Ragnarok Volume 1: Last God Standing

This was a unique take on the thunder god but what’s more important is I feel like I’m on a journey when reading it.

A fresh, different take on Thor by Simonson? Bliss.

great story it is like a classic silver age comic people should check it out.

Great, imaginative and a very interesting take on the Norse mythology.

I remember Walt Simonson’s work from the 1970s, when he was breaking in to comics – Manhunter, Englehart’s Batman (he started it, before Marshal Rodgers took over), and in the ‘80s, the series that everyone probably remembers him for – The Mighty Thor.However, that was then, and this is now, and I had seen this book on the shelf at one of my local libraries, but passed it by. Then, the other day, when my harvesting of new titles was slim, I picked it up and skimmed through, and spotted Ratatoskr (do you not read Squirrel Girl?); I immediately put it on my stack of books to go.Then it sat in my in-pile for weeks, before I finally worked my way down to it, and, as so often happens when I leave books to wait for a long time before looking at them, I was shocked to find just how good it was.This is a very mature Simonson, still with the superb design sense but with more “depth” to the artwork, probably a side-effect of modern printing and materials though, letting the quality of his style through in a way that the old-fashioned printing technology used by comics publishers couldn’t.This is not “his” Thor, but still a recognisable one, despite this being more of a mythological story, which takes place after Ragnarok has come and gone, along with the Norse gods and their civilisation.Now there is just a twilight world, with no sun, moon or stars, and small human settlements here and there, where they can find protection from, err, the walking dead… but not those walking dead, but the dead who got out of Hel when the gods fell (“Draugr”) – though no sign of the dead gods and heroes who were also dead, I notice; maybe because they were dead they couldn’t send anyone, including themselves, to Valhalla. No doubt this will be addressed later in the series… Trolls, elves, dwarves and other people and creatures from the Nine Realms are still around, but the humans have lost their protectors and appear to now be in a minority.Anyway, a family of Black Elf assassins are hired by a mysterious masked figure – the “lord of the dead” to go and assassinate a dead god, who is chained up in a prison at the end of the known world. One of the Elves sets off while the other stays home to watch their little girl.When the quest reaches the prison of this dead god, it is pretty obvious who it is, and thanks to the cunning of Ratatoskr, who has been tending to the body, and the usual stupidity of trolls, the dead god is soon free and looking to find out what happened to everyone and everything.While this is obviously not “that” Thor, this is still close enough, and is also a superb epic, firmly based in mythology, but going a step or two beyond it – the Dwarves have built “stargates” for ease of travel around the world(s), for example. The elf family are also still about, the “lord of the dead” is still determined to kill the “Stone God”, as our main character is currently known:Friendly Troll: “Are you… who I think you are?”Stone God: ”Probably, but should anyone ask in passing… tell them simply that the Stone God was here.”This really is a superb chapter in a new Graphic Novel, and I am in for the duration.

Beautifully illustrated, this collection deals with the times after Ragnarok with Odin dead and Hel open to allow the dead to rule. The main characters are black elf assassins, Brynja, Regn and their daughter, Drifa. It also heralds the revival of Thor in a world of dead gods.Engaging and entertaining, this was fun to read although I found the script in runic font hard ot read in the digital edition.

What a let down. I thought Simonson....yes please, but no.