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The Mighty Valkyries #1-5
The Mighty Valkyries: All Hel Let Loose
A fresh start for Jane Foster — with allies old and new! Jane believed she was the only Valkyrie left, but the fight against the King in Black proved her wrong. Now the reunited Valkyries must redefine their roles in a changing world — but Asgard’s not going to make it easy. When Loki comes to Jane with rumors of a beast stalking the souls of Midgard, she leaps into action. But she’s not the only one after the strange wolf’s hide, and soon Jane will fall in the sights of Kraven the Hunter! Meanwhile, her fellow Valkyrie long ago made a promise to a woman she loved — and now it’s time to follow through. On the planet of Perdita lies imprisoned an ancient power. Can this Valkyrie free it — and herself? Featuring the fury of Karnilla, Queen of Hel! Collecting MIGHTY VALKYRIES #1-5.
120 pages, Paperback
First published November 23, 2021
2 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,398 books1,695 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 17, 2021
Jane Foster is supposed to be the last Valkyrie, but here she meets Rūna, a long missing Valkyrie inspired by the Tessa Thompson character from the Marvel movies. An enigmatic wolf character kept me intrigued through several chapters of wheel-spinning until things spun up into an exciting battle for Hel and a new set of triplet godesses.
I felt a little lost because I've missed a Valkyrie book that tied into the King in Black crossover and this one feels more like a prelude than a complete story. But I still like Jane Foster and her (rather neglected) cast of supporting characters, so I enjoyed myself and hope to see a follow-up in the near future.
I felt a little lost because I've missed a Valkyrie book that tied into the King in Black crossover and this one feels more like a prelude than a complete story. But I still like Jane Foster and her (rather neglected) cast of supporting characters, so I enjoyed myself and hope to see a follow-up in the near future.
May 29, 2023
It seems a backhanded compliment to say this was much better than I had expected, but there you go. I really just thought this was going to be a 3-star, good-enough-to-pass-the-time read but it had unexpected depths and, at times, some gorgeously rendered art.
November 19, 2021
In Hel, Karmila and Hela are having a lover's spat. On Earth, Jane Foster finds herself face to face with Loki, and a far larger threat. And across the galaxy, Runa searches for the key to her past.
The problem with telling two stories in one issue is that they both need to be as compelling as one another so that they don't overshadow each other. Unfortunately, one half of this book is so much more interesting that it makes the other half look bland in comparison - I found it really hard to care about Runa's plight when what Jane was dealing with was infinitely more relevant. I don't even remember how Runa's story ended, since it dovetails right into Jane's at the end anyway.
There's a disconnect in the art as well, since Mattia De Iulis' beautiful renditions completely blow Erica D'Urso's contributions on the Runa story completely out of the water.
While this is far more impressive than the previous King In Black mini, this is less all hell breaking loose and more like leaving half of hell at home because it's been naughty. Totally lopsided.
The problem with telling two stories in one issue is that they both need to be as compelling as one another so that they don't overshadow each other. Unfortunately, one half of this book is so much more interesting that it makes the other half look bland in comparison - I found it really hard to care about Runa's plight when what Jane was dealing with was infinitely more relevant. I don't even remember how Runa's story ended, since it dovetails right into Jane's at the end anyway.
There's a disconnect in the art as well, since Mattia De Iulis' beautiful renditions completely blow Erica D'Urso's contributions on the Runa story completely out of the water.
While this is far more impressive than the previous King In Black mini, this is less all hell breaking loose and more like leaving half of hell at home because it's been naughty. Totally lopsided.
April 21, 2022
Jason Aaron's Valkyrie books are consistently very good to start and a tangled mess by the end. Sometimes it's a fun tangled mess (see: Return of the Valkyries), but that's not really the case here.
We begin with Jane Foster being told by Dr. Strange that there's a wild beast loose in the city. A battle ensues (with Loki and beast) and the beast's true nature is revealed: they're an agent of Ragnarok, usually chained down somewhere, and they just wanna be free. Cut to: the other Valkyrie we met in Return of the Valkyries, who is across the galaxy attempting to learn her name and free an Asgardian oracle from a capitalist prison.
Oh, also, Hela is in Hel, trying to get things in order after returning from the far side of space, and her wife, Karnilla, is in a different part of Hel, raising triplets as potential Gods and doing something mysterious with the barren landscape. So yeah, there's a lot going on. The storylines all blast together by the end, but I wasn't sure which piece of the puzzle to care most about and ended up mostly just enjoying the pretty illustrations by Mattia de Iulis. His painterly artwork reminds me fondly of the Marvel trading cards I used to collect as a kid.
We begin with Jane Foster being told by Dr. Strange that there's a wild beast loose in the city. A battle ensues (with Loki and beast) and the beast's true nature is revealed: they're an agent of Ragnarok, usually chained down somewhere, and they just wanna be free. Cut to: the other Valkyrie we met in Return of the Valkyries, who is across the galaxy attempting to learn her name and free an Asgardian oracle from a capitalist prison.
Oh, also, Hela is in Hel, trying to get things in order after returning from the far side of space, and her wife, Karnilla, is in a different part of Hel, raising triplets as potential Gods and doing something mysterious with the barren landscape. So yeah, there's a lot going on. The storylines all blast together by the end, but I wasn't sure which piece of the puzzle to care most about and ended up mostly just enjoying the pretty illustrations by Mattia de Iulis. His painterly artwork reminds me fondly of the Marvel trading cards I used to collect as a kid.
June 13, 2022
A Panini Comics Brasil fez sua própria contagem das aventuras da Valquíria Jane Foster. Assim, no Brasil, a minssérie O Retorno das Valquírias conta como o quarto volume da série. Depois de um arco anterior bastante ruim, ligado à megassaga Rei das Trevas, este arco volta à carga das boas histórias apresentadas nos volumes 1 e 2. Como diz a apresentação, com uma quantidade pesada de mitologia nórdica raiz, somos apresentados aos netos lupinos de Loki e a uma tentativa de Karnilla, rainha das Nornes de criar uma nova mitologia. Também, em uma narrativa que acontece em paralelo, a nova Valquíria, baseada no visual de Thor: Ragnarok desbrava o espaço sideral em busca de seu nome e de seu passado. A aventura foi muito bem amarrada, trazendo novos conceitos para as personagens que dão vontade que sejam mais explorados. As personagens todas usadas aqui têm um carisma muito forte, nos fazendo apegar a elas. A narrativa mitológica por excelência consegue conferir uma grandiosidade à saga de Jane Foster como Valquíria que os volumes anteriores não tiveram. Um ótimo enredo bem desenvolvido e com uma bela arte.
August 2, 2022
After the events of King in Black, Jane Foster is no longer the only Valkyrie. Adding to the roster in this Volume, we meet Runa (wielder of Jarnbjorn!) Jane and Runa are left to confront wolf-like creatures who are threatening Midgard (but at the same time never really feel like a challenge) Both Loki and Kraven have roles here as well.
BUT... the majority of this Volume deals with a plot crafted by Karnilla, current Queen of Hel. Stealing triplet babies from a human mother, Karnilla goes through the steps to make them into Gods. It seems like she does all this to make Hela jealous... but I'm unsure exactly (even after reading a few parts again...)
Overall, this might be the weakest outing from Jason Aaron that I have read. Normally I look forward to reading titles with his name on the cover, but this one was a miss for me.
Make your own opinion about this. I'd love to see Jane doing the job she has and possibly getting in the middle of some drama about souls being escorted to Valhalla.
BUT... the majority of this Volume deals with a plot crafted by Karnilla, current Queen of Hel. Stealing triplet babies from a human mother, Karnilla goes through the steps to make them into Gods. It seems like she does all this to make Hela jealous... but I'm unsure exactly (even after reading a few parts again...)
Overall, this might be the weakest outing from Jason Aaron that I have read. Normally I look forward to reading titles with his name on the cover, but this one was a miss for me.
Make your own opinion about this. I'd love to see Jane doing the job she has and possibly getting in the middle of some drama about souls being escorted to Valhalla.
February 2, 2023
I’m a sucker for any Jane Foster Adventure™️, so I enjoyed this. As much as I like her role as Valkyrie, it still feels a little half-baked, at least in comparison to her time as Thor. And that stays true here, where we start things off on a really promising note that gradually starts to unspool as it goes. There’s too much going on and not enough space to let it breathe. If this were the start of an ongoing series, I’d be considerably higher on it, but as a standalone/epilogue/interstitial, it feels at least a little incomplete. Still, there is some great stuff here—both in the art and the storytelling—and I hope to see it and Jane continue in some form. There’s too much potential here, and I’d hate to see it disappear.
December 25, 2021
4
Some really good story bits and excellent art. But as a whole, some things were vague and confusing.
Some really good story bits and excellent art. But as a whole, some things were vague and confusing.
June 8, 2022
more like a 2.5
January 20, 2022
This wasn't actually bad, although admittedly I wasn't overly interested in Runa's part of the storyline. I just have too much baggage when it comes to the Marvel Thor series now. Time to let it go, I think.
May 4, 2022
Oof, this was...this was certainly a thing I read. The change of perspectives and story is really jarring. Perhaps most drastic is the difference in artists. But the writing also suffers from this back and forth. It may very well be smarter than it appears, but it comes off as messy and convoluted.
February 9, 2022
I picked this one up because it had LGBTQ characters, plus involved Loki. It is kind of complicated to explain, but I will try my best. First off, Queen Hela is gay and is married to Karnilla, who is kind of the reason why things get so f-ed up in this series. Queen Karnilla decides she wants children, and so literally steals triplets from an African-American mother's stomach in utero and is secretly raising them to be a new pantheon of gods. Meanwhile Jane Foster is a hospital doctor who works for the morgue, and oh by the way, is the only surviving Valkyrie. There is no back story as to why this is really.
Loki appears one day and is being chased by his grandchildren, offspring of Fenris Wolf, two souls inside one massive wolf and they are called Managarmr, the Moon Hounds (aka Hati and Skoll). He thinks they want to kill him, but they "just want to maim him a bit". He has a chain that will bind them and gives it to Jane for her to handle them. Loki then disappears, because of course. Managarmr shapeshift into a woman and want to be called More, so Jane begrudgingly obliges. After talking to them for awhile, she is sympathetic to their cause because she can see herself reflected in them, but still doesn't really trust them.
"Meanwhile, in a distant corner of a the galaxy," a woman has come upon a planet with a famous seer. She is hoping she can find out who she really is, as her memory was wiped centuries ago. Turns out she is Runa, one of the first Valkyrie ever created, one of the original nine. The seer turns out to be Kvasir, an ancient Norse god. She frees him and returns him to his home, and he warns her of the things to come. Hela hires a bounty hunter to capture Managarmr/More but it takes two attempts to do so.
Karnila used to be the queen of the Norn (the Fates), so she weaves Jane's hair (procured by Loki during their last encounter) into that of the triplets so Jane is forced to protect them, but Loki also sneaks in his own as well. You know he likes having his fingers in all of the pies. All of this is a wise precaution because when Hela finds out about the garden of life growing in what is supposed to be a desert wasteland and then finds out about the children, she flips her damn lid. She is incandescently angry and basically supersizes herself to go on a rampage, only to be stopped by Fafnir, former dwarf and now undead dragon who is powerful and ready to take Hela out and bleed everyone dry.
Sensing that the kids are in danger, Jane rushes to Hel with her talking winged horse and there meets Runa and they work together to help defeat the dragon. Then More arrives chained by Loki, who rescued her from the bounty hunter, only More escapes and eats everyone but the Valkyries and the children, then promptly spits them back up after they are asked to by Jane. There seems to be a bit of a romance brewing between the two of them, but they end the story before it can get interesting. The triplet girls (now toddlers) are returned to their birth mother. I guess she must be taking this new development in stride. The artwork overall was gorgeous, but I loved the contrast between the real-time story and the part of the story from Asgard, with Thor and the other gods meeting up with Runa. Despite the confusing storyline, I really enjoyed this set of comics. Recommended for ages 15+, 4 stars.
Loki appears one day and is being chased by his grandchildren, offspring of Fenris Wolf, two souls inside one massive wolf and they are called Managarmr, the Moon Hounds (aka Hati and Skoll). He thinks they want to kill him, but they "just want to maim him a bit". He has a chain that will bind them and gives it to Jane for her to handle them. Loki then disappears, because of course. Managarmr shapeshift into a woman and want to be called More, so Jane begrudgingly obliges. After talking to them for awhile, she is sympathetic to their cause because she can see herself reflected in them, but still doesn't really trust them.
"Meanwhile, in a distant corner of a the galaxy," a woman has come upon a planet with a famous seer. She is hoping she can find out who she really is, as her memory was wiped centuries ago. Turns out she is Runa, one of the first Valkyrie ever created, one of the original nine. The seer turns out to be Kvasir, an ancient Norse god. She frees him and returns him to his home, and he warns her of the things to come. Hela hires a bounty hunter to capture Managarmr/More but it takes two attempts to do so.
Karnila used to be the queen of the Norn (the Fates), so she weaves Jane's hair (procured by Loki during their last encounter) into that of the triplets so Jane is forced to protect them, but Loki also sneaks in his own as well. You know he likes having his fingers in all of the pies. All of this is a wise precaution because when Hela finds out about the garden of life growing in what is supposed to be a desert wasteland and then finds out about the children, she flips her damn lid. She is incandescently angry and basically supersizes herself to go on a rampage, only to be stopped by Fafnir, former dwarf and now undead dragon who is powerful and ready to take Hela out and bleed everyone dry.
Sensing that the kids are in danger, Jane rushes to Hel with her talking winged horse and there meets Runa and they work together to help defeat the dragon. Then More arrives chained by Loki, who rescued her from the bounty hunter, only More escapes and eats everyone but the Valkyries and the children, then promptly spits them back up after they are asked to by Jane. There seems to be a bit of a romance brewing between the two of them, but they end the story before it can get interesting. The triplet girls (now toddlers) are returned to their birth mother. I guess she must be taking this new development in stride. The artwork overall was gorgeous, but I loved the contrast between the real-time story and the part of the story from Asgard, with Thor and the other gods meeting up with Runa. Despite the confusing storyline, I really enjoyed this set of comics. Recommended for ages 15+, 4 stars.
July 29, 2023
I wish I liked this more. Following with the new MCU like Valkyrie on a side quest to find out about herself, I just....never cared. It still reeks of forced synergy, and the fact the axe is hers? Doesn't feel natural. The hel arc that involves Karnilla and Hela is somewhat needlessly complicated, complete with some big monster that comes out of nowhere towards the end. Jane's dynamic with More the two wolves was somewhat interesting, but didn't amount to much. That's my issue, I like Grønbekk, they know their myths, this story just didn't do much for me. The photorealistic art style too was both beautiful and yet surreal to look at, jarring to anything else more sequential in the book.
November 29, 2023
A huge chunk of this grade is for the amazing artwork by Mattia de Iulis. His linework was out of this world. This is my first time seeing his work and I loved it. I'll certainly look for more. Jason Aaron & Torunn GrØnbekk tell a much much better story than the King In Black book that preceded this. Jane is back to her life but Loki comes along to complicate it. There some solid connections to Aaron's Thor run, new developments with the new/old Valkyrie, unexpected antagonists, and more. I still think Jane could have her own sustained run but it doesn't appear to be so. Overall, please check out this book for the art alone. The story is just an added bonus!
January 27, 2022
As others have said, the art in this book is stellar. It's Alex Ross level crispness and detail.
The story, on the other hand, is average at best. It's a quick little run setting up ancillary characters from the Thor books for future use. You get to find out what happened to Hela after her bid to revive Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy. The last original valkyrie (yes, that one you remember from Thor: Ragnarok) finds out about her past. Jane Foster even gets a new path as her fate is rewritten in this series.
Bonus: all the amazingly lifelike art....
The story, on the other hand, is average at best. It's a quick little run setting up ancillary characters from the Thor books for future use. You get to find out what happened to Hela after her bid to revive Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy. The last original valkyrie (yes, that one you remember from Thor: Ragnarok) finds out about her past. Jane Foster even gets a new path as her fate is rewritten in this series.
Bonus: all the amazingly lifelike art....
April 6, 2022
This does Runa a big disservice, but jumping back and forth between her and Jane. The problem is that Jane's story is much, much more interesting. I think I would have enjoyed Runa's story just a bit more if it had been contained to a single issue by itself. Her plot sort of ends with a whimper anyways, feeling almost like it got abandoned so she can join up with Jane. Jane's story on its own is pretty interesting, and would seem to be setting up some good future stories, except that I more than half expect everything in this book to be forgotten.
June 1, 2023
I really wish Marvel would just let Jason Aaron have his Jane Foster series. These miniseries are really difficult to follow along with as they keep changing names and they keep getting cut short. That trend follows here. It's pretty clear a larger story was planned and the end feels really rushed. Having two separate stories of the two valkyries works against the book here too. Jane Foster's was much more interesting than Valkyrie from the movies searching for her name. The art from both artists is excellent though.
September 4, 2023
Uff de mis favoritos sin duda, la cantidad de temas éticos que se tocan, el arte contradictorio y la historia en sí lo combirtieron rápidamente en algo que recordar.
Solo porque dicen que aras algo malo en el futuro no significa que realmente pase.
Vemos a Mas el bevorador, nieto de loki encadenado por algo que podría hacer en un futuro y fue el momento (y la persona) que más me destrozo.
Aparte del pensar quienes son los dioses, la vida tanto como la muerte.
Es un cómic para reflexionar todo el rato.
Solo porque dicen que aras algo malo en el futuro no significa que realmente pase.
Vemos a Mas el bevorador, nieto de loki encadenado por algo que podría hacer en un futuro y fue el momento (y la persona) que más me destrozo.
Aparte del pensar quienes son los dioses, la vida tanto como la muerte.
Es un cómic para reflexionar todo el rato.
Read
March 26, 2024Stolen gods, Tessa Thompson heists in space, Jane Foster flirting with a giant world-eating wolf, and even a zombie peacock, yet I struggled to feel much of anything about most of it. De Iulis' stilted art is definitely part of why (though fair play, Karnilla's hair looks brilliant), but I think the problem might also be the sense of a footnote explaining loose ends I hadn't even remembered were dangling, and no wonder when one of them is from Donny Cates' dreadful Guardians run.
August 13, 2023
This volume felt more like a prelude than a full self-contained story. The wolf character was interesting within the story and was arguably the best part of this volume. Some of the art was really well done, but at times was inconsistent in quality, matching the disjointed nature of the two (eventually interacting) stories.
August 18, 2024
I enjoyed this! The art was so beautiful. I wish I got to learn more about Jane and Runa though. There were so many characters (all interesting) that I felt as a reader I didn't get to learn about anyone. Does this story continue somewhere? It left so open ended!
March 18, 2025
I enjoyed the story and liked the cast of characters. However it felt like the story was too short, it felt like a story that needed more space to really unfold. I also wasn’t completely sold on the mix of artstyles.
December 5, 2021
If I could say anything about this book, it’s that the art is jaw dropping my gorgeous on every single page.
December 31, 2021
Jason can still write a big story with a huge pay-off, even if it is over on titles like these instead of the marquee titles. Grønbekk should be drawing lots of things, every page a delight.
January 31, 2022
Out of this great little connected series where Jane is a Valkyrie I think this one has been my favorite
August 28, 2022
This was a decent addition to the earlier Valkyrie run. As is often the case in Marvel comics the cast is a little bloated, but if you like Valkyrie, you'll still enjoy this.
September 13, 2022
3,7 estrelas
October 12, 2022
I freaking love Jane Foster's arc from Thor to Valkyrie. An under-rated character
October 17, 2022
I like the Valkyrie storyline. I haven't seen Kraven in a long time. He's great. The wolf that can devour the world was interesting.
April 11, 2024
Mattia De Iulis could illustrate an airplane safety brochure and it would still be 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews