Thor Visionaries - Walt Simonson, Vol. 1 (v. 1, Bk. 1)
by Walt Simonson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Walt SimonsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-05-01
ISBN: 0785107584
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Book Reviews of Thor Visionaries - Walt Simonson, Vol. 1 (v. 1, Bk. 1)
Book Review: Until I Read This Book, I Never Realized How Great Thor Could Be
Summary: 5 Stars
Before getting this Trade Paperback (which reprints Thor #s 337-348) most of my familiarity with Thor came from "The Avengers" and I hadn't often encountered characters like Balder The Brave, Lorelei and Beta Ray Bill outside of "The Official Handbook To The Marvel Universe" and such. After reading the run of the book though I'm ready to hail Thor as one of Marvel's top heroes, and was surprised at how fantastic and well-developed the rest of the cast is.
The first issue reprinted begins with a mysterious prologue involving a massive, fiery, hammer-wielding monstrous figure (most readers already know who I'm talking about I'm sure; for those with relatively little knowledge of the Thor/Asgardian mythology corner of the Marvel Universe I'll refrain from using his name), going about his dark machinations "far beyond the fields we know" [in] "the core of an ancient galaxy". From there the saga gets going with a bang, with the arrival of an alien (one of the coolest looking aliens I've ever seen by the way) going by the unlikely name of Beta Ray Bill arriving in our section of space, mistaking the Mighty Thor for one of a horde of demons the alien is locked in war with, and eventually through a rapidfire chain of events Becoming an entirely NEW Thor for the Marvel Universe.
The partnership of the Thors, the machinations of the fire demon, the grandeur of Odin, various romantic angles, the last viking, often superb dialogue, ample humour, some surpringly sexy scenes (given the time the original issues were first published), the awakening of a 'dark elf' and the truly epic saga unfolding of Balder as one of Marvel's greatest 'supporting' characters are just a few of the elements in this volume that make it so essential.
There is a problem with the art. It has nothing to do with the skill of the penciller, inkers, or colorists. It's just that when the issues reprinted here were first published back in - the early to mid eighties, I believe - the printing processes, the coloring processes in particular, didn't always lend themselves to detailed, vivid artwork quite as well as what would become the norm for comic publishers a few years later. For example, in certain scenes the facial features of characters who appear small on the page because of distance or because they're full figure in a small panel or whatever, lose their distinctiveness. The book still looks great 99.5% of the time, but I feel with the talent of the artists involved it would have looked even better if there had been access to the superior art reproduction techniques back then. They did accomplish some magnificent effects with shading though.
Also be on the lookout for one of the best surprise appearances by a character in comics history, in issue 341 (Chapter 5 of this book).
9/10. Bottom line: if you're considering whether you should add this material to your library, I think the Thunder God himself says it best: "Aye, Verily."
Summary of Thor Visionaries - Walt Simonson, Vol. 1 (v. 1, Bk. 1)
Thor was always one of the toughest assignments at Marvel. Producing the adventures of the Norse thunder god was an intimidating task; making the travails of Asgardian heroes interesting to a comic book audience was a staggering chore. It didn't help that any creator who leant his skills to the title would inevitably draw comparisons to the Wagnerian power of the character's initial artist, comics legend Jack Kirby. Defying convention, writer-artist Walt Simonson threw all preconceived notions out the window and over a two-and-a-half-year span produced epic adventure that held an ever-growing readership in thrall.
Simonson wove a complex series of adventures that shuttled mercilessly from the golden spires of fabled Asgard to the streets of New York City to the farthest stars in the Universe. The entire pantheon of the Aesir was completely reimagined through Simonson's powerful images, becoming both more contemporary while retaining their regal, mythic trappings.
Now Marvel presents the finest work of this visionary creator in this collection. Close your eyes and allow yourself to enter a world of rock trolls and frost giants, fire demons and trickster gods. Walt Simonson will take you into this fantastic world and make seem as real as your own.
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