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Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill #1-6
Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill
The sole survivor of all that was Asgard, will Beta Ray Bill escape the end of one world only to face his own end in the form of an enemy greater than any he has battled before? Introducing Stardust, a creature of cosmic power who turns his enemies to dust to fuel the stars. And that's just what he intends to do to Beta Ray Bill - and the Korbinite people - but he's only following orders. The question is: from whom? The answer is big, and we mean BIG Collects Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill #1-6.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 17, 2005
About the author
Michael Avon Oeming
853 books64 followersMichael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer.
His 1998 comic book Bulletproof Monk was made into a film of the same name.
The previous mentioned collaborations are The Mice Templar from Image Comics, which he draws and co-authors with Bryan J.L. Glass,[1] and Powers from Icon Comics which he draws, and sometimes co-authors, with Brian Bendis. His creator-owned projects include Rapture, on which he collaborated with his wife, Taki Soma,[2] and The Victories, both for Dark Horse Comics.
As of 2010, he is employed as a staff member of Valve Corporation, working on Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 webcomics.
His 1998 comic book Bulletproof Monk was made into a film of the same name.
The previous mentioned collaborations are The Mice Templar from Image Comics, which he draws and co-authors with Bryan J.L. Glass,[1] and Powers from Icon Comics which he draws, and sometimes co-authors, with Brian Bendis. His creator-owned projects include Rapture, on which he collaborated with his wife, Taki Soma,[2] and The Victories, both for Dark Horse Comics.
As of 2010, he is employed as a staff member of Valve Corporation, working on Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2 and Portal 2 webcomics.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 26, 2021
I was enjoying the heck out of this until that last issue, a fun read nonetheless.
June 11, 2021
I own Thor #337 and read the same copy I own the month it came out in 1983. Should that matter to you, dear reader? Probably not. But I am a Beta Ray Bill fan from the very beginning, and I feel like that counts for something. Family and friends can attest to my deep love for Beta Ray Bill because when I talk about Marvel I always find a way to bring him into the discussion. So there you go. I have a stake in Walt Simonson's greatest creation, and I am predisposed to love anything and everything Beta Ray Bill.
Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill, however, makes me want to cry. It is a soulless, poorly plotted, space opera wannabe, lazily repeating Bill's origin story -- this time "after" Ragnarok, which effectively takes away all the characters who lend Beta Ray Bill its emotional depth -- then adding a new herald for Galactus, some disintegrating, interstellar hell-gate opening idiot named Stardust, Galactus himself, and a failed Ray Bill called Alpha Ray Bill who is back then gone then remade by Galactus and back again.
And when all the drivel in space is over Michael Avon Oeming brings Beta Ray Bill back to New York City for an action epilogue that includes Spidey, the Boar, and a new alter-ego for Beta Ray Bill -- Simon Walters (a tip of the pen to Walt Simonson, obviously) -- a recently deceased war veteran. So it is space drivel then Manhattan drivel. Drivel. Drivel. Drivel. Beta Ray Drivel.
Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill, however, makes me want to cry. It is a soulless, poorly plotted, space opera wannabe, lazily repeating Bill's origin story -- this time "after" Ragnarok, which effectively takes away all the characters who lend Beta Ray Bill its emotional depth -- then adding a new herald for Galactus, some disintegrating, interstellar hell-gate opening idiot named Stardust, Galactus himself, and a failed Ray Bill called Alpha Ray Bill who is back then gone then remade by Galactus and back again.
And when all the drivel in space is over Michael Avon Oeming brings Beta Ray Bill back to New York City for an action epilogue that includes Spidey, the Boar, and a new alter-ego for Beta Ray Bill -- Simon Walters (a tip of the pen to Walt Simonson, obviously) -- a recently deceased war veteran. So it is space drivel then Manhattan drivel. Drivel. Drivel. Drivel. Beta Ray Drivel.
June 2, 2015
The image of Beta Ray Bill is one I haven't been able to shake off ever since I first encountered him. "So, he's an alien horse that is also Thor?" surely must have been my first thought, back when I saw the animated Planet Hulk, in which Bill plays the part of the Silver Surfer from the comics.
In short, a little backstory was needed. Stormbreaker explains where Bill came from, and where he's going, but does so in a way that is not a hundred percent satisfactory. The tie-in to Thor's Ragnarok makes for a good jumping point from one Odin-powered-hammer-wielder to the next, but the story quickly loses its focus. First it's Ragnarok, then it's Galactus, then it's newcomer Stardust, then it's newcomer Asteroth, then it's newcomer the Boar, and then it's over. Bill randomly floats from one conflict to the next, with only very loose connections between all of them. The whole quest of saving his people is solved way too easily, after all the interstellar hoops he had to jump through, and the frequent flashbacks don't even seem to matter in the end.
The first three issues are definitely the best. Galactus showing up is always a blast, and the whole thing culminates in a planet-shattering fight between Bill and Stardust, in which Bill uses his hammer Stormbreaker in a way I've never quite seen Thor use Mjolnir. Points for lethal creativity there. Alas from there the story sidetracks, until even Spider-Man shows up at the end. How do you get from Galactus to him? Poorly, would be the answer to that question.
Luckily Bill is an interesting enough figure, and not just visually, to follow through whatever black holes and existential planes he tumbles through, what with being an unquestionable badass and endearing savior at the same time. Hopefully, though, he'll find something more consistent to do in Omega Flight, maybe something that - oh I don't know - actually pours from Marvel's rich well of established characters, instead of throwing new ones at us without much consequence. This alien horse deserves a bit better.
In short, a little backstory was needed. Stormbreaker explains where Bill came from, and where he's going, but does so in a way that is not a hundred percent satisfactory. The tie-in to Thor's Ragnarok makes for a good jumping point from one Odin-powered-hammer-wielder to the next, but the story quickly loses its focus. First it's Ragnarok, then it's Galactus, then it's newcomer Stardust, then it's newcomer Asteroth, then it's newcomer the Boar, and then it's over. Bill randomly floats from one conflict to the next, with only very loose connections between all of them. The whole quest of saving his people is solved way too easily, after all the interstellar hoops he had to jump through, and the frequent flashbacks don't even seem to matter in the end.
The first three issues are definitely the best. Galactus showing up is always a blast, and the whole thing culminates in a planet-shattering fight between Bill and Stardust, in which Bill uses his hammer Stormbreaker in a way I've never quite seen Thor use Mjolnir. Points for lethal creativity there. Alas from there the story sidetracks, until even Spider-Man shows up at the end. How do you get from Galactus to him? Poorly, would be the answer to that question.
Luckily Bill is an interesting enough figure, and not just visually, to follow through whatever black holes and existential planes he tumbles through, what with being an unquestionable badass and endearing savior at the same time. Hopefully, though, he'll find something more consistent to do in Omega Flight, maybe something that - oh I don't know - actually pours from Marvel's rich well of established characters, instead of throwing new ones at us without much consequence. This alien horse deserves a bit better.
January 7, 2018
Started off really well, but then the super hero part took over completely until it was just "hammer to the face" kind of stuff. Lots of cool ideas throughout, they just didn't hit their mark as well as they could have. It was cool learning more about the Korbinites.
Oeming is an interesting writer though and Andrea Di Vito is always great, so its hard to complain.
Oeming is an interesting writer though and Andrea Di Vito is always great, so its hard to complain.
August 26, 2013
Set after Ragnorak, Beta Ray Bill has to cope with the death of his friends, and protect his people from a planet shattering menace. This is kind of a tie-in book, so you need to know a bit about Ragnorak to get it. It is quite a sad book, and if you like the character a lot, I suspect it is essential reading. A good read.
May 28, 2019
Desde que eu li o Ragnarok de Thor, escrito pela mesma equipe criativa desta minissérie, Michael Avon Oeming e Andrea DiVitto, eu fiquei com vontade de ler Rompe-Tormetas: A Saga de Bill Raio Beta. Mas imagina se a Panini trouxe essa minissérie pra cá? Claro que não. Agora, mais de 15 anos depois, eu posso lê-la através da coleção vermelha da Salvat. E a espera, pelo menos, foi recompensada. Bill Raio Beta é uma dos elementos cruciais de uma das melhores fases do Deus do Trovão Asgardiano, que é a feita por Walter Simonson e ele tem um background fascinante, tanto com sua raça, os korbinitas, como com sua nave Ferocímea. Nesta minissérie ele precisa enfrentar ninguém menos que Galactus e seu arauto Estelar, mas acabam desencadeando um mal muito mais perigoso para a existência e precisam unir forças para encerrar sua ameaça. Então, se você gostou do trabalho da dupla Avon Oeming e DeVitto no arco Ragnarok do Thor, é bem provável que vá gostar bastante também desta minissérie qua acaba por conferir um novo status quo para Bill Raio Beta no panteão de heróis da Marvel.
October 2, 2018
Just read this in the Marvel's Mightiest Heroes collection and I got to say Bill is the oddest character I believe you can muster up. It's almost like the creators were having a laugh. Let's have this alien species turn one of their own into a warrior, a bit like Steve Rogers aka Captain America. Except Beta Ray Bill looks like a monstrous dead horse or something liking to that.
A pretty bleak past really, world destroyed and all that. Things turn when he battles Thor and given the look you really do think he will be a bad guy, but then then, what's this, he can lift Thor's hammer!
Given the powers of Thor with a new hammer-Stormbreaker Bill tries his best to find a place for the survivors of his race but comes up against...Galactus.
A pretty bleak past really, world destroyed and all that. Things turn when he battles Thor and given the look you really do think he will be a bad guy, but then then, what's this, he can lift Thor's hammer!
Given the powers of Thor with a new hammer-Stormbreaker Bill tries his best to find a place for the survivors of his race but comes up against...Galactus.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2022
Honestly one of the worst comics I've ever read. A few cool moments (seeing certain lifeforms through the eyes of the Corbinites was a rare moment of interest in the series) cannot make up for textbook terrible comic book plotting. The first third of issue 1 is a wordy, indulgent lore dump, and the rest of the series is just a series of sparsely justifiable and dumb fight scenes. Thoroughly, remarkably bored from start to finish. Every central character here is better served in other books—spare yourself the waste of time here.
December 15, 2017
Although the ending didn't sit well with me, the fighting was EPIC! This is my first time reading anything Beta Ray Bill and I already love his character but, referring to the end, I don't think I would follow his adventures on Earth though. The epic battles really push it up to 4 stars for me.
March 8, 2022
This is somewhere between a 3 and a 4 star, if that helps clarify my position at all. It's better than I expected, not being a particularly huge Beta Ray Bill fan prior to picking it up. But it has enough fun Marvel cosmic crap to keep it going.
June 13, 2017
Ever want Thor to be a weird horse-man? It's more fun than it sounds.
Want to Read
September 26, 2021Recopila Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill #1-6.
August 13, 2024
Decent start, terrible ending. Each issue managed to be worse than the one before.
March 5, 2017
Successiva al Ragnarock orchestrato da Avon Oeming, questa miniserie di 6 numeri qui raccolta ci presenta il fato del popolo di Beta Ray Bill, che incontra quella forza basilare dell'Universo Marvel nota sulla Terra col nome di Galactus. Splendidamente disegnata da DiVito, ha solo il difetto di tirarla un poco per le lunghe e di non chiarire bene che tipo di araldo sia Stardust.
April 2, 2024
Beta Ray Bill is not just a horse who is also a thor, but much more.
He always liked the character, and his having very few standalone comics is quite upsetting.
The Saga of Stormbreaker is the events in between Thor comics. So it's not fully "standalone" per se, but somewhere between.
I don't remember much from the Thor run while reading this after years, so my memory is a bit faint. However, the story was okay. The God of destruction is here to destroy the new home of the people of Bill. Turns out it was Galactus, another massive hit for Bill as his new planet and a big chunk of his people are gone!
The story is, in fact, not whole, so it leaves the reader somewhat unsatisfied ( Read the thor run first ).
The art was good. Some pannel were great to watch.
7/10
He always liked the character, and his having very few standalone comics is quite upsetting.
The Saga of Stormbreaker is the events in between Thor comics. So it's not fully "standalone" per se, but somewhere between.
I don't remember much from the Thor run while reading this after years, so my memory is a bit faint. However, the story was okay. The God of destruction is here to destroy the new home of the people of Bill. Turns out it was Galactus, another massive hit for Bill as his new planet and a big chunk of his people are gone!
The story is, in fact, not whole, so it leaves the reader somewhat unsatisfied ( Read the thor run first ).
The art was good. Some pannel were great to watch.
7/10
August 17, 2007
Summoning the wonder of old sci fi radio serials, Storm Breaker follows Bill, an android who ascended to live with the pantheon of the gods, but was denied a place amongst them when they fell, and so was cast back into the sea of stars, only to find his home is on the verge of its own doomsday. Fantasy and science fiction are treated like the strands of a double helix, grappling with a drama outside the hands of even the gods, Stormbreaker carries a weird, old charm about it that’s hard to place, but easy to feel if you enjoyed old radio serials or comics.
February 13, 2016
An OK story arc set in the future of the Beta Ray bill character. Recommended
November 23, 2017
I unabashedly love anything that involves Beta Ray Bill. This was an awesome little story. I would highly recommend listening to an RTJ playlist while reading.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews