In a land of superheroes and mutants, it takes a lot to stand out. Fortunately for Thor, he's a god.
Thor has been a fixture in the Marvel universe for over forty-five
years, as a founding member of the Avengers and star of his own title
throughout the years. And today he is at the height of his powers, with
his series hitting the top of the charts and talk of a major motion
picture in the works. It's a big jump for Thor because if you turn back
the clock two years he was reportedly dead, with no series, no Avengers
membership and no movie in the works.
Thor's road back to top started in September 2007 with a new series
helmed by writer J. Michael Stracyzinski and artist Olivier Coipel.
After a 3-year absence, this new series found Thor reviving Asgard
after the mythical events of Ragnarok – setting up shop in Oklahoma.
Yes, Oklahoma.
Ten issues have been released so far, and after a brief hiatus the book returns on October 29th with Thor
#11. J. Michael Stracyznski acts as writer and shepherd, navigating it
to new heights and through crossovers, tie-ins and special events. As
the new issue nears release, we talked to JMS for more.
Newsarama: Thanks for talking to us, Joe. Over the course of the
ten issues released so far, you've firmly put the Asgardian in the top
comics sold each month. What's your secret to making Thor work this well?
J. Michael Straczynski: It's been amazing to watch, because for Thor,
which was always a mid-selling book, to be in the top ten for every
single issue since the reboot is just a great compliment. I don't think
even Marvel can quite figure that one out, because there's very little
action, no cross-over material (which I think may be one of the
contributing factors to it doing well, you don't have to read 15 other
titles to follow what's going on), and it's set in Oklahoma. If there's
any one element to point to, in addition to Olivier's amazing artwork,
it's that it's an honest story, with a strong character, on a journey
that's designed to feel appropriately mythic.
NRAMA: There's been a delay between issues #10 and #11 of several months. Can you tell us what's the cause of this?
JMS: The responsibility is mine, and I'll take the rap for it. I
got sideswiped by a bunch of feature film deadlines that were supposed
to fall in a nice, orderly fashion and ended up all landing at the same
moment, time-on-target. My goal is to get the book back on a more
regular schedule ASAP.
NRAMA: The solicitation for Thor #11 promises to see Thor
going out into the modern world more and Loki's machinations beginning
to bear fruit. What can you tell us about this issue?
JMS: One of the problems with Bad Guys is that they invariably
tend to lose. I want Loki to win from time to time...and s/he's being
very, very careful and very precise in unraveling this newest scheme.
It's subtle and it hinges on the fact that s/he's telling the truth all
the time. It's just in how you phrase or frame that truth that the evil
slips in. Loki travels to Vegas to meet someone we haven't seen in a
long time, and sets in motion the final phase of the plan.
NRAMA: One of the more striking turn of events in your remaking Thor
in the Marvel universe is recasting Loki as a woman. Freed from the
shackles of being a male trickster, she's more dangerous and elusive
than ever. What brought you to the decision to go this route, and how
to do you think it colors the Asgardian mythos in Marvel comics?
JMS: Not at all, because Loki has always been a shape-shifter,
both in the comics and in mythology. He's a trickster, and is not above
appearing as anyone needed to get the job done. We will get a big hint
about how s/he was able to pull off this transformation in the next
couple of issues, and when Thor finds out he's going to go right up the
flue. Let me put it this way: who's the only other Asgardian who didn't
make it through, and whom Loki may be holding prisoner for reasons of
his own? And what happened to that person's body?
NRAMA: Loki's had her hand in several things behind the scenes,
but foremost has been bringing to light the fact that Balder is a son
of Odin and prince of Asgard. Was this inspired by some Asgardian
stories, or where did it come from?
JMS: That comes right out of the mythological foundation of the
character. Balder was always represented in myth as being one of Odin's
sons. So I thought it was appropriate to bring this element into the
book.
NRAMA: Balder's new status has put his relationship with Thor in
a new place, especially on Thor's part. What's Thor's take on the new
developments?
JMS: He's cautious about it. On one level, Balder is his
brother, literally and figuratively...he trusts Balder implicitly and
would do anything for him. But when it comes to the responsibilities of
princedom, Balder is a bit of a naif, he's inexperienced, and can be
more easily swayed if he's not very, very careful.
NRAMA: We can't forget the impact of Asgard as it sits in the
plains of Oklahoma – and it's neighboring town, Broxton. We've seen the
residents here and then, most notably (for me) with an Asgardian/human
romance a couple issues back. Where do you see the Broxton – Asgard
relationship going?
JMS: There's a change coming in the not too distant future that
will turn all of Asgard upside down...a schism that will affect its
relationship with the town and one another for a long time to come.
NRAMA:When writing gods, it can be hard to humanize them but
you've done so by placing them in the modern world – trying to come to
grips with the new status quo. Will we be seeing more of their
interaction with normal humans?
JMS: Definitely. Loki is nudging Balder toward opening Asgard to
the outside world (or vice-versa). S/he's going for the bird in a
gilded cage scenario...and there's a lot of truth in that argument. So
yes, that process will now accelerate quite a bit.
NRAMA: Re-reading over the issues so far in preparation for this
interview, I'm amazed at the slow-burn approach you used to reintroduce
Thor into the thick of things; it's utterly classic and gripping.
You're no stranger to fast-pace storytelling, so what led you to this
approach?
JMS: I wanted the book to have a regal sort of feel to it. It
has its own pace, its own voice that's just not like much else out
there. My theory going in was that comic book readers have the patience
for a strong, detailed character story that doesn't need to blow stuff
up every day. Yes, there's a time and a place for that, and there's a
heck of a big blow-up coming very soon, but there's room for variation.
When the Seinfeld show said it was going to be a show about nothing,
everybody said it couldn't/wouldn't work. It did. Thor is about
something, about that character finding his destiny, but it's not doing
what was expected...and yet it's doing very well.
NRAMA: For the most part, you've carefully avoided the wider
Marvel universe and all the wars and invasions to focus on Thor's own
attempt to recreate Asgard. Why is it so important to focus on this
rebuilding for Thor and the cast?
JMS: So that they all have the proper amount of gravitas, and so
we can really get into the characters in a way that you can't if you're
running from one crisis to the next and doing crossovers that steal
story time from the main book. My theory on crossovers, in general, is
that you do them to promote the characters that appear in it so that
readers check out the individual books. Now it feels more and more like
the individual books are put in service of the crossovers...and that
has the potential to kill any chance for long-term, unaffected
storytelling with a single, clear voice. Every time I got Amazing Spider-Man or Fantastic Four
or another book firmly on the rails, we got pulled into some big event
book or crossover and it cost momentum and messed badly with the pacing
and structure of the book. I was very clear that I wanted to keep Thor
out of the rest of the Marvel universe for no less than the first six
issues. And the success of the book, I think, speaks well to that
decision.
