THE MIGHTY VALKYRIES #1/  Scripts by JASON AARON & TORUNN GRONBEKK/ Art by MATTIA DE IULIS & ERICA D’URSO/ Color Art by MATTIA DE IULIS & MARCIO MENYZ/ Letters by VC’S JOE SABINO/ Cover by MATTIA DE IULIS/ Variant Covers by MAHMUD ASRAR, MATTHEW WILSON, RUSSELL DAUTERMAN, TODD NAUCK, RACHELLE ROSENBERG, CARLOS PACHECO, RAFAEL FONTERIZ & SKOTTIE YOUNG/ Published by MARVEL COMICS

The Valkyries were an elite team of Asgardian warriors, spoken of in song and legend across the universe. They were all believed to have died in battle during the War of the Realms. In honor of their sacrifice, a woman of Midgar who had once wielded the power of Thor, Dr. Jane Foster, took up the All-Weapon Undrjarn and became the last Valkyrie.

But there was another!

It was Jane Foster herself who discovered this lost Valkyrie, forgotten to time and tragedy, and helped her to reclaim her weapon, the magical axe Jarnbjorn. Together they slew the corrupted Celestial who had held the Valkyrie and countless other souls for centuries. Now, Jane has returned home to New York City to face a strange threat that is somehow tied to Asgard, as the lost Valkyrie, who can not remember her own name, heads off in search of an oracle than can help her discover her past.

The Mighty Valkyries #1 is an interesting continuation of Jason Aaron’s Asgardian stories and his take on Jane Foster in particular. The first chapter centered around Jane neatly establishes the status quo of her new job along with her powers and abilities. There’s also an extra dash of humor with Loki and Dr. Strange both having cameos, though those who only know the characters from the movies may be confused as to why Dr. Strange is once again working in a hospital and why Loki isn’t quite as antagonistic.

The second chapter of the anthology is more accessible to new readers, focused as it is on the new Valkyrie without any cameos or expectations based on other stories in other media. Torunn Gronbekk flies solo on this story and shows us, rather than telling us, who the nameless Valkyrie is through her actions.

As good as the writing is, the artwork is this issue’s strongest asset. The painted artwork by Mattia De Iulis on the first chapter is phenomenal and I’m surprised to see work of this quality in a monthly book rather than in a prestige trade paperback or a special. The artwork for the second story is also good, with Erica D’Urso presenting a world that is both alien yet familiar and the colors of that world being blended and based wonderfully by Marcio Menyz.

The Mighty Valkyries is a powerful read and an impressive first issue. While some familiarity with Jane Foster’s story is helpful and the first chapter might have benefited from a bit more exploration of Jane’s past for the benefit of newcomers, those readers who are caught up on how Modern Marvel differs from the movies will find a lot to enjoy in this issue.