by Emil Favila, Reporter

Since reading and reviewing Ragnarok: Last God Standing, it was only fitting we’d review the second volume, Ragnarok: The Lord Of The Dead.  If you haven’t read volume 1 we suggest picking that up and reading it first as volume 2 contains spoilers.  There is nothing that needs to be said about Walter Simonson’s art that we haven’t already covered in previous reviews.  Joining him again is Laura Martin on colors and John Workman on letters.

Volume 2 focuses on the Black Elf Assassins specifically Reign and Drifa.  The Doom Of The Gods, has finally occurred.  Evil has not been destroyed along with the gods in that final fire. Only the gods have died with the exception of Thor, God Of Thunder. The Nine Worlds collapsed and has turned into the Dusk Lands.   Angantyr, the Lord of the Dead, has discovered his reappearance, and unleashes his army of the dead to seek and destroy the last remnants of the former world.  Simonson dives deeper into Norse Mythology specifically based on the poem “The Walking of Anganty” from Elder Edda.  Ragnarok stands out from the Marvel and DC’s iterations of Thor in that it focuses more on Thor’s mythology because IDW’s version is self contained.  It does not need to exist in the same universe like Marvel with Captain America or DC with Sandman.

Ragnarok: The Lord Of The Dead collects issues 7-12 with an introduction by Walter Simonson.  It is best to read the introduction before diving into this volume as you may need information on Reign and Drifa and their background story.  As far as any great graphic novel, Lord Of Dead also has every cover and variant as well.  The hardcover binding is wonderful and the sketchbook towards the end is nothing short of amazing.

If you enjoyed the first volume Last God Standing, it’s pretty much given you’ll enjoy Lord Of The Dead.  As we’ve said in previous reviews, Simonson’s work continues to get better with age so you’ll want to check that out.  Make sure to pick up your copy of Ragnarok: Lord Of The Dead off Amazon today.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Ragnarok: Lord Of The Dead 5 of 5 resurrections!

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