World Famous Comics: Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Thor, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials)
By: Stan Lee Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 616 Publication Date: October 18, 2006 Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Marvel Comics
Product Description: Trolls, giants, aliens and clowns await in the third thunderous anthology of Thor! The Mighty One faces a god of death, a living planet, Ragnarok itself and... a jail term!? Kang the Conqueror, the Super-Skrull and more! Featuring the first appearance of the scintillating Sif! Plus: the origin of that perennial perilous party crasher, the Wrecker! Guest-starring Adam Warlock and Galactus! Collects Thor #137-166.
Thor Essentials ^ Product arrived in excellent condition. I was very impressed how prompt the delivery was handled. Keep up the wonderful service.
Kirby at his best ^ Jack Kirby is called 'The King Of Comics' and for good reason and if these issues don't blow you away nothing will. Kirby goes wild and churns up magical and mystical places that are breathtaking. He is inked mostly by Vince Coletta who butchered Kirby in the Fantastic Four but seems to have learned his lesson and has left well enough alone and inked Kirby without altering it. I still say Joe Sinnott is far superior and it would have been a delight to see his work here but nevertheless, it stills stands out.
Lee's writing is still witty but he seems to have found the flavor of Thor that was lacking in previous issues with King James type English and foes worthy of a Thunder God. This is probably the dynamic duo at their best for in Fantastic Four, Kirby was limited to machinery but here his imagination is allowed to explode on the page and it does with large breathtaking panels and expressive battle scenes that look better than most Hollywood action films.
I miss Jack Kirby greatly for there has never been an artist since that has captured the panel like Kirby. He gets complaints over his facial renditions (they all look the same) and his altering of costumes and looks at his whim but let's face it -- nobody worked harder than Jack Kirby -- nobody and there will never be an artist like him again.
To Slightly Paraphrase Ron Burgundy: Buy the Hammer of Thor! ^ This collection of Asgard's mightiest is well up to standards of the Marvel Essentials series!
The best of the Thor Essential volumes released so far ^ Volume 3 is the best of the Thor Essentials released so far. The Stan Lee writing/Jack Kirby artwork for Thor had matured and was at its peak by volume 3. The villains were more entertaining too. Thor companions Balder and Sif have a much larger role in these stories.
The B&W reproductions of the pages is generally very good, with a few exceptions.
Lorenzo, Milan Italy ^ It is always wonderful to see Thor in action... so many memories!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
