Whosoever holds this magazine, if he or she be worthy, shall possess the power of some really rather good film journalism... Marvel's Thor: Ragnarok just around the corner, and Empire is all over it like a hammer on dark elves. The Asgardian god of thunder is our latest cover star, doing battle with his latest fearsome foe – and as usual, our lucky subscribers will be getting their issue a little early, with an exclusive limited edition cover. Take a look below to see what they'll be getting.
For this subscriber-only cover, we've commissioned Marvel artist Russell Dauterman (the illustrator behind the current run of Marvel's Thor comics) to produce this gorgeous bespoke illustration, depicting Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth in the movie) taking on Hela (played by Cate Blanchett), the goddess of death, destroyer of hammers, and really not somebody to be trifled with in a hurry.
This cover, which will be arriving on subscribers' doormats any day now, is only the tip of an 146-page iceberg – inside the mag, there's an eight-page report from the Australian set of Taika Waititi's Thor: Raganarok; a massive 26-page Comic-Con Special; a huge career-spanning interview with James Cameron; and all the usual news, reviews, and exclusive previews you've come to expect from the world's biggest movie magazine.
Issue #340 of Empire goes on sale Thursday 10 August, with the newsstand cover still to be revealed. Subscribers should be receiving their copy any day. Want to get beautiful, limited edition art covers like the one above every month, days before the shops, for less than the cover price? Subscribe to Empire here{