I’ll just say it right now. I’ve never read Thor. Correction: I’ve tried to read Thor, but whenever I’ve picked up Thor issues or collections that were recommended to me as “a good place to start,” I couldn’t get through more than a couple of pages without wanting to jab bamboo shoots under my fingernails if only to relieve the boredom. This is strange, considering that I enjoyed the Thor films, and I enjoy Thor in The Avengers. It’s amazing how far Chris Hemsworth’s considerable charms go…
Be that as it may, Thor as a character never really seemed to be my bag, which is the only reason why I have yet to pick up the current Jason Aaron run on the character, in which the mantle of Thor has been passed on to a woman who is worthy of carrying Mjolnir.
But that hasn’t stopped a BUNCH of other people from buying the title! In fact, according to Comichron, new Thor’s first four issues outsold the last four issues of male Thor’s last standalone, God of Thunder, by nearly 20,000 copies – not including digital sales! And lest some people think that’s an inaccurate way to compare the two, io9 provides this analysis:
Now, there’s the argument to be made that comparing Thor’s first four issues to the last four of God of Thunder is a misnomer, considering most comic book series see sales dips the longer and longer they run on for. But if we compare the latest figures for both series, we can still see a hearty increase for the new Thor’s series: Thor: God of Thunder #25 sold 48,000 copies in September, while last month’s Thor #5 sold 69, 500. So even on a more even playing field, Thor is heftily outselling her predecessor — which means that even though Secret Wars is bringing an end to her comic for now, there’s a good chance she’ll be back mainlining Marvel’s Thor series shortly after.
Now, I’m sure there are plenty of lady comics readers – I know several! – who love male Thor. Yet there are probably lots of other female comics readers, like me, who don’t really identify with that character and wanted something different. We were hungry for a different type of character that could draw us deeper into Asgard, and now we seem to have one! But the other point worth noting is that men are buying the title, too! The idea that guys won’t buy a female-led comic is just insane. They will, if it’s good, and Jason Aaron is clearly doing a great job.
So now, despite my long-time aversion to Thor in comics, I’m going to have to give this book a read, as I see that the title is truly speaking to a lot of people. See, Marvel? Here’s another female comics fan going to buy a comic that she never would’ve bought otherwise, because the lead is a woman. Female-led comics = cha-CHING.
(via io9)
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