The Norse gods versus their Shi’ar equivalents, for the sake of the universe...

(Panini Books)

In the wrong hands, a multi-issue battle between opposing pantheons of gods, one faction not even from this planet, would end up an unintelligible mess of style over substance. But that expectation reckons without the talents of Jason Aaron, who continues to craft what can now justifiably be considered one of the all-time great Thor runs.

While her cancer continues to take its toll on her mortal frame, Jane Foster is still unable to resist the call of Mjolnir, even though her time as Thor is literally killing her one day at a time. The transformation into thunder god purges her body of the chemotherapy which might save her life, but she refuses to turn away when Thor is needed.

As the dark elf Malekith wreaks bloody destruction across the Ten Realms, the malevolent Loki is dispatched to distract Asgard from this impending threat by embroiling the Norse gods in a conflict against the deities of the alien Shi’ar.

Thor is press-ganged into competing in the Challenge of the Gods, which finds her embroiled in a series of world-shattering missions to win the faith of the Shi’ar people, something their own gods rely on fear and oppression to achieve.

But they reckoned without the nobility and compassion of the thunder god, which even inspires the warriors of Asgard to cross the stars and fight in her name, including he who once wielded the hammer, and is now known only as the Odinson…

Faultless storytelling which has cemented Aaron’s position as one of the all-time great Marvel writers of the modern age, this series deserves its place in any and every graphic novel collection.

With the clock ticking for Jane, as her cancer continues to spread, the future looks grim for Thor, and as the events of this current volume reveal, possibly for her fellow gods as well. This impending tragedy appears to be part of Aaron’s overarching game plan, and in his hands we can be confident that the resolution of Jane’s story is delivered with the emotional depth it deserves.