Acclaimed Thor Artist Confirms Departure From Series

Marvel's critically-acclaimed Thor series has lost its largest creative minds. Monday, artist Nic Klein confirmed his departure from the series, effectively marking the end of a comic run that began over three years ago. Klein's departure follows that of Donny Cates' last year, who has taken an extended sabbatical from the world of comics.

"Unfortunately Issue 31 of Thor was my last Thor issue for the foreseeable future," Klein tweeted Monday. "This has been an amazing time in my comic career, I got [to] play with some of my favourite Personalities and hopefully told some great stories along the way. Thank you everyone for joining the ride."

Cates and Klein have teamed together on nearly all of the current series' issues. Now, Torrun Gronbekk has taken the reins of the series and will work with a committee of artists over the next few issues.

Why did Donny Cates stop writing Hulk?

Last November, it was revealed Cates had also departed Marvel's Hulk series after introducing a sizable new status quo for the character. At the time, Ryan Ottley revealed he was both writing and drawing the series. Ottley's last issue on the book is expected to coming in Hulk #14 due out in April. 

"No, he moved on to other things. I'll be writing the rest of this arc," Ottley tweeted in November. "There's always a chance he comes back for later arcs but I just don't know. I miss his amazing scripts, fortunately he created such a solid foundation that the world is such a blast to continue creating in!"

Cates then confirmed the news, returning to Twitter after an extended break from the service,  "Hey guys. I'm okay. Just needed to breathe and deal with a bunch of...life. Anyway, yeah no fear, I've been working with @CBCebulski @Wil_Moss and @Marvel in the background on something INSANE that will...well, you'll know it when you see it. Love you guys! See you soon! #Excelsior"