BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Hammer of the Gods

Since last week’s column was dark, let’s lighten it up a bit with three collections all dealing with mythology — Norse mythology, to be precise. Yes, it’s another column filled with three comic collections, but what collections they are! We have some old-school comic fun, so it’s pretty safe to say if you pick any of these up, you won’t be disappointed. But if you can only get one, that will be a tough decision.

THOR: TALES OF ASGARD by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — If those two names don’t tell you what you are about to read, you lead a sheltered life. This is a 2010 collection of all the TALES OF ASGARD backup strips that appeared in both JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY and THOR.

Now let’s first tackle the elephant in the room: If you are a purist who thinks the original coloring is the end-all-be-all, step away from this book and wait for the THOR OMNIBUS coming out later this year, as this book has been recolored. For me, that makes it better, since the stories no longer look like a garish mess, which is fine on old newsprint, but glossy paper, not so much.

For most THOR fans, the series really did not kick into high gear until these tales were first published. They deal with Thor as a youth and tales of Norse mythology, with all the characters who populate Asgard making appearances throughout. And since these were backup strips, nothing drags. This book is a beauty, from the front cover to the extras. It includes the first Thor story, aka his origin, which is nice to see. There’s also a fold-out poster done by Olivier Coipel that connects all the covers to the miniseries that appeared a few years ago which originally reprinted these stories. On its reverse side is the pencil sketch.

Now, for me, when I see a book with Kirby artwork, it better have a Kirby cover. Sadly, Marvel does not share my belief, since the version which is easiest to get your hands on is the cover by Coipel, while the variant version is now going for crazy prices — some people are just pariahs.

Whichever version you find, you won’t be disappointed. If I ever get a chance to meet Lee, this will be the book I would want signed. Unless someone wants to spring for that AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS for me? Yeah, didn’t think so.

THE VIKING PRINCE by Joe Kubert, Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney and Bill Finger — When I was a kid, I would read whatever comic came into my hands. That included a stack of reprinted old DC stuff, including some buried treasures. One in particular dealt with Vikings. For kids, what was cooler? Guys wearing cool helmets and fighting sea monsters and other men with swords. I had no idea what it was; I just thought, “Oh, cool swords!”

Now DC has just collected the original series, with all the art chores handled by Kubert, who’s one of my favorites. Unlike the THOR collection, these stories are not as fantastical, since they all take place in the real world. Of course, there are sea monsters and underwater kingdoms, but that is not the selling point. It’s all about the artwork and the storytelling. For the time, that’s refreshing, because if you ever reread some Golden and Silver Age issues, you’ll note most of them don’t hold up, and get repetitive quickly.

These stories first appeared in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, which would later be the stomping grounds of certain Green heroes. THE VIKING PRINCE is known only as Jon, who has no recollection of his past or why an evil baron is so hellbent on capturing him. The bulk of the tales deal with Jon performing the 12 tasks of Thor (not the Marvel superhero). There is plenty of action in every one to make you relive those days of running around your neighborhood, thinking you were on some sort of adventure.

Not only are all the original tales included, but also one of the coolest team-ups in DC Comics history: the issues of SGT. ROCK in which the Viking Prince plays a central role. Also included are all the covers that featured the prince, not to mention a one-page introduction by Kubert. Hopefully, if DC does another WEDNESDAY COMICS (an amazing collection, by the way), they should get him to take another trip back to those old Norse days.

THOR: BALDER THE BRAVE by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema — Odin is gone and a war is brewing. That’s the basis for this miniseries, collected in 2009 as a MARVEL PREMIERE hardcover. I’ve got a bunch of these collections and they are just great reading, since some reprint material that might never be saved otherwise. This one is not just the miniseries, but also has the tie-in issues of THOR that are central to the story.

Hela is stockpiling souls that she will use to overtake Asgard, while Thor is readying for the fight, and Balder needs to retrieve his love, Queen Karnilla. This story is during the run of Simonson, one of the truly great THOR writers, and the book is filled with his distinctive style of characters. The other half of the art chores is handled by Buscema, whose name appears on plenty of books on my shelves, so you know you are in great hands here.

And since this is just a miniseries, we get into the action quickly, with plenty of fights for Balder to handle, with a never-ending stream of Frost Giants, all for the love of his queen. Not all MARVEL PREMIERE hardcovers are equal; in some, you’d be lucky for an introduction, but this one reprints an article from MARVEL AGE which tells the complete story between Balder and Karnilla, while also providing a reprinted MARVEL UNIVERSE biography and Simonson’s sketches. For those who want to try out one of these collections, might I suggest THE AVENGERS/DEFENDERS WAR? —Bruce Grossman

Buy them at Amazon.

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3. BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Make Mine Marvel
4. BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Hail to the King
5. BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Gift Giving

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