Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 1 - The Vengeance Of Loki

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Marvel Various (Writer)

Collects Material from Journey into Mystery (1952) 83-100

Genres: Graphic Novels

280 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2021

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

[Hew La France · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not going to lie... would have loved to have seen THIS Thor in the MCU: gimp-legged Dr Don Blake strikes his gnarled, wooden cane thrice on the ground and becomes THE MIGHTY THOR!!!!

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silver Age comics are great.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Silver and Golden Age comics is really a window into the past more than anything else. These 1960s tales of Thor are quite different than the Thor we’ve come to know in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most notably as it relates to Thor’s human alter-ego, Dr. Don Blake (in the films, Thor has no alter-ego; he’s just Thor). Prominent series character Jane Foster works as a nurse in the office of Dr. Blake, constantly marveling at how the god of Thor can be so brave in saving the city when Dr. Blake, who is differently-abled in modern parlance and uses a cane (the comics repeatedly refer to him as “lame” among other outdated terms), lacks the ability to save her from perilous circumstances. Thor’s brother Loki and father Odin also figure prominently, along with a slew of fun villains. The attitudes toward non-white people in these books — as with many comics of the day — are “of their time,” to put it kindly. Same can be said of the comics’ attitudes toward gender (for example, I’m paraphrasing: “Because she’s a woman, of course she faints,” reads one caption). But if you’re someone who can eschew their modern eye and view comics for the portrait of their time that they are, this is a fascinating volume with some fun plots that makes for an enjoyable read. JFK even makes a tiny cameo — for one single panel!

Also, I love this digest format for the Mighty Marvel Masterworks, which make it practical to read classic Marvel stories on the go for a reasonable price.

One small criticism: the covers of each issue are usually printed with a dark black border, the ink from which bleeds onto the borders of the page across from it, making the opposite page look messy. This seems an unnecessary aspect that I hope Marvel will fix in future printings or installments of this series. Just use a white border! Certainly doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of these books.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'VE BEEN BITTEN BY A RADIOACTIVE COBRA??!!"
- The Cobra, upon realizing that he was about to become the lamest villain ever... or just die.

I've been suffering through these silver-age Mighty Marvel Masterworks. Spider-man and Fantastic Four were really good. But X-Men, Hulk, and now Thor are some corn tortillas.
For example: Thor ties a column of chinese tanks to his hammer and then throws it toward an Indian base... so the Indian army can then use the Chinese tanks against the Chinese.
Later, he tosses the Radioactive Man at China, who then explodes like an atomic bomb.
Then there's the Cobra, who is just lame. He's almost as ridiculous a villain as the Orb (whose entire head is an eyeball).
Also, hammer tapping. His entire power set is dependent upon his ability to tap the hammer on the ground a certain number of times. AND, if Thor loses physical contact with it for sixty seconds, he reverts to his human form.
My... Brain... Hurts!
However... the Tales of Asgard side stories are EXCELLENT!!!
The Mr. Hyde two-parter, at the very end, was pretty good as well.
Yeah, it's a slog for 95% of the book. Corny. Chauvinistic at times. But it gets better. So, f@#$ it! Two-and-a-half stars!

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reprint of the very first Thor stories in Journey Into Mystery in 1962-63 is a real mixed bag. On one hand you have a few great early Jack Kirby-drawn issues, but Stan Lee quickly dumped scripting of this to other writers, including his brother, Larry Lieber and Joe Sinnott and Don Heck pencil the bulk of the stories in this volume. Kirby and Lee come back for Tales of Asgard, which really shows how much in tune the King was with that kind of material, doing his own Hal Foster-like take on the earliest short 5-page stories (no dialogue, only captions). Thor is hampered by the 60-second rule with his hammer (he has to continue to touch it), has different amounts of hammer strikes for various outcomes (2 for a storm), and is so wimpy in his love for nurse Jane Foster that it sometimes seems like a sad Marvel romance title. Thor would get much better once Kirby took over the art full-time, and the King's imagination took flight and removed Thor from the earthbound BS of burglars and mad scientists, but that doesn't start until Volume 2 of this series. Meanwhile, check out that snazzy Michael Cho cover, new to this edition!

[Craig Lotter · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the early Silver Age of Comics iteration 0f Thor from Lee and Kirby (and Sinnott and Heck), and these are the tales that introduced Thor, Asgard, and the Norse pantheon through the pages of Journey into Mystery. These are 12 page villain of the week stories that hark back to a simpler time, stricter censorship rules, and even sillier stories. It's a product of its age, and so if you are of a certain age then certainly these tales will come with a sense of nostalgia, but for most readers you really aren't missing out on anything by skipping these Mighty Marvel Masterworks books.

[Lee Bright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a long time to get through this one but it was wonderful to finally read the very first Thor comics. Stan Lee was on fire during these early days, so much creative output. I am very much looking forward to volume 2.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to start reading Thor, do not start here. This f#!?ing sucks. I barely made it through without shooting myself.