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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #358196 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 616 pages

Customer Reviews

The Apotheosis of Jack Kirby
Is Thor a superhero? Clearly he was originally. Like Daredevil and Iron Man, he had superpowers, a secret identity, a perpetually thwarted love for his secretary, and a career devoted to fighting crime. The first two volumes of the Essential Thor series show him in full superhero mode, and very good they are too; but there was always something else in Thor, something the other superheroes didn't have. His identity as Thor, God of Thunder, wasn't just an alias he invented for his crime-fighting activities the way Peter Parker invented Spider-Man; it was a pre-existing mystic identity, stretching back over ages, with its own history, allies, enemies, and allegiances. In volume 2 of the Essential Thor, you can see the two sides pulling increasingly apart, with the Tales of Asgard mini-feature showing us more and more of the life of Thor, immortal warrior-god, in the days before he became Thor, foiler of bank robbers and alias of Dr Don Blake. And in this volume, they come apart entirely; or rather, they clash together at full speed, and it's the superhero aspect that gives way. For these are not comics about a crime-fighting superhero; instead, they are the saga of an awesomely powerful warrior space-god, fighting for his lord, his love, and his land against monsters, mega-aliens, and demons from beyond all space and time. Dr Don Blake, Thor's mortal side, withers away altogether, finally revealed to have never really existed in the first place. All that's left is the mythology.

And what mythology! Seen in the context of Jack Kirby's broader career, it's impossible not to see these stories as pointing the way to his later work on the Fourth World, the New Gods, and the Eternals. It's all here, imagined and drawn as only Kirby could. Savage armies burst out of tunnels, armed with weapons and vehicles so bizarre and complex-looking you can only guess what they're actually supposed to do. Living planets rage against cosmic destroyers. Alien armadas flee from the wrath of the gods. Futuristic cities crumble beneath magical holocausts. Heroes struggle against sinister magicians in amazingly funky hats. The power levels are off the scale, and the stories eschew episodic tales in favour of massive, multi-issue arcs that combine into truly epic sagas. Lots of Marvel comics covers from this era bore captions saying things like: 'An awesome modern epic, brought to you in the magical Marvel style!' Here, for once, it's actually true. Unquestionably worth five stars.

A mammoth collection of vintage Thor tales
Yet another great Stan Lee & Jack Kirby addition to the Essentials series.
Gathering together Thor 137-166 this collection takes us from Earth to Asgard and back to the Black Galaxy.
Starting with the introduction of Sif as she and Thor battle Ulik as the Trolls attack Asgard this collection finally tells us the secret of Thor's earthly identity as Doctor Donald Blake, learning why Odin could never allow his marriage to Jane Foster.
Among the standout tales of this volume are the Enchanters also featuring Balder who becomes a series regular. The highlight is the brilliant tale with The Wrecker which memorably sees Thor almost succumbing to Hela, the Goddess of Death, this tale also ties up with Loki and the Destroyer. The continuity is superb throughout this volume with each tale flowing into the next. There's also the awakening of the Mangog and the threat of Ragnarok and the start of the Galactus issues as Odin recognises Galatcus could even threaten Asgard.
There's appearances by Marvel regulars such as Kang the Conqueror, the Super Skrull, the Ringmaster, and a dodgy gangster and his robot. It closes with Pluto and the first parts of the "Him" tales, and ends as Sif is captured by Him as Thor goes berserk and as a punishment is sentenced by Odin to go in search of Galactus. This is some cliff hanger and I eagerly await Thor volume 4 whenever it appears.
Once again the scope of these tales is awesome, they are from an era (1967-1969) just before I started buying the original Marvel comics and it is a pleasure to re-read these tales. Many I have not read since the days of the British Marvel reprints. Volume 4 will cover many of the tales I read when they first came out.
You also get the end of the Tales of Asgard series with Hogun, Fandral and almost valiant Volstagg.
I'm now gathering a great collection of these Essentials books. call it what you want nostalgia, escapism, whatever, they are quite simply great reads and I learned a lot from reading them. Read the wit and wisdom within Stan Lee's scripts, see the sheer majesty of Jack Kirby's artwork, especially the stunning battle scenes. Go on buy a few issues and give them a chance.