Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill

I'm a fan of Beta Ray Bill, Marvel Comics' alien, co-incarnation of their Thunder god Thor character.

So when the Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill miniseries was released as a trade paperback, I picked it up right away.

Bill was created by Walt Simonson, and it's hard to compete with that caliber of talent, but Daniel Berman, Michael Avon Oeming/Andrea Di Vito do a solid job on the story and art.

The beginning is strong, the emotion and stakes are well-articulated, and though the cosmic battles could go the tiresome way of the Dragonball Z Frieza Saga, they're kept pretty tight and engaging.

It's the series' ending with which I have a problem.

I have to be vague to avoid spoilers, but the last issue tie-in to the Marvel Universe seems like a forced marketing tie-in, and the last-minute dovetail to the origin of Thor (abandoned for Thor himself for a reason) and nod to Simonson seems (to me) hacked. Overall, it weakens the saga.

On the upside, maybe this will give Bill some more play in Marvel Universe.

I'd recommend this trade for Beta Ray Bill fans. For those unfamiliar with the character, I'd recommend The Mightly Thor in The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill trade paperback, which collects Simonson's introduction of the character.