It's been a while since we checked in on Jake Olson, the former human half of Thor, and quite honestly, I liked it that way. However, Jurgens does a reasonable, if over-the-top, story about Jake Olson's skill as a paramedic and unique insight into Thor, and I'm intrigued to see how he'll fit in with the growing (and slightly misinformed) human resistance to Thor's campaign of judgment and guardianship from Asgard. Joe Bennett, along with inker Jack Jadson (a name I don't recognize), provide the art on this issue, which ranges from subpar to mostly solid to a couple really strong moments, and this winds up being one of the weaker issues of the recent Thor run, but still an issue with merits to recommend it.
I'm not one of those people who thinks Thor needs a human half, in fact I generally hate the idea of a thunder god having a secret identity. But as long as Jurgens isn't headed for the "Thor needs Jake's humanity" reuniting that the previously page seems to hint at, I'm perfectly happy to see former alter-ego Jake Olson make an appearance as a crusading paramedic with a bit of an insight into the nerve-wracking current actions of Thor. Jake comes off as a little too perfect and good in his quest to get a young boy out of a trapped car, but I think the overall point of the book, that Jake is more concerned with doing what is right than what other people think of his actions, will have interesting ramifications.
In fact, the strongest aspect of the issue is also the one that's played a little more subtly than the rest, and that's the effect that the Asgardian presence is having on people. Their faith has been replaced with a certainty that someone is watching over them, a disturbing trend when the Asgardians aren't all-powerful or omniscient, and seeing Jake have to contend with those beliefs in the course of his job, not to mention those who believe Thor is more dangerous than good, is an interesting point-of-view for the issue. Less impressive is the story of Thor confronting the Odin Force, which makes its point in about twice the pages it needs to do so.
Of course, it doesn't help that the sequences in which Thor actually appears in this issue are some of the weakest. Bennett draws a fairly hideous rendition of Asgardian armor, and the look of Thor is out-of-proportion and ugly as well, rather than the majestic powerful form it was meant to be. However, most of the rest of the art is pretty good, with Bennett and Jadson giving the characters a smooth and expressive look reminiscent of Derec Aucoin's work, and the splash page that shows the potential Thor could achieve in New York with the Odin force is truly gorgeous.
Jurgens has married the sense of wonder and fantasy of Asgard and the more down-to-earth super-heroic elements of Thor in a surprising and effective way, and this continues to be my favorite run of Thor. I'm a little wary of the resistance movement story, as I'd rather see Thor brought down by the internal conflicts and compromise required in his new proactive stance rather than a cliched bad guy organization using misdirection or swaying minds, but Jurgens has earned my trust up to this point, and I'm anxious to see the ultimate resolution of this story.
