World Famous Comics: Thor Visionaries - Walter Simonson, Vol. 4
Thor Visionaries - Walter Simonson, Vol. 4
By: Walter Simonson Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: September 19, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult
Simonson's excellent Thor vision, volume 4 Walt Simonson's famous Thor run is currently collected in 5 trade paperbacks; he writes & draws the 1st three, and then mostly just writes the last two. My favorite volumes are 2 & 3, but the entire run is exceptionally well done.
Highlights here for me... *Balder's colorful costume- Designed by Simonson himself, it's outfits like this that help make his Thor run as famous as it is. *Balder the Brave issues 1 to 4- Adds depth to the character, and enhances understanding of Asgard in general. *Issues 371 to 374- Feature colorful characters like Justice Peace, Zaniac, Hela, the Marauders, and X-Factor.
Starting with this 4th volume, the Thor Visionaries Walter Simonson series gets a newer, cheaper but still decent grade of paper, and the pencils are all by Sal Buscema except most of the artwork on the individual issue covers. Despite what the back cover currently states, Thor issues 371 to 374 are included. This is easily the weakest volume in Simonson's run, and Marvel's list price is a bit too high.
Included in this volume: *Balder the Brave #1 to #4- Walt Simonson writes; Sal Buscema pencils & inks *Issues #371 & #372- Walt Simonson writes; Sal Buscema pencils; Blevinson inks *Issues #373 & #374- Walt Simonson writes; Sal Buscema pencils & inks
P.S. Great news for Thor fans: Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson Volume 1 TPB (New Printing) is being re-released, with high-quality color reconstruction & better paper. It's set to be released this next year! It'd be nice to see the cover of Thor 337 or 338 as that TPB's cover.
A Great Book For Thor Fans! I'm glad they included "Balder The Brave" with this. Walt Simonson really took the Thor line to phenominal levels! He's the reason I got so hooked on Thor!
Disappointing collection Writer/artist Walter Simonson's visionary run on The Mighty Thor is one of the all time great defining depictions of a super hero in all of comic history, but you'd never know it with what you get in this collection. The fourth volume of Thor Visionaries collects the Balder the Brave mini-series as well as four issues from Simonson's run on the main Thor title, but sadly, nothing of either is all that great. There's a few hints at things that would come to pass (the Mutant Massacre for one), but there's nothing here that really displays what made Simonson's run on Thor so good to begin with. Sal Buscema's artwork is still great though, so the collection as a whole isn't a total loss. It should also be worth noting that, as the first reviewer has already mentioned, this fourth collection is the shortest yet in the Thor Visionaries series. Collecting only eight total comics, Marvel's list price still remains the same as it has for the previous collections, which have featured 10 to 12 total comics. All in all, unless your a die hard Thor fan, this collection can be passed up.
With a wave of Marvel's hand, the pages DISAPPEAR! No doubt about it - Walt Simonson made a mark on Thor that was second only to Stan & Jack, and it was a close second, at that; however, THOR VISIONARIES: WALTER SIMONSON VOLUME 4 is less than impressive. First off, this is the thinnest Thor Visionaries yet. We've gone from 12 issues with Volume 1 (288 pages), to 10 issues in both Volumes 2 and 3 (~240 pages each), to 8 issues with Volume 4 (190 pages), and the price is always twenty-five bucks! Anyone beginning to feel cheated? Furthermore, the stories collected in this volume are pretty slight - not much happens, and what does happen is fairly inconsequential. It collects the 4-issue miniseries Balder the Brave and only 4 actual comics from the Thor series. In short, Balder learns that Odin is dead and leaves Karnilla, Queen of the Norns, for Asgard; Thor battles a Judge Dredd look-alike from the Time Variance Authority (also featured in Simonson's FF run) who is in search of the Zaniac; and then Thor stumbles into the middle of the Mutant Massacre, Marvel's big multi-title crossover of 1986. The key event in this volume takes up a very small part - a curse on Thor from Hela, whose realm the Asgardians invaded in a previous collection. She holds a grudge and decides to punish Thor for his impudence... and trust me, he'll pay the price. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until Volume 5 to read that story.
Sal Buscema's art looks great in these stories. I'm normally lukewarm towards his art in general, but with the right inker, it's very sturdy... sketchier than Simonson's pencils, but a worthy successor. In fact, Buscema's art is what saves this overpriced collection from a 2-star rating. The book doesn't do anything for me otherwise.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
