The dark elf Algrim’s forces are invading Asgard. Singularity bombs are being dropped...little black holes devouring everything. The kinh of Asgard is gone. Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, has come to be in possession of a physician ally of Thor’s. She’s not quite ready to pick up the hammer again, but she’s going to have to in Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor #1. Writer Torunn Gronbekk opens a new chapter in Foster’s life with the aid of artist Michael Dowling. Color lends depth to the visuals courtesy of Jesus Aburtov. The promising first issue of the new series thoughtfully expands upon previous chapters in the life of a thoroughly fascinating character.

The hammer has sought Jane Foster. The spirit of the late Odin has chosen to speak with her. Madness comes at a particularly inconvenient time for Jane, but she’s not going to accept the power of Thor just yet. She already has the power of the Valkyrie. She’s been communing with that power for some time yet is not ready to shift into godhood. She’s just had an early shift at the hospital. Then there was intergalactic terrorism and a quick jaunt into the beyond. If Dr. Foster is going to be able to handle things, she’s going to need to keep her head together.

Gronbekk’s work with Jane Foster is enjoyable. The author is juggling things just as well as her main character. The travels between godhood and earthbound drama contrast carefully against each other in a script that charts a clever course between the fantastic and the mundane. Foster’s conversation with the Odin in Thor’s hammer is simple and exquisite. She’s talking to a being of great power, but she might as well be talking to an old relative. Earlier on, she’s coming home to a winged horse who wants to make sure she’s returned with the carrots that are part of his contract. (Union Bylaw #432, section #32.) It’s cleverly-balanced stuff.

Dowling follows Gronbekk’s lead in rendering visuals that give a very respectable earthbound footing for the world of magic and fantasy. Midgard feels comfortable. Asgard feels like an unattainable fantasy. There are some beautifully casual moments in and amidst the epic danger and the dark elf invasion. Aburtov’s color lends depth through highlights in the foreground and beautiful radiance in the backgrounds. The black holes being dropped out of airships by the dark elves might lack the punch that they could have had, but the overall visual package of the first issue is impressive.

What with all of the problems Marvel’s Asgard has run into over the decades, it is very, very difficult to cast any Thor-based danger in a new and novel light. Gronbekk is smart to focus the story-in on Jane and what she’s going through for the most part. The very real human face of larger-than-life turmoil keeps the story from diving too far away from the emotional gravity that all of the action needs to center itself around.

Grade: B+