Slowly but surely the God of Thunder makes some progress.
The Mighty Thor stomps his way through the streets of New York in a rage. His anger becomes apparent as he has grown frustrated with his father, Odin, due to him forbidding Thor to marry or even so much as love a mortal woman by the name of Jane Foster. This soon causes Odin to act. -summary
When I sit back and re-read plenty of these 60’s Thor stories. I find it to be no wonder The Incredible Hulk would eventually gain steam and become Marvel’s premier powerhouse. The Mighty Thor quite frankly had some moments of being pretty boring. I will admit though that Stan Lee found some type of rhythm with the God of Thunder, however he still relied on certain gimmicks which resulted in some shaky storytelling at times. This TPB collects Journey Into Mystery issues 101 – 110.
If there’s anything truly outstanding in these stories, then it has to be Jack Kirby’s artwork. He clearly had the fantasy element down to a science very early. When these stories are set on Asgard, Kirby’s imagination was near at its peak. There’s this grand and epic feel throughout the backgrounds and scenery. This majestic feeling also comes into play with the character designs. The Asgardians, especially the lovely Enchantress are gods through and through. In addition the action has gotten a little bit better as it feels more physical at times. I could look at these panels and rarely get bored, in fact, it’s Kirby’s artwork that keeps these stories from outright drowning.
In regards to Lee’s writing I have to say it’s still inconsistent at best. He drags down the stories quite a bit with his attempts at drama through the Don Blake, Jane Foster, and Thor love triangle. Plus the character development can be downright annoying at times with Odin coming off looking petty and foolish. It’s unreal just how easily tricked he can be when he knows Loki is a trickster. However, this time around Lee does a better job with returning villains Mr. Hyde and Cobra, as they prove to be threats to Thor. The Grey Gargoyle makes his first impressive appearance, by actually appearing unbeatable for Thor with his power to turn anyone he touches into stone.
Stan Lee’s writing was simply mixed for me and I was never compelled to read these stories straight through in one shot. There were some nice encounters with Cobra and Mr. Hyde using their wits to get the edge on Thor, but then Lee would resort to Thor’s annoying weakness regarding separation from his hammer that would simply ruin the mood. While on other occasions, his writing can be pretty captivating when Odin would help Thor battle against other gods. There was this seesaw effect that would continuously creep up for me. In addition the book ends on a big cliffhanger with things cleared up in the next volume.
This second volume of Thor is better than the first but not really by much. I wouldn’t advise anyone to start here if they’re unfamiliar with this part of Thor’s history. Fortunately, the third volume is much better than this with the conclusion to Thor’s encounter with Mr. Hyde and Cobra, in addition it also features the first appearance of the Absorbing Man, as well as legendary clashes with the Hulk and Hercules. I recommend that volume way before this one.
Pros: Better use of some villains, cool first appearances
Cons: Shaky writing in numerous places