Valkyrie: Jane Foster #10 // Review
A lone mortal guardian may be all that stands in the way of the death of all things. She had been granted great power and perhaps even greater responsibility. Still, the decision she must make now will be one of the most important she’s ever made as Valkyrie: Jane Foster reaches its tenth issue. Writers Jason Arron and Torunn Grønbekk usher “The End of All Things,” storyline into its third chapter. Artist Ramon Rosanas and colorist Jesus Aburtov bring the story to life on the page with a satisfyingly ominous conclusion that has a lone Valkyrie coming to term with the darkness that awaits everything in the universe.
The Røkkva--the abstract embodiment of the end of all life has crossed the rainbow bridge into Asgard accompanied by war God Tyr. The god wields the Undrjarn The All-Weapon, which had up until only last issue belonged to the Valkyrie Jane Foster. Now Foster must stare down a force more powerful than death itself to hold everything together without the most powerful artifact she’s ever wielded. Even as a child, Foster had always been afraid of the thought of nothingness. To make it through this conflict, she’s going to have to confront her darkest fear.
Aaron and Grønbekk’s story carries with it a staggering weight. Given the fact that this sort of story has taken place so many times throughout Marvel’s tales of Asgard and so much other fantasy fiction over the years, it’s difficult to tell exactly what it is that the writers are doing right. The balance between poetic reflection on existential matters and epic-level cosmic action feels pretty close to being perfect. And though its impact is largely felt exclusively in Foster’s thoughts, Undrjarn begins to feel like a very distinctive artifact on the level of Moorcock’s Stormbringer or one of Tolkien’s rings. The power of the magical weapon grants the final issue in this arc a suitably epic feel.
The story is anchored to the page by Rosanas’ sumptuously meticulous rendering of the magic, mystery, and menace of combat in Asgard. There’s a great deal of story covered in the 20-pages of this issue. Rosanas gives each moment a beautiful depth. There’s such a strong sense of movement in each panel of combat that it doesn’t feel rushed even though it clearly should. Quite a bit of depth is added to the page courtesy of Aburtov’s colors. The radiance of the rainbow bridge contrasts gorgeously against the darkness of The Røkkva, which occasionally eats its way around the edges of the pages. There’s blurry, billowy cloudiness to the darkness, which gives the shining dazzle of the light of the gods that much more intensity.
Overall, Aaron and Grønbekk have guided Jane Foster through a compassionate character arc. So often, there is so much going on in the course of the first ten issues of a series that it can be difficult to feel a great deal of inner progress for the protagonist. Aaron and Grønbekk carefully balance action against reflection in a strikingly well-composed opening ten issues.
