Raven's Haven: Ron Frenz

Sunday, 16 October 2016

The Mighty Thor (1966) # 447-459

(I originally read these comics in mid December 2015)

Behold! - the conclusion of Tom DeFalco's and Ron Frenz's five and a half year-run on Thor!

Most of the long-running plots are wrapped up here, and those that aren't I presume are concluded in the spin-off comic 'Thunderstrike' (which I'll get to reading soon). Architect/reluctant hero Eric Masterson is still endowed with the power of Thor and Thor's essence is still prisoner of Mephisto - or is it? Meanwhile, all is not right in Asgard as it becomes obvious Odin is not quite himself. It transpires that after being 'killed' in issue # 432, Loki has been inhabiting Odin's body and plotting to take over Asgard (the usual, then). Of course, Thor is eventually found and returned to his rightful status as Scion of the Golden Realm, but not after Thor's paramour Sif has begun to fall for Eric! The agony! BUT WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE MR. MASTERSON, I hear you ask. I'll tell you: in possession of a newly-forged hammer and retaining the power of Thor as new hero 'Thunderstrike'! New villain Bloodaxe (Ghost Rider Without a Bike. ...Ghost Pedestrian?) is causing trouble back on earth - but who is he? Considering his identity goes unrevealed in these issues, I guess that little mystery will be resolved in the pages of Thunderstrike. I can't wait!!

The four-part 'Citizen Kang' crossover by Roy Thomas and Mark Gruenwald is dire, with (flavour of the month) Rob Liefeld-inspired art by Herb Trimpe to match. Sad to see the '70s Hulk artist extraordinaire having to stoop to that to remain employed.

All in all this has been an enjoyable Thor run, though too often derailed by line-wide crossovers (which I'll have to remember to skip on a second read). It's not in Walt Simonson's league, but what is? These are solid, old school super-hero comics and I'd give the run as a whole a comfortable 7 out of 10.

Captain America Annual # 11, Thor Annual # 17, Fantastic Four Annual # 25 and Avengers Annual # 21 are collected in:

Softcover:

Avengers: Citizen Kang (US)

Avengers: Citizen Kang (UK)

The Mighty Thor (1966) # 457-459 are collected in:

Softcover:

The Mighty Thor: Thunderstrike (US)

The Mighty Thor: Thunderstrike (UK)

Thursday, 13 October 2016

The Mighty Thor (1966) # 411-444, Marvel Holiday Special 1991

(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.