Fear Itself Paperback – January 1, 2012

I hadn't read an American comic book in years...we're talking since I was in middle school. But I have friends who read comics, and they kept talking about this Marvel event...Fear Itself, where an old and forgotten Norse god comes back and causes absolute mayhem in the Marvel Universe. I thought, why not? So I started reading it. And immediately fell in love with it. Not only did I collect the issues, I purchased this gorgeous hardcover printing of it as well.The story grabbed me right off the bat and continued ratcheting up the tension all the way to the end. Yes, it ends abruptly and not all of the story threads are neatly tied up (the better to spin off with, you see), but I found it engaging and entertaining. The artwork is amazing and kept me coming back for more. On a parental warning note, it is a violent story, and lots of scary things happen, so it may not be appropriate for young eyes. You may want to read through it first just to make sure the content isn't too much for your youngling.But for everyone else, Fear Itself was an entertaining ride and I hope all of Marvel's event stories are as exciting!

This is a really fun Marvel Comics story. When I read the comments about it, I confess I thought strange that too many reviewers did not like this book, but of course, everyone has it's own point of view. But reading this book, you can appreciate a very good art and a great story, showing the importance of Thor and Captain America's leadership in Marvel's universe. In the beginning of the story, you can see a bad conduct of Odin related to his son and his people, but at the end, all his behavior was justified in front of the situation. Another important issue is how powerless the superheroes of the Marvel were when the main strong heroes and vilains gained a real dark power. In the past (about 80's and 90's) we had Silver Surfer, Captain Marvel (Marvell), among others participating actively in the biggest sagas, but now, some of them died and others are far away in the middle of the universe. So, we can see Thor saving the day with his partners against the evil, using the main skills that they have. For example, Thor used his unstopable power, Captain America used his true leadership and Iron Man used his genius. In summary, Fear Itself is not the best story ever written, but it is a great story, fun, inteligent and with a beautifull art. And it's end is very dramatic and tense. Personally I recomend it.

I've seen a lot of mixed review regarding Fear Itself. And, as a crossover event, I found it to be underwhelming when compared to the likes of House of M or Civil War. So I can understand the lackluster reviews. That said, as a standalone story I thought it was quite good.It's been mentioned many times throughout the comics, and in the original myths, that Thor would give his life to defeat the Serpent. That tale is the basis of Fear Itself. Odin's brother, The Serpent God of Fear, has been awakened and his heralds are spreading death and destruction across the globe to increase his power. Odin intends to raze the Earth, to sacrifice all those whose fear is feeding the evil god, but Thor is unwilling to give up on mankind. After a while, events can lose their impact because it's just the heroes facing Armageddon...again. Someone will sacrifice their life fighting the good fight, and the heroes will rally to defeat evil. And that does happen here. But Fraction managed to incorporate some surprises that made the book worthwhile. First, some of our heroes get transformed into The Worthy, the hammer-wielding sentinels of the Serpent. And they make damn cool bad guys! When two of them throw down with Thor, it makes for an impressive battle. Also, while it was totally expected to see Steve Rogers stand up to Odin for throwing humanity to the wolves, it was downright surprising to see Tony Stark do so, and turn the tide in their favor in the process. Lastly, the story has many instances of particularly noble deeds, and not just by heroes, that stand out even amidst so much heroism. It was very satisfying.Where I think Fear Itself faltered was too much time spent on build up and not enough spent on the pay off. The revelation of what was happening, the finding of the Hammers of the Worthy, and the spreading of fear across the Earth was all given a lot of time but the final battle was somewhat anticlimactic compared to what came before. The Avengers are all given special weapon "blessed" by Odin but readers hardly got to see them in action. Additionally, we don't see what happens to the heroes that were transformed into the Worthy after the Serpent is defeated. That was disappointing.Despite the ending feeling rushed, I thought this was an entertaining read. It's not the drastic, consequence-driven event that prior crossovers were, but everything doesn't have to reshape the universe. Overall, a good story that stands alone but also makes me want to read the tie-ins. Highly recommended.

I honestly don't know why the hate...I thought it was going to be a mess like DC's Final Crisis, but that was not the case.The story is a simple one: An ancient wakes up after millenia and he wants to take revenge on the one who locked him. The only way for him to regain power and face his opponent, is to inflict fear in a large population. Earth was perfect!After his allies (which are actually heroes and villains from Earth) wreck havok around the world, the big baddie is ready to confront his prey.There's a lot of action in the book. Good action. The writing is ok, but I have to admit is no Watchmen either. It just fit the purpose.Why some characters are acting out of character (if any)? Because they're all scared! Even Captain America. Man... even Odin is scared out of his socks. So, why not acting a little out of character?I read this book and it seems pretty comprehensible to me. Haven't read any of the tie-ins, and even like that I enjoyed it. That being said, I wouldn't mind reading some of the tie-ins, but I think I better wait for the Omnibus. The X-Men Tie-In looks sick!Anyway, I think is a joyful reading.