Jirni #5

Writer – J.T. Krul
Artist – V. Ken Marion
Inker – Mark Roslan
Colours – Wes Hartman
Letters – Josh Reed

Ara has travelled a tough road of late as she is still new to the wide world and all of the wonders and dangers that it holds. Some things come easy for her and some quite hard, but they are lessons to be learned including her current predicament where she is in the midst of trying to free the slaves of R’anu, a wizard who keeps them ‘safe’ at least until he needs them for his nefarious purposes that is. So Ara does what she has been doing wherever she sees injustice and she frees all of the slave girls from the evil tyrant and when all is said and done, she finds more than a little hostility directed her way because the girls never asked to be rescued whatsoever. It confuses Ara to say the least, but she manages to salvage the mission with some good still coming of it. J.T. Krul has crafted a fun little adventure starring everyone’s favourite half-djinn and though it has come to the end of its run, it looks like there will be more on the horizon which is a good thing. What was really nice to see was the advancement in Ara’s character from the scared little girl she used to be in volume one to the end of this series where she has been forced to grow up faster than she ever expected. The nature of the series is a little clichéd as we have seen the hero’s quest countless times over the years in various media and this one does not do anything completely different, but it is told well which is very important. Clichéd or not, a good story is a good story and Krul manages to make this one exciting and quite enjoyable, more akin to that of Conan more than anything else and it works. Going forward it would be interesting to see a little more focus on Ara’s magical side and her djinn heritage as well, for while sword fights and physical battles are all well and good, there is more to our hero than just that. The artwork by V. Ken Marion has been quite exceptional, hearkening back to Michael Turner’s style and Aspen should lock the man down in a contract so he can keep drawing the heroines we all know and love. Let us hope that volume three is right around the corner.

3.5 out of 5

The Mighty Thor #2

Writer – Jason Aaron
Artist – Russell Dauterman
Colours – Matthew Wilson
Letters – VC’s Joe Sabino

The new cadre of villains comprised of Laufey and Loki, Malekith and Dario Agger are creating quite a lot of trouble not only for Thor, but for the Nine Worlds as well. The Light Elves are feeling it particularly bad at the moment as they are getting slaughtered, so much so that by the end of the battle, they could be on the verge of extinction. So after Thor makes a hasty retreat from Cul on Asgardia, she makes it just in time to help out said Light Elves and receives a mysterious offer from Loki which she is obviously keen to distrust. Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman with his exquisite pencils continue to pour on the action and intrigue in this latest issue and it could not be any better unless Original Thor was taking part. There are a lot of threads taking place in this web that Aaron is trying to weave and you can see how they are all starting to connect as the story moves on, from the refusal of the council of the Nine Worlds to act, to Odin’s seeming madness, to Original Thor being missing and all of the villains rising up, including Amora, better known as the enchantress, who has decided to join with the villains of the piece. You know that at some point, everything is going to connect up and come together and there will be a massive battle and yet, even knowing that, it is such a good story and filled with so much suspense and action that it is making every moment until then absolutely thrilling. A lot of people deride this new Thor, one Dr. Jane Foster and how she is not the ‘Thor’ that they knew as they grew up, and it is true, she is not. For the moment though, she is Thor and everyone knows that it will not be forever, it is merely part of the larger story overall that is this book and if everyone who has doubts would just read the book, they would find it utterly compelling and one of Marvel’s best books being published right now. There might be a lot of villainy going on at the moment, especially with the conniving Loki, and it might be trying for our hero, but if anyone can come through and conquer, it is Thor.

4.5 out of 5