The Mighty Thor Book 1: The Death of Odin [Paperback]

Dan Jurgens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

Trade paperback.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Entertainment Group (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785109250
• ISBN-13: 978-0785109259
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,111,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The King Is Dead....Long Live The King!, January 25, 2003

By 

Daniel V. Reilly (Upstate New York, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Mighty Thor Book 1: The Death of Odin (Paperback)

Since the book is called The Death of Odin, I don't think I'm spoiling any surprises when I say that, YES, Odin does indeed die. For now, anyway. I mean, as much as Writer Dan Jurgens says this is for real, we all know that as soon as someone else gets a chance, they'll bring him back; I mean, this is Marvel Comics! No one stays dead except for Uncle Ben & Bucky!

But for now, Odin is dead; We even get to see the body, which is unheard of in comics. The first half of the book details the battle waged between the Asgardian Gods and Surtur, a being so powerful that Norse Mythology credits him with ripping the core out of Midgard (Earth) and hurling it into space, creating our Moon. Hopelessly overpowered, things are looking bleak indeed for our heroes and Heroines, until Odin intervenes, sacrificing himself to strike down Surtur. The remainder of the book witnesses Thor's less than willing ascension to power as Lord of Asgard. The last half of the book is very strong; Jurgens really does a good job of portraying Thor's nobility, and the devotion he felt to his deceased Father. The first half doesn't work quite as well.....I don't read Thor every month, but I have a pretty good level of familiarity with the book and it's characters; Anyone who doesn't will be totally lost. If Marvel hopes to make these trade paperbacks accessable to new readers, they need to invest in some new material, namely a "Who's Who" or "What has gone before..." page. I knew Jake Olsen was Thor's civillian identity, but: Why does his partner seem to be from Asgard also?; Why does his Doctor know he's Thor?; Why does his Doctor's Husband ALSO seem to be from Asgard? Who or what is "Thor-Girl", and why the heck is she so powerful? I knew the answers already, or was able to piece them together from books I had read already, but I'm not sure how much of this would make sense to a newcomer. Newer readers might also wonder why the last story has no words: A while back, Marvel decided that every book they published in that particular Month would be a "Silent" issue, telling the story in pictures only. It works well here- Jurgens tells an emotional tale in which various Asgardians reminisce about their fallen King.

The Art, by Stuart Immonen, is very bland, and isn't good at conveying the epic battle sequence Jurgens seems to be trying for; Jurgens, for his part, doesn't make Surtur seem like much of a threat; Walt Simonson, in his legendary Thor run, almost had Surtur destroy the entire Marvel Universe. Here he seem like nothing but a big flaming dude with a sword. I'd recommend this book for the last half only....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fun "What If--?" Story.... WAY OVERPRICED, June 8, 2010

By 

JimSmash (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mighty Thor Book 1: The Death of Odin (Paperback)

I just read this story arc, from "Death of Odin" to "Gods And Men".
Its a fun "What If--?" kind of story, although the ending felt rushed.

What trips me out is the insane pricing for these books! $50-$200?
Just this saturday (6/5/10) I bought "Death of Odin" and "Lord of Asgard" at my local comic book shop for COVER PRICE... Plus, they gave me a 20% discount.

I don't understand the huge markup, especially for these books, which aren't that sought after.

5 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars such a disappointment, October 10, 2005

By 

Woopak "The THRILL" (Where Dark Asian Knights Dwell) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Mighty Thor Book 1: The Death of Odin (Paperback)

This series is a wanna-be copy cat/pale imitation of the WALTER SIMONSON STORIES. Dan Jurgens must have loved Simonson's writing so much that it stuck to his subconscious.
This is a cheap way to get people to buy the comic: DEATH OF ODIN may sound interesting but the story was flawed and doesn't know which direction it wants to go. Dan Jurgens may be the worst THOR scribe ever. He made such a mess that Marvel had to cancel this book and hopefully they will try to get Simonson or Thomas back on board to try and re-vitalize this series.
Forget this, JURGENS DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE THOR!