In a world of super-heroes with god-like powers, there stands one amongst them that can claim he's a god himself: Thor.
Beginning with his debut in 1962's Journey Into Mystery #83, The Mighty Thor has hammered out an integral role in the pantheon of Marvel heroes both in his own series and as one of the key three members of the Avengers. And like the two other members of that elite status, Thor has a feature film on the way – premiering on April 27th to be exact. And in April, movie-goers will begin to learn about Marvel's mythical character and might wonder what they can read to prepare – or after the movie ends.
And iFanboy is here to help.
As part of an all new feature dubbed "Where Do I Start", we're taking on the character of Thor and digging through the longboxes and bookshelves to find five must-have books for anyone wanting the quintessential look at the Norse prince. While simply picking up the newest issue of Thor might work for some, the story-arcs going on his series currently are built up on some previously releases stories and might not be the best gateway into the character. If you want to get up to speed on Thor, here's five books to be on the lookout for.
Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 – This recently released 8-issue series is a welcome addition to the Thor bibliography and a big favorite around iFanboy HQ, and there's several reasons why. Writer Roger Langridge pens a seemingly effortless and modern retelling of Thor's origin and first days amongst regular people like you and I. Langridge mixes the awkwardness of meeting new people, the first blush of a new relationship with the wall-breaking struggles between gods, monsters, heroes and robots all into one. Artist Chris Samnee carries out the ideas in the script with dynamic and thoughtful illustrations that have garnered him acclaim as an artist to watch. Together, Langridge & Samnee made a memorable series that a sizable contingent of fans wanted to see go on forever.
Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor, Vol. 1 – To find out the real truth about a character, it's important to go back to square one. And this recently released Marvel Masterworks volume collects the first seventeen issues of Thor as told in the series Journey Into Mystery. Writers Stan Lee & Larry Lieber partner with iconic illustrator Jack Kirby to tell a story that transverses space and time, not settling for just magic medieval heroics but also delving into space-age sci-fi and scarred monstrosities.
Thor: The Ages of Thunder – Although Thor debuted in comics in 1962, as an ancient Norse God he's existed for countless millennia – and in this collection of one-shots from current Thor writer Matt Fraction, some of the character's triumphs and tragedies are explored. Told in a rollicking reverence, these stories show Thor as both the adolescent son ranging against his father and as the prince that Asgard later needed to save their people.
The Mighty Thor: Loki – who was it that said the best heroes are defined by their adversaries? Whoever it was, they might have been thinking about Thor's rivalry with his half-brother Loki. Released in the early 00s, this story takes on the story of Asgard from the villain's point-of-view – casting Loki living in his brother's shadow and taking what's his in his adopted home. As a bonus, the entire series is told in painted artwork by Esad Ribic who recently did an issue of Uncanny X-Force.
Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson Omnibus – Looking over the great swath of Thor stories that have been told in comics, a few names rise to the top as the character's most memorable storytellers. Going head-to-head with the comic character's original creators is comics legend Walter Simonson, who wrote the character for four years in the mid 80s Leaving a mark as permanent as a strike from Mjolnir, through words and art Simonson took the Norse legend from the lofty spires of Asgard to the dark streets of the Big Apple, and even into the outer reaches of space. Along the way he put Thor in countless dangers, from losing his hammer to the death of his Odin… and even being transformed into a frog! This Omnibus, scheduled for release in Mid-March collects the highpoints of Simonson's run, including a miniseries focusing on Balder the Brave and is completely re-mastered with modern coloration.
Thor by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus – Generally revered as the series that brought Marvel's Thor back to the top of the charts, writer J. Michael Straczynski's run on Thor with artist Olivier Coipel brought back the character from death and into a new role as the man reviving his Asgardian people and resettling them into a vacant stretch of property in Oklahoma. Mixing the lofty mythology of Norse lore with the down-to-earth sensibilities of living in a dusty Midwestern town, Thor set the standard for modern stories of the character — both in comics and in film.
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It’s too bad my library doesn’t do much with the omnibus. I would LOVE to read that Walt Simonson Omni. Not sure if I want to own it though.
@Neb There are trades of that stuff, just not collected in omnibus form.
JMS Thor was excellent, evil was never as sexy as a female Loki!
This is going to be an ongoing feature? Brilliant. Can’t wait for more.
I loved JMS Thor but I loved the Loki mini for introducing me to Esad Ribic’s painted artwork all those years ago. If you like Loki I strongly recommend you check out Sub-Mariner: The Depths and Silver Surfer Requiem. I need to go back a buy some Thor Essentials and old Mighty Thor comics. I remember reading about Future Thor when I was a kid.
Does Thor switch bodies with that human fella in the two omnibus listed above? I’m interested in reading more Thor after reading The Mighty Avenger, but I don’t care to read stories with his human counterpart.
@lifesend Yes he does but it’s not bad or usually very drawn out at all. It just works 🙂
There is also something to say for Hickman’s recent Ultimate Comics Thor mini. If you want an alternate take on the character(s), it’s a fun read.
I picked the first issue of Fraction’s Thor and have been getting it since. Never read any Thor but I’m understanding it.
Does Thor:The Mighty Avenger use the specialized nordic display type for all of Thor’s dialogue? In other words is it “normal”? I tried reading the JMS run and found my eyes getting fatigued reading the crazy display type for Thor’s bubbles combined with the Thor speak.
I would add to the above the Ragnarok arc that killed everybody before JMS started his run. I thought that was phenominal.
@Nordh Thanks, I think I’ll try one of them then. I do like Ultimate Thor, but my only exposure to him has been Millar’s Ultimates. I’ll give that mini a look in the store when the trade comes out.
Thor is my all time favorite character. I have read nearly EVERY thing that exists with him in a starring role. JMS’ run was pure shit. That’s great if it sold a ton a copies but it really shit on a lifetime a reading about these characters. I never understand why people don’t bring up Dan Jurgan’s run. Things got a little sillt towards the end but so did Simonson’s. The Jurgan stuff has an amazing Romita Jr run and later a great arc by Stuart Immonen. The majority of this run for me ranks right up there with the Simonson stuff.
Stepping outside the limitations of collected editions, the run from 179-181 was great! Loki switched bodies with Thor and wreaked havoc, plus there is some Neal Adams art there as well and that’s always a bonus. And the run from 188-193 was fantastic as well, Loki “acquired” the Odin ring and thus had all power, Thor gets beat down by the Demolisher(?) a guest appearance by the Silver Surfer too, that was a great story.
I haven’t read them in a long time, but the Dan Jurgans and JR Jr./Stuart Immonen Thor series that they’ve been collecting recently was fantastic at the time. I think there are three or four trades of it out already.
Volumes two and three of the Essential collections are some of my favorite Kirby stuff. I was not a big fan of the first volume, which treated Thor as a normal super hero and didn’t get into the Asgard stuff. At some point, he just started going to Asgard with no explination and then eventually they retconned an origin of Odin trapping him in Blake’s body. It was tons of fun and once that was out of the way, the big cosmic stories made it even better.
Pssst! Discount Comic Book Service has the Walt Simonson Thor Omnibus for 50% off
http://www.dcbservice.com/trade_product.aspx?id=335839#dt
I’m reading Essential Thor, Volume 1 now and have the 2nd and 3rd volumes waiting. I would just suggest for people to stick to the comics because that movie looks like a really bad car wreck. Or a botched abortion, I haven’t figured it out yet…
But the more I see the worse it looks.
Thor The Mighty Avenger was AWESOME and I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy Thor again when it reverts back to Journey Into Mystery and the Fraction/Ferry team is far away from it.
It kills me that Thor : The Mighty Avenger came out in those little kid sized trades. Would love to have that run in HC……