segue to actually talking about what happens in this first arc. One thing I really like is how it slowly eases us back into things. It’s really restrained, and doesn’t just throw everyone at us at once.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">So, now Buffy and the Scoobies have all started training a giant Slayer army after awakening them all in the season 7 finale, “Chosen,” and the world is fundamentally changed—both because of that, and because, you know</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">—</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">she sorta blew up her town.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY:</strong> Yes, we pick up in what we can estimate is at least a year after Sunnydale exploded.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Buffy and the Scoobies have identified thousands of slayers around the world because of what happened at the end of Season 7. And the world is very much a different place. Our little Scooby gang is a different group—they have a “headquarters” that is an actual top-notch facility and not a school library.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Yeah! They’re like the X-Men now!</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>Yes, or S.H.I.EL.D., as Xander (with his eyepatch) refers to when he calls himself Nick Fury</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JOSHUA: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Fun fact: Whedon had actually written X-Men for about two years just before starting season 8.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>Really? I did not know that.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Yeah! It’s really good. <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Astonishing X-Men</em> #1-24</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>I mean it makes sense, he was already making <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Angel</em> and<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> comics while both series were on. Never say the man is limited to one medium.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA:</strong> Indeed! So how do you like the Scoobies as a giant superteam of Slayers that the military is threatened by? Are you into it?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>You know, it’s something new and different, which is always good. Every season of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Buffy</em> was different—I would think this is just the most different. It didn’t have the limits others do.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Yeah. It’s particularly interesting because I’d always seen Buffy as a superhero show—its structure was very comic-booky, so it’s interesting to see it come full circle and be a full-blown superhero comic.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>It is. And it is actually less overwhelming than you would think, as Season 7 was all about making the team bigger. Bringing in more and more Slayers, even before they were tapped.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Okay, so—having read all of Season 8 (unlike myself), what do you like most about it?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JENNY: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">I think it would be getting the chance to see how much the characters have changed since Season 7—but in ways that make sense for their overall development. Seeing Buffy try and stick with her standard “I need to do this alone, because I’m the Slayer,” motto—but knowing that isn’t the case anymore with her giant team behind her—and having to adapt to that. Seeing Willow become in control of her magic again, after not being afraid to use it in the finale of Season 7. Meeting the new characters they introduce is great too. And I also love this season’s Big Bad.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Yes, the Big Bad! Without spoiling anything, is it the one we’ve met in this first arc?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY </strong>It is not the Initiative-like army team or their general. It is one person who the general did make reference to. And that person is related to the mysterious symbol we saw on his chest here and at other points throughout the arc.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">JOSHUA: </strong><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Got it! I’m so excited to be finally starting this.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>Yes, it is gonna be a fun ride. Seeing the team back in action is great on its own. But seeing them do things we would never have seen them do in the live action show is even better in some ways.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA: </strong>Absolutely.  Do you have a favorite arc in Season 8?</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JENNY: </strong>I don’t want to give away anything about the Big Bad by saying my favorite, which is one of the last arcs. So I will say my second favorite is <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Time of Your Life</em>. It ties in with another Buffyverse comic, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fray</em>, that’s set in the future. We see what the future is like for slayers.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">JOSHUA:</strong> Can. Not. Wait. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px;"> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Come back next Friday, where Joshua Rivera will take on the second and third arc of </em>Season 8<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">: “No Future for You,” and “Wolves at the Gate”— issues #6-#15.</em></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

The Long Way Home': EW dives deep into the Buffy sequel comics

Buffy the Vampire Slayer  needs little introduction. One of the most beloved television series of the mid-’90s and early aughts, Joss ...

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This month in comics: Thor takes a hammer to critics who say feminists 'ruin everything'

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color: grey; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 0px;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 0.85em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25em; padding: 0px;"> <em class="image-credit" style="box-sizing: border-box;">(Marvel Entertainment)</em></div> </div> </div> <div class="submitted" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-stretch: normal; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px 0px 0px 122.4375px;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Nimbus Sans L, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.6000003814697px; line-height: 17px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">Back in July, Marvel made waves by announcing—on</span><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">The View</em><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">, of all places—that their iconic character Thor</span><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span><span style="color: #0177c2; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">was being replaced by a woman</span></span><span style="font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em;">. Of course, people made a Big Deal out of this, because that’s what Marvel wanted. Marvel’s announcement was a deliberately provocative move meant to garner goodwill among those seeking better representation in comics, and incite heated debate among not so open-minded.</span></div> <div class="article-body" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 122.4375px;"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Of course, a whole mess of people who normally didn’t have much to say about comics suddenly had lots to say—like Tucker Carlson of<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fox & Friends</em>, who bemoaned that <span style="color: #0177c2;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor was now “a chick.”</span></span> But it’s a sentiment that was shared by a number of vocal comics fans who decried the decision as <span style="color: #0177c2;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“political correctness run amok</span></span>,” ruining the character for the sake of some sort of agenda. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Well, here’s a funny story: the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor</em> creative team has heard these criticisms, and has addressed them explicitly In this month’s <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor #5,</em>where a villain (The Absorbing Man) finds out that the new Thor is a woman, and says that “feminists are ruining everything.” Then Thor breaks his jaw. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div> <div class="ew-shortcode-ew-image alignleft wp-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; margin: 0.3rem 0px; padding: 0px; width: 612px;"> <img alt="" height="238" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/1424381547/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-19%20at%203.09.02%20PM.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="580" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px;"> Image Credit: Marvel</div> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> It’s a pretty great moment, one that’s cartoonishly on the nose when taken out of context, but hilarious when you’re aware of the criticism the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor</em> creative team has been getting over the story. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span></div> <div class="ew-shortcode-ew-image alignleft wp-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; margin: 0.3rem 0px; padding: 0px; width: 612px;"> <img alt="" height="239" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/1424381547/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-19%20at%203.09.15%20PM.png" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%;" width="578" /><div class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px;"> Image Credit: Marvel</div> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> In the media circus that surrounded the new <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor</em>, what was often lost in the discussion were the story reasons for the decision—whether or not you ascribe to the more cynical, mercenary view that dictates this was nothing but a shallow marketing ploy (which is silly, because comic books, like most commercial art forms, exist to make money)—that the new Thor’s origin was a direct extension of the epic story writer Jason Aaron had been telling in <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor: God of Thunder</em>, for over two years.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> The circumstances leading to new Thor spin out of Marvel’s big<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Original Sin </em>crossover, in which many Marvel heroes came to learn dark buried secrets about their past. One of these was something whispered to Thor—something we still don’t know—that rendered him unworthy of Mjolnir, his enchanted hammer. Unable to lift it, Thor began calling himself by his family name, Odinson, and Mjolnir sat where he left it, on the moon—until a mysterious woman picked it up. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Throughout Jason Aaron’s <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor </em>run, the writer has been fascinated by the idea of a superhero that’s also a deity, exploring Thor in his youth and old age, his place in the Nine Realms, his connection with Earth and its inhabitants. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> With the new Thor (who is not even the first new Thor—a number of people have wielded the hammer, namely Storm of the X-Men and a horse-like alien named Beta Ray Bill), Aaron continues to examine the character he started writing over two years ago, but also revisits an old idea that Lee and Kirby had when they first introduced the character decades ago—that the role of “God(dess) of Thunder” is something separate from person who fulfills it. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">The new Thor’s thought bubbles aren’t in that dignified fantasy-speak she (involuntarily) uses when she speaks as Thor,  but in normal, conversational English. She doesn’t quite know </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">why</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;"> she’s Thor, but she knows what she </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">should</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">be</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;"> as Thor. Comics love stories about legacy, and a legacy inherited by someone that others don’t deem worthy of it is a common trope in such stories. That some pundits and comic book fans take equal affront to this new Thor makes for a fascinating (albeit frustrating) layer of metacommentary that makes this run feel necessary and timely.</span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> Of course, it would all be for naught if the comics weren’t any good. So five months into the new <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor</em>, is it? Hell yes. Pardon me— I meant<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Hel</em> yes (Asgard jokes). Aaron’s run on the character is one of the greats, and the artists he’s been working with—namely Esad Ribic and Russell Dauterman—have been producing absolutely stunning art that’s been a joy to pour over every month.</div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">Really, there’s only one frustrating element to it—we </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;">still</em><span style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.6em;"> don’t know who the new Thor really is, and won’t find out until issue #8 in May. (However, it’s almost certainly Roz Solomon, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that’s been featured heavily on Aaron’s run and conspicuously absent since new Thor took over). </span></div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 1.3rem; padding: 0px;"> If you haven’t been reading these comics, give them a shot. Go back to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Thor</em>:<em style="box-sizing: border-box;"> God of Thunder</em> #1, see everything that Aaron and Ribic did with the character. Read about Gorr, the God Butcher. See Thor when he was young and brash and didn’t have a hammer, but a giant-ass ax. Check out how cool he looks at the end of time, as a lonely one-armed king standing against encroaching darkness. </div> <div style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: proxima-nova, sans-serif; line-height: 1.6em; padding: 0px;"> Then see what happens when he loses his hammer, and it is picked up by another—because there must always be a Thor. Whoever this one is, she’s pretty great. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>

This month in comics: Thor takes a hammer to critics who say feminists 'ruin everything'

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