(I originally read these comics between late November/early December 2015)
And so continues my read-through of the late '80s-early '90s run on Thor by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz. I'm three quarters of the way through it now and it's an engaging read. (Maybe not comparable to the Simonson run that preceded it, but it's not far off.)
I started off with a three-part Beta Ray Bill back-up from the 'Acts of Vengeance' issues. The first extended story is the 'Black Galaxy Saga,' in which Thor (still sharing a body with architect Eric Masterson) and Hercules travel to the eponymous "living bio-verse" for an adventure involving the Celestials and the High Evolutionary. It's grand space opera, but nothing very memorable. Thor and Eric are separated and merged again two issues later. Back in Asgard, Heimdall temporarily takes the throne as Odin enters the 'Odinsleep.' The next few issues introduce Code: Blue, an NYPD swat team assembled for combating super menaces, alongside the Wrecking Crew (always faves of mine), the Juggernaut, Excalibur and a gratuitous Ghost Rider appearance which places this squarely in the early '90s. There are backstage machinations between Loki and Mephisto, culminating in issue # 432 where Thor seemingly kills Loki. As penance, Heimdall banishes Thor from Asgard and Eric takes over the Thor identity full-time, retaining his own personality while Thor's soul is trapped by Mephisto. The new Eric-Thor gets to prove his mettle by accompanying Balder and Sif into the Negative Zone to save Odin who, while sleeping, was abducted by Annihilus. Next up there's a time-travelling team-up between Eric-Thor, Beta Ray Bill and Dargo, "The Once and Future Thor" from the 26th Century (introduced back in issue # 384), against forgotten '60s reject, Zarrko the Tomorrow Man. After that Eric, in his mortal guise, travels into Mephisto's domain to retrieve the stolen Mjolnir, with the help of Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer, encountering Thor's trapped soul in the process.
The two storylines running through the 1990 and '91 annuals are below standard, with 'The Terminus Factor' by Roy and Dann Thomas being particularly poor.
Like I said, this has been a generally enjoyable run so far, with a lot going on. The soap opera elements of Eric Masterson's real life - his ongoing travails with his son and ex-wife and his secretary/would-be girlfriend being knocked into a coma - keep the comic grounded even amidst the fantastical elements.
Thor (1966) # 415/416 are collected in:
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Thor (1966) # 416-425 are collected in:
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Captain America Annual # 9 is collected in:
Softcover:
Thor (1966) # 431-433 are collected in:
Softcover:
Fantastic Four Annual # 24, The Mighty Thor Annual # 16, Silver Surfer Annual # 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy Annual # 1 are collected in:
Hardcover:
Softcover:
Thor (1966) # 437 is collected in:
Softcover:
