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Thor (1998) (New Editions) #2
Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr. Volume 2
When Perrikus and the Dark Gods of Narcisson take over Asgard, it's up to Thor to save the day - along with unlikely allies in Hercules and the indestructible Destroyer Plus: The thunder god juggles his new mortal life as Jake Olson with his heroic responsibilities, and faces a deadly battle against Doctor Doom And who is Marnot? Guest-starring Jane Foster and the Fantastic Four Collects Thor (1998) #9-13 and Thor Annual 1999.
184 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2010
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75 people want to read
About the author
Dan Jurgens
2,240 books285 followersDan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 3, 2018
Lots of good ole Thor action. Just need to ditch the Jake Olson thing. Not really a secret id for Thor. Looking forward to more Thor adventures.
October 20, 2020
THOR (1998): VOLUME 2
Issues #9 - #13
The main Dark Gods and Destruction of Asgard arc finally arrives at an epic conclusion (✅), tying any loose ends together. The battle feels like a high-stakes showdown (✅), with Jake Olsen coming in to play and Thor's hammer failing him one last time. This makes Thor for once secondary to his opponent (✅). There is a darker, grittier atmosphere, as Jake Olsen has to face the wrath of the Dark Gods (✅). It works fairly well. #13 wraps the arc up nicely (✅) and sets up things to come.
The Dark Gods remain just as bland, forgettable and characterless as back when they were introduced in Volume 1 (❌). The battle against the Dark Gods feels like a theatrical battle of Shakespearean soliloquies rather than more tightly packed action-filled battles (❌). The three issues that focus on the battle are more about page-filling epicness than any actual content (❌). I had hoped that the Jake Olson thing would be over, but alas, we are stuck with him for a while (❌). At least it seems to pick up tension in the next volume.
Issues #9 - #13
The main Dark Gods and Destruction of Asgard arc finally arrives at an epic conclusion (✅), tying any loose ends together. The battle feels like a high-stakes showdown (✅), with Jake Olsen coming in to play and Thor's hammer failing him one last time. This makes Thor for once secondary to his opponent (✅). There is a darker, grittier atmosphere, as Jake Olsen has to face the wrath of the Dark Gods (✅). It works fairly well. #13 wraps the arc up nicely (✅) and sets up things to come.
The Dark Gods remain just as bland, forgettable and characterless as back when they were introduced in Volume 1 (❌). The battle against the Dark Gods feels like a theatrical battle of Shakespearean soliloquies rather than more tightly packed action-filled battles (❌). The three issues that focus on the battle are more about page-filling epicness than any actual content (❌). I had hoped that the Jake Olson thing would be over, but alas, we are stuck with him for a while (❌). At least it seems to pick up tension in the next volume.
July 7, 2022
Reprints Thor (2) #9-13 and Annual ’99 (March 1999-July 1999). As Thor discovers Asgard has been ransacked by the Dark Gods, the truth about his bonding to Jake and Marnot’s secret plans will be revealed. The battle to save Asgard, Odin, and the other gods could prove fatal, but Thor must prevail or the world could fall. Plus, Thor reveals to Reed Richards why he took so long to return to Earth after the collapse of the pocket-universe.
Written by Dan Jurgens, Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 1, the series features art by primarily by John Romita Jr. but with back-up art by John Buscema and Dan Jurgens. Issues in this collection were also included in Thor: Heroes Return Omnibus—Volume 1 and Heroes Reborn: The Return Omnibus.
The Heroes Reborn relaunch managed to do something that hadn’t been done for me before…it made me interested in Thor. Reading the first story arc (which ended here) off the shelf, I actually looked forward to Thor and what was happening month to month. While it is problematic at points, Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 represents some of the better Thor storytelling.
The volume wraps up both the Dark Gods and the secret of Marnot. Rereading it, it feels a bit clunky, but it has some fun twists and turns. Most of the Heroes Return storylines were worked into more of a streamlined big story, and Thor (though it started later) was no exception. The build up to Thor #12 was solid and it did pay off. Smartly, Jurgens keeps some secondary stories running (including the more interesting storyline about Jake’s past before becoming Thor).
The stand-alone story in the collection is Thor Annual 1999 (though it does play a part in a later story). This is a story of obligation. The Heroes Return storyline served as the launch pad for new Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, and Avengers titles…but Thor didn’t show up until later. In Thor Annual 1999, Thor explains why he was so late to the party and what happened after the events of Heroes Return. It is a so-so story, but it is a necessary one.
Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 is where I dropped regularly collecting the series. It wasn’t so much that I was disliking it, but it was a point at which I could sever the ties with the least amount of damage. Likewise, if you are reading the collections, you could stop with this volume…but there are a lot more mysteries to be unwrapped. Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 was followed by Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 3.
Written by Dan Jurgens, Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 1, the series features art by primarily by John Romita Jr. but with back-up art by John Buscema and Dan Jurgens. Issues in this collection were also included in Thor: Heroes Return Omnibus—Volume 1 and Heroes Reborn: The Return Omnibus.
The Heroes Reborn relaunch managed to do something that hadn’t been done for me before…it made me interested in Thor. Reading the first story arc (which ended here) off the shelf, I actually looked forward to Thor and what was happening month to month. While it is problematic at points, Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 represents some of the better Thor storytelling.
The volume wraps up both the Dark Gods and the secret of Marnot. Rereading it, it feels a bit clunky, but it has some fun twists and turns. Most of the Heroes Return storylines were worked into more of a streamlined big story, and Thor (though it started later) was no exception. The build up to Thor #12 was solid and it did pay off. Smartly, Jurgens keeps some secondary stories running (including the more interesting storyline about Jake’s past before becoming Thor).
The stand-alone story in the collection is Thor Annual 1999 (though it does play a part in a later story). This is a story of obligation. The Heroes Return storyline served as the launch pad for new Fantastic Four, Captain America, Iron Man, and Avengers titles…but Thor didn’t show up until later. In Thor Annual 1999, Thor explains why he was so late to the party and what happened after the events of Heroes Return. It is a so-so story, but it is a necessary one.
Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 is where I dropped regularly collecting the series. It wasn’t so much that I was disliking it, but it was a point at which I could sever the ties with the least amount of damage. Likewise, if you are reading the collections, you could stop with this volume…but there are a lot more mysteries to be unwrapped. Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 2 was followed by Thor by Dan Jurgens & John Romita Jr.—Volume 3.
September 4, 2020
Extremely derivative of the Dr. Blake arc of the 60s, clunky writing with lots of a) exposition and b) cheesy dialogue, and too many actions scenes with very little substance to them that also felt repetitive. We knew Thor was going to vanquish the Dark Gods even before the conflict started, so no stakes whatsoever, if only because Jurgens was invested in the Olson storyline and he wasn't finished with that yet. And that without going into the actual disgrace that is the Annual, which couldn't be saved despite my soft spot for Doom. I couldn't wait to be done with it this volume. In fact, I'm skipping ahead a couple of years worth of issues to get to the Death of Odin because it was momentous for Thor and for this Marvel universe, but this whole run is really bad. The best elements of it have been taken by the MCU and made into something interesting (bless Taika Waititi), so just watch the films instead. The art is solid, though.
July 3, 2022
This was o.k. The art was good, but Jurgens' writing was not as good as the work I read by him on Superman stuff. Thor just seems too wooden and too uninteresting to make this really good.
November 19, 2023
Thor vs ‘70s Kirby (New Gods, Forever People, The Demon …) wraps up surprisingly quickly but it was a fun ride.
August 17, 2025
Finishes Jurgens Dark Gods story.
Best compliment is it does remind the reader of the Kirby days. Those are good days.
Best compliment is it does remind the reader of the Kirby days. Those are good days.
January 18, 2014
The Dark Gods (8-13). The finale to this initial plot line isn't quite as strong as the setup, because there's a lot more fighting. Still, this has some interesting scenes with Olsen and it nicely draws together most of the plot elements from the first 12 issues of the comic. The coda in #13 also offers interesting directions forward [6+/10].
Heroes Reborn Annual. The less remembered about Heroes Reborn the better! Nonetheless, this is a good story of Thor and love lost, despite the Heroes Reborn tie-in [7/10].
Heroes Reborn Annual. The less remembered about Heroes Reborn the better! Nonetheless, this is a good story of Thor and love lost, despite the Heroes Reborn tie-in [7/10].
July 15, 2011
The Jurgens/Romita era of Thor kicks into high gear with a great story arc that reveals secrets of Asgaard's hidden past, culminating in a battle to decide the fate of that eternal realm. I consider the Thor mythos to be at its strongest when it is focused on cosmic rather than earthly events, and this book does not disappoint in that regard.
March 28, 2015
This run has been a disappointment to me so far. The stories have been average and JRJr's run so far was not his best work. However this was slightly better, seeing thor fight for his home was enjoyable. Slightly is however the key word the story was shallow and had no depth and the writting seemed rushed.
October 30, 2013
Asgard is overrun by dark gods. Only Thor can save it. An ok but predictable story. The best bit was the short story where Thor is put against Doom, that has some fun to it. Particularly the twist at the end that shows the nobility of Doom. A good read.
January 29, 2017
Another rating: 6/10
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews