Essential Thor, Vol. 1

Essential Thor #1

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Relive meek Dr. Donald Blake's transformation into the legendary God of Thunder in this collection of the Mighty Thor's earliest classic adventures! With his mystical hammer Mjolnir at his side, Thor sets out to bring justice to Earth.

Collecting:

Journey Into Mystery #83-112

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Fantasy, Fiction, Comic Book

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 1965

About the author

Stan 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.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love having the Essentials series for historical purposes, but like others have said, this volume illustrates how clearly it took a while for the Thor series to come into its own. For the first couple of years Thor's adventures were frustratingly earthbound, with only hints of the level of cosmic power worthy of the God of Thunder that Thor would begin to encounter later in the 60s. While the Loki stories are clearly the best of this collection, in these early years Thor battles a bunch of unmemorable adversaries like one-off aliens, uncostumed common criminals, and random dictators and communists.

It kind of says something that after Loki, some of the better Thor stories here have him battling relatively weak supervillains Cobra and Mister Hyde, better in team-ups or suited to lower-powered heroes like Daredevil. But even with those characters, we can see progress in each appearance. First, in JIM #98, we're introduced to the Cobra, who's relatively weak but is at least superpowered and wears a costume. In the next issue, we're introduced to Mister Hyde, not the greatest character but at least stronger than the Cobra. Cobra and Hyde team up for a two-parter in issue #105, and then team up for a better two-parter in #110 after getting a power-boost from Loki. The later issues in this volume also feature the introductions of the Grey Gargoyle and, much better, the Enchantress and the Executioner (after a false-start single appearance by a South American dictator called the Executioner in issue #84).

Jane Foster is kind of a problem, too. A couple of years in and really all she does is get imperiled by villains and fret over what a cold fish Dr. Don Blake is and how dreamy Thor is by comparison. She gradually starts showing a teeny bit of personality, but you can see why eventually (a couple of years after this collection ends) she was written out of the series. If Sue Storm's early years in The Fantastic Four showed that Stan Lee had trouble writing strong female characters, it's almost like Alison Bechdel wrote that series compared to Jane Foster's cipher status in these early Thors.

But the best things about this collection aren't even strictly Thor stories per se, they're the "Tales of Asgard" backups that appeared in every issue of Journey into Mystery from #97 on. It was these stories, many of them directly based on Norse mythology, where you could see the direction the Thor series would eventually take. The scope here is far more grand, and there are all sorts of wild settings and imaginative new characters. Jack Kirby's art really shines here; in the Thor stories there are generally between 5 and 8 panels per page; in Tales of Asgard it's usually more like 3 or 4, which gives him a bigger canvas to work with to match the bigger scale.

I haven't yet read Volume 2 of the Essential Thor, but it looks like that's where the series really takes off: the Olympian gods are introduced, there's all sorts of cosmic goings-on with Tana Nile and Ego the Living Planet, and even the "common criminal" supervillains are powerhouses like the Absorbing Man worthy of Thor's hammer.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised by how much communists figured in the first year of this title and how little Jack Kirby
was in the book. Chic Stone = good Kirby inker. Don Heck = unrecognizable non-Kirby artwork. Vince Colletta = barely inked Kirby inker. There's literally one picture that has a head and a hand - and he didn't ink in the rest of the body.
Story-wise, Thor hasn't come into his own yet. A Thor- Jane - Don romantic triangle runs through most of the book. and other than the Cobra, Mr.Hyde, and the Grey Gargoyle, the villains are forgettable.

[Rochu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un sufrimiento leer esto. Thor se pelea con una serie de enemigos irrelevantes (¿un chabón cobra? ¿mr hyde? ¿un loco del futuro que quiere conquistar el mundo? ¿Los Comunistas*?) en batallas prácticamente idénticas. Sin contar el hecho de que en realidad (en estos primeros números) Thor no es más que la identidad alternativa de un médico yanqui cualquiera en los tempranos sesentas, que encontró un palo en una cueva y desde entonces se convirtió en un dios nórdico. No se me ocurre una backstory más embolante.
¡Dicho esto! El diseño de Asgard es muy simpático y las Tales of Asgard que incorporan después son bastante piolas. Algunas de las historias con Loki están entretenidas, y aunque Jane no haga mucho más que ser secuestrada y pensar en cómo quisiese que Don Blake le propusiera matrimonio (?) me cayó bien y tengo ganas de ver si hacen algo más interesante con ella a medida que pasan los años.
En fin, no lo leería de nuevo y no se lo recomendaría a nadie pero no me arrepiento de haberlo leído. Voy a seguir sufriéndolo.

*Esto lo hacen sobre todo en los primeros diez números y es un cago de risa. El malo por ahí es ~un rOjO~ que secuestra científicos yanquis hipnotizándolos y haciéndolos dejar notas que dicen que "abandonan el estilo de vida americano para unirse a los comunistas". Como producto de propaganda anticomunista de la guerra fría especialmente pensada para niños es muy muy cómica. Le da unos puntos extras porque me divirtió.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collecting Journey into Mystery #83–112, this volume gives us the very first tales of the Marvel universe version of the old Norse god of thunder, Thor. In an interesting opening, Dr Donald Blake is given the power of Thor and much of the storytelling stems from a "mere" human being handling such powers (this of course being before retcons, by Stan Lee himself, making Thor into the actual Thor and Blake merely a persona created by Odin). After which the series goes into various directions, as it were. Depending on who's inking Kirby, the artwork goes from awesome to less than one would wish it to be, and the stories clearly search for a basic formula that isn't too much of Superman (because it is quite clear in this early issues that Thor was meant to be Marvel's Superman).

Perhaps that is part of why Lee's retcon (not part of this volume) came about, though partly the wider inclusion of Norse elements (or Lee-ified versions of them) probably helped it along too. And The Tales of Asgard complement starting in issue #97 is certainly something one wouldn't have wanted to miss, so there is that. Although, it is interesting as a side note to consider Eric Masterson who in the late 80s or early 90s was given the powers of Thor in a similar manner to the way they were originally given to Donald Blake (for one reason or another, I am not well read in that particular period of Thor, though I've encountered the character). But that was a side note.

At any rate, it was an interesting read, seeing the origin not only of Thor but of villains like the Cobra and Mr Hyde, neither of whom I'd really placed as originally Thor villains. And there is Loki, of course.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking advantage of current trends now is a timely moment to review ‘Essential Thor Volume 1‘, a bumper collection of Marvel comics original stories of the long-haired Thunder God. Most of the tales are bought to us by the famous combination of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby but there are a few from other writers and artists. Actually, Stan Lee plotted all of them but occasionally gave scripting chores to his brother Larry Leiber and some bloke called Robert Bernstein. Don Heck and Joe Sinnott drew three issues each and one Al Hartley drew issue #90 but the rest is by Kirby.

Thor started out in ‘Journey Into Mystery‘, one of Marvel’s lesser publications that used to feature fantasy or science fiction short stories. The God of Thunder made his debut in issue #83 (August 1962)and this collection goes up to issue #112. Many of the Thor yarns are just thirteen pages, stretching to sixteen later because Mighty Marvel gave twenty-two or twenty-three pages of superhero action in those glorious days, as did DC, to be fair. Beginning in issue #97 there is a five page ’Tales of Asgard’ feature which would have made the original comic all Asgardian.

The first story is ‘The Stone Men from Saturn’. Lame Doctor Donald Blake is on holiday in Europe, presumably Norway, when a fishermen tells of seeing creatures from outer space. Don goes to investigate and ends up fleeing from them into a cave where he finds a gnarled old cane. Trying to lever a boulder from an exit route with the cane he gets frustrated and whacks it on the rock. With a Kirby-esque flash the stick turns into a hammer and he turns into Thor, God of Thunder! An inscription on the hammer says: ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of…Thor’. Those three dots show that the Norse inscriber had a sense of drama. It was also prescient of him to write in English.

Don is obviously worthy because he has the power. He is nearly as strong as the Hulk, he can make storms by banging his hammer on the ground and it comes back to him when he hurls it. By throwing it, letting go and then grabbing the thong as it leaves his grasp he can even fly. This show’s Stan Lee’s knowledge of physics at its most profound. Come to think of it, if it always comes back to the original spot when he throws it he should only be able to travel in circles, like a friend of mine who bought a car so nice he was afraid to park it anywhere. He drove from A to A.

Thor easily sees off the Stone Men from Saturn and copes, too, with the Executioner, a ruthless warlord in the tiny South American country of San Diablo. Like many villains of the time the Executioner was a communist. They were evil people who wanted to conquer freedom and democracy and featured frequently in action adventure stories of the time as villains, like Arabs now. Happily, this was quite a short phase in Marvel’s early history and Thor soon went on to better foes: Sandu the magician, the Tomorrow Man, the Radioactive Man, Merlin, the Cobra, Mister Hyde and most of all his own evil half-brother Loki. Actually, Loki started out as more mischievous than evil but for drama’s sake he got nastier. Loki bought in the Asgardian theme which grew and grew until eventually, though not in this collection, Thor spent more time there than on Earth. Here he is basically Don Blake and becomes Thor once in a while to fight evil. He also has the compulsory early Marvel love interest in Nurse Jane Foster, who Odin forbids him to marry because she is a mere mortal.

The development of Jack Kirby’s art is wondrous to behold. In the first issues he does seven or eight panels to the page and the figures are quite slim. This art is by no means bad but is not as dramatic as later stuff. From issue #90 to #101, with a few exceptions, the art was done by Joes Sinnott and Don Heck, who both did a fine job by the way. In fact, this is some of the best Heck art I have seen and he also gave a very distinctive looks to Kirby pencils when he inked issue #97, ‘The Lava Man’. A bit too distinctive on page five, panel one where mighty Odin seems to be wearing rectangular spectacles but very good overall.

Art and story are both firing on all cylinders in the latter half of this collection with tales that I still remember thrilling me in childhood. Of particular note are ‘The Enchantress and the Executioner’ in issue # 103,’Giants Walk the Earth’ in issue #104 and ‘Every Hand Against Him’ in issue #110 when Cobra and Hyde kidnap Jane Foster and Thor beats up half of Asgard looking for Loki because he obviously put them up to it. Chic Stone took over the inking chores on these later issues and his heavy black lines are well suited to Kirby’s pencils.

Great stuff and it got better. Lee and Kirby hit their peak in the mid-sixties so the next forty or fifty issues of ‘Journey Into Mystery’ are among their finest work. This is the creative renaissance that pushed little Marvel Comics into the big leagues and pushed the competition to better efforts too. And because they did it all without resorting to extreme violence or scantily clad super heroines who look like glamour models these collections are eminently suitable for children. This was partly because of the comics code and partly because Kirby can’t really draw pretty women, though the Enchantress does look a bit tempting in some panels.

Highly recommended. Own it now, on paper!

[Sharath Gopal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good considering the time period. Always loved Stan's stories. Pure entertainment.

[Travis Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Thor: Ragnarok fired me up to explore a character I’d only ever paid a passing attention to in the context of the Marvel Cinematic and Comics Universe(s), it was Jason Aaron’s excellent Thor: God of Thunder, volume 1 and volume 2, that fired me up to explore more of Thor’s weird corner of the Marvel universe. The movie was like a mainline hit of sci-fantasy comic weirdness, condensed into a Hollywood script; Jason Aaron’s take was off the rails. I was, therefore, pretty excited when I jazzed into my local comic book shop (Collectibles Galore) and saw sitting on Mike’s humble Trade shelf Marvel Essentials: Thor 1, 3-7, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. I’ve long loved Kirby’s art, plain and occasionally ugly as it is. I knew Lee’s storytelling, while classic, hasn’t aged well--I explored a Captain America Golden Age collection a few years ago and fizzled because of, well, the chummy tone.

But Thor Vol. 1 gripped me. I didn’t expect to be howling with laughter at it, or texting weird photos from rushed panels to friends late at night, but I did. And I even came away with some new skills as an artist, having closely studied the way Kirby used varying brushstrokes and perspective to represent his characters. In particular, some of the more dynamic poses have been making their way into my sketches for the Diecast.

No longer am I content that the characters merely pose for a group photo, but I want to represent a scene from the stories we tell on the show. I also want to draw the eye to particular character traits; it’s hard to believe I waited that long to study Kirby’s art. But previously I’ve paid a lot of attention to Mike Mignola, Bruce Timm, and Greg Capullo’s work; less so to the classic artists. That’s changing. I was thoroughly caught up in the art, goofy as it can be, and as weirdly self-aware and narratorial as the scripts are, and I plan to learn and study more so I can bring our own characters to life, too.

Dose scripts, tho. I don’t even know what word is best to describe the often bizarre way Stan Lee explores his characters through dialogue. They narrate what they’re doing, literally second by second; I tried reading an issue while ignoring the text, and only referred to it when I got confused--much faster, much leaner storytelling. Kirby’s work is nearly sufficient in and of itself to explain what’s going on in the best issues; in the worst, it’s the writing that falls apart, not the art.

But all of this is to say, I loved it. Some issues were tone-deaf as all get out to the modern reader, but overall, the smooth transition from Journeys into Mystery to THOR+Tales of Asgard (my personal favorite part of the collection were these side-tales) was smooth, the gradual exploration of the character was strong, and while that hammer is the most magical mcguffin to ever be forged from the metallic heart of a dead star, it’s so often unintentionally hilarious that you can’t help but love it for all of the bumbling strangeness.

This is at its worst with the mutual but unfulfilled pining of Don Blake and Jane Foster for one another. The primary audience of the book was teenagers and it definitely shows; the melodrama is so tongue-in-cheek that it become a dirty euphemism. I’ve never really liked the secret identity storyline (though the modern version, where they’re two parallel lives, and not strictly separate is tolerable). But Jane Foster and Don Blake are just the most cheesy sappy nonsense...it’s the one real downside to the collection.

A final passing thought is this: Thor is a superHERO. As represented in these pages, he’s the alter-ego of a lame doctor who spends all his time helping people and researching to advance medical practice. When he stamps his cane, he becomes Thor and spends his time helping or defending people. There’s none of the complicated meta-drama that haunts modern heroes; the Avengers pay the city back for collateral damage when asked, but the wanton destruction we’re so used to in today’s comics and movies is utterly not present. It has a real cavalier and earnest pathos that was pretty refreshing to me; it’s a shame that, short of my own artistic interest, I probably would not have had the motivation to see it through. There’s something very important outlined in these stories that we might be missing from modern comics: It takes real strength to be gentle, and it takes real courage to be authentic. And if you don’t have either, you’d better build a giant robot to smite the people who do.

It took me a solid month to read through Marvel Essentials: Thor Volume 1, because I broke it up to 1 or 2 issues a night. I can’t recommend it highly enough for Marvel fans who like the golden age art and want to explore a key part of the Avengers back history...and who don’t mind some legitimately goofy good cheer. I’m absolutely going to continue, though I am going to skip ahead to Volume 3, since that’s what Mike had on the shelf, and I don’t think it will make a terribly large difference. Also, I plan to read the Essentials Vol 1 for Captain America...and maybe Doctor Strange, Iron Man, and the Avengers if I can find them.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprints Journey Into Mystery (1) #83-112 (August 1962-January 1965).  Doctor Donald Blake has made a discovery.  In a trip to Norway, he has uncovered that he is Thor, the Norse god of thunder. With threats to Midgard and armed with Mjolnir, the mighty Thor must defend the planet from dangers.  As Thor continues to fight for the world, he questions if he belongs on Earth or in Asgard.

Written by Stan Lee with additional writing by Larry Lieber and Robert Bernstein, Essential Thor—Volume 1 is a black-and-white reprint of Marvel Comics’ earliest Thor appearances in Journey Into Mystery.  The collection features art by Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Joe Sinnott, and Al Hartley.  The issues have been reprinted multiple times including Thor Epic Collection Volume 1:  The God of Thunder.

Thor is a very difficult Marvel character.  He is largely too strong and too powerful for most villains and as a god, he raises many questions within the Marvel Universe.  While I never have enjoyed Thor incredibly issue-to-issue, I like the concept of the character and that Marvel decided to just embrace the Norse mythology.

The series starts out with the concept that Donald Blake just embodies Thor, but then it was revealed he was Thor and Donald Blake didn’t really exist…which was a bit confusing.  These early issues are rather comic book based and single issue adventures with the occasional cliffhanger.

The collection introduces a lot of characters.  In addition to Thor, you get the first appearances of Loki, Jane Foster, Odin, Heimdall, Balder, Tomorrow Man, Surtur, Ymir, Hela, Sif, Radioactive Man, Geirrodur, Cobra, Mr. Hyde, Enchantress, Executioner, Grey Gargoyle, and Karnilla among others.  In addition to these appearances, you have other Marvel creations like Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Hulk, and the X-Men…it is well worth checking out if you are a fan of the characters.

What I always enjoyed about Thor was the back-up stories “Tales of Asgard” which dives into the mythology of the character.  Some of the stories do adapt classic tales, but often they were created for the comic.  It gives Thor a bit more depth than some of the other Marvel Comics.

With fun art by Jack Kirby, and the early appearances of important characters, Essential Thor—Volume 1 is a fun collection if you can get your hands on it.  The Essential line were affordable ways to do this, and it is too bad that Marvel cancelled them for the smaller (but better looking) more expensive collections they are doing today.  Check out Thor, and feel the power!

[Chandler Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enter Lame Doctor Blake:

This first volume in the Essential Thor series collects issues 83-112, or at least the Thor stories, of Journey into Mystery, an anthology series of early Marvel. Like the early stories of most Marvel characters, its awkward and not what you would expect from their current reputations. In this instance, Thor spends a surprising amount of time fighting gangsters, communists, aliens, and normal supervillains. And then there is the secret identity aspect.

Yes, Thor has a secret identity. Before he was the Prince of Asgard, our hero was "lame Doctor Blake," the comic insists on describing him as such at every opportunity, a normal medical doctor who discovered a stick in a cave. The stick happened to be the hammer of Thor, never referred to as Mjolnir at this point, in a disguised form. When lame Doctor Blake strikes it against the ground he transforms Shazam-style and gains all the powers of the God of Thunder.

This lead to a lot of confusion. At least for me, the reader. As early as Thor's third Marvel appearance (Journey into Mystery #85) the demigod is encountering other deities from Asgard, all of whom acknowledge him as The God of Thunder. Not a human who has stolen his powers and face, but Thor proper. And he seems to possess all of Thor's memories too! Now I am well aware of the later retcons that explain the Blake-Thor situation, but it is never addressed in this volume and I have no idea how fans were supposed to interpret their relationship at the time. Suffice it to say, it bothers me.

Thor has a smaller supporting cast than many of his contemporary heroes. Mainly in this volume we have Doctor Blake's nurse Jane Foster, who falls victim to same over-the-top sexism every love interest did in this era, and a few Norse gods. The most important of those gods are Odin, who alternates between loving Thor unconditionally and punishing him with near lethal situations for the severe crime as caring about a human woman, and Balder, Thor's brother who doesn't get much of a personality besides supporting Thor. The Warrior's Three also appear, but mainly in...

Tales of Asgard. This is a section that begins in Journey... #97. These are five pages sorts that cap off every issue for the rest of the volume and going into volume 2. They are one of people's favorite aspects of this iteration of the character. I won't lie reader, I'm not a fan of these. Most of them are retelling of original Norse myths. But of course the actually myths wouldn't make it through Comics Code Authority guidelines, so they have to be dumbed down and morally simplified so the Norse gods are always chivalrous heroes and their foes are cardboard cut out villains. It's boring and a disservice to the actual legends. Plus many of them involve Thor as a young boy, which only exacerbates my confusion about how the whole Blake-Thor thing is supposed to work.

The other problem with Tales of Asgard is the length. These Tales are super short, so after the first several gave cliff notes versions of actual myths Stan the Man decided to start serializing them. These drawn stories would meander, last way too long, and basically never go anywhere. Honestly I have nothing good to say about Tales of Asgard, so lets move on.

The villains of this book are pretty interesting. Of course the headliner is Loki, Thor's evil step-brother, as the book chooses to identify him. He first appears in #85 and is a mainstay from then on. He appears or is at least referenced in more issues than not. In some later adventures, even if he isn't involved in the story the comic will still take time out to identify where he is and what he's doing at the time. Loki is fine. He's not the tortured, complex antihero he is modern Marvel comics or TV. He's just a sinister and conniving trickster. Not particularly interesting, but the book doesn't need him to be much other than a constant thorn in Asgard's collective side. But by estimation, Loki isn't even the main antagonist of this volume.

No, I'd say that honor goes to Mr. Hyde. Calvin Zebo is an evil scientist with a grudge against Doctor Blake who uses a potion to change his appearance and give himself the strength of twelve men. That doesn't make him a match for Thor, but he doesn't usually fight alone. He most frequently partners with the Human Cobra, a man who was bitten by a radioactive cobra! (God I love the Silver Age.) On top of giving him all the powers of a cobra (???) he also has a range of cobra themed weaponry and gadgets, which seem to have appeared from thing air after he was bitten.

(this is kinda immaterial, but Hyde's debut in Journey #99 happens to have my favorite moment of Silver Age sexism in the Marvel canon. I recommend you read it just for that.)

Hyde appears in far fewer issues than Loki. He appears in a total of six issues, all of them two-parters meaning he is actually the antagonist of only three stories. But all of these instances are intense and mark moments of high drama for Thor as a hero. The penultimate issue of this volume features Thor against Hyde in a one-on-one, hammer-less knock-down drag-out brawl that might be one of my favorite fights in Essential Marvel thus far. Even with the Silver Age corniness, its a brilliant rivalry to behold.

Aside from those high points, Thor rogues gallery is consistently inconsistent. You have Enchatress and the Executioner, who will continue to be major Asgardian threats up to the present day. Grey Gargoyle, a human with the power to turn any object or person into stone for one hour with a touch, is introduced. Other than that though, you have Zardok the Tomorrow Man, who stole Kang's schtick before Kang existed, an evil swami, Merlin, who is actually an ancient mutant, several equally forgettable alien invaders, China's Radioactive Man, a communist dictator, a gangster, a robot duplicate of Thor, Surtur the fire demon and Ymir King of the Frost Giants (who show up at the same time to present the largest scale battle in Marvel pre-Galactus), and a cross-over appearance by Magneto.

Overall, I think early Thor is a decent curiosity to long time Marvel fans. He doesn't have the mythological trapping Thor fans tend to gravitate to, but personally I might like him better this way. I'm a sucker for secret identity drama, and having him fight more human villains puts emphasis on how bizarre it is to have a Norse war god living as a superhero in the first place, much less in the "aw shucks" era of the CCA.

[▫️Ron S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this collection is seeing the massive growth over the years of its creation. About the time the Tales From Asgard feature kicks in, the series becomes something special. There aren't many really bright highlights beyond Tales From Asgard (setting up the best feature of Thor - the background and embracing of mythology and an ensemble cast. The Superman knock-offedness is painful for most of the origin issues, a drinking game based on mentions of "lame" and completely uninteresting. Donald Blake and Jane Foster are terrible (IMO). But to start getting into the groove with the cool thing Thor would become (a bridge between Conan, Superman, and early attempts to delve into contrary world-building based on ancient and futuristic elements - improved in Wakanda and then New Genesis/Apokolips), you can't skip it and feel like you've made the journey.

[Tvrtko Balić · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a an interesting mix of mythology, fantasy and science fiction in a format of an American superhero comic and it is easy to see why it became successful and influential. That being said, the book is still not good and aimed at children. I would recommend it if you are interested in the Marvel Thor character and want to read his silly humble beginnings regardless of quality or if you have kids that you want to show some old comics to.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Thor comics! He’s my favorite marvel superhero! I’ve already read the second one and then this one. I like how it talks about his Donald Blake identity I find it very fascinating. How he is a doctor but then a superhero it’s awesome! I loved visiting these old 60s comics very captivating! It’s very cool too see Thors first appearance in marvel! I love the whole thing about Dr. Blake is a lame doctor then he’s the mighty Thor! It’s very good and I recommend

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/20.

[John Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comics were always part of my life, as I've been a professional illustrator for 20 years, and the most integral book that I learned to illustrate from was "How to draw comics the Marvel way" And yet...I never actually read many comics, or at least the classic super hero ones. I've been embarking on catching up on my history.

Compared to Action Comics from the 30s and 40s, the art was consistently beautiful on each page. In fact, comics from the 60-70 have was superior art as compared to what's being published now (except for the covers of course. Today's cover art is just inanely good) However...these stories. Are. Uhhhh. Wow. They're REDICULOUS. And I don't mean in a good way. Almost amateurish compared to the superman tales from 30 years before. It has the flow of kids making stuff up in the play ground.
There was just nonsensical logic through out that would then be explained in the silliest ways. But, I guess that's what inspired the underground comic movement to improve the quality of stories in comics.

However, they were sweet and charming. An. I learned a lot from What I did learn is that Thor is an emotional wimp. A total pussy. He's always lamenting his love for Jane Foster, and is too terrified to piss of his dad to let her know he wants her. What would happen? Odin would take away his powers and he's left as Don Blake? Good! Get your freak on! And Odin is a total dick! He's obviously racist against humans. He makes such a big stink about how he thinks Jane sucks. Also, they need to find a better security solution for Loki. Half the time he's locked up, and half the times wandering around. In either cases he still causes shit to happen. Last but not least...people in super hero comics talk to them selves.its like they have a form of narrative turrets. I'm sure if we had scenes of them taking a shit, we'd have dialog such as "Good thing this door closes, for I don Blake will now take a mighty doo-doo. And it's such a shame that the world will never know that my shit smells of Asgard for I am the mighty Thor"

In fact I shall say that in public restrooms from now on

[Helmut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein Hammer!
Als Kind habe ich mir einen Hammer gebastelt, der so aussah wie Thors Hammer Mjöllnir, so ein großer Fan des Comics war ich. In diversen Superheldencomicheften am Zeitungsstand wurden immer wieder einzelne Abenteuer des nordischen Supergotthelden veröffentlicht, und ich hatte nie einen echten Überblick über seine Karriere.

Diesen Band zu lesen, war daher fast so ein Erlebnis wie die Lektüre von Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1. Herrlich, diese Kindheitserinnerungen wieder auferstehen zu lassen.

Abseits dieser wiedergeweckten Gefühle kann ich den Kritikpunkt vieler Rezensenten nicht nachvollziehen, dass diese alten Comics schlechter sind als die modernen. Im Gegenteil. Gewiss sind sie ungeschliffen, die Zeichnungen und Charakterisierungen kantig, die Plots hanebüchen. Doch immerhin reden wir hier von Kirby und Lee in ihrer besten Zeit - 90% der heutigen Comickünstler werden dieses Niveau nie erreichen können. Und im Gegensatz zu heutigen Comics hatten diese alten Stories noch Humor und Selbstironie und waren nicht so entsetzlich bierernst und pseudotiefgründig dauertragisch.

Hier finden wir also den echten Thor, der nur später von Simonsons Thor (Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson, Vol. 1) übertroffen werden konnte.

[Holden Attradies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like all of the really early Marvel stuff this was kind of hard to get through at times. For being a comic it's amazing how word heavy they were back then, although I enjoy being able to compare that to newer stuff and being able to really appreciate how far the medium has come. I have to say though, the first half of this seemed to go even slower than normal. I'm not sure why... it could be that Thor isn't really a character that I hold dear to my heart, or it could be that the stories in there seemed kind of un-marvel-ish (they were repetitive and had little carry over story wise).

About halfway through the volume things picked up and felt much better. I actually found my self getting really into it. Even though I found the secret identity a little bleh, I enjoyed the Thor personality.

So in short, if you can push through the first half it is worth reading, although unlike most of the early Marvel Essentials I didn't feel like there was too much essential marvel history here.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be one star if it was just the first portion of the book. But then Jack Kirby returns to the art and they start immersing the book in more of the Norse myth world.

Thor has a terrible initial status quo. And Jane Foster starts as Stan Lee's most annoying love interest that I've read (the rumor that she will start out as a doctor over Donald Blake in the movie I think is a good rumor; none of this nurse stuff). But when Jack Kirby returns the book finds its rhythm a little better, though far from perfect. You also get the Asgardian Tales which just drips Kirby, and are kinda fun, for the most part.

Thor's "kryptonite" gets very tiresome. If he does not hold Mjolnir for a full minute he reverts back to Donald Blake. I realize they need some form of weakness for someone this powerful, and they invent different and creative ways to use this flaw... but it is far too repeated.

[Rexhurne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most early 60's marvel comics it's a nice historic trip into the character origins, but to not lose your sanity the historic interest must be your main motive. The enjoyment varies per issue, but a lot of the time i got 'what did i just read god this is silly' moments. Early Thor in particular didn't age well. Like other people said Loki always makes issues interesting. Unfortunately when it is not him Thor is up against, a lot of the time the villain is really lame. The carbon copy man really?? A 7 year-old can make that up. At least the Executioner and the Enchantress get introduced here, actually good additions to the Thor mythos.

The side characters also don't help the enjoyment value. Jane Foster is written as annoying as possible and Odin as dickish as possible.

The tales of Asgard are only a few pages per issue, but most of the time more interesting than the main story(and bigger panels!).

[Loki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a bit actually! I want to rate it higher, but the first half of the comics were a bit lack-luster unless they had Loki in them. I'll admit that I skimmed a couple of them because they just weren't as interesting (like the psuedo-Executioner for example). I really loved some of the early Loki appearances! I was super excited to see the panels where Loki turned the streets of cars into ice cream, and made the armies guns sprout wings and fly away. ehehehe Yay for the God of Mischief!

Thor himself became more interesting, as did the characters he fought against, by the middle of this collection. I also really enjoyed the Tales of Asgard that they introduced at the halfway point! That's one of my favorite parts.
The art also improved as the comics went on!

Loki is as always my favorite character. It's fun to see his original comic origin story. <3

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took Kirby and Lee a long time to invent Marvel Comics. This evolution was especially slow for the character Thor. There is interest in seeing the title character grow as his world was slowly broadened, but while Lee was always editor, others wrote and drew most of the stories in this book. After the initial Lee/Kirby start, the evolution stalls for a very long time. Then Lee first and soon Kirby return and the evolution resumes, but the only story in this book that is truly satisfying, which is to say that the only story that really captures that Marvel magic, is the very last.

[Benjamin Kimble · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collects the very beginning of Marvel’s Thor, done by the masters Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Kirby has a deep love for gods and mythology and it really came through in this. Especially in the “Tales of Asgard” backups that were probably the highlight of this volume. This volume also illustrates how strong of a team Lee and Kirby were. There are issue with fill in artists that are okay and then issue with fill in writers and artists that really don’t hit as well as the Lee/Kirby stuff does. But when Lee and Kirby came back, it was off to the races.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this compilation of the original 30 Thor comics. They were uncolored, so that loses some of the fun, but it was nice to be able to read up on where the character started. A little inconsistent at times in the characterization of Thor (like how powerful he is or how he reacts to things), but highly entertaining nonetheless. My favorite villain was Loki, who appears the most often anyway, and I also liked when they added the "Tales of Asgard" feature at the end.

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were dated moments in this but overall I really did enjoy the origins of the stories and how the character had developed over the years. Entertaining stories about a doctor who finds a staff and becomes a god. Trying to balance his life as a doctor and superhero is hard, particularly when it comes to romance.

[Patrick Artazu · Rating 2 out of 5]

A warm two stars. The title hasn't hit its stride as of the end of this volume. Donald Blake is the true main character in these stories, but you can see the emphasis shifting as Thor becomes more fully realized, with his own history and relationships apart from Blake. In fact, the "Tales of Asgard" backup is the highlight of this collection, and by themselves I'd rate them a 3 or 4 stars.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superhero comics from the fifties and sixties seem to be half adventure and half romance. This volume also contains a series of tales dealing with Asgard and Thor's friends, family and childhood. Very cool.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Futuristic rainbow space vikings! I'm on a Jack Kirby binge right now, was convinced to check out his work on THOR after reading the Kirby coffee-table biography, and enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

unless you are a huge fan of classic comics, this will be a tough read. I am a fan of Thor and the mythos but even so, I was unable to make it through the whole thing. I really enjoyed some of the stories but others just dragged on and beat the same dead horse.

[Dominick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thor's first thirty or so appearances reprinted in a chubby trade paperback make for mostly unimpressive reading. There's some nice Kirby art (and some pretty bad art by other hands) but little in the way of good stories.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'origine di uno dei personaggi cardine del Marvel Universe raccontata da Stan Lee e Jack Kirby.
Una sequenza di storie dal buono al molto buono, con poche cadute di tono. La giusta premessa alle storie della seconda metà degli anni 60, dei veri capolavori.

[Jay Hancock · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which we find ourselves looking in on the early years of Thor's rebirth amongst men. Our hero stands toe to toe with unchecked evil, be it god or super villain, to stand triumphant. His only true nemesis, the shyness which keeps his love of his mortal alter-ego's nurse, Jane Foster a secret.