Thor #2, written by Jason Aaron, and with art by Mike Del Mundo, continues the story of the newly-returned God of Thunder and his quest to stop Malekith from taking over the Ten Realms. Previously, Loki showed up offering to help, only to teleport Thor to fight on the front lines in Hel. Unfortunately for Loki, Thor managed to drag him along for the ride. Now, they are reunited with Balder the Brave, Thor’s brother and current master of Hel, and they must figure out how to stop Sindr, daughter of Surtur, from taking over the realm.

This is definitely a much slower issue than the first one, but it keeps the story moving along and is not without its fun moments, the most fun of all, being the reunion of Thor and his brothers, Balder and Tyr, a rowdy bunch if there ever was one. Couple that with the awkwardness of Loki, the black sheep of the family who has tried to, or succeeded, in killing most of their allies, and you have enough in this issue to qualify as entertaining. Loki, in particular, is interesting in this environment. He is surrounded by enemies and having to maneuver to keep himself safe. In a moment where he warns Thor about his brother, Tyr, readers are left wondering if Loki is manipulating Thor or genuinely warning him of danger.

Another bit of fun is the continuing exploration of Thor’s new arsenal of hammers. The audience is treated to two more from Thor’s ever-growing armory in this issue, including a bomb hammer that comes in particularly handy. There’s still no hint of the golden hammer that is present in all of the promotional ads for the new series, not to mention Aaron’s Avengers, where he is currently wielding it without explanation, but hopefully answers will be coming soon.

This issue does drag in some spots, especially when getting into the politics of Hel and Sindr’s campaign to take over. Not that dialogue is a bad thing, but when it involves a group of characters that are not the stars of the series, it can just come across as exposition that is moving the story along with zero entertainment value. Also, in all fairness, anything is going to pale in comparison to the excitement of the first issue, which was insanely action packed.

Mike Del Mundo’s art manages to bolster the slower moments of the book, as he is the perfect artist for handling the ample fantasy elements of a Thor title. Whether he’s drawing an action scene involving a talking dog and a flying boat-driving goat or a council meeting between Sindr and her “allies,” every panel brings Hel to life with gusto. If he leaves this book anytime soon, it will truly be a sad day in Asgard.

In the end, even though this issue drags a bit, every series deserves a moment to slow down and set things up for the future. Aaron has certainly earned the readers’ patience with his storytelling, and, given the promising ending to this chapter, readers are in for a treat in the coming weeks. Be patient, and you will surely be rewarded.

Grade B-