World Famous Comics: Essential Thor, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Thor, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
By: Stan Lee Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 536 Publication Date: August 10, 2005
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Product Description: Relive meek Dr. Donald Blake's transformation into the legendary God of Thunder in this collection of the Mighty Thor's earliest classic adventures! With his mystical hammer Mjolnir at his side, Thor sets out to bring justice to Earth. Collects Journey Into Mystery #83-112.
'' Thuner God'' great artwork and story telling. If one does not own the original comics this is one way to collect the issues you don't have. Stan Lee and Jack Kirbydid a great job on Thor!!!
Thor rivals Lee/Kirby's FF Whenever the greatness of Lee/Kirby collaborations are discussed, their amazing Fantastic Four run is at the top of everyone's list. After finishing Essential Thor vol. 2 I think their Thor comics deserve a seat at that same Silver Age table of greatness. In this volume you get the debut of Hercules and his rivalry/friendship with the Son of Odin. Along with Hercules come the Greek gods and the villainous Pluto. Ego the Living Planet threatens the universe. In the back up stories, Tales of Asgard, we see the Warriors Three (Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg) join Thor at center stage to battle Fafnir the dragon, fend off Ragnorok and of course deal with Thor's evil brother, Loki. Highly recommended.
Must... finish... book... ESSENTIAL THOR VOLUME 1 is a very affordable way to get acquainted with The Mighty Thor. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a struggle for me to finish it. Collecting Journey Into Mystery # 83 - 112, it features the earliest appearances of Marvel Comics' god of thunder. While Marvel gets credit for reinvigorating the comic industry's Silver Age with excellent titles like Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, Thor was an awkward entry in their line-up of titles. His early appearances in JIM are written more like the dull, formulaic stories that were appearing from DC at the time, where the hero jumps from issue to issue taking on the threat of the month (be it aliens, gangsters, "Reds", or an amazingly uninspired supervillain), with no real focus on a continuing storyline or character development. Writer Stan Lee does the reader a favor by introducing Thor's father, Odin, and half-brother, Loki, and finally steps things up with the addition of "Tales of Asgard", a regular back-up feature that fleshed out the history of Thor, familiarizing the reader with the Norse myths from which he is derived. These are excellent stories that introduce additional mythological characters such as Heimdall, Hela, and Surtur. Tales of Asgard begins to eclipse the regular Thor feature, to the point that more Asgardians, such as Balder, the Enchantress, and the Executioner, eventually are incorporated into the regular stories, to great effect. Unfortunately, with so much potential in these early issues, we still don't learn the answers to the big questions of Thor's origin, such as why the enchanted hammer Mjolnir was disguised as a cane and hidden in a cave, or why Dr. Donald Blake should be considered worthy to wield the power of a god. In addition, you'll have to put up with some of Stan Lee's signature hand-wringing romantic melodrama between Blake and his nurse, Jane Foster. Oh well, nobody said this was going to be easy.
The art quality is all over the place. Jack Kirby provides action-packed pencils for the majority of the stories, but his work is often marred by inept inkers, to the point that it doesn't even remotely resemble his style. But once Chic Stone comes on board, all is right with the world of Thor. This volume is worth the hassle, just to get to the next volume of stories, where the series really kicks into high-gear. You'll be glad you tried it!
good stories i really bought this volume along with the 1st volumes of capt america, hulk and iron man to lead up to the avengers vol 1.
it is great reading these old stories. i LOVE all the cheesy goodness of some of the old plot points. things such as tech are often at times hilrious even though they are not intentional.
buy this book along with the other 1st volumes to enjoy avengers that much more. i am REALLY exctied about all the avenger movies comin out now. i sure wish i could flash forward to 2012 when all the movies are able to own on dvd/blu ray/magic boxes that beem the movies right into your brain in super extreme 3d HD!!!
A Super Read! This assortment of Thor's earliest adventures is a great showcase of one of Marvel's greatest heroes!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
