Essential Thor, Vol. 2 by Stan Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Thor becomes a far better book in this collection which collects Issues 113-125 and Annual #1 of Journey into Mystery, and the title this is renamed Thor for Issues 126-136, and Annual 2.

Issue 113 has him deciding to give up being Thor but then the return of the Grey Gargoyle changes his mind.

The book then enters a very long interconnected storyline running from Issues 114-122 involving he and Loki engaging in, "The Trial of the Gods" and it's aftermath. It really is a very intricate storyline that has one story running through it but a lot of twists and turns along the way including Loki forced to try and save Thor.


Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 features a battle between Thor and Hercules when Thor crosses into Olympus. The story is your standard, "two heroes stumble onto each other and fight story," but it helps that it's drawn by Jack Kirby who provides superb art on every page of the book. The Annual also features a map of Asgard with a map pointing to a shopping center. (Yea! Verily.)

Hercules begins a return in Issue 124 and is tricked into a deal with Lord Vulcan of the Underworld, battles Thor again, and actually defeats Thor when Odin halves a power because of Thor's continuing love for Jane Foster. Then Thor has to rescue Hercules from the Underworld. This all goes through Issue 130.

Issue 131-135 is my favorite part of the book as Lee and Kirby take Thor into space to fight epic space monsters. Reading it, it's the most brilliantly obvious thing that could be done with the character. He's not Spider-man and shouldn't be primarily focused on street level threats. Thor in space is epic and includes the introduction of Ego, the living planet.

Issue 136 shows a potential resolution to the Jane Foster plot. It's far more reasonable and sensible than last time Odin dealt with it as Jane given immortality and has to deal with the consequences of it.

In addition to the main Thor plot, each issue features a Tale of Asgard. Clearly, Lee and Kirby were enjoying playing around with Norse mythology. This is true in the main Thor titles and also in the Tales of Asgard shorts which Marvelizes a lot of Asgardian legends, most of them center around younger versions of Thor and Loki, playing to the popularity of Loki as a villain (although there is one explaining the "true" version of Little Red Riding Hood.) The stories are often serialized giving them a kind of old style Prince Valiant feel to them. In addition to these serialized stories, Annual #2 is essentially a big tale from Asgard battle which indicates how popular these were.

Overall, this book is very good as Lee and Kirby turn Thor into a truly epic and memorable character.





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