By Len Wein, David Anthony Kraft, Steve Englehart, John Buscema, Pablo Marcos, Tony DeZuñiga & various (MARVEL)
ISBN: 978-1-3029-3364-7 (TPB/Digital edition)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Thunderous Fun… 8/10
Once upon a time, disabled doctor Donald Blake took a vacation in Norway only to stumble into an alien invasion. Trapped in a cave, he found an ancient walking stick which, when struck against the ground, turned him into the Norse God of Thunder! Within moments he was defending the weak and smiting the wicked.
Months swiftly passed with the Lord of Storms tackling rapacious extra-terrestrials, Commie dictators, costumed crazies and cheap thugs, but these soon gave way to a vast kaleidoscope of fantastic worlds and incredible, mythic menaces, usually tackled with an ever-changing cast of stalwart immortal warriors at his side…
Whilst the ever-expanding Marvel Universe had grown ever-more interconnected as it matured through its first decade, with characters literally tripping over each other in New York City, the Asgardian heritage of Thor and the soaring imagination of Jack Kirby had most often drawn the Thunder God away from mortal realms into stunning, unique landscapes and scenarios.
However, by the time of this compelling compendium, the King had been long gone and was actually back for a last hurrah. Only echoes of his groundbreaking presence remained in the evolving multiverse he had made. In the interim, John Buscema had visually claimed the Thunder God as his own, as a succession of scripters struggled to match the epic scope of Kirby’s vision and Stan Lee’s off-kilter, comfortingly faux-Shakespearean verbiage…
This power-packed trade paperback/eBook gathers Thor #242-259, Annual #5 and Marvel Spotlight #30, spanning December 1975- May 1977: a period when writer/editor Len Wein arrived to steady a rather shaky ship…
Previously, a round-robin flurry of writers detailed how lordly Odin had gone missing before being rescued from bondage to a pantheon of Egyptian gods, but now stability resumed with #242 as Wein joined illustrators Buscema & Joe Sinnott for epic time travel tale ‘When the Servitor Commands!’
In the 20th century, a colossal all-conquering warrior construct scoops up Thor, his lover Jane Foster (mystically imbued with the life force of goddess Sif) and visiting Asgardians Fandral the Dashing, Voluminous Volstagg and Hogun the Grim at the behest of despotic chrononaut and old enemy Zarrko the Tomorrow Man…
The time tyrant claims to be on the side of the angels for now: seeking heroes to help stop a trio of entropic entities travelling back from the end of eternity, callously destroying all life as they go. Although suspicious, the assembled Asgardians agree to help stop ‘Turmoil in the Time Stream!’ caused by the uncanny Time-Twisters…
Clashes with vagrant monsters and warriors plucked from other eras barely slow the heroes, but neither do they hinder the widdershins progress of the Armageddon entities in ‘This is the Way the World Ends!’ However, by the time the voyagers discover ‘The Temple at the End of Time!’ – which originally spawned the Time-Twisters – and end the crisis before it began, Zarrko has already reverted to type and tried to betray them… much to his own regret…
A rematch between Thunder God and an extra-terrestrial Flaming Fury sparks up in #246 as ‘The Fury of Firelord!’ follows the unworldly alien’s meeting with a lovely witch working for Latin American rebel and would-be tin pot dictator El Lobo. Whilst Thor heads south to stop a civil war, in Asgard his boon companion Balder comes to a staggering conclusion: Odin may be back in body, but his spirit is still ailing. In fact, the All-Father might well be completely insane…
When Thor also succumbs to sinister gypsy enchantments, ‘The Flame and the Hammer!’ unite to crush the feeble democracy of Costa Verde, once again vibrant valiant Jane is there to save the day…
An out-of-chronology break follows as try-out title Marvel Spotlight #30 serves up a tale of the Warriors Three. Crafted by Wein, Buscema & Sinnott, ‘A Night on the Town!’ finds Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun drawn into a tale of love on the rocks when their Manhattan carousal is interrupted by a woman’s suicide attempt. Her cry for help impels the heroic trio to save her fiancé from a life of crime and leads to action, adventure and matrimony…
Back in Thor #248, ‘There Shall Come… Revolution!’ (inked by Tony DeZuñiga) starts the build-up to anniversary issue #250 with the earthbound Asgardians recalled to the Realm Eternal by bold Balder whose battered body is living proof that Odin has become a brutal, vicious tyrant. Rebellion builds in ‘The Throne and the Fury!’ (Wein, Buscema & DeZuñiga, and featuring the first of a series of new covers by Jack Kirby) as Thor and Company batter their way into the godly citadel. As the heroes seek to ally with old enemy Karnilla the Norn Queen, amidst the madness, Jane assumes the form of Sif in time to join the potentially universe-shattering battle as Odin is proved an imposter and defeated in ‘Asgard Should Perish!’
In the aftermath – AKA #251 – the search for the true All-Father leads Thor to the underworld to see if Odin is dead. Despite cataclysmic combat against the legions of the dead, ‘To Hela and Back!’ proves a frustrating waste of time, barely ameliorated by a new clue in #252. ‘A Dragon at the Gates!’, by Wein, Buscema & DeZuñiga, sees the Thunderer undertake a quest for knowledge that draws him into another brutal battle with ultimate troll Ulik which concludes in the next issue with seeming defeat for the Prince of Asgard and ‘Chaos in the Kingdom of the Trolls!’
These issues also include a return for venerable back-up feature Tales of Asgard, Home of the Mighty Norse Gods: a glimpse of Thor’s boyhood by David Anthony Kraft & Pablo Marcos wherein the young warrior learns the value of restraint and self-reliance while learning how to wield Mjolnir in ‘The Weapon and the Warrior!’
Mighty Thor #254 reprinted #159 due to another deadline crisis, and is only represented here by its cover after which Wein & DeZuñiga launch a new epic interstellar adventure in Thor #255’s ‘Lo, the Quest Begins!’ After embattled Asgard survived invasion the heroes learned their divine Liege Lord has gone missing again. Having exhausted every avenue of investigation available, Thor must search the galaxies, prompted by vague hints from all-knowing spirit Mimir of a distant destination – the Doomsday Star…
Boarding spacefaring dragonship Starjammer, Thor, Lady Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg set (solar) sail, leaving a beleaguered Eternal Realm under the stewardship of Balder and his dark inamorata the Norn Queen. However, before they even leave local space, the seekers encounter – and battle – malign aliens marooned ever since they initially fought the Storm Lord in his debut adventure…
A classic case of Marvel Misunderstanding occurs in #256 as the voyagers encounter an ancient and colossal colony ship populated by the last survivors of a civilisation that died from over-exploiting their environment. As the Asgardians are joined by Rigellian Recorder Memorax, the slowly-fading Levianons reveal how their poverty and resource-blighted existence has been further threatened by an invasive beast who takes the elderly like a ‘Lurker in the Dark!’
When the hideous Sporr abducts recently wounded Sif, enraged Thor leads a savage counter-assault that sparks incomprehensible tragedy in concluding chapter ‘Death, Thou Shalt Die!’
Another mineral-based miscreant resurfaces in #258. ‘If the Stars be Made of Stone!’ sees the Starjammer attacked by space pirates inexplicably led by human supervillain – and early Thor foe – the Grey Gargoyle. It’s not a job he wants, but as the unwilling captain conspires with the beaten-&-enslaved Asgardians for a chance to see again the Green Hills of Earth, their plot is exposed by fanatical second-in command Fee-Lon.
As in Asgard, Balder and Karnilla resist an invasion helmed by arch-traitors Enchantress and Executioner, brutal usurper Fee-Lon proves a truly ferocious and capable brigand, but ultimately fights in vain to end the gods’ ‘Escape into Oblivion!’
Thor’s hunt for his father will conclude in the next volume but this one holds still more action and drama in the form of Mighty Thor Annual #5 which depicts ‘War of the Gods!’
Crafted by Steve Englehart, Buscema & DeZuñiga, it opens with the origin of Asgard’s divine inhabitants while explaining the geographical limitations of pantheons and worship, after which an adolescent Thunderer is drawn by his earthly worshippers into battle with alien gods he never knew of.
As the territorial clash between Norsemen and invading Greeks escalates, Asgardians and Hellenics fight to the death but aloof Odin and Zeus know a secret that makes all the bloodshed simultaneously pointless and crucial…
This early peek into Marvel’s ever-expanding cosmology is followed by house ads, Kirby’s wraparound cover for Marvel Treasury Edition #10 (reprinting the Mangog saga from Thor #154-157), cover roughs by Gil Kane and a wealth of original art and covers by Buscema, Kirby, Kane, Frank Giacoia, Sinnott, DeZuñiga, John Romita art pages.
The tales gathered here may lack the sheer punch and verve of the early years but fans of ferocious Fights ‘n’ Tights fantasy will find this tome still stuffed with intrigue and action, magnificently rendered by artists who, whilst not possessing Kirby’s vaulting visionary passion, were every inch his equal in craft and dedication, making this a must-read for all fans of the character and the genre.
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