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Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson #1
Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson, Vol. 1
Continues the adventures of Thor, a Norse thunder god, who is torn between his original home, Asgard, and Earth, his adopted home.
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
282 people are currently reading
1119 people want to read
About the author
Walter Simonson
1,263 books174 followersWalt Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' Thor from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned work Star Slammers, which he inaugurated in 1972 as a Rhode Island School of Design thesis. He has also worked on other Marvel titles such as X-Factor and Fantastic Four, on DC Comics books including Detective Comics, Manhunter, Metal Men and Orion, and on licensed properties such as Star Wars, Alien, Battlestar Galactica and Robocop vs. Terminator.
He is married to comics writer Louise Simonson, with whom he collaborated as penciller on X-Factor from 1988 to 1989, and with whom he made a cameo appearance in the 2011 Thor feature film.
He is married to comics writer Louise Simonson, with whom he collaborated as penciller on X-Factor from 1988 to 1989, and with whom he made a cameo appearance in the 2011 Thor feature film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
April 10, 2015
Over the years I've heard time and again about Walt Simonson's legendarily regarded Thor run - held up so often as among the best work ever committed for this bigger-than-life character. And I'm about to shit on the first collected volume of it. Let's begin.
Hey, comic book nerd here. Hate to break it to ya Walt but you've left a gaping logic hole in your storytelling here. To wit: when Thor is approaching Earth on Beta Ray Bill's spaceship and "without my hammer in my hand, I've reverted to my Blake form", then how does Thor (or Bill) stay Thor every time he throws his hammer across the horizon? What the fuck Walt - is his Thor form limited to contact with the hammer? Or is there a three second rule? And what about when Thor is in space and throws the hammer at a galactic spaceship? Or hell, later when Odin catches the hammer that BRB throws at him, why doesn't Bill revert to horse-man sans cape?
Or how's about when Odin summons "Thor" (actually the newly-transformed BRB) back to Asgard? Does no one - not even his father - notice that the dude in the red cape and blue tights is wearing a HORSE FACE? "Hey son, sorry about the mix-up, guess I never really paid attention to your face - always been staring at your lovely biceps every time you whine about adventure and boredom and responsibility in my throne room [*cough* every day it seems]."
Odin, are you really this mercurial? First you set Thor and Bill on a fight to the death, and then when they both show up injured but alive, you set the doctors on them? I...don't...understand.
Pure 80's writing on display here - for example after first yelling at BRB, Odin says, "Let me stay my wrath a moment and seek to know more of this matter."
...
This gets more troublesome the deeper I go. And that makes me a snob, an asshole and an unimaginative philistine, right? Yeah I know - if I'm pissing on The Great Walt Simonson, then I must truly be a lost soul, wandering in the wasteland of superficial brain-candy comics.
Here's the thing: Walt's plot ideas are definitely interesting, but the execution - dialogue, narration, thought balloons and the rest of the words on page - is leaden, tedious and in so many ways unexciting. (I'm probably repeating myself but Rule of Three amiright?)
Same goes with his art (at least of that era) - layouts are good, but the actual execution of linework, facial expressions and overall detail just isn't *quite* there. Now, could I do it half this well? Of course not - total jerk here, denigrating Walt's gods-given talents.
It's just that I've picked up this book six times this week, and my enthusiasm wanes the more I learn the difference between Simonson's Thor the legend and Simonson's Thor the aging reality.
I've quite enjoyed his modern-day artwork lately - Avengers (Bendis), Hulk (Waid) and others - so it's clear to me that he's improved his craft since his heyday. And that's awesome - so many creators from the old days never progressed and still churn out the same style and quality as before (paging Sir Claremont), and they're truly embarrassing to think about. For Walt that's not the case - he clearly still enjoys the work and is in a little demand (even though I think the gig with Bendis was a bit of a gimme from a massive fanboy wanting to touch the name more than work with a genius at the top of his game).
I don't begrudge Walt his reputation, nor resent when he's asked to do current work. But I also can't find the stamina to wade through his classics, no matter how highly regarded/fondly remembered they are. Taste is subjective, and there are clearly people still enjoying this stuff, but sadly I'm one of the shallow ones who can't see far enough beyond the out-of-fashion styles to just get in the groove and enjoy it for what it is.
DNF (*hangs head in shame*)
Hey, comic book nerd here. Hate to break it to ya Walt but you've left a gaping logic hole in your storytelling here. To wit: when Thor is approaching Earth on Beta Ray Bill's spaceship and "without my hammer in my hand, I've reverted to my Blake form", then how does Thor (or Bill) stay Thor every time he throws his hammer across the horizon? What the fuck Walt - is his Thor form limited to contact with the hammer? Or is there a three second rule? And what about when Thor is in space and throws the hammer at a galactic spaceship? Or hell, later when Odin catches the hammer that BRB throws at him, why doesn't Bill revert to horse-man sans cape?
Or how's about when Odin summons "Thor" (actually the newly-transformed BRB) back to Asgard? Does no one - not even his father - notice that the dude in the red cape and blue tights is wearing a HORSE FACE? "Hey son, sorry about the mix-up, guess I never really paid attention to your face - always been staring at your lovely biceps every time you whine about adventure and boredom and responsibility in my throne room [*cough* every day it seems]."
Odin, are you really this mercurial? First you set Thor and Bill on a fight to the death, and then when they both show up injured but alive, you set the doctors on them? I...don't...understand.
Pure 80's writing on display here - for example after first yelling at BRB, Odin says, "Let me stay my wrath a moment and seek to know more of this matter."
...
This gets more troublesome the deeper I go. And that makes me a snob, an asshole and an unimaginative philistine, right? Yeah I know - if I'm pissing on The Great Walt Simonson, then I must truly be a lost soul, wandering in the wasteland of superficial brain-candy comics.
Here's the thing: Walt's plot ideas are definitely interesting, but the execution - dialogue, narration, thought balloons and the rest of the words on page - is leaden, tedious and in so many ways unexciting. (I'm probably repeating myself but Rule of Three amiright?)
Same goes with his art (at least of that era) - layouts are good, but the actual execution of linework, facial expressions and overall detail just isn't *quite* there. Now, could I do it half this well? Of course not - total jerk here, denigrating Walt's gods-given talents.
It's just that I've picked up this book six times this week, and my enthusiasm wanes the more I learn the difference between Simonson's Thor the legend and Simonson's Thor the aging reality.
I've quite enjoyed his modern-day artwork lately - Avengers (Bendis), Hulk (Waid) and others - so it's clear to me that he's improved his craft since his heyday. And that's awesome - so many creators from the old days never progressed and still churn out the same style and quality as before (paging Sir Claremont), and they're truly embarrassing to think about. For Walt that's not the case - he clearly still enjoys the work and is in a little demand (even though I think the gig with Bendis was a bit of a gimme from a massive fanboy wanting to touch the name more than work with a genius at the top of his game).
I don't begrudge Walt his reputation, nor resent when he's asked to do current work. But I also can't find the stamina to wade through his classics, no matter how highly regarded/fondly remembered they are. Taste is subjective, and there are clearly people still enjoying this stuff, but sadly I'm one of the shallow ones who can't see far enough beyond the out-of-fashion styles to just get in the groove and enjoy it for what it is.
DNF (*hangs head in shame*)
July 5, 2013
Winter of 1983. I was a full-grown and mature thirteen (13) year old. That is what I believed anyway. By this point, I had put all the things of childhood behind me - even my beloved D&D mostly - to focus on grown up things: sports, music, girls, and cars. Not necessarily in that order. This meant the days of me sitting around reading comics was over. Forever! Sure, I still ran an eye over the comic rack at the local gas station or the bookstore at the mall, but other than just looking at them, I didn’t read those kids books anymore. But then something strange happened to me one day at the mall: I saw the cover to Thor #337.
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Even though I had never been a Thor fan, I was drawn to the book like a fly to a bug light. The image of this strange alien destroying Thor’s name on the cover just got my attention, and I could not resist picking it up to see who he was.
Now, honestly, I didn’t have much optimism that the book was going to be worth reading; I mean, comics had really cool covers all the time but weren’t really worth reading - especially Thor in those days. But since the artwork was cool, I just had to open it up and look at the first few pages. That naturally led me to reading those pages which caused me to read more and . . . You get the picture.
As I finally closed Thor #337, my mind was filled with Simonson's breathtaking images of immortal Asgardian gods, the honorable Beta Ray Bill and his beloved fleet, and the promise of an ominous bad guys waiting just outside everyone's notice, and it was then that I had an epiphany only a 13-year-old could believe was an epiphany: comics were not just for kids. The proof was here in my hands with a book which rivaled any movie or “literary” work I’d ever read in sheer storytelling brilliance.
Needless to say I started reading Thor on a monthly basis at that point, and for the next - almost -three years, I waited patiently every month for the next issue to arrive in my mail box. The story of Beta Ray Bill, which had began in Thor #337, was just the tip of the iceberg I found as Simonson led me on a whirlwind of adventures with the God of Thunder. Adventures that I still recall with great pleasure to this day, and before you even ask, yes Thor is still my favorite Marvel character, because your first “love” is always the best remembered and most fondly recalled I’ve found.
I rated this collection and the other Simonson Thor collections which follow five (5) stars. Those who are my friends or follow me on Goodreads know I rarely give five (5) stars to anything; I’m stingy like that I suppose. However, these issues of Thor by Simonson deserve five (5) - maybe six (6) stars - because this is without a doubt one of the greatest runs on a comic book ever. Of course, I read this collection having fallen in love with Thor issue by issue long ago, but I still believe you will love it to. You just won't have to wait a month before your next fix.
‘Nuff said!
[image error]
" width="20" height="40" alt="description"/> Even though I had never been a Thor fan, I was drawn to the book like a fly to a bug light. The image of this strange alien destroying Thor’s name on the cover just got my attention, and I could not resist picking it up to see who he was.
Now, honestly, I didn’t have much optimism that the book was going to be worth reading; I mean, comics had really cool covers all the time but weren’t really worth reading - especially Thor in those days. But since the artwork was cool, I just had to open it up and look at the first few pages. That naturally led me to reading those pages which caused me to read more and . . . You get the picture.
As I finally closed Thor #337, my mind was filled with Simonson's breathtaking images of immortal Asgardian gods, the honorable Beta Ray Bill and his beloved fleet, and the promise of an ominous bad guys waiting just outside everyone's notice, and it was then that I had an epiphany only a 13-year-old could believe was an epiphany: comics were not just for kids. The proof was here in my hands with a book which rivaled any movie or “literary” work I’d ever read in sheer storytelling brilliance.
Needless to say I started reading Thor on a monthly basis at that point, and for the next - almost -three years, I waited patiently every month for the next issue to arrive in my mail box. The story of Beta Ray Bill, which had began in Thor #337, was just the tip of the iceberg I found as Simonson led me on a whirlwind of adventures with the God of Thunder. Adventures that I still recall with great pleasure to this day, and before you even ask, yes Thor is still my favorite Marvel character, because your first “love” is always the best remembered and most fondly recalled I’ve found.
I rated this collection and the other Simonson Thor collections which follow five (5) stars. Those who are my friends or follow me on Goodreads know I rarely give five (5) stars to anything; I’m stingy like that I suppose. However, these issues of Thor by Simonson deserve five (5) - maybe six (6) stars - because this is without a doubt one of the greatest runs on a comic book ever. Of course, I read this collection having fallen in love with Thor issue by issue long ago, but I still believe you will love it to. You just won't have to wait a month before your next fix.
‘Nuff said!
October 7, 2023
Walt Simonson fully deserves his status as comics royalty! The writing and dialog are, of course, of their particular era, but Walt's artwork is timeless. I wish contemporary comics looked a little more like early-'80s Thor and less like lazy manga...
March 16, 2013
I read this as part of an attempt to learn more about Thor, since I've liked him so much in the Marvel movies. I'd read something like a few pages with Thor beforehand, and I don't know terribly much about Norse mythology, so I don't really have any preconceived notions. So I'm happy to report that this was really good reading.
If there's one thing I expected going into Thor, it was that the language would be intentionally and archaically formal. It's what one does with Thor, after all. And here's it's handled pretty well. It doesn't sound pretentious or false. It sounds like how the gods of Asgard should talk. That alone can be hard to do. Pair that with storylines that are actually interesting to read and some great new characters, and the whole collection, big as it is, becomes a pleasure to read. This is where Beta Ray Bill comes in, and I was surprised at how much I actually liked him and his story. The collection does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'll have to read more. Such a hardship.
If there's one thing I expected going into Thor, it was that the language would be intentionally and archaically formal. It's what one does with Thor, after all. And here's it's handled pretty well. It doesn't sound pretentious or false. It sounds like how the gods of Asgard should talk. That alone can be hard to do. Pair that with storylines that are actually interesting to read and some great new characters, and the whole collection, big as it is, becomes a pleasure to read. This is where Beta Ray Bill comes in, and I was surprised at how much I actually liked him and his story. The collection does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'll have to read more. Such a hardship.
June 27, 2011
Thor Visionaries Volume One covers one of the greatest periods in Thor’s little corner of the Marvel Universe, issues #337-#348. I read them when they first came out, and they are all packed away in mylar bags and comic boxes in my office. I was pretty stoked to have them all in this Graphic Omnibus edition, and for the most part they didn’t disappoint. Here are my highs, mediums and lows.
Thor Visionaries: Top Ten -- The Awesomeness
1. Balder the Brave – The best story arc of the Omnibus, we see Balder gone to seed after a horrible experience in Hel. He was killed by Loki, banished to Hel, and met all of those he had ever killed in battle while being tormented by demons. It leaves him a husk of a god, and once he is in the land of the living he avows pacifism. The path back to the sword, which is also, interestingly enough, his path back to vitality and life, is the one part of the twelve comics I most looked forward to.
2. Lorelei – Super hotty, especially for a teenager who loved red heads. Even if she’s mere pencils and ink, she’s scorching. And I always kind of wanted Thor to stay under the spell of her love potion.
3. Thor – Pretty cool for a big, violent dumb ass. Still don’t know how being big, dumb and tough makes you worthy to wield Mjolnir, but then I’m not Odin.
4. Odin – I didn’t remember his omnipresence, but it was an excellent surprise. Odin was actually a pretty cool character, and I liked the way that he didn’t always serve as a deus ex machina. He was as vulnerable as the next god -- almost.
5. The Clark Kent Cameo – Silly, and a whole lot of fun, especially with Lois giving him shit for his clumsiness.
6. Reinforcement of Why I <3 Samuel L. Jackson – Of all the changes Mark Millar made to the Marvel Universe, specifically to the Avengers and SHIELD, turning Nick Fury into a bad-ass-Sam Jackson-clone, thus dropping his crusty and clichéd WWII persona, was a stroke of genius. Nick Fury was lame back in my day. Today, he could righteously stand up and tell the Hulk to “Go the Fuck to Sleep,” and I bet the Hulk would listen.
7. Multiple storylines – Simonson’s greatest storytelling strength was his ability to juggle multiple storylines without short changing any. He kept the pace cooking, kept us interested in everything, and had an eye for a long term story. For instance, the opening frames of #337 show the arms of Surtur forging his sword. We see him for twelve straight issues before that little storyline has come to fruition. It is present as prologue. And the last frames of the last comic we see? Surtur ready to kick ass. Very cool.
8. Malekith – Bad ass villain. I even named a half-elf in D&D after him, although my wizard didn’t have the multi-toned skin of Malekith.
9. Loved the Secret Wars panel – There’s this cool blank space left in #341 with three missing panels, which show the Avengers on the way to the Beyonder’s Secret War. You could cut out the panel from somewhere else and paste it in your comic. I bought extras at the time so I could do that (I know, I know). But they provide the real panels in the appendix here. Fun.
10. Walt Simonson’s Art – There’s a sixties nostalgia to Simonson’s eighties art that always appealed to me. The goddesses, Sif and Lorelei, look like a pair of gorgeous, buxom movie stars, the sort Hitchcock would have cast in his films (nothing like the inhuman buxomness of the nineties), and there is an unfinished quality to his pencils that adds real texture to his section of the Marvel Universe.
Thor Visionaries: Middle Five -- The Blah-ness
11. Beta Ray Bill – I remembered Beta Ray Bill with such fondness that when I saw him on the cover locked in combat with Thor, I just had to buy the graphic novel. Oh! what a difference twenty years make. The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill section of this omnibus was soooooo boring. I wanted to like it, but now I just feel a little stupid for ever having loved it. It was okay, I guess, but a bit much considering its primary purpose seemed to be getting Thor out of his mortal Dr. Donald Blake form.
12. From Donald Blake to Sigurd Jarlson – Not sure this ever really needed to happen, but whatever ... Simonson got to make Thor look like a big Viking beefcake in a t-shirt and tight pants, so some wish fulfillment must have been at work. At least it led us to today and Chris Hemsworth in a t-shirt and tight pants in the film. Silver lining.
13. Sif – She’s okay, but pretty damn fickle and pretty damn thick. But hey, she can overlook Beta Ray Bill’s ugliness, so that’s something.
14. Superman Secret Identity Idiocy – So suddenly Thor is Sigurd. Nick Fury throws a pair of big geeky glasses on him, and Simonson instantly sees that the glasses hiding Thor are as stupid as the glasses hiding Superman, so he pokes fun at it by having a bunch of folks almost make the connection between the big blonde Norseman and Thor, but not quite (one guy figures Sigurd must be Spidey). Good on him for recognizing the idiocy, but it is handled pretty poorly.
15. Surtur and Twilight – The presence of Surtur throughout is cool, but I was bummed when the last comic collected in this Omnibus culminated in Surtur’s escape from exile. That’s where I wanted to start, not finish.
Thor Visionaries: Bottom Eight -- The Crapness
16. Not Enough Loki – Where was he? Sure he shows up once in a while to meddle, but he wasn’t nearly meddlesome enough, and apart from a little nudging of Lorelei in her quest for Thor’s love, Loki spent most of his time messing with Balder the Brave.
17. Fafnir the Dragon – This jackass looks like a pugilistic Godzilla.
18. Simonson’s Idiotic Time Keeping – The major downfall in Simonson’s storytelling is his inability to make time work. His narrative is all over the place when it comes to time. We see days pass in one thread and minutes pass in another, but they are presented as though they are simultaneous. It’s a minor complaint, really, because comics can be forgiven time lapses, but it pulled me out of the moment more than once.
19. Fafnir the Dragon – Could this big Jurassic Park reject just shut the hell up?!
20. Not Enough Warriors Three – Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun are too cool to be barely seen. But there was less of them than Loki.
21. Fafnir the Dragon – So Fafnir is out destroying the poor areas of New York, and he’s yelling for Thor (who is off in Antarctica), and the television news crews are wondering where Thor is, and I’m wondering where the hell everyone else is? Where’s Spidey? The rest of the Avengers? Daredevil? Fantastic Four? Even Sub-Mariner? Silliness.
22. Fafnir the Dragon – Did I mention this dragon sucked?
23. Fafnir the Dragon – Oh yeah, and Fafnir the Dragon. Lamest Thor villain ever!
Thor Visionaries: Top Ten -- The Awesomeness
1. Balder the Brave – The best story arc of the Omnibus, we see Balder gone to seed after a horrible experience in Hel. He was killed by Loki, banished to Hel, and met all of those he had ever killed in battle while being tormented by demons. It leaves him a husk of a god, and once he is in the land of the living he avows pacifism. The path back to the sword, which is also, interestingly enough, his path back to vitality and life, is the one part of the twelve comics I most looked forward to.
2. Lorelei – Super hotty, especially for a teenager who loved red heads. Even if she’s mere pencils and ink, she’s scorching. And I always kind of wanted Thor to stay under the spell of her love potion.
3. Thor – Pretty cool for a big, violent dumb ass. Still don’t know how being big, dumb and tough makes you worthy to wield Mjolnir, but then I’m not Odin.
4. Odin – I didn’t remember his omnipresence, but it was an excellent surprise. Odin was actually a pretty cool character, and I liked the way that he didn’t always serve as a deus ex machina. He was as vulnerable as the next god -- almost.
5. The Clark Kent Cameo – Silly, and a whole lot of fun, especially with Lois giving him shit for his clumsiness.
6. Reinforcement of Why I <3 Samuel L. Jackson – Of all the changes Mark Millar made to the Marvel Universe, specifically to the Avengers and SHIELD, turning Nick Fury into a bad-ass-Sam Jackson-clone, thus dropping his crusty and clichéd WWII persona, was a stroke of genius. Nick Fury was lame back in my day. Today, he could righteously stand up and tell the Hulk to “Go the Fuck to Sleep,” and I bet the Hulk would listen.
7. Multiple storylines – Simonson’s greatest storytelling strength was his ability to juggle multiple storylines without short changing any. He kept the pace cooking, kept us interested in everything, and had an eye for a long term story. For instance, the opening frames of #337 show the arms of Surtur forging his sword. We see him for twelve straight issues before that little storyline has come to fruition. It is present as prologue. And the last frames of the last comic we see? Surtur ready to kick ass. Very cool.
8. Malekith – Bad ass villain. I even named a half-elf in D&D after him, although my wizard didn’t have the multi-toned skin of Malekith.
9. Loved the Secret Wars panel – There’s this cool blank space left in #341 with three missing panels, which show the Avengers on the way to the Beyonder’s Secret War. You could cut out the panel from somewhere else and paste it in your comic. I bought extras at the time so I could do that (I know, I know). But they provide the real panels in the appendix here. Fun.
10. Walt Simonson’s Art – There’s a sixties nostalgia to Simonson’s eighties art that always appealed to me. The goddesses, Sif and Lorelei, look like a pair of gorgeous, buxom movie stars, the sort Hitchcock would have cast in his films (nothing like the inhuman buxomness of the nineties), and there is an unfinished quality to his pencils that adds real texture to his section of the Marvel Universe.
Thor Visionaries: Middle Five -- The Blah-ness
11. Beta Ray Bill – I remembered Beta Ray Bill with such fondness that when I saw him on the cover locked in combat with Thor, I just had to buy the graphic novel. Oh! what a difference twenty years make. The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill section of this omnibus was soooooo boring. I wanted to like it, but now I just feel a little stupid for ever having loved it. It was okay, I guess, but a bit much considering its primary purpose seemed to be getting Thor out of his mortal Dr. Donald Blake form.
12. From Donald Blake to Sigurd Jarlson – Not sure this ever really needed to happen, but whatever ... Simonson got to make Thor look like a big Viking beefcake in a t-shirt and tight pants, so some wish fulfillment must have been at work. At least it led us to today and Chris Hemsworth in a t-shirt and tight pants in the film. Silver lining.
13. Sif – She’s okay, but pretty damn fickle and pretty damn thick. But hey, she can overlook Beta Ray Bill’s ugliness, so that’s something.
14. Superman Secret Identity Idiocy – So suddenly Thor is Sigurd. Nick Fury throws a pair of big geeky glasses on him, and Simonson instantly sees that the glasses hiding Thor are as stupid as the glasses hiding Superman, so he pokes fun at it by having a bunch of folks almost make the connection between the big blonde Norseman and Thor, but not quite (one guy figures Sigurd must be Spidey). Good on him for recognizing the idiocy, but it is handled pretty poorly.
15. Surtur and Twilight – The presence of Surtur throughout is cool, but I was bummed when the last comic collected in this Omnibus culminated in Surtur’s escape from exile. That’s where I wanted to start, not finish.
Thor Visionaries: Bottom Eight -- The Crapness
16. Not Enough Loki – Where was he? Sure he shows up once in a while to meddle, but he wasn’t nearly meddlesome enough, and apart from a little nudging of Lorelei in her quest for Thor’s love, Loki spent most of his time messing with Balder the Brave.
17. Fafnir the Dragon – This jackass looks like a pugilistic Godzilla.
18. Simonson’s Idiotic Time Keeping – The major downfall in Simonson’s storytelling is his inability to make time work. His narrative is all over the place when it comes to time. We see days pass in one thread and minutes pass in another, but they are presented as though they are simultaneous. It’s a minor complaint, really, because comics can be forgiven time lapses, but it pulled me out of the moment more than once.
19. Fafnir the Dragon – Could this big Jurassic Park reject just shut the hell up?!
20. Not Enough Warriors Three – Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun are too cool to be barely seen. But there was less of them than Loki.
21. Fafnir the Dragon – So Fafnir is out destroying the poor areas of New York, and he’s yelling for Thor (who is off in Antarctica), and the television news crews are wondering where Thor is, and I’m wondering where the hell everyone else is? Where’s Spidey? The rest of the Avengers? Daredevil? Fantastic Four? Even Sub-Mariner? Silliness.
22. Fafnir the Dragon – Did I mention this dragon sucked?
23. Fafnir the Dragon – Oh yeah, and Fafnir the Dragon. Lamest Thor villain ever!
December 5, 2016
Thor meets noble alien Beta Ray Bill, loses his Donald Blake persona permanently, fights Fafnir the dragon, meets an old Viking, is seduced by Lorelei, and uncovers a plot by Malekith to use the Casket of Ancient Winters to release his master.
This was more interesting than the collection that follows (which I read first) due to the issues introducing Beta Ray Bill and the showdown with Malekith, who I'm familiar with from Thor: The Dark World. I'm pretty curious to know what was going through Simonson's and the editors' minds when they created a horse-like alien who Odin found worthy enough to grant the same powers as Thor. Though strange, it makes for a pretty interesting mix of science fiction and fantasy, and Bill is a sympathetic character who finds a new home in Asgard; in some ways he supplants Loki as Odin's adopted son, which is also welcomed by Thor. Odin removed the long-standing enchantment of Thor's secret identity which would transform him into mortal Donald Blake and grants it to Bill; Thor is interestingly left with no human identity, so he creates the alias Sigurd Jarlson. (Clark Kent, anyone?) Thor goes through several seemingly unconnected adventures until he comes upon Malekith's plot to use the Casket (seen in Thor), which and leaves the collection at a cliffhanger.
Simonson keeps the story focused on Thor's Asgardian mythology, which is more interesting than watching Thor fight random supervillains, but that comes with the trouble of coming in in the middle of the story and trying to figure out who the characters and and what the stakes are. The dialogue is also mostly long-winded and formal when it comes to the Asgardians, keeping me from getting too absorbed in the story.
This was more interesting than the collection that follows (which I read first) due to the issues introducing Beta Ray Bill and the showdown with Malekith, who I'm familiar with from Thor: The Dark World. I'm pretty curious to know what was going through Simonson's and the editors' minds when they created a horse-like alien who Odin found worthy enough to grant the same powers as Thor. Though strange, it makes for a pretty interesting mix of science fiction and fantasy, and Bill is a sympathetic character who finds a new home in Asgard; in some ways he supplants Loki as Odin's adopted son, which is also welcomed by Thor. Odin removed the long-standing enchantment of Thor's secret identity which would transform him into mortal Donald Blake and grants it to Bill; Thor is interestingly left with no human identity, so he creates the alias Sigurd Jarlson. (Clark Kent, anyone?) Thor goes through several seemingly unconnected adventures until he comes upon Malekith's plot to use the Casket (seen in Thor), which and leaves the collection at a cliffhanger.
Simonson keeps the story focused on Thor's Asgardian mythology, which is more interesting than watching Thor fight random supervillains, but that comes with the trouble of coming in in the middle of the story and trying to figure out who the characters and and what the stakes are. The dialogue is also mostly long-winded and formal when it comes to the Asgardians, keeping me from getting too absorbed in the story.
April 9, 2023
Gee, what a chore it was to get through this first volume! And here I thought Chris Claremont was verbose! Little did I know.
There is a lot of action of course but there is also pages and pages of overblown, overwritten, over the fucking top dialogues and monologues. So boooooring I considered eating glass or walking on embers instead.
There is yet another problem: a lousy storytelling like I haven’t seen very often.
Two subplots are developped along the main storyline. Hey, why not? Thing is, they are inserted absolutely and absurdedly randomly between pages of the main plot. Even in the middle of battles for chrissakes! Like when Thor jumps on Fafnir and the next page starts with "Meanwhile, Balder the brave does this and that". A whole page goes on and the next thing you know Thor lands on Fafnir.
And so pacing is shot to hell: Issue 346-> Balder fights something-cut-Thor does something else, somewhere else for several hours->end of issue 346. Issue 347: Starts with Thor again for a long period of time-cut- back to the fight Balder started the previous issue.
Huh?
Claremont was verbose but at least he was good at telling stories and knew how to handle a plot. Let’s face the horrible truth brothers and sisters: As a storyteller Walt Simonson suck.
Big time.
Not bad ideas, terrible execution.
What saves the book is the totally stylized blocky art and the cool and always legible action scenes.
Simonson inks himself for most issues and serves himself better than Terry Austin or Bob Wiacek do. No offence to these two.
So you either have to be fan of blond Vikings and their hammers or Simonson’s style to really appreciate this volume.
There is a lot of action of course but there is also pages and pages of overblown, overwritten, over the fucking top dialogues and monologues. So boooooring I considered eating glass or walking on embers instead.
There is yet another problem: a lousy storytelling like I haven’t seen very often.
Two subplots are developped along the main storyline. Hey, why not? Thing is, they are inserted absolutely and absurdedly randomly between pages of the main plot. Even in the middle of battles for chrissakes! Like when Thor jumps on Fafnir and the next page starts with "Meanwhile, Balder the brave does this and that". A whole page goes on and the next thing you know Thor lands on Fafnir.
And so pacing is shot to hell: Issue 346-> Balder fights something-cut-Thor does something else, somewhere else for several hours->end of issue 346. Issue 347: Starts with Thor again for a long period of time-cut- back to the fight Balder started the previous issue.
Huh?
Claremont was verbose but at least he was good at telling stories and knew how to handle a plot. Let’s face the horrible truth brothers and sisters: As a storyteller Walt Simonson suck.
Big time.
Not bad ideas, terrible execution.
What saves the book is the totally stylized blocky art and the cool and always legible action scenes.
Simonson inks himself for most issues and serves himself better than Terry Austin or Bob Wiacek do. No offence to these two.
So you either have to be fan of blond Vikings and their hammers or Simonson’s style to really appreciate this volume.
March 4, 2013
DAS ist Thor!
Wer chronologisch die Abenteuer Thors miterlebt hat, oder sich beispielsweise vor diesem Band die Essentials von Marvel gelesen hat (was sehr empfehlenswert ist!), wird hier sein blaues Wunder erleben. Simonson hat Thor praktisch neu erfunden - weg ist die Pseudoidentität Don Blake, die eh nur für melodramatische Herzschmerz-Seitenstories diente, weg ist dieses schmierige Pathos, das den 70er-Jahre-Thor teilweise unlesbar machte. Simonsons Thor ist nicht mehr in erster Linie ein Mitglied der Avengers, der Polizeiarbeit macht, sondern er führt ihn zurück zu seinen Ursprüngen - Thor ist der Sohn Odins, ein Gott, die Quintessenz mystischer Helden! Sowohl in den atemberaubenden Zeichnungen, die vor Kraft und Energie sprühen und einen praktisch auf jeder Seite neu mit ihrer Wucht überraschen, als auch im Skript, das genau den richtigen Ton trifft und Thor endlich nicht mehr wie einen arroganten pseudo-Hamlet herumschnöseln lässt.
Kein typischer Superheldencomic, da Simonson Thor zumindest in diesem Band nicht den repetitiven Formelhaftigkeiten des amerikanischen Mainstreams aussetzt. Eine echte Perle, die man kaum hoch genug würdigen kann. Bei der aktuellen Ausgabe handelt es sich um eine Neuauflage der "Thor Legends: Walter Simonson".
Super-Spitzenklasse und eine vorbehaltslose Kaufempfehlung.
Wer chronologisch die Abenteuer Thors miterlebt hat, oder sich beispielsweise vor diesem Band die Essentials von Marvel gelesen hat (was sehr empfehlenswert ist!), wird hier sein blaues Wunder erleben. Simonson hat Thor praktisch neu erfunden - weg ist die Pseudoidentität Don Blake, die eh nur für melodramatische Herzschmerz-Seitenstories diente, weg ist dieses schmierige Pathos, das den 70er-Jahre-Thor teilweise unlesbar machte. Simonsons Thor ist nicht mehr in erster Linie ein Mitglied der Avengers, der Polizeiarbeit macht, sondern er führt ihn zurück zu seinen Ursprüngen - Thor ist der Sohn Odins, ein Gott, die Quintessenz mystischer Helden! Sowohl in den atemberaubenden Zeichnungen, die vor Kraft und Energie sprühen und einen praktisch auf jeder Seite neu mit ihrer Wucht überraschen, als auch im Skript, das genau den richtigen Ton trifft und Thor endlich nicht mehr wie einen arroganten pseudo-Hamlet herumschnöseln lässt.
Kein typischer Superheldencomic, da Simonson Thor zumindest in diesem Band nicht den repetitiven Formelhaftigkeiten des amerikanischen Mainstreams aussetzt. Eine echte Perle, die man kaum hoch genug würdigen kann. Bei der aktuellen Ausgabe handelt es sich um eine Neuauflage der "Thor Legends: Walter Simonson".
Super-Spitzenklasse und eine vorbehaltslose Kaufempfehlung.
January 10, 2011
Let's just make one thing clear: I DO NOT rate/think barely any comics warrant a 5-star rating. And this did.
Walter Simonson is a fabulous writer - each character's voice was unique (loved the Nick Fury/Thor foil of language especially), and the humor was perfectly placed. What I appreciated most about this volume and Simonson's narrative was how minor characters- who are initially narrated as weak or flawed- become an important piece of the story, and although weak, he is able to show the true stuff he is made of in a single (or multiple) acts of sheer bravery and will. My favorite example of this is the side story of Balder the Brave. In one section, Balder meets up with the fates and is taught a beautifully crafted and illustrated story about how his life is connected to others, no matter how much he would like to separate himself from others in life and in death. And although he is constantly reminding himself of his many failures, a man of his goodness cannot ever deny doing good deeds for others. It was breathtaking. And on the other hand, how our obvious victors (Thor, Odin, other gods, etc.) are not the deepest characters but are shown with their flaws.
I highly recommend this book for all comic book lovers, especially anyone who is interested in Thor.
Walter Simonson is a fabulous writer - each character's voice was unique (loved the Nick Fury/Thor foil of language especially), and the humor was perfectly placed. What I appreciated most about this volume and Simonson's narrative was how minor characters- who are initially narrated as weak or flawed- become an important piece of the story, and although weak, he is able to show the true stuff he is made of in a single (or multiple) acts of sheer bravery and will. My favorite example of this is the side story of Balder the Brave. In one section, Balder meets up with the fates and is taught a beautifully crafted and illustrated story about how his life is connected to others, no matter how much he would like to separate himself from others in life and in death. And although he is constantly reminding himself of his many failures, a man of his goodness cannot ever deny doing good deeds for others. It was breathtaking. And on the other hand, how our obvious victors (Thor, Odin, other gods, etc.) are not the deepest characters but are shown with their flaws.
I highly recommend this book for all comic book lovers, especially anyone who is interested in Thor.
August 4, 2007
So many a reviewer will agree in saying that Walt Simonson's run on The Mighty Thor contained epic arcs that rival those of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. Other reviews may suggest that Simonson's attention to detail and the ready hybrid of actual Norse with the classic Marvel contemporary super hero mythology made for a mix that surpassed the Lee/Kirby originals.
Whereas that may be a cyclical, unending debate, what is non-debatable is the fact that this collection of Simonson's initial run on The Mighty Thor is a bargain. Finding the original issues contained may be a challenge, subsequently making this collection essential. The initial introduction of Beta Ray Bill, the re-introduction of several key characters to Thor's mythology (Surtur, Ragnarok, and newcomer Kurse), and the exclusion of Thor's human alter-ego, Donald Blake make this a cornerstone in the comic's history.
Whereas that may be a cyclical, unending debate, what is non-debatable is the fact that this collection of Simonson's initial run on The Mighty Thor is a bargain. Finding the original issues contained may be a challenge, subsequently making this collection essential. The initial introduction of Beta Ray Bill, the re-introduction of several key characters to Thor's mythology (Surtur, Ragnarok, and newcomer Kurse), and the exclusion of Thor's human alter-ego, Donald Blake make this a cornerstone in the comic's history.
July 20, 2021
This initial run of Simonson's work as writer/artist on Thor is as brilliant now as it was when it was first published!
Dramatic, funny, and full of epic story telling.
Dramatic, funny, and full of epic story telling.
February 4, 2019
I want to like this but I kinda don’t. Thor was never my jam back in the days I was actively reading comics (1972-1988ish, for completists), so I never got into this. A couple of my friends *loved* Thor from this era but the book never did anything for me. This collection reinforces that opinion.
It’s so very 1980s that it almost becomes parody. The incipient metacommentary that was just starting to come into vogue then, the Reaganesque fascination with guns and soldiers as reaction to the anti-Vietnam War sentiment in America (which reached its apotheosis in the 1982 film First Blood), the fractured storytelling, the excess verbiage... it’s all on display here.
The high point comes early with the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and his sentient spaceship Skuttlebutt, but even there the logistics of the story and the throughlines of the characters don’t make sense. Their opinions and attitudes pivot on a dime, as if Simonson forgot between one day and the next how they reacted to one another. Odin is the worst of all here, sometimes being a colossal dick who forces his son to fight to the death with the protector of a refugee people, sometimes being a wise and magnanimous leader who sees every side of an argument. This happens within pages of each other.
This is a problem throughout the book, happening to Sif and Thor and others. Only the side story featuring Balder has anything resembling a consistent progression from one state of belief (despair) to another (determination and hope). But why was that *Balder’s* journey rather than the titular hero’s? Baffling.
Even the names Beta Ray Bill and Skuttlebutt are part of that winking attitude of “hey, we all know funny books are silly, right?” When Nick Fury hands Thor a “disguise” of glasses to create a secret identity and then a bickering Clark Kent and Lois Lane walk by, it makes you wonder if Simonson wasn’t tired of the whole comic book schtick.
The story construction was aggravating, too. Simonson’s go-to move is to cut away from the scene at the peak of the action to focus on something else happening in another realm. If multiple stories are in a similar place emotionally, that can work fine, but inevitably the cut occurred from one of rising action to one of quiet contemplation. That kills forward momentum entirely. It’s bad storytelling, full stop.
Even allowing for the era this story and these characters are fundamentally broken, undercutting all the interesting ideas and cool characters Simonson came up with.
It’s so very 1980s that it almost becomes parody. The incipient metacommentary that was just starting to come into vogue then, the Reaganesque fascination with guns and soldiers as reaction to the anti-Vietnam War sentiment in America (which reached its apotheosis in the 1982 film First Blood), the fractured storytelling, the excess verbiage... it’s all on display here.
The high point comes early with the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and his sentient spaceship Skuttlebutt, but even there the logistics of the story and the throughlines of the characters don’t make sense. Their opinions and attitudes pivot on a dime, as if Simonson forgot between one day and the next how they reacted to one another. Odin is the worst of all here, sometimes being a colossal dick who forces his son to fight to the death with the protector of a refugee people, sometimes being a wise and magnanimous leader who sees every side of an argument. This happens within pages of each other.
This is a problem throughout the book, happening to Sif and Thor and others. Only the side story featuring Balder has anything resembling a consistent progression from one state of belief (despair) to another (determination and hope). But why was that *Balder’s* journey rather than the titular hero’s? Baffling.
Even the names Beta Ray Bill and Skuttlebutt are part of that winking attitude of “hey, we all know funny books are silly, right?” When Nick Fury hands Thor a “disguise” of glasses to create a secret identity and then a bickering Clark Kent and Lois Lane walk by, it makes you wonder if Simonson wasn’t tired of the whole comic book schtick.
The story construction was aggravating, too. Simonson’s go-to move is to cut away from the scene at the peak of the action to focus on something else happening in another realm. If multiple stories are in a similar place emotionally, that can work fine, but inevitably the cut occurred from one of rising action to one of quiet contemplation. That kills forward momentum entirely. It’s bad storytelling, full stop.
Even allowing for the era this story and these characters are fundamentally broken, undercutting all the interesting ideas and cool characters Simonson came up with.
July 10, 2016
Δεν είχα διαβάσει Thor στη ζωή μου, πέρα από τα Thor, Vol. 1 του J. Michael Straczynski. Θυμάμαι βέβαια, ως παιδί, να βλέπω την animated σειρά Τhor που, όποτε τη θυμόμουν ως μεγάλος, μου φαινόταν πάντα λίγο αφελής. Θυμάμαι όμως να διαβάζω καλλιτέχνηες που μου άρεσαν (όπως πχ τον Erik Larsen) να μιλούν με θαυμασμό για τον Thor του Walter Simonson.
Όταν λοιπόν πέτυχα τον πρώτο τόμο με τις ιστορίες του Thor από τον Simonson τον σήκωσα δίχως δεύτερη σκέψη.
Πρόκειται για τεύχη από τη χρονιά που γεννήθηκα και όμως παραμένουν φρέσκα και επιδραστικά ακόμα και σήμερα. Και είναι πραγματικά κλασικές δουλειές. Ο Simonson εντάσει νέους χαρακτήρες, στήνει σταδιακά μία μεγαλύτερη ιστορία της οποίας το χτίσιμο το παρακολουθούμε από μικρότερες ιστορίες (και μόλις αυτή μπαίνει εμπρός ο τόμος τελειώνει και εμείς ψάχνουμε τον εξαντλημένο δεύτερο, κατάρα!!!), μας παρουσιάζει αρκ από δευτερεύοντες ήρωες (πχ τον Balder) και απομακρύνεται από το τυπικό υπερηρωικό κλίμα της εταιρείας προς ένα πιο επικό κλίμα κοντύτερα στις αρχαίες σάγκες. Η οποία παλαιομοδίτικη αφέλεια της παλιάς Marvel ταιριάζει απόλυτα στο επικό κλίμα της σειράς, ενώ η ιστορία του τελευταίου Viking (στη μέση του τόμου) είναι μία από τις πιο συγκινητικές ιστορίες που έχω διαβάσει από Marvel.
Horns up.
Όταν λοιπόν πέτυχα τον πρώτο τόμο με τις ιστορίες του Thor από τον Simonson τον σήκωσα δίχως δεύτερη σκέψη.
Πρόκειται για τεύχη από τη χρονιά που γεννήθηκα και όμως παραμένουν φρέσκα και επιδραστικά ακόμα και σήμερα. Και είναι πραγματικά κλασικές δουλειές. Ο Simonson εντάσει νέους χαρακτήρες, στήνει σταδιακά μία μεγαλύτερη ιστορία της οποίας το χτίσιμο το παρακολουθούμε από μικρότερες ιστορίες (και μόλις αυτή μπαίνει εμπρός ο τόμος τελειώνει και εμείς ψάχνουμε τον εξαντλημένο δεύτερο, κατάρα!!!), μας παρουσιάζει αρκ από δευτερεύοντες ήρωες (πχ τον Balder) και απομακρύνεται από το τυπικό υπερηρωικό κλίμα της εταιρείας προς ένα πιο επικό κλίμα κοντύτερα στις αρχαίες σάγκες. Η οποία παλαιομοδίτικη αφέλεια της παλιάς Marvel ταιριάζει απόλυτα στο επικό κλίμα της σειράς, ενώ η ιστορία του τελευταίου Viking (στη μέση του τόμου) είναι μία από τις πιο συγκινητικές ιστορίες που έχω διαβάσει από Marvel.
Horns up.
November 14, 2017
Having recently suffered through stories containing unworthy Thor and bat-crazy Odin it is refreshing to once more embrace the concept of noble Odin and worthy Thor. One unworthy reviewing the book called himself a comic nerd but didn't even know of the 60 second rule [from the earliest days of Marvel's Thor] concerning Thor's contact with Mjolnir and said he couldn't even finish the book... really? Wonder if he missed the wonderful cameo of a certain reporter from Metropolis delightfully given in this volume. WHOSOEVER HOLDS THIS HALLOWED VOLUME, IF HE BE WORTHY, SHALL POSSESS THE THRILL OF READING A WORTHY STORY OF THOR"
October 23, 2017
While this feels a bit dated now, Simonson's run on Thor was, at the time, revolutionary. Simonson took a staid and typical superhero comic and revitalized it. He not only took the myths and legends of Norse mythology and wove threads into the series, but he also brought a new visual aesthetic to the series that energized the characters in ways that had not been seen since Jack Kirby left the series.
July 30, 2013
The beginning of the Simonson Saga. Not as strong as other volumes, but a great start nonetheless, in setting up all the action to follow. Great art, storytelling, and classic pacing add up to a winner, and a great place to start Thor.
November 20, 2016
My dad kept telling me how awesome these comics were, so I gave it a try. Dad was actually right. This was a really cool Thor story.
February 4, 2022
old comics have a different flow and feel to their story and art than I, as an 18-year-old that reads mostly modern comics, am used to, so I was expecting to have a bit of difficulty to adapt to this, thankfully that was not even slightly the case with the art, characters where expressive, powers felt bombastic and every line was dynamic, even if you can tell printing technology wasn't at its current level, that doesn't change the fact the art at its core is simply great to look at
now the story took me some time to adjust to, the concepts were good from the start but there is simply way more dialogue them needed, characters will describe the situation as if they were narrating an audiobook even though we can see what is happening since comics being a visual media and we see the same thing they do, characters also constantly recap issues or exposition, which I know was common at the time to help new readers catch up, but for someone who is reading it all together at the same month feels like a slog to get trough
now with all that out of the way I have to admit I still enjoyed this, most characters didn't have very deep arcs but they all had distinct voices and the situations had a tone that carried a sense of grandeur and adventure reminiscing of epic poems and legends, and the story constantly introduces new and interesting ideas that are intriguing to read, yes the way the characters talked in big monologues was annoying at first but the good points of the book honestly make up for that (and I did get more used to the monologues as the book went on)
even with its flaws I still wouldn't have chosen anything else to remember as that one neat thor book I read during breaks at driving school
now the story took me some time to adjust to, the concepts were good from the start but there is simply way more dialogue them needed, characters will describe the situation as if they were narrating an audiobook even though we can see what is happening since comics being a visual media and we see the same thing they do, characters also constantly recap issues or exposition, which I know was common at the time to help new readers catch up, but for someone who is reading it all together at the same month feels like a slog to get trough
now with all that out of the way I have to admit I still enjoyed this, most characters didn't have very deep arcs but they all had distinct voices and the situations had a tone that carried a sense of grandeur and adventure reminiscing of epic poems and legends, and the story constantly introduces new and interesting ideas that are intriguing to read, yes the way the characters talked in big monologues was annoying at first but the good points of the book honestly make up for that (and I did get more used to the monologues as the book went on)
even with its flaws I still wouldn't have chosen anything else to remember as that one neat thor book I read during breaks at driving school
September 10, 2024
I remember having all of Mr. Simonson's Thor issues when I was younger, and his run on Thor was the most enjoyable during that time period. I would even rank it above Frank Miller's stint on Daredevil (and that was epic!!!). If you love great storytelling along with some pretty impressive art, then this compilation is definitely for you.
Walt Simonson set the pace immediately when he took over this title. Meet an alien who whoops up on Thor and then takes his hammer, leaving Thor stranded on Earth in his mortal form. Then a second battle royal and Thor loses...again. Then the fun really begins... This is a rollercoaster of great storytelling and art that saved a title that had fallen on very hard times.
What is so powerful is the writer's unreserved, thorough, and convincing immersion in the original Norse mythos. He really takes it seriously, and seems to have done a pretty major amount of research, as countless minutiae of the Asgardian world are incorporated in the comics. I found myself completely engrossed in the mythology, swept away by the epic scale of the tales, and thrilled by the might and magic of the proceedings.
I unreservedly recommend this book. It brings home the power of good old-fashioned Marvel Comics from an era that was completely untainted by irony of any kind - a vigorous and exciting kind of story-telling that is pure, innocent fun, but paired with enough complexity of plot and depth of character to distinguish it from the more simplistic tales of the sixties and seventies. This is truly readable and enjoyable over 25 years after it was written.
Walt Simonson set the pace immediately when he took over this title. Meet an alien who whoops up on Thor and then takes his hammer, leaving Thor stranded on Earth in his mortal form. Then a second battle royal and Thor loses...again. Then the fun really begins... This is a rollercoaster of great storytelling and art that saved a title that had fallen on very hard times.
What is so powerful is the writer's unreserved, thorough, and convincing immersion in the original Norse mythos. He really takes it seriously, and seems to have done a pretty major amount of research, as countless minutiae of the Asgardian world are incorporated in the comics. I found myself completely engrossed in the mythology, swept away by the epic scale of the tales, and thrilled by the might and magic of the proceedings.
I unreservedly recommend this book. It brings home the power of good old-fashioned Marvel Comics from an era that was completely untainted by irony of any kind - a vigorous and exciting kind of story-telling that is pure, innocent fun, but paired with enough complexity of plot and depth of character to distinguish it from the more simplistic tales of the sixties and seventies. This is truly readable and enjoyable over 25 years after it was written.
June 10, 2024
I never read Thor as a kid. Never once. I knew who Thor was, but was never curious to read an issue featuring him. I was into Spider-Man and Green Lantern as a kid, even though Green Lantern's run was over, being teamed up with The Flash or Green Arrow mostly. I liked the Justice League sometimes, but then dropped my comics reading until The Dark Knight Returns in the 80s. Since then most of my comics reading is noir and horror comics. I got into JLA for awhile as well as the Flash (Wally West) but didn't even think about Thor. Then on a recent trip to Seattle I stopped in a comic book shop and picked up this Walter Simonson collection, issues 337 thru 345, on a whim. I had heard good things about the Walter Simonson run and was curious. I immediately liked the artwork so I figured it would be a decent way to spend a couple hours on a plane. I knew nothing about Thor's background and enemies or even his alter-ego when he's not Thor. This collection won me over. The combination of mythology worked for me. The first issues feature Beta Ray Bill, who's been morphed into a super being that is very much Thor's equal in battle. The artwork is stellar in these issues. I don't have anything to compare regarding the storylines regarding other Thor runs. So there you go. I'll look for the other Simonson collections next.
February 28, 2019
It kind of pains me to rate this so low (really I'd go 2.5 stars) but the highlights don't save what's left. I never read the original Beta Ray Bill saga back in the day so I was happy to see this volume as one of the "free" (i.e. included with Comixology subscription) borrows, and I dived in.
The highlights: the Beta Ray Bill storyline through the first few issues is quite a bit of fun. BRB -- the horse-faced alien who basically takes over as the God of Thunder for a while -- is one of the more imaginative character designs in the history of comics. And I love his silly name. Simonson's layouts and action are fantastic, and I've always loved the way he incorporated his gigantic onomonopoetic lettering into the panels ("DOOM!" "THRAAAK!", etc).
The rest: man, is the dialogue a chore to get through. I found myself skimming through entire pages of overstuffed speech bubbles. Luckily, the images are enough to tell the story for the most part, except in the case of following the Eric Willis / Roger Willis plot in the latter half of the book. This volume ends in a cliffhanger, but I'm not really motivated to continue the story.
The highlights: the Beta Ray Bill storyline through the first few issues is quite a bit of fun. BRB -- the horse-faced alien who basically takes over as the God of Thunder for a while -- is one of the more imaginative character designs in the history of comics. And I love his silly name. Simonson's layouts and action are fantastic, and I've always loved the way he incorporated his gigantic onomonopoetic lettering into the panels ("DOOM!" "THRAAAK!", etc).
The rest: man, is the dialogue a chore to get through. I found myself skimming through entire pages of overstuffed speech bubbles. Luckily, the images are enough to tell the story for the most part, except in the case of following the Eric Willis / Roger Willis plot in the latter half of the book. This volume ends in a cliffhanger, but I'm not really motivated to continue the story.
January 25, 2018
Quite good and fun
I grew up with comics like Thor, indeed in a place populated by many of Scandinavian descent (my high school mascot was a Viking) and have always been fascinated by Norse mythology.
So masculine (although their society was quite equilateral I believe, the women also fought and there are many strong females). You fight with your mates, and if you die honorably, you are picked by the Valkyries to go to Valhalla, where, as a reward.....you battle all day and then feast and boast about your exploits.
Sounds like ESPN.
But I digress. From 2011 comes this collection by Walt Simonson, writer and illustrator, who obviously is a big Jack Kirby fan. This is classic Thor, big buttons, flowing locks, bad dialogue and all. Both story arcs are well done with a few surprises, I did enjoy the Lorelei character trying to seduce Thor all over the place, and this is old school. No female Thor (liked that one a lot), and a rather shambling side plot with Baldur, but just fun.
And lengthy, it is a beefy 300+ pages so def worth the cash.
I grew up with comics like Thor, indeed in a place populated by many of Scandinavian descent (my high school mascot was a Viking) and have always been fascinated by Norse mythology.
So masculine (although their society was quite equilateral I believe, the women also fought and there are many strong females). You fight with your mates, and if you die honorably, you are picked by the Valkyries to go to Valhalla, where, as a reward.....you battle all day and then feast and boast about your exploits.
Sounds like ESPN.
But I digress. From 2011 comes this collection by Walt Simonson, writer and illustrator, who obviously is a big Jack Kirby fan. This is classic Thor, big buttons, flowing locks, bad dialogue and all. Both story arcs are well done with a few surprises, I did enjoy the Lorelei character trying to seduce Thor all over the place, and this is old school. No female Thor (liked that one a lot), and a rather shambling side plot with Baldur, but just fun.
And lengthy, it is a beefy 300+ pages so def worth the cash.
November 12, 2017
Now this is how you make comics! Walt Simonson hits the ground running with his landmark run on "The Mighty Thor" from the 1980's. From the introduction of Beta Ray Bill to the first appearance of Malekith the Dark Elf these are top-notch tales of Nordic adventure. Simonson packs so much into each issue, a fully satisfying tale of Thor masterfully interwoven with subplots involving Balder the Brave and a growing menace whose sound effects portend "DOOM!" Incredible comics that I can't believe it's taken me THIS long to delve into more fully. The only criticism I really have is that someone at Marvel decided to digitally re-colour all the stories in this volume, a fact rendered all the more jarring by the fact that the covers of the issues were reprinted in their original format. Luckily this seems to be a flaw in only the first volume and not the next.
April 29, 2018
This collection of Walter Simonson's work covers a variety of stories; the introduction of Beta Ray Bill, Thor's new secret identity Jarlson, the saga of the Casket of Ancient Winters, and several adventures revolving around Malekith. At the same time, there are stories touching on Balder, the Warriors Three, and more. Loki is a minor player in this collection, but Malekith serves as a strong villain, and Lorelei is off on a side story that merges with Thor's story. The art is well done, timeless and classical. There are some impressive action sequences, and Simonson does a masterful job juggling a variety of stories within each issue, even if he does rely on cliffhanger transitions a bit too much. I was surprised by how enjoyable this collection still manages to be even so many decades after it was written and drawn. Simonson truly is a master in writing Thor.
February 16, 2022
Beta Ray Bill! I was super excited to read the story of how noble Beta Ray Bill was able to wield Mjolnir. It was such a great idea! I love the concept of Thor finding somebody to fight who was equally worthy to assume the power of Thor. The story did not disappoint. Great drama, satisfying conclusion.
Sad to say I didn't feel that way about the rest of the volume. 1980s Thor is not my favorite. It can be a challenge to care about Thor and the rest of the Asgardians even when the stories are modern and good. But watching him fight a talking Godzilla monster and have other kinda lame adventures left me flat. Did not love. I threw in the towel about halfway through. I looked ahead to see if there was any more Beta Ray Bill, but there wasn't so I yeeted it.
Sad to say I didn't feel that way about the rest of the volume. 1980s Thor is not my favorite. It can be a challenge to care about Thor and the rest of the Asgardians even when the stories are modern and good. But watching him fight a talking Godzilla monster and have other kinda lame adventures left me flat. Did not love. I threw in the towel about halfway through. I looked ahead to see if there was any more Beta Ray Bill, but there wasn't so I yeeted it.
July 27, 2021
I love these collections from both Marvel and DC. They let me revisit my childhood so much more easily than having to find each individual issue.
FYI, there are five collections under the "Visionaries" label.
Vol. 1 - Thor #337-348
Vol. 2 - Thor #349-355, 357-359
Vol. 3 - Thor #360-369
Vol. 4 - Thor #371-374 and Balder the Brave #1-4
Vol. 5 - Thor #375-382
Simonson began writing and drawing with issue #337. His last issue as an artist was #367, with Sal Buscema taking over. He continued to write Thor until #382.
I am looking forward to reading volumes 2 through 5.
FYI, there are five collections under the "Visionaries" label.
Vol. 1 - Thor #337-348
Vol. 2 - Thor #349-355, 357-359
Vol. 3 - Thor #360-369
Vol. 4 - Thor #371-374 and Balder the Brave #1-4
Vol. 5 - Thor #375-382
Simonson began writing and drawing with issue #337. His last issue as an artist was #367, with Sal Buscema taking over. He continued to write Thor until #382.
I am looking forward to reading volumes 2 through 5.
August 10, 2021
A collection of Walter Simonson stories which include the first appearance of Beta Ray Bill, Balder the Brave going through a crisis, and Malekith the Accursed enacting a villainous plan. It's fascinating to read these old runs and see how much was packed into the stories, how such iconic characters came and went with ease, and how often we saw the heroes moral quandary over their identity. Getting through some story-beats may seem tough, especially when the dialogue can be impenetrable, but there's a wealth of good stories in the classics and this is absolutely among them.
August 10, 2021
Simonson is not always the best artist and his narrative focus undermines his story’s momentum on occasion by trying to focus on too many plot lines at once. However, one cannot deny his impact on Thor, through his creation of iconic characters like Beta-Ray Bill, Malekith, and Lorelei, and his alterations to Thor’s civilian identity. I also cannot deny that the coloring in this volume is amazing. This book may not satisfy all comics readers but I suspect those interested in Thor’s comic history will find this collection worth their time.
May 7, 2017
Simonson jumps into The Mighty Thor with both feet, instilling Norse mythology first and foremost into the comic, and then adds many subplots to keep the pace; not without faults - characters narrating their own actions quickly becomes infuriating, and Simonson's art (full of epic and grandeur in the pencils) loses much when inked by others who lack the loose elegance Simonson brings to his own art) - but otherwise strong and compelling comic book storytelling.
March 30, 2018
Simonson and company breathe new life into one of the classic Marvel characters giving Thor not just a face lift but a new direction with a compelling story and great artwork. Beta Ray Bill, the return of Malekith, Loki, Lorelei, Balder, Lady Sif, and of course Odin and a mysterious character from another dimension offer plot complexities as well as side stories and plot twists that make the reader want more. This one ends way too soon - on to volume 2!
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