about the book
You know who Thor Odinson is? Big macho muscle-bound dude? Winged helmet? Norse God of Thunder? He carries this huge square magical hammer called Mjolnir? Well, he used to carry Mjolnir. Not so much anymore. Thor dropped it during a battle on the moon with superspy Nick Fury. While wrestling, Nick had whispered a terrible secret into Thor’s ear, and knowing the secret makes Thor unworthy of wielding Mjolnir.
No matter how he tries to pick it up or cajole Mjolnir into accepting him back, Odinson can’t budge the hammer! It is to be expected. Things just haven’t been going well in the Norse Ten Realms. Odin, the All-Father and head honcho, has been in a self-imposed exile watching over his brother who is imprisoned. That left his wife, Freyja, the All-Mother and top goddess, ruling all by herself. Now that Odin has returned, Freyja has no intention of giving up the throne. And with the leadership of Asgardia uncertain and Thor severely weakened, it is only a matter of time before enemies strike, bringing doom to the Realms and Earth itself!
Well, the bad guys are on the move! Two thousand fathoms below the surface of the Norwegian Sea, scientists at the Roxxon Underseas Base question unusual sensor readings. Moments later, Roxxon is no more. The Frost Giants have risen. Tall as the Himalayan Mountains, they are vicious beings, known to freeze stars and reduce whole armies to bloody slush puddles.
The dark elf sorcerer Malekith and the Frost Giants are attacking Midgard, freezing Earth’s mightiest heroes and leaving the planet vulnerable. Odinson cannot forsake his duty to Earth, so leaving his hammer, he attempts to push back the giants on Earth. Meanwhile on the moon, another stands over Mjolnir. “This world needs a Thor,” she says. “A god who loves the Earth enough to die for it.” She easily picks up the mighty weapon and takes on the mantle of Thor.
When Odinson learns of Mjolnir’s betrayal, he is enraged. He’ll do anything to get the hammer back and identify his newest foe. And Odin, he’s not happy either. He’s got plenty to throw at the Lady Thor, including the dude everyone hates—Cul Borson, the God of Fear.
Lady Thor is Earth only hope, but she has her hands full: an enraged ex-god of thunder, an irate Odin, massive Frost Giants. The inscription on Mjolnir reads “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Maybe it’s time to update that inscription!
about the author
Jason Aaron was born on January 28, 1973, in Jasper, Alabama. He grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere and had a lot of time to watch Star War movies. He still owns the original Darth Vader figurine in its unopened package!
His cousin, Gustav Hasford, wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, which was the basis for the film Full Metal Jacket. Gustav inspired Aaron to write, and the boy decided he would create comics. Though his father was skeptical, his mother took Jason right to the drug store to stock up on research material. Jason still owns some of those comics. Years later, he would be a writer of the Star Wars comics, making him a certifiable superstar!
Jason earned a bachelor’s in English from the University of Alabama. In 2001, he won a Marvel talent search contest with a Wolverine script. In 2006, Aaron submitted his first major work, a Vietnam War story called The Other Side, to DC Comics. It led to a nomination for the Eisner Award for Best Miniseries. He followed that success with the creator-owed series Scalped; and several other Marvel series: Ripclaw: Pilot Season; Wolverine, Black Panther; Ghost Rider; the Penguin issue of The Joker’s Asylum; and Wolverine: Weapon X. He is currently working on Thor and . Basically, if you love a Marvel character, Jason has written a story about them!
You might be interested to know that decades after his cousin Gustav inspired Jason, he wrote the The Other Side to honor Gustav.
Jason lives in Prairie Village, Kansas, with his wife and two sons
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Goodreads
Author biography: PaperBack Swap
Also by Jason Aaron:
Mighty Thor : 3 : Asgard/Shi’ar War. Marvel Entertainment Group. August 2017.
Mighty Thor : 2 : Lords of Midgard. Marvel Entertainment Group. August 2017.
Mighty Thor : 1 : Thunder in Her Veins. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2016.
Doctor Strange : 1 : The Last Days of Magic. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2016.
Doctor Strange : 1 : The Way of the Weird. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2016.
Thor : 2 : Who Holds the Hammer? Marvel Entertainment Group. 2015.
Original Sin. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2014.
Amazing X-Men : 1 : The Quest for Nightcrawler. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2014.
about the illustrator
When Russell Dauterman was a kid, it was all about the comics. As he got older, his interests opened to other artistic areas, especially animation. In college, he illustrated his first graphic novel and a children’s book. He also got into costume design illustration and worked on a couple of movies.
But it always came back to comics. When he drew those, he got to do it all—tell a story, show emotions, live in the action…even design the characters and the costumes. Russell worked his way into the comic book industry, did cover designs, and worked on the illustrations for the acclaimed Supurbia and Nightwing series. He had just started on the Cyclops series when he got married and took time off to go on his honeymoon. When he got home, he got the call offering the Lady Thor gig. He couldn’t turn it down. Russell has always gravitated to really strong female characters!
One of his favorite things to do is work out facial expressions and body language by acting out the scenes and taking reference photos. He looks ridiculous but it works! In Thor: The Goddess of Thunder, Russell especially enjoyed sketching the burly Thor Odinson pleading with Mjolnir like a jilted lover! One thing that readers may not be aware of, Russell uses panel shapes to reflect the mood of the action. The Panels goes skew-y as the action ramps up!
Currently Russell is working on the unfolding Mighty Thor series. It continues the Lady Thor story line. “I was a casual fan of the Thor world before I got the gig on the first volume, but I really fell in love with the characters and mythos while working on that series,” he recalls. “The mix of fantasy and sci-fi with … the real world is right up my alley.” The artist’s love of all things fantastical fits nicely with where the series is headed.
As far as personal information about Russell, we know he lives in Los Angeles. That’s it. He’s probably too busy drawing to write about himself online!
Sources:
Illustrator website
Illustrator interview: Marvel
Illustrator interview: THINK About The INK
Also by Russell Dauterman:
Mighty Thor : 2 : Lords of Midgard with Jason Aaron. Marvel Entertainment Group. August 2017.
Thor : 2 : Who Holds the Hammer? with Jason Aaron. Marvel Entertainment Group. 2015.
read more!
Original Sin by Jason Aaron
The death of Uatu, the mysterious space-god Watcher, leads to the greatest murder mystery in Marvel history! As Nick Fury leads the heroes in an investigation, questions arise: Why is Black Panther gathering a secret team of his own? Who is the Unseen? What was stolen from the Watcher’s lair? Just when Uatu’s murderer is cornered, everything explodes, unleashing secrets and rocking the heroes to their core.
Thor : 2 : Who Holds the Hammer? by Jason Aaron
Lady Thor now wields Mjolnir, Thor Odinson’s magical hammer, but who is the person behind the Lady Thor’s mask? Odinson is narrowing down the list of suspects. Meanwhile, tensions continue to flare between Odin the All-Father, and his wife, Freyja the All-Mother, and Malekith forges his most dangerous pact yet. And Lady Thor is about to face her greatest challenge ever!