Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3 Journeys Into Mystery
by Tony Thornley
Valkyrie: Jane Foster kicked off with a mission statement- Jane Foster is an unusual sort of heroine, but she’s a heroine nonetheless. However, it was only a matter of time before Jane dived into a Valkyrie’s larger mission- guiding the souls of the fallen into the afterlife. And what a journey this issue is into that mission…
The latest Journey Into Mystery comes to us from Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, Cafu, Ramon Perez, Frazer Irving, Cian Tormey, Roberto Poggi, Jesus Abuterov and Joe Sabino.
Heimdall is dead, and Jane Foster now is faced with escorting her first soul into the afterlife. However, Heimdall gives her a tall order- he wants to be laid to rest in a realm he hasn’t ever seen. This leads the duo into an adventure through Heven, Hades, and into the unknown! But if Jane is successful, she’ll return to a villain who is ready to make her life miserable.
If the first two issues of Valkyrie were standard- albeit GOOD- superhero fare, this issue exists entirely to tell readers that this series has the capability to go weird, and I love it for that. Ewing and Aaron definitely ensure that the story is the sort of cosmic trip that we should expect out of a Valkyrie riding a winged horse with a ghost through multiple realms. It has thrilling action, some out there cosmic ideas, and most importantly a strong connection between its characters, giving us the emotional heft we need to connect to the story.
Normally seeing so many artists credited in an issue is an instant turn off, but the team breaks it up in a very intelligent way. Each “chapter” of the story is illustrated by a different artist, and the transitions are relatively seamless, thanks to the shared color art by Abuterov in all by Irving’s pages. The artists are also all relatively complementary to one another and very dynamic, which helps the transitions feel naturally rather than jarring. The journey then ends with several absolutely gorgeous pages by Irving, which serve both as a wonderful end to the issue and send-off for Heimdall.
With its mission statement established, this series can continue to fly high. I hope it really maintains the highs we’ve gotten so far.
Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.
