Thor #1

The one true Thunder God returns this year thanks to J. Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel. "Olivier's art has been absolutely fantastic so far," says series editor Warren Simons. "[It's] beautiful, beautiful stuff.

"This is basically JMS bringing Thor back into the Marvel Universe," Simons adds, "and kind of exploring what happens after Ragnarok. Thor's been off the map for two years. Where's he been? What's been going on? How does a god die? How is he reborn? When he is reborn, what happens to Asgard? Thor is Asgard and Asgard is Thor and we've seen that on more than one occasion."

With such big questions and huge ideas, it's only a writer of Straczynski's character who can tackle this book. "JMS is really challenging himself to help rebuild one of the coolest characters in Marvel Comics and really tap into the mythology of Thor. [He'll be addressing] who grabbed the hammer in Fantastic Four #537, what's that like for him, all that kind of good stuff."

Thor #1 interior art

What's on tap for the book once it kicks ofF? "The first arc is really going to be about Thor tracking down what happened to Asgard. Where have the Asgardians gone? Who's still alive, who's dead? Are they scattered? Where have they all gone and how does Thor go about rebuilding his home? And what does his importance mean to humanity and what does a god mean to humans and what do humans mean to gods? If he's Thor, leaving the Marvel Universe, what's gonna happen to the Marvel Universe if Thor continues to be gone?"

Look for all these questions and more to be answered in the coming months here on Marvel.com and in the new THOR ongoing series.

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