Writer – Joe Kubert
Artist – Joe Kubert

The first issue of Tor under the DC banner begins with an introduction by Joe Kubert, the man drawing himself upon the page and describing how he came about the creation of his savage hero. The man wastes no time in putting Tor through his paces as readers are introduced to the prehistoric man as he attempts to take down a dinosaur in order that he might attain some food for his village. The battle is fierce, yet Tor overcomes and as he does so, he thinks back to his days as a boy, learning about life from his father. Kubert paints those early days as fairly innocent, at least until they are not, for when young Tor heads out adventuring, he runs into one of the Mountain People who declares that Tor is trespassing. In that instance, innocence is taken from Tor as receives a beating from Kobar unlike anything he has ever experienced and after crawling home; his father finally decides that it is time for Tor to learn how to defend himself. Young Tor is sent to find a handle for an axe, one that must be sturdy and after thinking he has found such a branch, he accidentally falls into the lagoon and is promptly attacked by a Phytosaur. At this moment in time, Tor’s strength is not enough to fend off such a creature, but out of the blue, Kobar appears and kills the animal, though not before it drags him down into the depths. Seeing all of this, Tor cannot help but go after the drowning Kobar and so he rescues him, though not without a bit of confrontation when all is said and done. Kubert pencils are as incredible as always, his artwork timeless and visceral and the prehistoric world of Tor looks incredible, the characters even more so. As for the story itself, it is a simple one but it is a compelling one and readers cannot help but be engaged in this world that Kubert introduces them to. Finally in an essay entitled Tor: The Eternal Hero by Allan Asherman, he goes on to chronicle the influences surrounding the creation of Tor and its previous publishing history and how Kubert always meant to get back to his creation, even though it took over twenty years to do so. For a first issue, it was a great read and had everything one could want in such a book, making the need of a second issue a sure thing.

4 out of 5