Ragnarok, Vol. 2: The Lord of the Dead Hardcover – July 11, 2017

The joy of reading pure Walt Simonson is a gift to any fan of the comic form and fantasy in general.Freed of the constrictures of the"Big 2", "Dino" Walt spins his own imaginative tale of a post-Ragnarok world where all the gods are dead and the creatures of evil rule the world. The sun and moon have been swallowed whole and dusk covers the land.The chief architect of the end, Surtur, broods in his hellish abode and is content - until he feels a disturbance that troubles him. Eventually he finds out that the "Stone God", none other than Thor himself is alive. After a fashion. The reader is left to decide whether Thor is truly alive or actually dead. As depicted by Simonson, most would pick the latter.Picking up from where he left off in Book 1 (issues 1-6 of the serialized comic), Thor is tracked by a Black Elf assassin and his young daughter. The wife and mother perished trying to "kill" Thor (assuming he was alive). The quest was given to them by the Lord of the Dead, Angantyr.We are left puzzled by Angantyr. Why is he Lord of the Dead? Where is Hel? What remains of the old evils and what is the heirarchy now?Book 2 (issues 7-12) follows the trio in their quest to uncover some of those answers. It is a tale filled with epic battles, great irony and greater poignancy. In short, classic Walt Simonson.It could go without saying that the art is beautiful, but that would not be giving Simonson his due. He is crafting a labor of love and therefore the pictures explode off the page. From detailed moments of pure emotion to massive spreads of sheer power, it is Simonson as we've not been able to see for many years.The writing matches the art in every challenge. I am reminded of when I was reading the early books of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. In those tomes, King awed and amazed with a world that was already dying and then spent much of the books going forward and backward at the same time, to the reader's delight.In much the same way, Simonson explores the "before time" in flashback sequences, slowly peeling back the how and why the world is now as it is. It's got an advantage over King in that you have all those lovely Simonson drawings to go with the words (and long-time pal John Workman at the letters).After two superlative volumes (or 12 issues) there has been no waning to the energy or appeal of Simonson's Ragnarok. It feels as if he has a tale of epic proportions to tell and so we can all look forward to the end of the world lasting a whole lot longer than we might have imagined. Thank goodness for that!

In the 80s Walt Simonson's Thor for Marvel comics set the bar for epic action. I was a little worried when I heard about this book that it would feel like a retread of his earlier books but Volume 1 put those worries to rest. Set years after Ragnarok, in the ruins of Asgard and the other realms of Norse myth, an undead Thor seeks revenge.The art and story are just as good as the first book and Simonson is in fine form.My one worry is this may be too ambitious. With this book it's obvious that Simonson sees Ragnarok going for several years, it's not finished in volume 2, and doesn't seem likely to end in volume 3 or 4. Even worse as far as I can tell volume 3 hasn't even started yet. So my biggest worry is that this book may not be finished for years, if ever. But all in all that's not such a bad thing to worry about.Pick it up, it's good.

Loved the first volume of Ragnarock, Walt Simonson’s new foray into Norse mythology and Thor (though this version of Thor is different from the Marvel version Mr. Simonson handled so well). This volume follows the first volume quite directly and offers plenty of surprises and incredible artwork. I found volume 1 a little better overall but that’s hardly a knock against this work. If you bought and enjoyed the first volume, there’s no reason at all not to buy the second!

This is the second book from Simonson's series of the same name. Famous for his reinvigoration of Marvel's Thor in the 1980s, here Simonson is free to craft his own version of the character in the post-apocalypse of the Norse legend. The first book introduced the characters and basic plot and setting; in this volume the series really hits it's stride as Thor finds his world a dystopia. Yet, he finds reason to seek some sort of redemption of a realm plagued by the walking dead (not zombies but more literal) after losing everything. This is the sort of storytelling that's now hard to find in comics, a grand vision interpreting ancient myth in a fresh, yet classic manner.

Walter Simonson's walk through Ragnarok continues in "The Lord of the Dead" Vol. 2 of his IDW Publishing series. Thor has returned to pick up the pieces after the twilight of the gods. It's not an easy task and Thor is not quite the good of thunder he used to be. Simonson's art is powerful and the story compelling. Looking forward to reading the next chapter. Highly recommended.

The creative workings of Walter Simonson is once again shown on display with this second part of three books. His story telling, artwork and all he gets from those others around him make these Ragnarok books a pleasure!

A masterwork by a masterful storyteller. When all is said and done, despite all his great work on other books, this may end up being Walt Simonson's magnum opus. Great art, great writing, and simply a great yarn. I hope it goes on for many years to come!

As immortal as the Edda, Simonson remains at the top of his craft, doing what he loves with alacrity and precision.

A fantastic edition of a simply gorgeous book, topped only by a great story.Simonson writes the Thor story to end all stories. It's amazing how after so many years he is at the top of his career!

Walter Simonson n'a rien perdu du souffle épique qui animait de ses scénarios de Thor il y a plus de trente ans. Un véritable bonheur à lire.

Ragnarök is "The End" according to Nordic mythology. This is the story that tells us what happens after the end!Great story and art by Walter Simonson!

high quality, expertly packaged, would highly recommend

Assolutamente da prendere:- Grafica, migliorata rispetto al vol 1,- Storia, decisamente approfondita,- Personaggi, sviluppati e che non hanno nulla da invidiare ai supereroi di altre case.Da prendere!, per maggiori approfondimenti fare riferimenti alla recensione del vol 1.