Thor Epic Collection, Vol. 2: When Titans Clash

Thor Epic Collection

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Art)

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the creative team that sparked the Marvel revolution, set off on Asgardian adventures featuring the fight-to-end-all-fights between Thor and the Incredible Hulk; the return of the Grey Gargoyle; the debut of the Absorbing Man and the unstoppable Destroyer; Thor and Loki's exile to Skornheim; and the introduction of Hercules and the Greek gods! It all leads to an epic adventure that pits Thor against Hercules and concludes in the depths of Pluto's Underworld.

COLLECTING: VOL. 2; JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (1952) 110-125, ANNUAL (1965) 1, THOR (1966) 126-130, MATERIAL FROM NOT BRAND ECHH (1967) 3

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

496 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2016

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

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, on this one you get lots of nice adventures, but mostly, the Thor VS Hercules stories which are must reads! Other than that, you have to get into the 60s mood to get by the random/dumb one shot villains that are usually a chore to read. Amazing artwork as always.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's second longest run has generally been rather overshadowed by their Fantastic Four work. The best Thor stories are some of Kirby's purest and most dynamic comics. The worst aren't terrible, but show the duo struggling for things to do with their immortal hero: even the merriest Marvelite would be forgiven for sighing when Thor reveals his identity to Jane Foster and freaks out Odin twice in the space of ten issues. Other stock plots of 60s Marvel get an airing - there's an obligatory battle with communists and a tiresome house of booby traps. At its heart early Thor is about the fraught relationship between a longhair and his square Dad, which should be fertile ground, but the problem is that Thor doesn't have much of a personality beyond nobility and muscle, and Loki at this stage has little of the intelligence and flair later writers would so enjoy.

Two paths take Thor out of the doldrums. The first is just letting Kirby cut loose and draw endless ultra-kinetic battle scenes: the Tales of Asgard back-up is a glorious rush of tumbling vikings and mad sci-fi architecture and generally more viscerally entertaining than the main feature.

The second is to find supporting cast members who can liven up the strip and make it funnier. The Warriors Three and Hercules fit the bill - Stan Lee takes all of two panels to work out Volstagg's comic potential, and Hercules is a gift to the book - a rasher, stupider version of Thor who can get the Thunder God into entertaining trouble as well as take him on. This huge collection saves its best to last - the tremendous storyline in which the vain Hercules is duped into appearing in a Hollywood film whose director turns out to be, oh noes, Pluto, God of the Netherworld. Stan and Jack - and Marvel in general - have plenty of more consequential comics, but very few more fun.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I labored through vol. 1 of this series and thought about taking a break from it, but I went into vol. 2 anyway. Two big things here: a lot more Jack Kirby, and a lot more epic Asgardian adventure. Gone are the weird one-off alien invasions that Thor bests with some trick or mid-level supervillains. Also, dull-as-dishwasher Don Blake-&-Jane Foster are thankfully sidelined for issues at a time.

Stan n' Jack are full-in on epic adventure, quests of incredible grandeur, conflict among the gods! It's big time fun stuff and they're having a ball.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this volume, I thought that the overarching plots spanning over several issues were a lot more interesting than the previous villain-of-the-week-style issues. Loki's plots were especially fun to read! I'm loving Tales of Asgard, I liked seeing the introduction of the Warriors Three. And I can't emphasise enough how much I love Kirby's art.. those colours are absolutely Visual Gourmet Candy.

[Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was significantly better than the first volume.
Instead of one off ridiculous and contrived villain of the week stories, this volume introduces overarching storylines and multi-issue adventures (although sometimes still a little ridiculous and contrived). Instead of every issue having Thor constantly losing his hammer and having to gain it again to overcome a threat, we now have more threatening villains, creative solutions and higher stake consequences, with Mr. Hyde, Cobra, Absorbing Man, Grey Gargoyle, the Destroyer, Pluto and of course Loki.
Another advantage is the supporting cast gained in this volume. In particular, the Warriors Three and Hercules, all great additions. I especially enjoyed Hercules, who was introduced as a rival to Thor. Over the volume, the two immortals begin to respect and admire each other, forming a great friendship.
Another highlight of this volume is the Tales of Asgard backup stories, which contain a lot of awesome world building and make the reader more engaged with Asgard as a whole.

One downside is that Jane is written pretty badly (as is common for that era). She spends all her time pining over Thor and gets upset every time he has to leave due to his duty. She has no other personality other than wanting Thor to constantly stay with her.

I enjoyed this volume and am looking forward to reading the next. I'm hoping that we get a lot more Hercules and Warriors Three!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gems include Thor storming Asgard, the debuts of Rivvak the Rebel Prince, Phantom Whose Touch Means Death, Sigurd the Earth Sprite, Laufey of Jotunheim, Absorbing Man, Fenris of Varinheim, Ghan the Storm Giant, Yagg of Skornheim, Hymir the Giant King, Odinsword, Destroyer & Odinsleep, Crimson Hand, Ularic the Royal Warlock, Warriors 3, Magrat the Schemer & Kroda the Duellist, Pillars of Utgard, Demon, Dragon of Utgard, Flying Trolls of Queen Ula from the Stone Hive of Thryheim, Seidring the Merciless, Hades & Hippolyta, Volla the Prophetess, Jormungand the Midgard Serpent, Tana Nile, Harokin of Muspelheim, & Cerberus, first Thor-Hulk brawl, Honir saves Thor from the Gargoyle, Absorbing Man goes all Human Torch, absurd anti-communist anti-Vietnamese racism, Thor goes to Pittsburgh to repair Mjölnir, Absorbing Man goes full kaiju then becomes a living mace, & mutiny on the Odinship

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing and plots are just as hokey and daft as ever, but suddenly the series is lifted out of the cod Shakespeare face-punch swamp by Kirby cutting loose and the addition of the “Tales Of Asgard” which chucks the regular continuity and goes in for fun with Nordic mythology. This volume also introduces Hercules, who has the brains of a chihuahua, leading to the start of an epic friendship between the serious Thor and happy-go-lucky Herc. Sadly, Zeus gets very little play here. Big Grouchy Daddy duties all fall to Odin, who nearly gets Thor killed.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Kirby and Stan Lee continue their epic run on the Mighty Thor. In this massive volume Thor gets topical (by visiting Vietnam), secrets are revealed, and the God of Thunder meets the Prince of Power when Hercules drops by. The Tales of Asgard back up feature continues to shine and just be a great showcase for Kirby's crazy designs. The stories set in Vietnam are awkward from a modern perspective but the rest are full of the melodrama and majesty that makes this series great.

[Michael Rickard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirby and Lee and Thor make three!

An entertaining collection of Lee and Kirby's early run on Thor. This features some great epics such as Thor's battles with the Absorbing Man, Hercules, and of course Loki. Lee's mix of humor and the fantastic paired with Kirby's sensational art make this a must-read.

[EC Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the Golden Realm, so sayeth the God of Thunder! This is perhaps the most breathless stretch of action in Kirby's run, from the moment Loki creates the Absorbing Man in #114 through his and Loki's defeat and exile nine full issues later, there is practically no break (he also has the Destroyer unleashed right in the middle of it).
Topping this off is the best and most glorious stretch of Tales of Asgard, building into the full Ragnarok sequence, which delivers the second imprisonment/banishment of Loki in the space of five issues.
If all this wasn't enough, we also get Hercules and the Olympian Gods, further expanding the Marvelian cosmos, even is there is a goofy movie subplot before we get to the underworld. The artwork, by this point, is so good you might not know flipping through where Tales of Asgard starts and the regular feature begins, which is to say this marks perhaps the most consistent run of the title overall.
The following two volumes are still spectacular, often more so, but never so well paced for such a run. I would give vol. 1 a 3.5 and this one a 4.25 if I could, but oh, well. The limits of the 5 star system.

[Matt Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introduces more of the Norse heroes and some of Thor’s memorable villains including Absorbing Man and the Destroyer. The best part was when the Greek gods were introduced and Thor has to save Hercules from the underworld. Great Kirby art in here. 1964-1966. 9/10

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Kirby, ladies and gentlemen.
Highly recommended.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hercules, Hercules !!

[Doug Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge improvement over the first book and I'm glad I gave it a shot, I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Featuring Journey Into Mystery issues 111 to 125, plus the first annual and the title change to simply Thor with issues 126-130, this collection is a little better than the previous one as clearly sales were dwindling and The Avengers and The Hulk were called on to boost them. The second half of this book largely focuses on a number of fights involving Hercules. Even though there is such a tight focus, with the collection starting out with enemies Loki and The Absorbing Man then moving on to the Hercules centric tales, this is one of the better collections for Thor.