In August, writer Al Ewing will take over the reins of Marvel Comics’ god of thunder Immortal Thor #1. For fans of his blockbuster series Immortal Hulk, that title immediately raises eyebrows. from Ewing Hulk ran for 50 riveting, gruesome, crushing problems, culminating in a story where Hulk journeyed through hell of hells to force God to explain why bad things happen.
Calling an Al Ewing project “immortal” isn’t subtle. Speaking to Polygon via email, Ewing said the title of the book is his version of throwing up a gauntlet. If he has his way, Immortal Thor will not be equal Immortal Hulkit will surpass it.
“To make [Immortal] on a book I am writing is a promise to the reader and to myself,” Ewing wrote. “I was the one who pitched the title — not editorially, not anyone else — and it was actually a challenge to yourself. Can I do another book like this? Can I do better this time? I have to try because the alternative is just to lie down and let the grass grow where I fell.
“I want to hit that ball again, and this time I don’t just want to hit it into the outfield, I want to hit it right out of the park and walk around the bases quietly. I want to write something that goes as far and as hard and strong as the other book, to give a similar experience to the people who supported that book and supported me through it and got something deep out of it, but with the benefit of experience.”
“In Norse myths, they called him Thunderer,” says Marvel Comics’ official request Immortal Hulk #1. ‘Fire is he called, and Chloriddi. The gods know him as the king of Asgard, keeper of Mjolnir, hero of the tales. When injustice grips the earth and ancient powers tear down the sky, he fights for those who can’t – and when the story is over, we’ll know what it cost him. This is the story of THE IMMORTAL THOR.”
“Doors are indeed opening,” Ewing wrote, when we asked if he could share something about the story of Immortal Thor who failed to make it to the request, “buried secrets wait to be unearthed, and old gods – elder gods, if you will – come to bring trial and sorrow to Earth, Asgard and Thor personally, and he’ll need it to be his absolutely supreme self to face them. And even then he might not make it. The omens are sinister. The storm is upon us.”
Ewing wants readers to understand that Immortal Thor will be a book with a similar tune Immortal Hulkbut sung in the key of Thor.
“Hulk was horror and tragedy,” he told Polygon, “but Thor leans more towards fantasy and hope. Bruce Banner is broken by his lineage, he goes through a hell of his own making to gain the power of a monster – Don Blake becomes the person he really is inside, gaining the power of a god as a result. (An unconventional god! Long hair in the early ’60s was more of a flex than we might believe, though I remember Jane fantasizing about giving him a haircut.) Just to put my biblical hat back on for a second – if IMMORTAL HULK was the Old Testament, IMMORTAL THOR is the New Testament.”
Image: Alex Ross/Marvel Comics
As regards Immortal Hulk‘s Hulk-sized height, Ewing says he already has a “rough map.” Immortal Thor #50, and hopes the series can continue even longer. He is joined on the book by artist Martín Cóccolo (deadpool) about interiors and Matt Wilson (Thor) on colors. Just like Immortal Hulk, legendary painter Alex Ross will provide cover art for each issue. Ross advised on Thor’s costume design for the series – “a new take on ‘Kirby Classic'”, as Ewing put it.
“Alex really wanted to connect with the energy of Jack Kirby’s original design,” Cóccolo told Polygon via email, “and he also thought revisiting Kirby’s costume fit the concept of Immortal Thor.” The artist couldn’t say much about what he’d been working on without spoilers, just saying he enjoyed turning the pages of Ewing’s script without knowing what would happen next, to “make Al cook.” He wanted to assure readers that he “made Al’s story as beautiful and powerful as possible.”
Readers are looking forward to it Immortal Thor will want to pick up Marvel’s Thor Annual #1, hitting July 5. That number will have a bridging story, connecting the end of the stream Thor series — written by Torunn Grønbekk (Mighty Valkyries) and drawn by Juan Gedeon (Jurassic League) – Unpleasant Immortal Thors starting point. That said, Ewing noted that new readers will pick it up easily Immortal Thor #1 and start reading.
“Thor has risen to the role of Allfather of Asgard,” Ewing told Polygon, “so in addition to his own strength he now has his father’s Odin strength, which he is learning. (Odin had plenty of time to practice, and the “Thor-Force” has its own rules that Thor learns.) Lately, he’s been questioning his worthiness for the role and role of God of Thunder, and that made for some astonishing stories – but those stories have been told and we’re telling a new one from where they ended. Thor holds the hammer. Thor is the king. Now we see how the King of the Gods responds to great challenges.”
Immortal Thor #1 will hit the shelves on August 23.