Thor and the Warriors Four (Power Pack) [ペーパーバック]

Myths of yesteryears were a way for our ancestors to understand their world and their place in it. Scratch below the surface of stories like the Norse Ragnorack or Valhalla and you can quickly see our ancestors were exploring profound questions about how to honor our dead or how to maintain social identity during crisis. it is fitting then that this volume of the Power Pack adventures, which features Thor, Norse God of Thunder, should deal with questions about death, and power, and acceptance in the face of tragedy. The Power kids are confronted by a problem that their superpowers can not fight - the slow death of their Grandmother. The opening scene where the kids each react in different ways gives the whole story a powerful motivation. All of the inter-personal tensions and insecurities are set up nicely. And in case you were worried that the story was going to crumble underneath the dreadful solemnity...well...don't worry. Once the Pet Avengers show up it isn't long before the kids are burping root beer in Asgard or fighting giant squirrels or Katie thinks Thor's ally Beta Ray Bill is a pony.

The creators display incredible skill and talent for weaving serious fears about death, the loss of loved ones and our responsibility to our family with playful hi-jinks and adorable images. Thor and the Warriors Four demands to be re-read. It's not just a good story, it offers more genuine emotion than most other comics today. This is the best Power Pack story yet and should be considered one of the best comic stories this year. I will offer one critique though. New readers will likely wonder just who the heck are the Pet Avengers, or Beta Ray Bill or that mysterious Doctor at the end of the story. You don't need to know more than what is presented in the story but I could see some people being a little disorientated. It doesn't diminish the story's other qualities.

Lastly, I shouldn't forget to mention the sublime extra story where in the Greek God Hercules baby sits the Power kids. He spends the evening regaling the kids with his 12 labors (carefully adaptable to be made more palatable for the kids). Again, the creators perform an incredible job balancing Hercules as a boastful blowhard with a sensitive heart. . Instead of making Hercules appear resentful or condescending, artist Coover sells the bragart Hercules as someone who is sincerely enjoying his time playing with the kids. well....okay...he probably loves the audience, but that doesn't stop him from joining Katie Power for a tea party with her stuffed animals.

Both my kids and I loved this collection and whole-heartedly recommend it. How can you go wrong with greek and norse myths, a giant squirrel, magic apples, a few logic puzzles and a frog with the hammer of Thor.

THOR AND THE WARRIORS FOUR, collecting #1-4 of the mini-series, actually features the latest Power Pack adventure by way of Marvel's All Ages imprint, meaning that what happens in these pages are pretty much outside of continuity with Marvel's mainstream 616 universe. But so what? Frankly, I'm just glad that Marvel is still publishing Power Pack, even if it's in a mini-series format once a year or so.

Alex Zalben writes the thing, and I've never heard of the guy but, oh boy, does he have a knack for showcasing what makes Power Pack so appealing. THOR AND THE WARRIORS FOUR is absolutely recommended for parents looking for appropriate reads for their young 'uns. It's fun and playful and I guarantee the kids will eat this up. The cool thing is, like the best Pixar films, this mini-series can also be savored on a more grown-up level. While keeping things on the light-hearted side, Zalben manages to explore how each of the Power children copes with the impending loss of a loved one, specifically their dying grandmother.

In the hospital, a kindly nurse hands a book on Norse mythology to Julie Power, the second oldest sibling. Poring thru the book, Julie learns of the Golden Apples of Idunn, fruit that, when eaten daily, allow the Norse gods to maintain immortality. So off the Power children go, costumes on, looking to finagle some apples from Thor, Norse god of thunder. Tracking the source of a lightning burst, they end up in Central Park and run into the Pet Avengers, a card-carrying member of which is Throg, the frog Thor (and, actually, frog Thor probably doesn't carry a card... 'cause he's a frog, yo). And from frog Thor and his mini-Mjolnir, it's only a short hop away to Asgard, home of the Norse gods and a name which the youngest kid, Katie, suspects is a swear word.

There's a certain impervious aura about these kids. You could have them hanging out with the grimmest character (Wolverine) or the most majestic (Thor), and they somehow lighten them up. I've never seen Thor smile so much than in this mini-series. Even Loki, god of mischief - and "mischief" in Norse mythology usually implies more sinister doings - tones down his shenanigans, even if he's still resolute in his goal of conquering Asgard. Even the threat of an early Ragnarok doesn't seem so ominous. Loki is abetted by the Enchantress who works a spell of which outcome had me doing one of those sickening "Awww, so cute!" exclamations.

Alex Zalben injects plenty of humor, most of it stemming from the kids' distinctive personalities. Katie, hands down, is the most adorable. I love that Katie obsesses over Beta Ray Bill as her pony and that she likes to wear her Viking helmet sideways because, as she says, "I'm a rhinoceroses!" She and a fleeing Beta Ray Bill are featured on the cover to issue #2, one of the funniest comic book covers I've ever laid eyes on. On a more serious note, I like the thought-provoking conflict that surfaces between Alex and Julie over whether it's okay to steal the Golden Apples even if it's for a good cause.

THOR AND THE WARRIORS FOUR are illustrated and colored by Gurihiru, the Japanese art studio that's more or less become the house artist for Power Pack. And Gurihiru is awesome thru and thru, from their clear storytelling - you're never confused as to what's going on in their panels - to their fantastic rendition of the Power kids. Also worth checking out is the back-up, four-part story "The Twelve Labors of the Babysitter!" which finds Hercules dropping by the Power household to mind the kids. Herc helps the Pack fend off an attack by Hydra and regales them with stories of his legendary twelve labors. Somewhere along the way, he even finds time to join Katie in a tea party. Colleen Coover handles the story and art.

Once again, another fine Power Pack story. I want to point out that GuriHiru is a fantastic art team. The art in this is great, top-notch. The original comic book covers are included inside, and issue number two has one of the best covers of all time and it should be a poster! It's a picture of Katie Power, continuing her conviction that Beta Ray Bill is a pony, as she chases a beads-of-sweat-flying Bill. I loved that whole "pony/horse" part of the story. Also, Thor as a baby, cutest thing ever! A good book.