Marvel Comics 2019
Written by Jason Aaron & Al Ewing
Illustrated by Cafu
Coloured by Jesus Aburtov
Lettered by VC's Joe Sabino
A new hero emerges straight from the pages of THE WAR OF THE REALMS! For years, you knew her as Dr. Jane Foster, one of Thor’s most steadfast companions. Then you knew her as Thor, the Goddess of Thunder, who took up the mantle when no other hero – god or human – was worthy. Now Jane takes on a new role as Valkyrie, guide and ferry-woman to the dead! But her days of punching are far from over.
There was a time when I absolutely loved Valkyrie and as a Defender alongside Nighthawk, Hellcat and Gargoyle were some of the best stories ever told. I am such a fan of odd groupings and having lesser known or powered heroes working together to kick butt. So that this was coming out piqued my curiosity but it was the creative team that sealed the deal. This is a very talented and impressive group of creators which guaranteed that I was going to pick this up.
So glad that I did too because I did rather enjoy this. Mind you I haven't been following a whole lot of Marvel and company wide crossovers for me are a pain in the tuchus. Having said that this was nicely done as on the credits page we get a quick recap of the events in Jane's life that lead us to this issue. That is essential and hopefully moving forward we'll continue to get these Previously In... moments. For me it really did make a huge difference and allowed me to feel as if I hadn't missed anything at all.
The way that this is structured is fantastic! The ebb & flow that is created with how the pacing incorporates the story & plot development and the character development as they all come together like they've been mixed into a mirror glaze. Everything was that kind of mesmerising and the further we go into the story the more evident that becomes. The nod to the old school villains of the past that we see here was truly an unexpected delight. Once upon a time the tackiest and useless villains were created and some managed to have some staying power, pulled out of the mothballs on occasion so to see one of Captain America's being utilised here, with that god-awful old school gas or mustard gas hoses attached, made my day.
Cafu is an extremely talented artist and the work he is doing here is marvellous. The linework is incredible to see and how he man ages to utilise the varying weights of the linework to create this level of attention to detail is astonishing. Add in Jesus' colour work and this goes to a place that leaves me in awe. Seriously the way that we see the corpse of the table and how the tones and shading create the musculature of that nicely impressive chest and stomach yeah wow. The best pages and panels here are the ones that have backgrounds in them. When we see them they expand the moments and bring a size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show this spectacular eye for storytelling. So that we see light sources utilised as they are to create shading and shadows that highlight various hues and tones is extremely well done.
Jane is no stranger to the world of super-heroing but she once again finds herself with a new alter ego which she has to learn the uses and advantages not to mention detractions of being the Last Valkyrie. The opening with those particular villains is a great way to introduce us to this new series and the last page reveal well is Valkyrie, let alone Jane, ready for that? Who knows but I will say this so long as this creative team keeps putting out this level and quality of work I will gladly soar the skies alongside her.
As a side note I will NEED an answer regarding Dani Moonstar as she was a Valkyrie, still lives and even an honorary one would still mean she's a Valkyrie.