Thor: Ages of Thunder 2009 (HC & SC TPB) 160 pages

Written by Matt Fraction. Pencils by Patrick Zircher, Khari Evans, Clay Mann. Inked by Zircher, Victor Olazaba.
Colours: June Chung, Matt Milla, Paul Mounts, Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic. Letters: Chris Eliopoulos. Joe Caramagna. Editor: Warren Simons.

Reprinting: the one-shot specials Thor: Ages of Thunder, Thor: Reign of Blood, Thor: Man of War, Thor: God-Size (2008)

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Reviewed November 17, 2009

Published by Marvel Comics

Thor, as a comic book character, is a kind of melting pot of influences. Sometimes the stories are just those of a super hero whose inspiration lies in Norse myth. Other times, the comic is more sword & sorcery based on ancient folk tales. Other times, there's a decided science fiction flavour. No one version of Thor is able to claim to be the true, definitive take on the character.

Thor: Ages of Thunder is very clearly rooted in the mythological and fantasy aspect. This TPB collects stories that were originally presented in various one-shot/specials...which was an odd presentation for them. Three of them -- Ages of Thunder, Reign of Blood and Man of War -- are all inter-linked, particularly Reign of Blood and Man of War. In fact, given that each double-sized issue is broken into two chapters, you almost wonder if it was originally planned for a six issue mini-series, then someone in Marvel's marketing department decided they might sell better pretending each was a stand alone special.

If so, one could well imagine a title for such a mini-series might've been Thor: Year One. Set eons ago, they tell tales of the Asgardian pantheon, with writer Matt Fraction borrowing some aspects from existing Norse myths (though liberally reinterpreted) mixed with other aspects that are original to Marvel's version of the character and to Fraction's take on him. The long ago origin of Marvel's Thor had it be that an unsuspecting earth man, Dr. Donald Blake, discovers he is in reality Thor, Norse God of Thunder, his human form, and accompanying amnesia, imposed upon him by All-father Odin to teach the young god humility. So Fraction's tale goes to the root of that, exploring what led up to such a drastic punishment.

What the stories also evoke is the Tales of Asgard back up stories Stan Lee and Jack Kirby used to run in the back of the old Thor comics (and which subsequent to this collection, Marvel reprinted in a Tales of Asgard mini-series). Though Fraction's take is a more gritty, adult version, with more brutal violence and racier aspects (Thor has a harem!)

In a way these don't fully evoke the Thor fans are used to reading about. Partly because they eschew the mix of styles for a strict historical/myth influence (gone are the Kirby-esque science fiction accoutrements that made Asgard as much an alien city as an ancient Norse fantasy). And sticking truer to the notion of mercurial gods and moral relativism common to ancient myths, these are a far cry from the more-or-less noble heroes Lee and Kirby envisioned. Odin and his gang are duplicitous, brutal, self-serving. As such, you don't necessarily feel you're reading about the Thor and Odin you know, but merely another interpretation based on the same source material.

And read that way...it's reasonably enjoyable.

Fraction does a decent job evoking a folk tale aspect, relying heavily on third person narration captions (even if he does sometimes slide into too modern sounding colloquialisms from time to time). There's also a surrealistic aspect, tipping its hat to the notion of cosmic cycles that earlier Thor comics have alluded to, in that even though the actions in one chapter seems to lead to the next, the scenes themselves are introduced as being the era of the "third Ragnarok", the "seventh Ragnarok", etc., as though history is supposed to be repeating itself in different millennia. Sometimes Fraction is taking inspiration from old legends, particularly at the beginning with a tale of a stone mason which, with some variation, was detailed in Wagner's classic opera, The Rhinegold, and elsewhere. Later though, I think Fraction is drawing upon his own ideas and, perhaps significantly, the story seems to falter there a bit, the last issue (Man of War) imparticular thin on story, and more just a lot of hitting and fighting.

Overall, the plotting is a bit thin. The old Tales of Asgard stories were only about five pages. Here, each of Fraction's chapters are 18 pages...but feel like they often could've been five.

I don't mean that they necessarily feel stretched or dull, merely that when you get to the end, you realize the plotting was pretty thin.

The visuals go a long way to covering over that fact. Of the six chapters presented over the three issues, Patrick Zircher draws 3, Khari Evans draws 2, and Clay Mann does 1. And though not indistinguishable, they have sufficiently similar styles that the visuals are consistent -- and consistently strong, all artists capable of dramatic vistas, robust Asgardian halls, brooding, powerful men and voluptuous, scantily clad women (told you it could be a bit racy). The colours by the likes of June Chung and others add immeasurably to the sumptuous feel. And a few of the issues are presented in a kind of "wide screen" format, where most of the sequences are to be read left to right across a two page spread. If you're going to go for a fantasy milieu where the mood and atmosphere is as much a part of the storytelling as the plot and dialogue, these are the artists and colourists to do it.

So read as just a fairy tale, like a lavishly illustrated version of some old folk legend, these stories do the trick and get you turning the pages. However, they don't necessarily work on any deeper level.

As well, Thor himself is often a pretty minor character, only uttering a line or two here and there, showing up just long enough to smash a giant before receding back into the peripheries. If it's a character study (about his needing to be humbled)...we maybe need more of his character! As well, the amorality of the characters can make it a bit hard to get too involved with them. You can enjoy their machinations as you would reading an old folk tale, but you can't really sympathize. Thor is surly and bitter, disgusted by the antics of his fellow Asgardians -- as well he should be. Yet when Odin chastises Thor for his lack of humility and humanity, it's a bit like the kettle calling the pot black.

The fourth and final story reprinted here, "The Life and Death of the Executioner", was originally published in the one-shot/special, Thor: God-Size. And this one is more squarely about the familiar comic book Thor. Though still set within the mythological, Asgardian realm, this is the modern, more moral Thor, and the events arise out of previous comic book stories. Namely, an Asgardian villain-turned-hero, The Executioner, died nobly years ago (in Thor comics circa the 1980s). Yet suddenly Thor and others -- notably Balder and Loki (who is currently in the body of a woman?) -- find their memories of Skuurge seem to be altering, as if someone is messing with reality itself. So they set out on a quest to discover who, and why. Part of the gimmick here is that the 38 page story is broken into four chapters, illustrated by four different artists, and much of it coloured with a semi-painted look. The art is of mixed effectiveness, with Doug Braithwaite and Miguel Angel Sepulveda the most impressive, and Dan Brereton and Mike Allred more problematic. It's a decent enough tale and, as mentioned, is the one that most feels like a true Thor -- the comic book hero -- story. The original God-Size special also reprinted Thor #362, the issue in which the Executioner dies. I assume it's not included in this TPB collection, which is too bad, 'cause it's equally entertaining.

The result is a collection that, if you're looking for a nice Thor collection, doesn't quite hit the spot, with only the last story fitting that bill. But if you're looking for a lavishly illustrated story about gods and frost giants and Norse legends, it's an enjoyable -- if a bit thin -- page turner.

This review is based on the original, individually published specials.

Hard Cover price: $24.99 US

Thor: Alone Against the Celestials 1992 (SC TPB) 64 pages

Written by Tom DeFalco. Pencils by Ron Frenz. Inks by Brett Breeding.
Colours: various. Letters: John Workman. Editor: Ralph Macchio.

Reprinting: Thor (1st series) #387-389 (1988) - with covers

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Published by Marvel Comics

The mighty Thor -- norse God and super hero -- accidentally crashes on the planet Pangoria -- a pirate planet ruled over by a ruthless despot. But that turns out not to be the problem. Instead Thor discovers the planet has been judged by an enigmatic race of cosmic giants, the Celestials, and, having been found wanting, it is slated for destruction. Thor sets out to save the world, but even his might is nigh useless against a kilometre high being -- a being he can barely get to notice his existence, let alone defeat.

Alone Against the Celestials is an enjoyable enough adventure, benefitting from the very awesomeness of its cosmic adversaries (who had, apparently, already appeared in a Thor story years earlier and subsequently collected as Thor: The Eternals Saga). There's more than a little sense that writer Tom DeFalco is trying to evoke some of the cosmic grandeur, and the ineffability of the universe, that Lee and Kirby did in their classic Coming of Galactus story, decades earlier. The unknowable celestials aren't bad guys in the strictest sense of the term...in fact, as beings, they seem to exist almost wholly outside Thor's ability to comprehend (and he's a demigod!) Various abstract ideas are tossed around, like Thor wondering if the Celestials exist on such a separate level of reality that they can be in more than one place at once. Though there's plenty of action, it manages to seem like more than a simple, run-of-the-mill slugfest, and the sequence where Thor enters a celestial's body is effectively head trippy.

At first blush, having Thor defend a planet whose inhabitants don't entirely seem deserving of his help seems a curious narrative choice (though there are good Pangorians, like a woman who befriends Thor). But that becomes its own interesting character point, as Thor is so committed to his code of honour, and defending the defenseless, that he will risk his very life (knowing the celestials are more powerful than him) to defend even this disreputable world.

The art by Ron Frenz and Brett Breeding is serviceable enough, and part of the appeal when reading an older TPB is an aspect of nostalgia. There are no computer tricks, or computer lettering, and the colour is single tone, but nicely presented on crisp, white paper. It's refreshingly unpretentious art (nicely contrasting with a plot that is a little pretentious). At first glance, Frenz's style is more than a little reminiscent of John Buscema, the old master who used to draw Thor for a spell. Though Frenz isn't quite on Buscema's level. Still, the evocation of other artists (including some decidedly Jack Kirby-esque touches) is enormously appealing.

And just as Frenz is a decent artist, evoking, but falling short of, older artists, so writer DeFalco presents an interesting, ambitious story, but where the dialogue and characterization is more serviceable than exceptional. Even Thor's speech patterns seem oddly half-hearted -- sometimes he speaks in his patented "thee"s and "thou"s, and sometimes he doesn't so much. As well, though DeFalco nicely tries to capture Thor's do or die determination, unflinchingly throwing himself into a fight he doesn't for a minute think he can win, in other ways DeFalco's presentation of the character is kind of vague, lacking the dimension some earlier writers were able to bring to the character. Put another way, if you weren't already a fan, or at least familiar with the character, I'm not sure this would make you rush out and buy more.

Still, all in all, this is an enjoyable enough page turner for its 64 pages, benefitting from the genuine cosmic grandeur of its plot. The original issues have been edited slightly to fit them into the page count, but not so that it noticeably affects this story (I'm guessing the missing pages were probably cutaways to sub-plots unrelated to this story).

Original cover price: $6.95 CDN./ $5.95 USA

Thor: The Dark Gods  2000 (SC TPB) 128 pgs.

Written by Dan Jurgens. Pencils by John Romita, Jr., John Buscema. Inks by Klaus Janson, Jerry Ordway.
Colours: Gregory Wright. Letters: Richard Starkings. Editor: Tom Brevoort.

Reprinting: Thor (2nd series) #9-12 (1998)

Rating: * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Published by Marvel Comics

Asgard, home of the Norse gods, has fallen to dark gods and Thor must save it, with the help of a couple of allies (like his buddy Hercules) in the climax. The Dark Gods is one of those collected sagas in which the story, through sub-plots, had been around for a few prior issues -- at times you can feel like you're coming in at the climax, rather than getting a full plot. Still, the story trundles along reasonably briskly, there's plenty of hitting and fighting and people exclaiming in "thee"s and "thou"s -- all the stuff you'd expect from a Thor story. But it's all a little...bland.

Jurgens plotting lacks complexity and ideas are only half-heartedly developed. Mijolnir, Thor's hammer, gets broken in one scene (which has happened before, though it's described as unprecedented) causing Thor to revert to his current mortal guise of Jake Olson in mid-battle -- yet later, he just puts it back together as easily as though it were a snap-together toy. The climactic resolution just seems like a lame Deus ex machina ending (though, perhaps appropriate for a story about gods) and things lack verisimilitude. Asgard doesn't seem like a real society (as it has in other Thor stories I've read), you can't believe the Dark Gods could've conquered it or, if they had, that Thor could win it back so easy. Jurgens can't decide if he's depicting a war, or simply a superhero free for all. The Dark Gods themselves are insufficiently defined as individuals, despite potential for motivation. Instead of drawing upon real myths, as have other Thor writers, Jurgens creates his own evil pantheon, but fails to create anything more than a minor goon squad.

The story kicks off with John Buscema penciling the first chapter (with Ordway's inks) and one can be forgiven for feeling a giddy, nostalgic rush. After all, Buscema used to draw Thor back in the '70s, and I had thought he retired a few years ago. Seeing this giant of the biz back in action, his knack for realism, and seeing Thor as he draws Thor, might explain why the early part of the saga seemed somewhat promising.

I also enjoyed seeing Thor back doing the Shazam-thing, having a mortal alter ego, something that had been dropped from Thor when last I read the comics.

Then the more stylized regular art team of John Romita, Jr. and Klaus Janson reclaim the reins for most of the story. Romita-the-younger's current Frank Miller-inspired style worked for me better than I expected -- but it lacks Miller's subtlety and dynaamic composition (at least the subtlety and dynamism Miller had in the 1980s). As well, Romita Jr. never quite creates a believable foundation. Instead of conjuring up a god-like presence among mortals, as Buscema does, Romita Jr.'s Thor looks like a comicbook drawing among other comicbook drawings. And during some of the climactic battles, I had trouble figuring out what was going on in spots.

This is a review of the story as it was serialized in Thor comics.

Cover price: $__ CDN./$15.95 USA.

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