Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor, Vol. 5

Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #5

by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Written by STAN LEE Penciled by JACK KIRBY Cover by JACK KIRBY We've been ordered from on high, True Believers, and Marvel doesn't say "Nay" to our ol' buddy Odin! That's right, it's time for another captivating Masterworks collection of the one and only Mighty Thor! A masterpiece of immortal action, cosmic scope, and boundless drama, Stan and Jack's Thor collaborations mark a cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, and that's no small accomplishment coming from the imaginations of the most celebrated creators in comics! And boy, oh boy, bunky, do they knock it up a notch, a cosmic notch, with the tales we'll be bringing you here! It all begins when the Thunder God is captured by Rigellian colonizers and taken on a trip to the Black Galaxy to confront the one and only Ego, the Living Planet! It's non-stop action, action, action from there as he journeys to Wundagore Mountain to meet the matchless High Evolutionary and his menagerie of man-beasts! It all wraps up with a trio of titanic tussles between Odin's Son and Ulik the Troll, the Growing Man, and the Destroyer! There's a soft spot to these tales too, so don't forget your hanky as Thor struggles to reconcile his love for the mortal Jane Foster, and then there's the return of a certain Lady Sif...The cup runneth over with drama and delight! Collecting THOR (Vol. 1) #131-140 & ANNUAL #2. 256 PGS./All Ages

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 29, 2006

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

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirby at full bombast.

The explosion of his creativity in the mid-60s to early 70s, coupled with the height of his art in that same period, are otherworldly. Yes characters and ideas are shedding from him like Lee’s hair, but he’s revolutionizing storytelling simultaneously. Between his FF and Mighty, is there a greater creative period in the medium?

Finally jettisoning Jane Foster allows the book to be unshackled from one of its worst bits.

First appearances:

The Colonizers
Ego
The Recorder
The High Evolutionary
The Man-Beast (who will play Satan to Adam Warlock’s Jesus…)
Sif (technically not her 1st, but…)
Ulik
The Growing Man

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee and Kirby here and on Fantastic Four remind me a lot of Chris Claremont a decade later, constantly weaving in plotlines, seeding the next adventure and building to new crescendos of excitement — though otherwise their styles are different. Here we have the introduction of the Colonizers, Ego the Living Planet, the High Evolutionary, Sif and the departure of Jane Foster. The latter is a weaker moment as it comes off like Odin mind-controlled her into falling for another guy. Overall though, epic and memorable.

[Eric David Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirby Unleashed. Thor's alter ego, Don Blake, barely appears as the comic goeas all-out Cosmic. Kirby's inventiveness leaps off the pages, the artist abandoning the 9-panel format and using bigger frames. Widescreen and epic.

[Mhorg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mighty Thor!

Thor returns to Asgard!
The beautiful Sif first appears!
Ulik, the mightiest of trolls leads his people in war!
Asgard faces is direst foes!
The most exciting volume of Thor, yet!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exclesior!

Excelsior! Yet another famed, fascinating journey with our now famous hero, Thor Odinson of Asgard. We meet Ego. Kang the Conqueror stops by. Loki is imprisoned. Voila!

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I've already read these adventures in another collection.

[Robert Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories, originally published in 1966-1967, showcase the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby team at the height of its glory. Within these pages are re-presented the first appearances of Ego the Living Planet, the High Evolutionary, Fafnir the dragon and Ulik the troll. We also see Thor's original love interest, Jane Foster, written out of the series and replaced by the Asgardian warrior woman Sif.

Some of these tales could seem hokey in lesser hands, but with Lee and Kirby at the helm, it's all grand, epic and lotsa fun. Stan Lee even makes the Shakespearean dialogue work. In my mind, Lee and Kirby's Thor is just as good as their Fantastic Four, and this volume is a must for any Silver Age Marvel fan.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I added a star because it made me laugh so hard. Plot development is pretty lacking but I'm about 1000% sure that's not what people were reading this for in the 60s (or now, for that matter). But I can definitely see why little boys would enjoy this because it's filled with a quippy, swaggering fun and battles a plenty. Mind you, all the villains have already blurred into a bland horde in my mind, so don't expect me to remember any of this next week... (ok, tomorrow).

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thor starts adventuring in space, and Asgard faces its first battle in the comics. This is quite an important book in Thor mythology, the lady Sif is introduced and she tries to win Thor's heart. The Jane Foster storyline is finally sorted out, and lots of action happens in Asgard. A good read, still very action based but bits of character do sneak in.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Marvel Masterworks volumes are fantastic reprints of the early years of Marvel comics. A fantastic resource to allow these hard to find issues to be read by everyone. Very recommended to everyone and Highly recommended to any comic fan.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of eleven Thor comics is better than some of the earlier stuff, but it's sad how it felt like the writers were trying to get Jane Foster out of the way so that Thor could have a romance with Sif.