Witness classic cosmic clashes between the God of Thunder and his evil stepbrother Loki, the Absorbing Man, the Destroyer, and more of his most fearsome foes! Plus: Thor's first journey into the Black Galaxy and a reporter's firsthand account of Asgard! Guest-starring the Avengers and featuring the first appearance of Hercules! Collects Journey Into Mystery #113-125, Thor #126-136 and Annual #1-2.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Robbed of true greatness thru lack of colour,
By
This review is from: Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
This review refers to Essential Thor Volume 2.
The problem with Thor is that he's simply so powerful, it's not only hard for the reader to empathise with him, but it's hard to create a sense of threat towards him. Thor is a Norse God and his father is Odin, even more powerful. As such, there is never any real excitement when Thor is attacked by hordes of monsters or soldiers - no matter how energetic Jack Kirny's pencils - because they are like ants to him in terms of power. Also, it's never stated exactly how powerful Thor is, or how he can be harmed or killed. Of course, popular fictional heroes never truly die, but the enjoyment comes from the suspension of disbelief and a truly menacing opponent (be it man, monster or challenge) which truly jepordize the hero. Throughout this entire (huge) book, I can remember few instances of Thor even been scratched, let alone genuinely opposed. The Destroyer and Loki are the only two worthy foes for the Viking deity. As for the book's other qualities, the artwork is, as previously stated, superb. But the lack of colour in the Essential books, whilst highlighting the pencils, forces the reader to concentrate on the story more and the visuals less. With Kirby's fantastic, epic creations bestowed in vivid colour, Thor comics look wonderful and add so much granduer and epic-scale to the stories. The perfect case in point is the rainbow bridge, Bifrost. It simply is colour, therefore doesn't work without colour. Many of the Marvel Essential function well without colour, but this book truly suffers. Stan Lee's sense-shattering, exclamation-mark packed writing is as enthusiatic and character-oriented as ever. The stories draw heavily on actual Norse mythology, and then fuse it with Superman-like superheroics. It's a delicious, unique combination unmatched anywhere in comics or movies. One wonders why, considering the popularity of both fantasy movies and superhero movies at present, why Thor is not yet even in pre-production. As it is, Essential Thor Volume 2 is far better in every regard to the first volume, but without the colour it loses so much impact. A greater recomendation would be the Thor Legends/Visionaries volumes featuring the work of Walter Simonson. Though containing less pages, these books are full colour and contain what are considered by many the best Thor stories ever, and some of the greatest superhero comics of all time.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stan Lee is the greatest Thor writer of all-time!,
By The Dreamer "Hartford" (Q city) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
"ESSENTIAL THOR VOL. 2" TP
reprints "Journey Into Mystery" #113-125, annual #1, "Thor" #126-136, & annual #2. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #113 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Don Blake reveals his secret to her(Jane Foster). Don is Thor. Jane does not believes him. The Grey Gargoyle makes an appearance! The Grey Gargoyle is a very good villain. He has a good style, power, looks, etc. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #114-115 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby The Absorbing Man makes his first appearance! Loki finds someone to destroys Thor. He turns Crusher Creel to a supervillain(Absorbing Man). The Absorbing Man tells too much of his powers. He has too many expositionary dialogues. There fights are not good at all(I thought it was). They do not look good together. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116-117 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Thor & Loki undergo "the trial of the Gods" test(on Skornheim). Skornheim is a place of dangers, traps, monsters, etc. The first to be back is the winner. Loki wins the test(by treachery). This is the famous "The Trial Of The Gods" arc. It is good, but it could be better. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #118-119 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby The Destroyer makes his first appearance! Loki brings the Destroyer to life. Odin creates the Destroyer to protects Asgard in time of crisis. The Destroyer is an automaton(robot). The Destroyer easily defeats Thor because of his invulnerability & strenght. His face visor is a dangerous weapon. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #120 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby This is an allegorical issue(actionless). Thor, Mjolnir, Jane Foster, & Norn stones highlights the story. It is a good story. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY ANNUAL #1 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Hercules makes his very first appearance! Hercules & Thor fight the whole issue. They fight a battle of strenght, skills, & honor. Thor wins slightly because of his greater determination, skills, & resiliency. Hercules appearances are the absolute highpoints in this volume. Their battles are(all) very exciting, intense, & memorable. Thor's essence captures vividly in this issue. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #121-123 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby The Absorbing Man makes an appearance! The Absorbing Man & Loki travel to Asgard to destroy the Asgardians. It is a good story. It is better than the first time(Absorbing Man's 1st app.). JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #124 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Jane Foster discovers his very secret finally(Don is Thor). Don tells her about his secret because of her constant worries & sickness. Don & Jane's love explores vividly in this issue. A milestone! Very memorable! A very important issue! JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY # 125 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Thor fights the Demon! Thor defeats the Demon convincingly. The Demon is no match at all. THE MIGHTY THOR #126 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Hercules makes an appearance! Hercules & Thor fight the whole issue(again). Their fight is very exciting, intense, & strong. It is even better than the first time. A classic! A very important issue! Very, very memorable! Arguably is the best comic in this volume! THE MIGHTY THOR #127 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Seidring the merciless makes an appearance! THE MIGHTY THOR #128-130 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Pluto(Hades) makes an appearance! Hercules & Thor fight Pluto. THE MIGHTY THOR #131-132 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Rigel, the Colonizers, & Tana Nile make their first appearances! THE MIGHTY THOR ANNUAL #2 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby The Destroyer makes an appearance! This is a wry, satire story. THE MIGHTY THOR #133 writer: Stan Lee penciler: Jack Kirby Ego, the Living Planet makes his very first appearance! Ego is an ominipotent entity. He creates weapons, traps, & even simulates human forms to shows his vast power. Ego makes viral soldiers from his planetary surface. Thor must finds a way to defeats him. This is a classic! A masterpiece! Very, very memorable! A very important issue! Arguably the best comic in this volume! THE MIGHTY THOR #134-135 Writers: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby penciler: Jack Kirby The High Evolutionary makes its very first appearance! THE MIGHTY THOR #136 writers: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby penciler: Jack Kirby Thor & Jane go to Asgard(to wed). Jane needs to passes a test to proves her worth. Jane fails the test miserably. She could not takes the Asgardians themselves. Odin sends her back swiftly(Earth). "To Become An Immortal!" is the title of this story. It is a very, very emotional story. This is a very memorable moment of the story: Thor very angrily walks(seemingly to attacks) to his father in despair but holds back & remorses quickly-- this happens when Odin sends Jane back to Earth swiftly. Thor believes his father deliberately fails Jane because she is a mortal, and a mortal cannot weds an immortal. Sif also makes an appearance. Thor's essence captures vividly in this issue. This is a classic! Very, very memorable! A very important issue! Arguably the best comic in this volume! FINAL ANALYSIS: "Essential Thor Vol. 2" TP 3.5 of 5 stars ***1/2 = very good Rating: B- Overall, "Essential Thor vol. 2 TP" is not as good as the first volume(*****), but it is still a very strong book. It has many best moments. For example, #126, #133, #136, & annual#1 are five-star stories. Issues #116-117, #118-119, & #124 are four-star stories. This is a good follow-up volume. For Thor fans only. Beginners read volume 1(first). -------- RECOMMENDED!!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Author of "Raising Hell" and "Tales To Astonish",
This review is from: Essential Thor, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
Any Essential volume containing Lee/Kirby's work is a bargain. Each gives you over 500 pages of what some would call the greatest comics ever, the template, the source of many big-budget action or space opera movie ideas, and some of the downright funniest, best-scripted and action-packed comics ever printed. (I know I used "action" twice in one sentence but with Lee/Kirby it's unavoidable.) In Essential Thor Volume 2, another reviewer is absolutely correct: the creative duo figure out that Thor can be more than an ersatz Superman (right down to the red cape) and start throwing mind-boggling concepts or moments into every issue. Thor suddenly contends with his cantankerous father Odin, his scheming brother Loki, spectacular slugfests with Hercules (one punch of which appears on the cover) and hilarious well-written exposition, big headed colonizer aliens and gizmos and gadgets that would be right at home in one of Lucas' recent prequel trilogy flicks. This one really does have it all--incredible art, unforgettable dialogue, amazing action, and kooky, not-as-catchy villains like The Demon (making this, I think, the third time this name was associated with a character Kirby worked on). And if you'd like to know the story behind these stories, check out my nonfiction Lee/Kirby history Tales to Astonish. Essential Thor is a must-have (especially with the Essential Fantastic Four Vol. 4, which can inspire another longwinded testimonial to the greatness of the most creative comic duo of all time).
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