Anyone would want to meet their parents when they were younger if they had the opportunity to do so. The desire becomes something altogether different for the daughter of Loki. To complicate matters, she just happens to be a very young Hela--the goddess of the underworld. Family continues to be really, really weird in the realm of the gods, as witnessed in Thor #35. Writer Torunn Grønbekk concludes her “Blood of the Fathers” storyline in an engrossing story that is drawn to the page by Juan Gedeon and Sergio Davila with inking assists by Sean Parsons. Color comes to the page courtesy of Matt Wilson.

It was ages ago. The gods of thunder and mischief were hanging out in Jotunheim with frost giants. Their attention was called to a certain knife that had the ability to tell the truth from lies and would not harm its owner. The two gods wanted the knife. They made a bet to get the knife. They offered up a horse if they lost the bet. The horse in question happened to have eight legs...it happened to belong to their father. With the prospect of losing such a rare horse as incentive, how could they lose? 

Grønbekk cleverly works with a large cast in a way that seems to provide ample time with each character while simultaneously focusing quite narrowly on the flow of action through a single, coherent storyline. The initial story involving the knife might seem a little out of sync with the rest of what’s going on in the issue, but Grønbekk finds a way to tie everything together quite beautifully while closing out a satisfying story that further links Marvel’s Loki to the traditional legends. It had been noted that he was Hela’s father in the past, but it hadn’t ever been given a closer look the way Grønbekk does in a fun and interesting conclusion.

The art team delivers the power of the fantasy to the page. Though the explicit detail of combat rarely makes the page, Gedeon and Davila are very sharp with the limited space in which they’re given to deliver some impressive and epic battles. The setting comes across beautifully thanks to atmospheric effects by colorist Matt Wilson. Beyond the immediate atmosphere, it’s difficult to bring across the feeling of antiquity to the realm of the gods, but the art team does a good job of rendering younger versions of Loki and Thor to the page in a way that strongly suggests the passage of a great deal of time. 

Grønbekk once again shows that she’s one of the better writers to work with Thor and the Asgardians for Marvel. An impressively entertaining story comes to a close that seems to match the overall feel and execution of ancient Norse tales. Thor continues to be an integral part of the magical end of the Marvel Universe in another deeply satisfying adventure. Loki makes an impressive supporting appearance. Grønbekk does such a good job with Hela that the goddess of the underworld comes across as someone who would be fun in her own title. 

Grade: A