When it comes to superheroes comics, I’m pretty standoffish. Because the structure of long-running stories means that they can’t have a neat resolution, and I love neat resolutions, I get frustrated. The constant reboots and multiple universes and retcons drive me right up the wall. So I tend to only read superhero comics when they involve a contained arc, as in Matt Fraction’s run of Hawkeye, or Sensation Comic’s Wonder Woman anthology series.

But it seems that Marvel has roped me into following Thor. Marvel put Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1 on sale. I knew there had been a lot of talk about how Thor was a woman now, and it was so cheap I figured I’d just peek and now I’ve spent obscene amounts of money on Thor comics and I cannot get enough of this series.

Vol. 1 contains issues 1- 5. In these issues, it is revealed that the Thor we previously knew and loved, he of the amazing pectoral muscles, has dropped the hammer Mjolnir and no one can pick the hammer up – save for a mysterious woman. When this woman picks up the hammer, she takes on all the powers of Thor (and then some, because Mjolnir seems to like her a lot and shows off some new tricks). Eventually Thor of The Pectoral Muscles grants her the use of his name and he reverts to being called Odinson. Thor (the new Thor) goes on to fight the evil Roxxon Corporation and Malekith, King of the Dark Elves, while Odinson tries to figure out who this woman is.

Initially, this story involves a lot of people trying really hard to bash each other in the face. As the series progresses through Vol. 2 and through Vol. 1 of The Mighty Thor, while there’s still a lot of bashing (cause, you know, that’s how Thor rolls) there are also great depictions of other kinds of power and other kinds of strength. There are alliances that are both touching and exciting, and animosities that are horrifying in their depth, and a deep sense that the tide is turning away from the world of brute force, theocracy, and patriarchy, as represented by Odin, and towards a world of teamwork and democracy, as represented by Frejya (and Thor, Coulson, Roz, Odinson, and a whole lot of other people, male and female, super-powered and not).

There are also lines like “activating attack sharks.” So, you know, the series is dealing with some incredibly serious topics, but not so seriously that it forgets to include attack sharks.

A note about Thor’s armor. Is it dumb? Yes, yes it is. Do I dig it anyway? Yes, I do. I can see with my intellectual brain that this armor is molded to her boobs to make her look sexier and she tends to stand with a hip sticking out, and I hate that (although I do like the fact that Odinson seems to have lost not only his hammer, but also his shirt).

But another part of my brain sees her and thinks “POWER.” Every single time I see her, with every new panel, some part of my brain just lights right up like a pinball machine of feminist glee. I don’t want to discuss later developments because spoilers but for completely different reasons I also see power every time I see her without her armor. Maybe it’s her eyes, or her arm muscles. I just dig her like crazy.

This series is thoughtful and emotional and feminist and it’s also silly and fun and insane. I just dropped a ridiculous amount of money on more Thor comics and I regret only that there aren’t more of them. I want an issue in which Thor hangs out with the Avengers and it’s super awkward even though Odinson is all, “Hang with us, it’s fine! We’ll have mead!” I want an issue in which Frejya introduces Odin to a terrifying new character, the Divorce Attorney (Odin is simply awful in this series, just horrible). I want an issue called “Roz and Thor Hang at the Bar.” And I definitely want more attack sharks. This Thor is indeed mighty.

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Thor: Goddess of Thunder, Vol. 1 is currently on sale for $3.99 at Amazon.