Thor #3, written by Jason Aaron, with art by Mike Del Mundo, and color assists by Marco D’Alfonso, continues the story of Thor’s visit to Hel, and it does so with all of the craziness and humor readers have come to expect from Aaron. Previously, Thor and Loki traveled to Hel to stop Malekith from expanding his control to the armies of the dead. There, they were reunited with their brothers, Tyr and Balder (now the ruler of Hel), as Sindr, daughter of the legendary Surtur, rallied allies to her side of the war. When Thor and company got wind of a secret weapon Sindr was transporting through Hel, they decided to intercept and found themselves in the presence of Hela herself. Now, Thor and Hela must strike a deal to save Hel from Sindr or kill each other in the process.

There’s a lot to love about this issue. Whereas the previous chapter of the story was a little heavy on exposition, this one hits the ground running, with a framing device that will have you wondering if you missed something, followed by a fun, action-packed battle that will not soon be forgotten. Aaron takes full advantage of his extended cast, giving each character one or two good scenes this issue, from Loki and Thor’s poorly-executed plan to expand their army, to Balder and Hela’s incestuous truce, to Skurge’s hilarious lack of conviction, or Thori, Thor’s loyal, bloodthirsty, talking dog, who is the best thing in any panel he’s in. This cast of unlikely allies have quickly become the team you want at Thor’s back for many issues to come, so hopefully, Aaron has much more planned for them.

There are still no answers as to how Thor will settle on the golden hammer that he carries in Avengers and all of the promotional material for this series, but Aaron demonstrates this issue that being the God of Thunder still makes him a force to be reckoned with. Although the audience might be eager to see what Thor’s new hammer can do, there is plenty of fun to be had with the substitute arsenal of hammers he has at his disposal (even if he keeps breaking them).

Loki continues to steal the spotlight in Thor’s own book, proving that with the right writer, he could, and probably should, be carrying his own book. Aaron gives him plenty of time to shine in this issue, having him square off against his half brother Tyr with laugh-out-loud results and then end up in hot water following Thor’s lead in a particularly dicey plan. His relationship with his family, people he has tried to kill numerous times, is always awkward, and Aaron knows exactly how to mine it for all it’s worth, especially when it comes to any interactions with Thor.

Del Mundo’s art, definitely at home in a title full of Gods, swords, and magic, is cranked up to eleven this issue, with tons of action, humorous events, and possibly the creepiest wedding ever put to paper. He works perfectly in synch with his writer, and it’s clear Aaron loves playing to Del Mundo’s strengths. The color assists by D’Alfonso blend perfectly with Del Mundo’s art as well, seamlessly working with the pencils and inks and enhancing them where necessary. You couldn’t ask for a better art team for this book, especially with Aaron so heavily focusing on Asgard and its surrounding realms at the moment.

All in all, after a slower previous chapter, this issue brought all of the up-tempo action and rich character moments it needed to regain any waning interests of the readers. Hopefully, Aaron will be able to keep this momentum going and maintain this book’s status as one of Marvel’s most entertaining titles, despite Thor still not being worthy. If you’re not already reading the Thunder God’s return to greatness, now is the time to jump on.

Grade A