The second-most famous wielder of Mjolnir. The right-hand man to the god of thunder. And now, a warrior without his best weapon. Beta Ray Bill is tired of playing second fiddle to Thor. And with Bill’s famous hammer, Stormbreaker, recently destroyed at the new All-Father’s hands, tensions are higher than ever. The Korbinite must strike out in search of a new weapon, and a new destiny. Assuming he can first defeat a Knullified Fin Fang Foom. Writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson, colorist Mike Spicer and letterer Joe Sabino (with Johnson) take Bill on a journey beyond the shadow of a god.
Vishal Gullapalli: BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! I’ve been waiting for this book for what feels like an eternity, even though I know it’s only been like three months. Daniel Warren Johnson knows how to get nasty with it, and I cannot wait to see what he pulls out here. Wait, I’m being informed that this has something to do with Bill’s inadequacy in bed. Hm.
Dan Grote: Listen, DWJ does two things very well: giant monsters and sad boys. And what makes a boy sadder than failure to launch? Especially when Thor’s out here with his golden locks and his hammer and his legions of Asgardian followers. It’s enough to make you wanna leave the Golden Realm.
Another King in Black Tie-in?!
VG: OK, before anything else, it’s worth noting that this is directly spinning out of the current events of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, that means this book is by definition tying into King in Black. I don’t know about you, Dan, but even as a consumer of Donny Cates’ Venom, I’ve gotten really tired of this event that feels like it’ll never end despite nothing happening.
DG: So that’s my one complaint about this gorgeous, gorgeous book, Vishal. As someone who is blissfully ignorant of Mark Knull and his Goo Crew, and also is not reading Cates and Nic Klein’s Thor, I don’t know the current status quo of Asgard, nor do I desire to dig too deeply into it.
Part of what made Johnson’s last Big Two foray, DC’s Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, work is that it was a standalone story in which you really only needed to know the basics of Wonder Woman to get invested. But also that was a Black Label book and didn’t need to be beholden to continuity. I’m here for Johnson and the horse man. Do I wanna see Johnson draw BRB in a triple-initial battle against Fin Fang Foom? Fudge yes. Do I care that Triple F is a goo warrior? No. Just have FFF put BRB in pants, and I’ll be happy.
VG: Yeah, it’s one of those things that really took me out of it — I’m reading Donny’s Thor, and I know what’s being referenced, but my entire reaction was just, “Do we need to talk about this?” Like I guess Stormbreaker’s destruction is important and should have consequences, but the amount of time we dwell on that here reminded me that this miniseries has a whole space in continuity, which I wasn’t really expecting or asking for at all.
I do hope that the setup that this issue does (because it’s definitely a setup issue) allows Bill to go off on his adventures without really worrying about the current state of the Marvel Universe, because I really do want something that feels a little more disconnected. Silver Surfer: Black was a fascinating story that I felt got weakened every time it had to reference Donny’s pet continuity, and I don’t want that to happen here.
Why the Long Face?
DG: I can’t speak for what’s going on in the Cates/Klein run, but it’s clear Bill is going through his own Unworthy Odinson arc.
VG: Yeah, for context, when Thor went all Herald-of-Galactus, Bill opposed him. You know, like a reasonable person would do. Destroying planets is pretty messed up. And Thor, being the All-Father of Asgard, went and destroyed Stormbreaker, Bill’s hammer. It’s all sad and stuff, especially because the arc doesn’t really end in a narrative triumph for Thor — the whole thing feels like it wasn’t really worth it. But I digress — Bill’s real sad about not having his hammer, among other things. And that’s seeming to bleed over into how he treats Thor — there’s very little brotherly love between the two now. It’s honestly kind of sad.
DG: And that sadness is bleeding over into his other Asgardian relationships, as we see with Lady Sif. That scene in particular was a heartbreaker. I want my horse man to eat well, Vishal. But like Jake in Johnson’s 2018 book Murder Falcon, Bill is clearly going to have to learn to conquer his depression and discover the power within him before he can emerge victorious. Although that begs the question: Beta Ray Bill is already a pretty rad-as-f— looking dude. Who or what would be his Murder Falcon, the even cooler-looking entity that helps him heal his emotional scars and defeat an interdimensional threat with the power of rock?
VG: If you think about it, since Murder Falcon was kind of an extension of Jake’s own self, Beta Ray Bill’s horse-faced form is his own Murder Falcon. Maybe the problem is that Jake is nowhere to be found? I don’t know, I’m bad at analogies, but I do know that what Bill needs is an adventure all by himself, to get into mishaps and situations that only he can solve. Nothing makes heroes feel more heroic than that.
DG: Ain’t no journey like a hero’s journey ‘cuz a hero’s journey tests all your will and strength and usually leaves you in a better place than you were in the beginning but at a tragic price but you meet some cool people along the way and maybe punch a snake.
Dat Art Tho
DG: OK, this IS a Daniel Warren Johnson comic, so we really should get into the art, otherwise we don’t really deserve the money we’re not really making.
I cannot understate how thrilled I was to hear Johnson was doing a Marvel book, if only to see him draw Marvel’s classic monsters. And while my heart will always belong to Googam, Son of Goom, Johnson has no doubt chosen one of the raddest of all Kirby monsters in Fin Fang Foom. With his long neck and tail, Triple F was made for epic double-page splashes, and pitting him against Bill recalls Thor’s classic battle against the Midgard Serpent, which plays into the aforementioned discussion of Bill’s feelings of inadequacy when it comes to the All-Father. Vishal, is Johnson giving you the big metal monster content you crave?
VG: Yeah, as someone who read Extremity, Murder Falcon and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth and thought “Damn this art is dope” in all three of them, I gotta say: Damn this art is dope. DWJ’s style lends itself perfectly to the gargantuan action we see here, and I’m really glad that the first Marvel baddie he drew was Fin Fang Foom — could it have been anyone else? I feel like I don’t have too much to say here, though — the art’s incredible and is what makes this book as electrifying as it is, even when Bill’s going through his big mopey phase.
DG: A small but necessary part of the way Johnson makes Big Two work HIS is the lettering. Joe Sabino gets a co-credit here, but apart from backmatter and trade dress, Johnson’s running the show. The same sense of heavy metal Squigglevision that permeates Johnson’s art lines his word balloons. And when characters start yelling, all the rules go out the window.
Additional shouts to Mike Spicer, Johnson’s regular colorist, who gets that a world of metal shouldn’t look like the inside of a foundry. That is a Rainbow Bridge I would gladly tap dance across.
Marvelous Musings
- I was surprised to see [redacted] pop up in this book. (Sorry, this is an advance review, no spoilers, though his appearance doesn’t feel plot-relevant as of this issue.)
- The interview at the back makes me realize I would read the ish out of a book about Walt and Weezy Simonson.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
