Reviewing Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s ‘Essential Thor’
I don’t normally post links to reviews on other comics news sites, since we have so many of our own hitting the site here every day, but I had to make an exception for Tom Spurgeon’s recent review of the third volume of Marvel’s Mighty Thor
Thor has never been a favorite character of mine, as his dialogue always seemed a bit hokey and he’s pretty much the definition of a deus ex machina. But Spurgeon’s review of the collection, which features Stan Lee and Jack Kirby doing exactly what made them legends in the industry, has me contemplating a change of heart.
He describes the collected stories’ overall tone as "verily, there are asses over yon we doth must beat" repeated ad infinitum — which is a big selling point for me.
Spurgeon goes on to summarize the collection as follows:
It’s quite fun. The panels where Thor is not punching people so hard their light source changes are stuffed to the brim with either a) cool-looking Kirbyana almost always in the form of monsters and machinery, b) Volstagg, a fat coward who can bench press a bus, providing J. Wellington Wimpy-style comedy relief, or c) Thor screaming at someone about how awesome he is in preparation of punching them so hard their light source changes.
I love a well-written review, and this is certainly a great example of one. Head over to The Comics Reporter to read the rest of it.
So, besides what you think about the character, any comments on the issues the volume covers, the story arcs, etc?You know, a real review.
Rick, I think you might have missed the point of that post… I was just letting readers know about an interesting review I read on The Comics Reporter. I thought Tom did a great job writing the review, so I was posting an excerpt and telling people to check it out.Reading it over, I'm not sure what might've given you the idea that I was writing a review of the collection myself. I stated that it was a review on another site, posted some of the text I thought was interesting, and then provided a link to where one could go to read the review.You've got me puzzled on this one…
Dunno.I think it was just mastering the sound byte review of a review…which had me puzzled.Whatever.
Yeah, I thought I made it clear in that first sentence that it wasn't a review I was writing, but no worries…I guess I just have a naturally authoritative writing voice! ;)
Back in the day, Thor was one of my least favorite Marvel titles — probably too much non-Kirby (or Kirby and Colletta) in the run to keep it consistently in mind. Over the years, though, I've really come to respect Jack's work on the feature: it was dynamic in a way that made most of his other work look a bit pale in comparison. I didn't need all the affected dialog, but the concepts were solid. All in all, Thor has been one of those features I've reconsidered since its original publication — and quite favorably. I'm slowly pouring over the Masterworks editions.
The first several stories are a chore to get through, but then Lee and Kirby start hitting home runs. Kirby's creative mind…{{and I become speechless}}
I REALLY like the Galactus stuff.The origin, fighting a god.Rilly cool.
I realize that my comment is a few years behind. The THOR and Tales of Asgard run, I think, will eventually eclipse the FF as Marvel’s most reprinted title. Great writing by Kirby and Lee, elaborate lay outs by Kirby and exquisite inks by Colletta. Comic books will never reach these heights again.
Lotta truth to that. And concrete evidence that Vinnie could really deliver when he wanted to. That stuff is gorgeous. I’m really glad they did the hardcover reprint number on Tales of Asgard.
Geez. A four year gap between my comments! My opinion has only gone up in all that time!