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Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson #4
Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson, Vol. 4
Balder the Brave, Thor's brother in all but blood, undergoes his own gauntlet of gods and giants - earning the love of witch-queen Karnilla and the throne of Asgard Meanwhile, on Midgard, Thor finds an era-hopping authoritarian officer racing him to defeat an old enemy possessed by an even older evil Plus: Sabretooth and the Marauders All with Walt Simonson's trademarks: epic sensibilities, godly grandeur and talking frogs Verily Collects Thor #371-374 and Balder the Brave #1-4
192 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1985
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135 people want to read
About the author
Walter Simonson
1,264 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 3, 2021
I'm not gonna lie, this one was okay at best. I picked it up thinking "Yeah! More Marvel comics and another graphic novel to read! Woo hoo!" But it wasn't what I expected, if I'm being totally honest.
The first half is Balder the Brave. I was really hoping for all Thor content, but... It was okay? I had no idea what was going on though. I wish I had read the previous comics in this series. I felt so lost and didn't even know who the guy was. The research to let me know who this dude was took me more time than reading the little series of comics.
The second half is Thor. Again, didn't really know what was going on. I know he's Thor based on my Marvel movies binging over the years, but the comic books left me wishing I had read the first instalments. My bad.
Either way, okay set of comics. Not the best I've read though.
Two out of five stars.
The first half is Balder the Brave. I was really hoping for all Thor content, but... It was okay? I had no idea what was going on though. I wish I had read the previous comics in this series. I felt so lost and didn't even know who the guy was. The research to let me know who this dude was took me more time than reading the little series of comics.
The second half is Thor. Again, didn't really know what was going on. I know he's Thor based on my Marvel movies binging over the years, but the comic books left me wishing I had read the first instalments. My bad.
Either way, okay set of comics. Not the best I've read though.
Two out of five stars.
November 11, 2013
This is essentially two entirely different trades wrapped into one. The first half is the four issue miniseries Balder the Brave, and the second half is four individual issues from Thor. Both are written by Simonson, so I can see why they were together here. And I'm not complaining about the miniseries, not in the slightest. It was, by far, the best thing about this collection. Simonson hits every note perfectly, and delivers something that would sit comfortably alongside actual Norse mythology. Like many of his other Asgardian tales, for that matter. I personally prefer to see Thor as an actual literal god, working in and around Asgard, so stories with him on Midgard are usually less compelling for me. But there's nothing inherently wrong here, not that I could spot. Somebody a little bit less hung up on the whole god thing would probably love the second half. And there are fantastic moments in here, enough that I still really like this part. I didn't expect the last two issues to tie into the Mutant Massacre, so it came as quite a shock to me. I'm not sure why Thor was brought into the Massacre, but it ended up being an actually effective story.
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October 16, 2017Continuing the definitive Thor run which has at least in part inspired the new film - though I'm guessing they may not use the story from the beginning of this volume, where the God of Thunder has been turned into a frog, and is distracted from urgent matters of Asgardian politics by an obligation to help the frogs of Central Park fight off the local rats. Which is a pity, because Taika Waititi strikes me as exactly the right director for Wind in the Willows meets Game of Thrones. After that, things are on more of an even keel, though still with much more the flavour of Norse myth proper than you normally find in Marvel's take - right down to Thor growing a beard. Thor is heroic; Balder's good but a bit too nice; Malekith and Loki plot, double-crossing each other as much out of sheer spite as for any concrete gain; the Warriors Three are largely a comic subplot, albeit without Volstagg being reduced to quite the one-note joke he can sometimes be (there's a lovely full-page splash of him and his wife, pretty much the same size as him - go plus-sized characters in superhero comics!). But all of these standard components, which before and after Simonson generally felt rote, are here suitably grand and mythic. Even his having to cede the art duties doesn't noticeably break his flow, Buscema slotting in nicely as replacement.
July 21, 2022
I love this run on Thor by Simonson. This collection is a bit odd as it includes the 4 issue Baldur mini-series, a weird Judge Dredd homage and the tie-in to the big Mutant Massacre cross-over. It made reading it all in one go a bit disjointed.
January 29, 2015
A big part of this volume is the Balder the Brave miniseries, which I read and reviewed separately: I thought it was an ok Asgardian tale, hampered by the ability of its namesake hero to basically magic his way out of any obstacles.
Ok, how about the Thor stuff? It's pretty good, although it's split into two distinct two-issue arcs. The first, which is pretty nutty, sees Thor team up with a time cop from the future to stop the villain Zaniac. What's a Zaniac, you ask? Well, he's an evil entity made up of creepy little creatures that possesses dudes and makes them want them to stab women to death with magic knives. (Amazingly, the backstory is even weirder than that, as a quick Google search will show.)
Zaniac is obviously bad news, especially since he's targeting Thor's former love interest, Jane Foster. The story seems to end tragically before a little impromptu time travel sets things right. The time cop, who's a blend of Jack Kirby and Judge Dredd, even realizes Thor is all right before jetting back off to the future.
The second storyline here is one I've read before, as it's a crossover with the X-Men/X-Factor during their "Morlock Massacre" storyline. It starts with Thor feeling a little lonely and hanging out with the family of a construction foreman he befriended during his admittedly half-assed attempt to set up another alter ego, Sigurd Jarlson. The kids in the family all know that he's Thor, which is pretty cute. But then things take a darker turn when some of his buddies from back when he was turned into a frog tell him of a battle in the subways.
Thor heads down to find the Marauders standing over the bodies of dozens of Morlocks they've killed--and about to finish off superhero Angel. Thor is righteously angry about the massacre, and he shows the full span of his powers in fighting off the killers, even as a curse from Hela leaves him vulnerable to harm. It's a solid story, with both angry oaths ("They will learn that evil walks in the same shadows as the good! Come, bold assassins! You shall find the Son of Odin waiting for you in the dark.") and a touching ending, as Thor uses the mystic flames of Mjolnir to clear the sewer of the tragedy.
It's good stuff, highlighting Thor's role as a warrior hero. Even these stories are a bit more fragmented than the tales earlier in the, they highlight why Walt Simonson deserves to be called a visionary.
Read digital issues.
Ok, how about the Thor stuff? It's pretty good, although it's split into two distinct two-issue arcs. The first, which is pretty nutty, sees Thor team up with a time cop from the future to stop the villain Zaniac. What's a Zaniac, you ask? Well, he's an evil entity made up of creepy little creatures that possesses dudes and makes them want them to stab women to death with magic knives. (Amazingly, the backstory is even weirder than that, as a quick Google search will show.)
Zaniac is obviously bad news, especially since he's targeting Thor's former love interest, Jane Foster. The story seems to end tragically before a little impromptu time travel sets things right. The time cop, who's a blend of Jack Kirby and Judge Dredd, even realizes Thor is all right before jetting back off to the future.
The second storyline here is one I've read before, as it's a crossover with the X-Men/X-Factor during their "Morlock Massacre" storyline. It starts with Thor feeling a little lonely and hanging out with the family of a construction foreman he befriended during his admittedly half-assed attempt to set up another alter ego, Sigurd Jarlson. The kids in the family all know that he's Thor, which is pretty cute. But then things take a darker turn when some of his buddies from back when he was turned into a frog tell him of a battle in the subways.
Thor heads down to find the Marauders standing over the bodies of dozens of Morlocks they've killed--and about to finish off superhero Angel. Thor is righteously angry about the massacre, and he shows the full span of his powers in fighting off the killers, even as a curse from Hela leaves him vulnerable to harm. It's a solid story, with both angry oaths ("They will learn that evil walks in the same shadows as the good! Come, bold assassins! You shall find the Son of Odin waiting for you in the dark.") and a touching ending, as Thor uses the mystic flames of Mjolnir to clear the sewer of the tragedy.
It's good stuff, highlighting Thor's role as a warrior hero. Even these stories are a bit more fragmented than the tales earlier in the, they highlight why Walt Simonson deserves to be called a visionary.
Read digital issues.
March 26, 2018
This series of trades has quickly become my favorite Marvel offering of the last few years. Vol. 4 collects the 4-issue Balder the Brave miniseries, and Thor #371-374 (NOT 371-373, as claimed by the back cover AND indicia).
Balder battles the Frost Giants, and Thor returns to Midgard after failing to find his father Odin in Hel (in vol. 3). Walt understands mythology so well, and uses it so effectively. Characters are bound by duty and their role in the grand tapestry, which often puts them at cross-purposes with what they truly want. Balder wants to stay with Karnilla, the Norn Queen, but duty to Thor and Asgard pulls him away (only to have tragedy befall the Norn Kingdom), and after returning and defeating the Giants, his duty once again takes him away from his heart.
Thor, who doesn't appear at all in the Balder series, is forced to balance a need to move on with his desire to find out the fate of Odin. Walt has Thor and a Judge Dredd-pastiche, Justice Peace, battle a probably-forgotten Thor foe (Zaniac, and gangster Thug Thatcher), before he spends an evening with the children of his former foreman (in his barely used Sigard Jarlson civilian ID), who give him back perspective. Gods finding themselves in the lives of mortals is a motif Walt's used again, in Orion when Orion is helped in Metropolis by a homeless veteran and a street-wise teenage girl. Different twists each time, but no less effective either time.
Then he gets drawn into the Mutant Massacre storyline, though Walt just tells it from Thor's perspective, and he just leaves X-Factor after saving Angel, so you really don't need to understand the big picture. Thor happened onto the scene when the Marauders are about to kill another hero (Angel), Thor saves him, reunites him with his allies, and then departs on his own adventure.
Great art from Buscema. His brother usually gets more love, but I've always preferred Sal's blocky, explosive artwork. He's dynamic, solid at character acting, and a terrific storyteller.
And points for the return of Puddlegulp, the frog!!
Balder battles the Frost Giants, and Thor returns to Midgard after failing to find his father Odin in Hel (in vol. 3). Walt understands mythology so well, and uses it so effectively. Characters are bound by duty and their role in the grand tapestry, which often puts them at cross-purposes with what they truly want. Balder wants to stay with Karnilla, the Norn Queen, but duty to Thor and Asgard pulls him away (only to have tragedy befall the Norn Kingdom), and after returning and defeating the Giants, his duty once again takes him away from his heart.
Thor, who doesn't appear at all in the Balder series, is forced to balance a need to move on with his desire to find out the fate of Odin. Walt has Thor and a Judge Dredd-pastiche, Justice Peace, battle a probably-forgotten Thor foe (Zaniac, and gangster Thug Thatcher), before he spends an evening with the children of his former foreman (in his barely used Sigard Jarlson civilian ID), who give him back perspective. Gods finding themselves in the lives of mortals is a motif Walt's used again, in Orion when Orion is helped in Metropolis by a homeless veteran and a street-wise teenage girl. Different twists each time, but no less effective either time.
Then he gets drawn into the Mutant Massacre storyline, though Walt just tells it from Thor's perspective, and he just leaves X-Factor after saving Angel, so you really don't need to understand the big picture. Thor happened onto the scene when the Marauders are about to kill another hero (Angel), Thor saves him, reunites him with his allies, and then departs on his own adventure.
Great art from Buscema. His brother usually gets more love, but I've always preferred Sal's blocky, explosive artwork. He's dynamic, solid at character acting, and a terrific storyteller.
And points for the return of Puddlegulp, the frog!!
April 24, 2016
This fourth volume of Walter Simonson's legendary run on The Mighty Thor collects issues # 371-374 as well as the Balder the Brave mini series (# 1-4). All of the issues, including the mini, are illustrated by Sal Buscema and, perhaps needless to say, the artwork is a beauty.
Other than that, I would have to say that the mini is the real gem in the collection and showcases the strengths of the creative team extremely well. This is not to say that the Thor issues aren't worthwhile. The two parter involving Thug Thatcher, Zaniac and Peace is very entertaining, but also somewhat... mundane, compared to Simonson's Thor stories in general. The concluding tw parter was part of the big X-title crossover at the time, "The Mutant Massacre", and has Thor battling the Marauders to save the life of the X-Factor member Angel. The downside here would be that the emphasis slides somewhat off Thor, but on the upside, it is in these same issues that the story of Hela's revenge scheme begins.
All in all, a solid fourth volume, but by all means start with the first one if you have not already read it.
Other than that, I would have to say that the mini is the real gem in the collection and showcases the strengths of the creative team extremely well. This is not to say that the Thor issues aren't worthwhile. The two parter involving Thug Thatcher, Zaniac and Peace is very entertaining, but also somewhat... mundane, compared to Simonson's Thor stories in general. The concluding tw parter was part of the big X-title crossover at the time, "The Mutant Massacre", and has Thor battling the Marauders to save the life of the X-Factor member Angel. The downside here would be that the emphasis slides somewhat off Thor, but on the upside, it is in these same issues that the story of Hela's revenge scheme begins.
All in all, a solid fourth volume, but by all means start with the first one if you have not already read it.
July 16, 2013
Volume 4 is a split, half being Thor books, the other half being the 4-issue Balder the Brave miniseries. I have to say I really enjoyed the Balder mini, which takes place concurrently with the events in Volume 3. Balder is a great character on so many levels, and a nice counterpart to Thor, with the 2 obviously really loving and respecting each other, plus we know Balder is still around in the 2010s as well. The Thor stories in this one focus on Thor on Midgard, as the Asgardian problems have been dealt with...for the moment. I found these stories interesting but not quite as fun as the Asgard stories of Vols 2-3. This is also the appearance of Sigurd Jarlson, Thor's not Donald Blake human cover. A decent story, but not essential. What was cool was Thor crossing over with the X-Factor (the original X-Men - Cyclops, Jean, Angel) and helping them against the Marauders. Definitely some classic stuff, but the run covering Vol 2-3 is one of the great runs a character has ever had in that time of the early-mid 80s. Strongly recommended to read, I would like to find Vol 1 and then 5 and onwards, even if it's not Simonson, just to see what the difference is like.
January 20, 2011
Simonson's run on Thor is one of the best, but I kind of lost interest after he stopped doing the art. Not that the art was bad, it was quite nice, but it was distracting and took me out of the story, as I got used to it.
The stories focused a lot on the Asgard and it seemed Thor was making only token visits to Earth, mostly to appear in some big crossover or take part in an Avengers story.
So, while I'm generally a bigger fan of Thor on Earth, those stories felt a bit weaker and more like thing Simonson had to do and then fit them around the big fantasy stories he was doing, set in Asgard.
Plus, Thor, who never had the strongest, Earth-based supporting cast and in these stories seems to have none.
Did enjoy that they included the 'Balder the Brave' mini-series, as that was a nice bit of fantasy that got ignored when it originally came out.
The stories focused a lot on the Asgard and it seemed Thor was making only token visits to Earth, mostly to appear in some big crossover or take part in an Avengers story.
So, while I'm generally a bigger fan of Thor on Earth, those stories felt a bit weaker and more like thing Simonson had to do and then fit them around the big fantasy stories he was doing, set in Asgard.
Plus, Thor, who never had the strongest, Earth-based supporting cast and in these stories seems to have none.
Did enjoy that they included the 'Balder the Brave' mini-series, as that was a nice bit of fantasy that got ignored when it originally came out.
August 1, 2019
This volume collects the "Balder the Brave" miniseries and has Thor return to Earth for some shenanigans involving rashly thought out time travel and a meeting with X-Factor. The smaller scale of stories makes sense after the previous epics and Sal Buscema ably takes over the art chores though his style is quite different from Simonson's.
December 28, 2022
Baldur's rise to power. Thor faces many tragedies.
July 18, 2014
Rather than focus on each individual volume, I've realized that I'm reading Simonson's arc as just that - an arc, and this volume solidly contributes to the overall story. There are issues that advance the plot of Thor's "quest" (I don't want to spoil things if you've not read this far), but also feature the adventures of Balder and the schemes of Loki, which are, in my opinion, absolutely delightful in an "I'm an evil god of mischief" sort of way.
The bottom line: Thor is a frog. Who goes into battle against the rats of New York. He is a battle frog.
If that alone isn't worth the read, I don't know what is.
The bottom line: Thor is a frog. Who goes into battle against the rats of New York. He is a battle frog.
If that alone isn't worth the read, I don't know what is.
July 19, 2011
Probably the weakest of the volumes. It contains the Balder of the Brave mini-series, which is entertaining, and a few throw away Thor stories, two issues of which are part of a big X-Men crossover. Nevertheless, things happen in this book which set up the story in the last volume.
August 19, 2013
Thor helps Midgard and Balder goes on a quest. There's some really sweet character moments here. The highlight of this book for me was discovering what Thor was doing in the aftermath of the mutant massacre. A good read.
November 6, 2017
Marred only the lack of Simonson art, this volume continues the visionary re-imaging of one of Marvel's founding characters.
August 17, 2015
#373-374
mutant masacre
mutant masacre
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March 23, 2018I forgot about this Judge Dredd parody figure who shows up here, ranting about the Hammurabaic Code of Genetic Law and the NSC Interregnum of 1997, but he's a half bucket of fun, I think. I liked him fine enough for what he was. Oh, and Thor's hammer can put infants to sleep now? Geeze Louise, Thor's hammer, it does it all! Plus, Simonson ends an issue with an extended Edgar Allan Poe quotation and if there's one thing I know from reading lots and lots of John Ostrander Spectre comics at an earlier and somewhat formative age it's that I like it when comics end and/or begin with extended literary quotations!
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