{"id":29664,"date":"2024-04-13T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T08:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29664"},"modified":"2024-04-11T16:32:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T16:32:02","slug":"mighty-marvel-masterworks-thor-volume-3-the-trial-of-the-gods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/04\/13\/mighty-marvel-masterworks-thor-volume-3-the-trial-of-the-gods\/","title":{"rendered":"Mighty Marvel Masterworks Thor volume 3: The Trial of The Gods"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Stan Lee<\/strong> & Jack Kirby<\/strong>, with Vince Colletta<\/strong>, Chic Stone<\/strong>, Frank Giacoia<\/strong>, Art Simek<\/strong>, Sam Rosen<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-4893-1 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

These stories are timeless and have been gathered many times before, but today I\u2019m once again focussing on format. The Mighty Marvel Masterworks<\/strong> line launched with economy in mind: classic tales of Marvel\u2019s key creators and characters re-presented in chronological publishing order. It\u2019s been a staple since the 1990s, but always in lavish, hardback collectors editions. These editions are cheaper, on lower quality paper and – crucially – smaller, about the dimensions of a paperback book. Your eyesight might be failing and your hands too big and shaky, but at 152 x 227mm, they\u2019re perfect for kids. If you opt for digital editions, that\u2019s no issue at all\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Even more than The Fantastic Four<\/strong>, The Mighty Thor<\/strong> was the arena in which Jack Kirby\u2019s boundless fascination with all things Cosmic was honed and refined through his dazzling graphics and captivating concepts. The King\u2019s plethora of power-packed signature pantheons began in a modest little fantasy\/monster title called Journey into Mystery<\/strong> where – in the summer of 1962 – a tried-&-true comic book concept (feeble mortal transformed into god-like hero) was revived by the rapidly resurgent company who were not yet Marvel Comics: adding a Superman<\/strong> analogue to their growing roster of costumed adventurers.<\/p>\n

Cover-dated August 1962, JiM<\/strong> #83 saw a bold costumed Adonis jostling aside the regular fare of monsters, aliens and sinister scientists in a brash, vivid explosion of verve and vigour. The initial exploit followed disabled American doctor Donald Blake<\/em> who took a vacation in Norway and encountered the vanguard of an alien invasion. Fleeing, he was trapped in a cave where he found an old, gnarled walking stick. When, in frustration, he smashed the stick into the huge boulder blocking his escape, his puny frame was transformed into the Norse God of Thunder!<\/p>\n

Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by his brother Larry Lieber and illustrated by Kirby and inker Joe Sinnott (at this juncture a full illustrator, Sinnott would become Kirby\u2019s primary inker for most of his Marvel career), that introduction was pure primal Marvel: bombastic, fast-paced, gloriously illogical and captivatingly action-packed. It was the start of a new kind of legend and style of comics\u2019 storytelling\u2026<\/p>\n

Spanning February to October 1964, this third titanic tome reprints the godly exploits from Journey into Mystery<\/strong> #101-109 in a blur of innovation, seat-of-the-pants myth-revising and universe-building. By this time, the ever-expanding world of Asgard was fully established: a mesmerising milieu for Thor\u2019s earlier adventures and exotic setting for fresh wonders hinting at an imminent era of cosmic fantasy to run parallel with the company\u2019s signature Manhattan-based superhero sagas. \u2018Every Hand Against Him!\u2019<\/em> (by Lee, Kirby & Stone) combines both, as sinister step-brother Loki<\/em> compels earthly miscreants Cobra<\/em> and Mr. Hyde<\/em> to kidnap and wound nigh unto death Thor\u2019s forbidden beloved Jane Foster<\/em>, even as Odin <\/em>again overreacts to Thor\u2019s affections for the mortal.<\/p>\n

Following a stunning Kirby & Stone Thor Pin-up<\/em>, and balancing that tension-drenched clash of Good and Evil, is a crafty vignette of Young Thor describing \u2018The Defeat of Odin!\u2019<\/em> in an old and silly plot sweetened by breathtaking battle scenes. It\u2019s followed by the concluding clash with Cobra & Hyde, redefining \u2018The Power of the Thunder God!\u2019<\/em> With a major role for Balder the Brave<\/em> and further integrating \u201chistorical\u201d and contemporary Asgard in a spellbinding epic of triumph and near-tragedy, it\u2019s complimented by a Loki Pin-up<\/em> preceding a fable co-opting a Greek myth (Antaeus<\/em> if you\u2019re asking) as \u2018The Secret of Sigurd!\u2019 <\/em>(inked by Vince Colletta) is ferreted out by youthful godlings Thor, Balder & Loki.<\/p>\n

Journey into Mystery<\/strong> #112 gave readers what they had been clamouring for with \u2018The Mighty Thor Battles the Incredible Hulk!\u2019<\/em>: a glorious gift to all those fans who perpetually ask \u201cwho\u2019s stronger\u2026\u201d? Arguably Kirby & Stone\u2019s finest collaborative moment, it details a private duel that apparently appeared off-camera during a free-for-all in The Avengers<\/strong> #3 when the heroes battled Sub-Mariner<\/strong> and the Green Goliath. The raw aggressive power of that clash is balanced by an eagerly anticipated origin yarn in \u2018The Coming of Loki!\u2019<\/em> (Colletta inks): a retelling of how Odin adopts the baby son of Laufey, the Giant King<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In #113\u2019s \u2018A World Gone Mad!\u2019<\/em> the Thunderer – right after saving the Shining Realm from invasion – again defies Odin to court Jane: a task made more hazardous by the return of the Grey Gargoyle<\/em>. A long-running plot strand – almost interminably so – was the soap-opera tangle caused by Don Blake\u2019s love for his nurse: a passion his alter ego shared. Sadly, the Overlord of Asgard could not countenance his son with a mortal, resulting in another heavy-handed example of an acrimonious triangle.<\/p>\n

The mythic moment at the back shared \u2018The Boyhood of Loki!\u2019<\/em> (inked by Colletta), a pensive, brooding foretaste of the villain to be, before JiM <\/strong>#114 began a 2-part tale starring a new villain of the kind Kirby gloried in: a vicious thug who lucks into overwhelming power.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Stronger I Am, The Sooner I Die!\u2019<\/em> sees Loki imbue hardened felon Crusher Creel<\/em> with the ability to duplicate the strength and attributes of anything he touches, but before Creel endures \u2018The Vengeance of the Thunder God\u2019<\/em> (inked by Frank Giacoia as \u201cFrankie Ray\u201d) we\u2019re graced with another Asgardian parable: \u2018The Golden Apples!\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Issue #115\u2019s back-up micro-myth \u2018A Viper in our Midst!\u2019<\/em> sees young Loki clandestinely cementing relations with the sinister Storm Giants, before a longer Thor saga began in #116, with Colletta becoming regular inker for both lead and support features. \u2018The Trial of the Gods\u2019<\/em> disclosed more aspects of Asgard as Thor and Loki undertake a brutal ritualised trial by combat, with the latter cheating at every step, after which \u2018Into the Blaze of Battle!\u2019<\/em> finds Balder protecting Jane even as her godly paramour travels to war-torn Vietnam seeking proof of his step-brother\u2019s infamy.<\/p>\n

These yarns are supplemented by stellar novellas \u2018The Challenge!\u2019<\/em> and \u2018The Sword in the Scabbard!\u2019<\/em>, wherein Asgardian cabin-fever informs an official Quest instituted to expose a threat to the mighty Odinsword<\/em>, the unsheathing of which will destroy the universe\u2026<\/p>\n

Journey into Mystery<\/strong> #118\u2019s \u2018To Kill a Thunder God!\u2019<\/em> ramps up the otherworldly drama as Loki, to cover his tracks, unleashes ancient Asgardian WMD The Destroyer<\/em>. When it wrecks Thor\u2019s mystic hammer and nearly kills The Thunderer in \u2018The Day of the Destroyer!\u2019<\/em>, the God of Mischief is forced to save his step-brother or bear the brunt of Odin\u2019s anger.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Tales of Asgard<\/strong> the Quest further unfolds with verity-testing talisman \u2018The Crimson Hand!\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Gather, Warriors!\u2019<\/em> as a band of literally hand-picked \u201cArgonauts\u201d join Thor\u2019s flying longship in a bold but misguided attempt to forestall Ragnarok\u2026<\/p>\n

To Be Continued\u2026<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a relative paucity of bonus material here but it\u2019s all first rate: two pages of original artwork, and Kirby & Stones 1965 design for a tee-shirt.<\/p>\n

These early tales of the God of Thunder show the development not only of one of Marvel\u2019s core narrative concepts but, more importantly, the creative evolution of perhaps the greatest imagination in comics. Set your common sense on pause and simply wallow in the glorious imagery and power of these classic adventures and revel in what makes comic book superheroes such a unique experience.
\n\u00a9 2023 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, with Vince Colletta, Chic Stone, Frank Giacoia, Art Simek, Sam Rosen & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-4893-1 (TPB\/Digital edition) These stories are timeless and have been gathered many times before, but today I\u2019m once again focussing on format. The Mighty Marvel Masterworks line launched with economy in mind: classic tales … <\/p>\n

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