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Essential Thor #2
Essential Thor, Vol. 2
Witness classic cosmic clashes between the God of Thunder and his evil stepbrother Loki, the Absorbing Man, the Destroyer, and more of his most fearsome foes! Thor's first journey into the Black Galaxy and a reporter's firsthand account of Asgard! Guest-starring the Avengers and featuring the first appearance of Hercules! Collects Journey Into Mystery #113-125, Thor #126-136 and Annual #1-2.
584 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 1967
6 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,567 books2,336 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 3, 2016
Lee and Kirby really hit their stride here. A lot of the early weirdness of Thor (like the indecision of whether he's actually the Asgardian son of Odin or just some semblance of him, or how Thor can't go without his hammer for more than a minute or he turns back into Dr. Donald Blake) is abandoned--even the identity as Donald Blake is ignored for long, long stretches--and the comic lets loose as an epic, superheroic adventure with Shakespearean speech. The best part is issues 125-134, where Thor meets the Greek hero Hercules, they take an instant dislike to each other and fight as rivals, then Thor journeys into the Greek underworld to free Hercules from the machinations of Pluto (yes, they get Greek and Roman names mixed up, but oh well!), then an alien attempts to take over Earth and Thor journeys to a distant system to stop the aliens, he goes into the dreaded Black Galaxy where he meets Ego the Living Planet, and finally returns to Earth to foil the alien takeover. It's non-stop cosmic adventure of the highest imagination and it's amazing.
September 6, 2022
These Essential editions have been so hit-and-miss for me. I've loved every page of Amazing Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man, I've really enjoyed Wolverine and the X-Men and Punisher, but the volumes featuring earlier characters, like Iron Man, The Avengers, and The Fantastic Four, have been real chores to slog through. I absolutely expected Thor to slot into the second category, with his complicated mythological origins and flowery language. I expected a sequence of overly wordy fight scenes that I'd have to force myself to read.
I was absolutely wrong. Thor is a lot of fun. He's a more likeable character than I expected, given his almost total lack of a sense of humour (at one point Hercules calls Thor a 'vain, humourless dullard', clearly having made the same incorrect assumptions that I did). The tired secret identity plotline features, but it isn't laboured like it is in some comics - I love Spider-Man,, but I do get frustrated reading Peter agonising over not being able to reveal his identity every second issue.
The writing has a sense of humour that I didn't expect, as in the scene in which Thor prepares too swing his hammer and fly away, but a policeman stops him as he doesn't have a license. Thor travels to the roof of a tall building in an elevator full of people, reminding one woman admiring Thor's locks that she's due to have her hair done that day.
It also introduces the Norn stones, a sort of proto-Infinity gems device that grants the bearer great strength, the power of levitation, or the ability to phase through things as a shadow. Basically, whatever is helpful at the time. I don't know enough Marvel history to know why these exist alongside the Infinity gems, as they seem to function in mostly the same way, but I assume there is a reason.
I liked that the book really did have an overarching story. One of the things that I found difficult when reading Avengers and Fantastic Four was how repetitive the stories were. I understand that they were never meant to be read in such dense blocks, instead providing short monthly diversions that readers could dip in and out of without needing to read every issue, but in trade format it's a slog getting through them all. This series managed to maintain a satisfying flow and absolutely held my interest throughout. I was keen to see what happened next.
I could have done without the short serialised tales of Asgard at the end of each issue. These were the only time I felt overburdened by Asgardian lore and since they didn't have anything to do with the main story, and frankly weren't as interesting, I found myself skimming them and wishing we could get back to the main plot. I also had some issues with the characterisation of Odin, who Thor hero-worships but who is written as an emotionally unstable father given to fits of rage and cruel punishment. I felt quite sorry for Thor, eternally a boy, unable to grow up under the thumb of a controlling and cruel father. I'm not sure whether that was the intention when Stan Lee scripted Odin's dialogue, but it's how he came across to me. I was also let down by the book's ending. The whole thing just completely undermined the relationship I'd been following for twenty-five issues, and most of the motivations of the characters in those issues. Such a let down, and the reason this isn't a four-star review.
But overall, this was an entertaining read, and a pleasant surprise.
I was absolutely wrong. Thor is a lot of fun. He's a more likeable character than I expected, given his almost total lack of a sense of humour (at one point Hercules calls Thor a 'vain, humourless dullard', clearly having made the same incorrect assumptions that I did). The tired secret identity plotline features, but it isn't laboured like it is in some comics - I love Spider-Man,, but I do get frustrated reading Peter agonising over not being able to reveal his identity every second issue.
The writing has a sense of humour that I didn't expect, as in the scene in which Thor prepares too swing his hammer and fly away, but a policeman stops him as he doesn't have a license. Thor travels to the roof of a tall building in an elevator full of people, reminding one woman admiring Thor's locks that she's due to have her hair done that day.
It also introduces the Norn stones, a sort of proto-Infinity gems device that grants the bearer great strength, the power of levitation, or the ability to phase through things as a shadow. Basically, whatever is helpful at the time. I don't know enough Marvel history to know why these exist alongside the Infinity gems, as they seem to function in mostly the same way, but I assume there is a reason.
I liked that the book really did have an overarching story. One of the things that I found difficult when reading Avengers and Fantastic Four was how repetitive the stories were. I understand that they were never meant to be read in such dense blocks, instead providing short monthly diversions that readers could dip in and out of without needing to read every issue, but in trade format it's a slog getting through them all. This series managed to maintain a satisfying flow and absolutely held my interest throughout. I was keen to see what happened next.
I could have done without the short serialised tales of Asgard at the end of each issue. These were the only time I felt overburdened by Asgardian lore and since they didn't have anything to do with the main story, and frankly weren't as interesting, I found myself skimming them and wishing we could get back to the main plot. I also had some issues with the characterisation of Odin, who Thor hero-worships but who is written as an emotionally unstable father given to fits of rage and cruel punishment. I felt quite sorry for Thor, eternally a boy, unable to grow up under the thumb of a controlling and cruel father. I'm not sure whether that was the intention when Stan Lee scripted Odin's dialogue, but it's how he came across to me. I was also let down by the book's ending. The whole thing just completely undermined the relationship I'd been following for twenty-five issues, and most of the motivations of the characters in those issues. Such a let down, and the reason this isn't a four-star review.
But overall, this was an entertaining read, and a pleasant surprise.
March 20, 2018
Those who've paid attention should know that I do love a good superhero yarn, but they're not my bread and butter. If I read too many titles I can only see the cliches and commonalities, rather than what makes the characters and stories special. Despite that, I've always thought that Thor was a fairly interesting character in the Marvel pantheon because the origin of his superness opens him up for a completely different type of adventure than most Earth-bound, world-we-recognize Marvel heroes (in theory, if not always in practice).
And I LOVE Stan and Jack, so those two combined on a character with some extra-superheroic appeal is comic book gold for me! Stan's pounding, purple panoramic prose and awe-inspiring, assiduous alliteration fit the exaggerating, ornate world of Asgard (as well as possible, at any rate), and Kirby just fills every page with HUGE tapestries of godly design, deitic action sequences, and scenes of surprising emotional resonance. Plus, and I mean no disrespect to Stan, but lots of this dialogue sounds very much like Kirby's New Gods hyperbole. Although I firmly believe that Stan and Jack were a team, able to accomplish what neither could've done alone, Thor is a book that I think might've been slightly more Jack and a little less Stan.
Okay, Jane Foster was a little dull (small wonder that Thor seems to instantly forget where after he meets Sif in the final chapter!) and the outer space battle with Ego, the Living Planet, seemed like an odd fit for a magic-based, "old-world" character like Thor, but the majority of the stories - the introduction of Hercules, the Destroyer, Loki's plots, Pluto's scheme to damn Hercules to the underworld, the High Evolutionary and the Absorbing Man - were all terrific, fun, DENSE stories! You just have to hang out and enjoy the ride, because there's no time to catch your breath. Particularly when every issue of Thor has not one, but TWO dramatic cliffhangers!
The Tales of Asgard back-ups were great tales, as well, often better than the lead story. If you wonder who some of the Asgardians wandering around in later Thor stories are, chances are that they debuted in this book, in these stories. Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun get most of the page time, but gallant Balder also struts his stuff. These stories give depth to Thor's world and background, enhancing the mystical aspects of Asgard and defining the things for which the modern Thor fights.
Powerful stuff all around.
And I LOVE Stan and Jack, so those two combined on a character with some extra-superheroic appeal is comic book gold for me! Stan's pounding, purple panoramic prose and awe-inspiring, assiduous alliteration fit the exaggerating, ornate world of Asgard (as well as possible, at any rate), and Kirby just fills every page with HUGE tapestries of godly design, deitic action sequences, and scenes of surprising emotional resonance. Plus, and I mean no disrespect to Stan, but lots of this dialogue sounds very much like Kirby's New Gods hyperbole. Although I firmly believe that Stan and Jack were a team, able to accomplish what neither could've done alone, Thor is a book that I think might've been slightly more Jack and a little less Stan.
Okay, Jane Foster was a little dull (small wonder that Thor seems to instantly forget where after he meets Sif in the final chapter!) and the outer space battle with Ego, the Living Planet, seemed like an odd fit for a magic-based, "old-world" character like Thor, but the majority of the stories - the introduction of Hercules, the Destroyer, Loki's plots, Pluto's scheme to damn Hercules to the underworld, the High Evolutionary and the Absorbing Man - were all terrific, fun, DENSE stories! You just have to hang out and enjoy the ride, because there's no time to catch your breath. Particularly when every issue of Thor has not one, but TWO dramatic cliffhangers!
The Tales of Asgard back-ups were great tales, as well, often better than the lead story. If you wonder who some of the Asgardians wandering around in later Thor stories are, chances are that they debuted in this book, in these stories. Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun get most of the page time, but gallant Balder also struts his stuff. These stories give depth to Thor's world and background, enhancing the mystical aspects of Asgard and defining the things for which the modern Thor fights.
Powerful stuff all around.
September 12, 2025
‘Essential Thor Volume 2’ opens with a magnificent battle scene in which Odin, Thor and a bunch of other Asgardians fight the demon men of Jutenheim. As they are defeated in two panels, they obviously weren’t all that tough. ‘For Asgard and freedom!’ cries Odin, which is a bit rich coming from an absolute monarch. Three panels later he shouts at Thor about his wayward son’s love for mere mortal Jane Foster, an on-going theme in the early years. Happily, the theme is tied up at the end of this volume in Mighty Thor # 136, ‘To Become an Immortal’. After failing to become an immortal, Jane Foster is taken away forever and Thor is morose for about three pages, until he meets Sif, a curvy goddess who can fight. The best way of getting over a woman is to get over another one, as some brutish man once said.
In between these two episodes are several hundred pages of Jack Kirby’s best artwork, well worth the price of admission. Most of it is inked by Vince Colletta but even he can’t completely dampen the power of the King. Sighs can be induced by comparing Kirby inked by Colletta to Kirby inked by Chic Stone in Journey Into Mystery # 113-114. Sobs can be induced by comparing Colletta’s inks to the magnificent job Frank Giacoia did on Journey Into Mystery #115, ‘The Vengeance Of The Thunder God.’ Chic Stone went on to other things at this point and, for a brief, wondrous spell, Giacoia inked a couple of issues of ‘Mighty Thor’, ‘Captain America’ and ‘The Fantastic Four’. He’s my absolute favourite inker on Kirby, even ahead of Joe Sinnott and Mike Royer. Why Stan let him go is a mystery. Vince’s inking isn’t all that bad and in places it’s very good, but one can’t help wonder what these magnificent pencils might have looked like if Marvel hadn’t gone for the cheapest option.
So much for the art. The stories are great, too, not least because they all roll into each other to form a kind of saga. One thing leads to another and you never know what will happen next. Loki turns convict Crusher Creel into the Absorbing Man and kidnaps Jane Foster, taking her to Asgard. When Thor comes to rescue her, the lying Loki tells Odin that Thor bought a mortal to Asgard which is strictly not allowed. To decide who is telling the truth, they must undergo ‘The Trial Of The Gods’ (issue # 116) in which they have to fight their way bare-handed across the land of Skornheim. Loki wins by cheating, he uses some enchanted norn stones. To hide his treachery, he magics them to Earth. Thor is allowed to seek them out and prove Loki’s treachery but the evil one activates the Destroyer to stop him. Hercules turns up! The Absorbing Man returns and helps Loki take over Asgard! A primitive bloke finds a dropped norn stone and becomes a threat! Thor falls out with Odin and gets half his power taken away! Hercules beats him! Then Hercules is tricked into taking over Pluto’s Underworld and Thor has to rescue him! Tana Nile! The Colonisers! Ego, the Living Planet! The High Evolutionary and the Knights of Wundagore! Truly this was the Marvel Age of Comics! Words can hardly describe how much my brothers and I adored this stuff as kids. I think we first saw it reprinted in Marvel’s English comic, ‘Fantastic’, where it was doled out in seven page segments weekly. Unaware of the evils of cultural imperialism, we lapped up this ‘yank trash’ as our Dad called. Alf Tupper and all those World War Two heroes in Victor just couldn’t compete.
As an added bonus there is ’Tales Of Asgard’ a five page back-up strip that started off featuring the adventures of young Thor and moved on to grander epic stories. They started off showing how young Thor earned his hammer, the mighty Mjolnir, while Loki schemed to stop him. It was something of a paradox that young Thor featured in the back-up strip when old Thor only came along once Don Blake had picked up that stick in Norway and bashed it on a rock. I am reminded of that old joke in which a tourist in Dublin is sold the skull of Brian Boru and then offered a smaller skull which is also his. ‘How can that be?’ asks the puzzled tourist. ‘This is him when he was a young lad,’ said the Irish salesman. The paradox was eventually tidied up in Thor # 159. ‘Tales Of Asgard’ became redundant when the main feature essentially turned into Tales Of Asgard and it was dropped.
This is the really essential Thor, I reckon. This volume takes us from Journey Into Mystery # 113 (February 1965) through to Mighty Thor # 136 (January 1967) and is among the best stuff issued in the Silver Age of Comics. The issues that make up the second half of this essential volume were on the stands at the same time as that magnificent run on ‘The Fantastic Four’ that introduced the Inhumans, Galactus, the Black Panther and so on. Lee and Kirby were firing on all cylinders. This was the wonderful stuff that made Marvel the top selling comics company by the end of the sixties. Who was responsible though? Was it Lee or was it Kirby? Seconds out, round 4,687 for that old fight. Why worry? Just enjoy it. Highly recommended, as if you couldn’t tell.
In between these two episodes are several hundred pages of Jack Kirby’s best artwork, well worth the price of admission. Most of it is inked by Vince Colletta but even he can’t completely dampen the power of the King. Sighs can be induced by comparing Kirby inked by Colletta to Kirby inked by Chic Stone in Journey Into Mystery # 113-114. Sobs can be induced by comparing Colletta’s inks to the magnificent job Frank Giacoia did on Journey Into Mystery #115, ‘The Vengeance Of The Thunder God.’ Chic Stone went on to other things at this point and, for a brief, wondrous spell, Giacoia inked a couple of issues of ‘Mighty Thor’, ‘Captain America’ and ‘The Fantastic Four’. He’s my absolute favourite inker on Kirby, even ahead of Joe Sinnott and Mike Royer. Why Stan let him go is a mystery. Vince’s inking isn’t all that bad and in places it’s very good, but one can’t help wonder what these magnificent pencils might have looked like if Marvel hadn’t gone for the cheapest option.
So much for the art. The stories are great, too, not least because they all roll into each other to form a kind of saga. One thing leads to another and you never know what will happen next. Loki turns convict Crusher Creel into the Absorbing Man and kidnaps Jane Foster, taking her to Asgard. When Thor comes to rescue her, the lying Loki tells Odin that Thor bought a mortal to Asgard which is strictly not allowed. To decide who is telling the truth, they must undergo ‘The Trial Of The Gods’ (issue # 116) in which they have to fight their way bare-handed across the land of Skornheim. Loki wins by cheating, he uses some enchanted norn stones. To hide his treachery, he magics them to Earth. Thor is allowed to seek them out and prove Loki’s treachery but the evil one activates the Destroyer to stop him. Hercules turns up! The Absorbing Man returns and helps Loki take over Asgard! A primitive bloke finds a dropped norn stone and becomes a threat! Thor falls out with Odin and gets half his power taken away! Hercules beats him! Then Hercules is tricked into taking over Pluto’s Underworld and Thor has to rescue him! Tana Nile! The Colonisers! Ego, the Living Planet! The High Evolutionary and the Knights of Wundagore! Truly this was the Marvel Age of Comics! Words can hardly describe how much my brothers and I adored this stuff as kids. I think we first saw it reprinted in Marvel’s English comic, ‘Fantastic’, where it was doled out in seven page segments weekly. Unaware of the evils of cultural imperialism, we lapped up this ‘yank trash’ as our Dad called. Alf Tupper and all those World War Two heroes in Victor just couldn’t compete.
As an added bonus there is ’Tales Of Asgard’ a five page back-up strip that started off featuring the adventures of young Thor and moved on to grander epic stories. They started off showing how young Thor earned his hammer, the mighty Mjolnir, while Loki schemed to stop him. It was something of a paradox that young Thor featured in the back-up strip when old Thor only came along once Don Blake had picked up that stick in Norway and bashed it on a rock. I am reminded of that old joke in which a tourist in Dublin is sold the skull of Brian Boru and then offered a smaller skull which is also his. ‘How can that be?’ asks the puzzled tourist. ‘This is him when he was a young lad,’ said the Irish salesman. The paradox was eventually tidied up in Thor # 159. ‘Tales Of Asgard’ became redundant when the main feature essentially turned into Tales Of Asgard and it was dropped.
This is the really essential Thor, I reckon. This volume takes us from Journey Into Mystery # 113 (February 1965) through to Mighty Thor # 136 (January 1967) and is among the best stuff issued in the Silver Age of Comics. The issues that make up the second half of this essential volume were on the stands at the same time as that magnificent run on ‘The Fantastic Four’ that introduced the Inhumans, Galactus, the Black Panther and so on. Lee and Kirby were firing on all cylinders. This was the wonderful stuff that made Marvel the top selling comics company by the end of the sixties. Who was responsible though? Was it Lee or was it Kirby? Seconds out, round 4,687 for that old fight. Why worry? Just enjoy it. Highly recommended, as if you couldn’t tell.
January 2, 2017
Thor becomes a far better book in this collection which collects Issues 113-125 and Annual #1 of Journey into Mystery, and the title this is renamed Thor for Issues 126-136, and Annual 2.
Issue 113 has him deciding to give up being Thor but then the return of the Grey Gargoyle changes his mind.
The book then enters a very long interconnected storyline running from Issues 114-122 involving he and Loki engaging in, "The Trial of the Gods" and it's aftermath. It really is a very intricate storyline that has one story running through it but a lot of twists and turns along the way including Loki forced to try and save Thor.
Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 features a battle between Thor and Hercules when Thor crosses into Olympus. The story is your standard, "two heroes stumble onto each other and fight story," but it helps that it's drawn by Jack Kirby who provides superb art on every page of the book. The Annual also features a map of Asgard with a map pointing to a shopping center. (Yea! Verily.)
Hercules begins a return in Issue 124 and is tricked into a deal with Lord Vulcan of the Underworld, battles Thor again, and actually defeats Thor when Odin halves a power because of Thor's continuing love for Jane Foster. Then Thor has to rescue Hercules from the Underworld. This all goes through Issue 130.
Issue 131-135 is my favorite part of the book as Lee and Kirby take Thor into space to fight epic space monsters. Reading it, it's the most brilliantly obvious thing that could be done with the character. He's not Spider-man and shouldn't be primarily focused on street level threats. Thor in space is epic and includes the introduction of Ego, the living planet.
Issue 136 shows a potential resolution to the Jane Foster plot. It's far more reasonable and sensible than last time Odin dealt with it as Jane given immortality and has to deal with the consequences of it.
In addition to the main Thor plot, each issue features a Tale of Asgard. Clearly, Lee and Kirby were enjoying playing around with Norse mythology. This is true in the main Thor titles and also in the Tales of Asgard shorts which Marvelizes a lot of Asgardian legends, most of them center around younger versions of Thor and Loki, playing to the popularity of Loki as a villain (although there is one explaining the "true" version of Little Red Riding Hood.) The stories are often serialized giving them a kind of old style Prince Valiant feel to them. In addition to these serialized stories, Annual #2 is essentially a big tale from Asgard battle which indicates how popular these were.
Overall, this book is very good as Lee and Kirby turn Thor into a truly epic and memorable character.
Issue 113 has him deciding to give up being Thor but then the return of the Grey Gargoyle changes his mind.
The book then enters a very long interconnected storyline running from Issues 114-122 involving he and Loki engaging in, "The Trial of the Gods" and it's aftermath. It really is a very intricate storyline that has one story running through it but a lot of twists and turns along the way including Loki forced to try and save Thor.
Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 features a battle between Thor and Hercules when Thor crosses into Olympus. The story is your standard, "two heroes stumble onto each other and fight story," but it helps that it's drawn by Jack Kirby who provides superb art on every page of the book. The Annual also features a map of Asgard with a map pointing to a shopping center. (Yea! Verily.)
Hercules begins a return in Issue 124 and is tricked into a deal with Lord Vulcan of the Underworld, battles Thor again, and actually defeats Thor when Odin halves a power because of Thor's continuing love for Jane Foster. Then Thor has to rescue Hercules from the Underworld. This all goes through Issue 130.
Issue 131-135 is my favorite part of the book as Lee and Kirby take Thor into space to fight epic space monsters. Reading it, it's the most brilliantly obvious thing that could be done with the character. He's not Spider-man and shouldn't be primarily focused on street level threats. Thor in space is epic and includes the introduction of Ego, the living planet.
Issue 136 shows a potential resolution to the Jane Foster plot. It's far more reasonable and sensible than last time Odin dealt with it as Jane given immortality and has to deal with the consequences of it.
In addition to the main Thor plot, each issue features a Tale of Asgard. Clearly, Lee and Kirby were enjoying playing around with Norse mythology. This is true in the main Thor titles and also in the Tales of Asgard shorts which Marvelizes a lot of Asgardian legends, most of them center around younger versions of Thor and Loki, playing to the popularity of Loki as a villain (although there is one explaining the "true" version of Little Red Riding Hood.) The stories are often serialized giving them a kind of old style Prince Valiant feel to them. In addition to these serialized stories, Annual #2 is essentially a big tale from Asgard battle which indicates how popular these were.
Overall, this book is very good as Lee and Kirby turn Thor into a truly epic and memorable character.
January 25, 2014
My last reaction for this set of comics:
Wow Thor. Just... wow. lol
Thor/Jane and Thor/Sif spoilers ahead.
Things I was excited about in this (besides anything with Loki in general):
The introduction of the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg), the Infinity Stones, the introduction of Hela (Loki's bb!) and the Destroyer armor.
I was so happy during the first part of the book because Loki was prominently featured. At about the halfway point though Odin threw Loki into the Void. He appeared a couple of times after this but is still not back at the end of this book. He was still in the Tales of Asgard comics... until Odin threw Loki into suspended animation forever for things he hadn't done yet (obviously not for forever actually, since these comics are from the past). He was still not back in these by the end of this book.
Loki is my favorite character. This does not please me.
The colonizer aliens were odd, though I could see how they might have influenced the story for the Avengers movie maybe. I thought the Hercules storyline was interesting, though after a while I really wanted to get back to my Norse gods, which we did.
Wow Thor. Just... wow. lol
Thor/Jane and Thor/Sif spoilers ahead.
Things I was excited about in this (besides anything with Loki in general):
The introduction of the Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg), the Infinity Stones, the introduction of Hela (Loki's bb!) and the Destroyer armor.
I was so happy during the first part of the book because Loki was prominently featured. At about the halfway point though Odin threw Loki into the Void. He appeared a couple of times after this but is still not back at the end of this book. He was still in the Tales of Asgard comics... until Odin threw Loki into suspended animation forever for things he hadn't done yet (obviously not for forever actually, since these comics are from the past). He was still not back in these by the end of this book.
Loki is my favorite character. This does not please me.
The colonizer aliens were odd, though I could see how they might have influenced the story for the Avengers movie maybe. I thought the Hercules storyline was interesting, though after a while I really wanted to get back to my Norse gods, which we did.
January 16, 2010
This is more consistently fun. It is Jack Kirby throughout and he has come into his own as an artist. The majority of the book is almost one series of stories that don't let up between issues (as in at the end of each issue you are not left with everything wrapped up even if it is moving onto a new story). Far more serialized. Similar to what Kirby was pulling in Fantastic Four.
And as for that 'kryptonite' deal of Thor losing his hammer for 60 seconds and reverting to Donald Blake. I began to doubt if it still applied as it was never used through out this entire run if my memory serves correctly.
Jane Foster proved to continue to be annoying and I was wondering when Sif would come into the picture, and sure enough, in a single issue suddenly Jane is gone and Sif is in. As much as I wanted to see her go, I felt the way they wrote her off was too backhanded, and Thor's shifting his affections to Sif far too quick considering all of his annoying pining. Oh well, I wanted it to come, I guess I shouldn't complain.
The book was also going along smoothly until the aliens from Rigel showed up. But then Ego showed up and then the High Evolutionary and things settled back down by the end.
Getting to see a better scope of mid-60s Kirby besides Fantastic Four is a great experience. His imagination and style is just something else. Makes me want to read his Cap stuff... Uh oh.
And as for that 'kryptonite' deal of Thor losing his hammer for 60 seconds and reverting to Donald Blake. I began to doubt if it still applied as it was never used through out this entire run if my memory serves correctly.
Jane Foster proved to continue to be annoying and I was wondering when Sif would come into the picture, and sure enough, in a single issue suddenly Jane is gone and Sif is in. As much as I wanted to see her go, I felt the way they wrote her off was too backhanded, and Thor's shifting his affections to Sif far too quick considering all of his annoying pining. Oh well, I wanted it to come, I guess I shouldn't complain.
The book was also going along smoothly until the aliens from Rigel showed up. But then Ego showed up and then the High Evolutionary and things settled back down by the end.
Getting to see a better scope of mid-60s Kirby besides Fantastic Four is a great experience. His imagination and style is just something else. Makes me want to read his Cap stuff... Uh oh.
June 12, 2014
Veramente un'ottimo volume, da centellinare. Stan Lee ai suoi massimi come scrittore, e Jack Kirby ai massimi come disegnatore. Non è un caso se tutti gli autori successivi, in un modo o nell'altro, hanno cercato di rifare queste storie riprendendo tematiche e personaggi con sconfinato amore e ammirazione per questi autori.
L'unica nota non completamente positiva sono le prime inchiostrazioni: Chic Stone era certamente meglio del primo Vince Colletta, dal tratto ottimo ma forse non del tutto adatto per il RE. Vince parte inchiostrando le 4-5 tavole finali degli albi, le Tales of Asgard, storie di puro fantasy.
C'è comunque da dire che col trascorrere dei mesi e con l'avanzare delle storie, anche Vince si porta a livelli molto alti sia nella storia principale sia nell'appendice tanto amata da me giovinetto.
L'unica nota non completamente positiva sono le prime inchiostrazioni: Chic Stone era certamente meglio del primo Vince Colletta, dal tratto ottimo ma forse non del tutto adatto per il RE. Vince parte inchiostrando le 4-5 tavole finali degli albi, le Tales of Asgard, storie di puro fantasy.
C'è comunque da dire che col trascorrere dei mesi e con l'avanzare delle storie, anche Vince si porta a livelli molto alti sia nella storia principale sia nell'appendice tanto amata da me giovinetto.
October 9, 2020
I liked this volume a lot better than the last. Some creative villains like the absorbing man and the destroyer, that stood the test of time. Just look at the first Thor movie for example. The comic slowly embraces the Nordic and outer space elements and spends more time in Asgard (with Thor's 3 comrades and Sif), instead of boring old earth. Watching Thor en Hercules duke it out was really fun, so was the relation between the Olympian and Norse gods. I am a sucker for mythology and combining different ones. I reduce a star for the annoyance that is Jane Foster and all the unnecessary plotfocus on her.
September 2, 2011
Classic early Thor comics, featuring a wonderful combination of Jack Kirby's mythic, expressive, and explosive artwork with Stan Lee's appropriately majestic prose. A real treat is the inclusion of the "Tales of Asgard" stories, which were 5-page mini stories at the end of the comic in which Kirby let loose depicting epic stories on an epic scale. This collection also features some of Kirby's earliest collage artwork.
September 5, 2014
The Every Thor Ever Project, part, uh, 3? I didn't read these issues in this format, since it sucks butt, and they can be mostly found in comics format in reprint -- specifically the 70's title Special Marvel Edition, and then the Hercules stuff in the outsized Marvel Treasury Edition #3. The latter is sort of the ideal way to read these issues; Jack Kirby's art looks amazing blown up to 10"x14".
July 29, 2015
The volume was a good read, definitely picking up in enjoy-ability during the later half. We get the introduction of a lot of long lived Marvel villains, we get our first "Thor is cosmic" stuff. The comic, for me at least, seemed to shine brightest and be the most fun when Thor was interacting with other parts of the Marvel world, not just doing things in his own little corner.
July 30, 2009
Freakin' Awesome.
Stan Lee is surpringsly amazing. Worlds of wonder and fantasy are created breathlessly in tandem with Jack Kirby's art and phenomenal line work by Artie Semik. The tales still hold up and are quite realistic in a fantasy setting.
Stan Lee is surpringsly amazing. Worlds of wonder and fantasy are created breathlessly in tandem with Jack Kirby's art and phenomenal line work by Artie Semik. The tales still hold up and are quite realistic in a fantasy setting.
March 13, 2008
I'm a sucker for Jack Kirby! I don't think that I ever find a Kirby book that I don't like.
Currently reading
April 17, 2010left off at The Crimson Hand, about 1/5 of the way in
May 19, 2015
Typical Lee/Kirby. It looks great and it's full of crazy ideas, but the prose can be a chore to get through.
December 4, 2016
This volume is where Thor goes from being one of my least favorite of Marvels mighty pantheon to one of the best.
April 7, 2017
Stan and Jack at their most bombastic, hurling an unremitting stream of tosh in the readers' way in the hopes they don't realise that none of the stories make sense.
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