Cover of the Week 10/12 – Thor #3 by Russell Dauterman

I am desperately trying not to completely fall for the covers to this book, whether they be Esad variants or Dauterman delights. This cover is so compelling that I could not stop staring at it. Initially it appears to be a little muted and dulled down but that is a purposeful approach to making Thor appear to be hidden under ice. The blues are icy but the colours of her face and armour are faded away to give the appearance of an opaque ice sheet. Her fear and gripping of the underside of the barrier with her right hand, clearly demonstrate she is trapped. But it is the definitive inking of Mjölnir that make you realise that she is trying to escape and the fact only the hammer can smash through, implies her life is a actually at threat. The shards of ice released is nice affect together with the cracks and etchings in the floor. It is actually here that the signature seems to be scrawled. Matt Wilson’s colouring is on point here and even the title and banner of the front page is faded appropriately. The whole cover appears to depict the incarceration of our protagonists and from afar seems have Thor charging out at us from the cover of her own comic. It is a lovely cover with a very clear and credible threat to Thor, and she seems to be well on top of things.