Review of Return of Heroes. Thor 3 – A Ballad of Ice and Fire

From the hands of Dan Jurgens, Thor returns to the Return of Heroes line with artists such as Stuart Immonen, Andy Kubert and Erik Larson in the third deluxe volume published by Panini Comics.

When we talk about the God of Thunder’s greatest accomplishments in Marvel Comics, we often forget to put him alongside Walter Simonson and Jason Aaron, the less-enviable of Dan Jurgens. After a successful start, with the biggest credit going to John Romita Jr., Panini Comics has now sent us the third installment, where Jurgens reunites with other notable artists and comes with the title Return of the Heroes. Thor 3 – A Ballad of Ice and Fire.

Walter Simonson in recovery

With the end of the second volume, a complete stop was made in the series, so here we begin a new phase in the collection, coinciding with the arrival of the current millennium. In particular, Jurgen looks back to the years when Simonson was to Thor what Chris Claremont is to Mutants, to draw inspiration and write the plot of this new beginning.

First we present Erik Larsson in a picture, returning from the comic, his nineties style shows his good side here, perhaps trying to keep up with his predecessor John Romita Jr. and brilliantly complemented by Klaus Jansen. After a brief encounter with villains such as the Suction Man and the Wrecking Squad, Thor’s good fortune begins next…

Malekith and the Chest of Ancient Winter make their appearance to raise the level of the plan, and they do this with the help of Andy Kubert, who, without reaching the highest level, is close to the visual concept of our main character, the appreciation of this type of stories. Asgardian Knight Edition Beta Ray Bill will be the next great guest to stop here, a visit that should always be celebrated.

Curse will be another villain returning to muscle in on the side of the villains, but he’ll probably be (God willing) next to the real enemy of our beloved Asgardian. Able to bring Ragnarok: Surtur, who arrives at the end of the volume to put the icing on the cake and take out the character (although we already know that almost every death in the house of ideas lasts for a while)…

Inspiring Jason Aaron.

And similarly to Simonson’s support of Jurgens, this in turn would be a support for a screenwriter who would take years to take over the character: Mr. Jason Aaron. A good example of this is the introduction of Tarene, known as Thor Girl (terrible name), who is not just a metaphor for Jane Foster’s Goddess of Thunder, but coincides with the arrival of the real series. As Stuart Emmonen masters.

There is no doubting Immon’s efficiency as he unleashes his lead in brutal and effective action scenes where economy of scale is his hallmark. And thanks to this challenge, the pages are more enjoyable than any in this volume. A less lyrical style than some of his peers.

Greek pantheon and many others

But there is still much more in this volume. Hercules and his father Zeus (yes, a much less sarcastic version than the one played by Russell Crowe) from the epic Thor: Love and Thunder will be delighted to team up with the Asgardians to find the Destroyer of the Gods.

We also see a great battle with a gladiator who used to be the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar, a great showdown with the Man of Tomorrow (the expected showdown with Superman?) and let’s not forget that our hero’s alternate nurse, Jake Olsen, is everywhere throughout this stage.

For Jim Starlin, who painted one of the included numbers, we complete the list of the best artists we can find in a volume that will delight fans of the character, and which in some way traces the history of this character.