In contrast, the rushed last issue of Straczynski’s run, Thor: Giant Size Finale, is a much tighter story-driven exercise – with Straczynski forced to collapse his house of cards far quicker than he built it. More than that, the space allows Straczynski the chance to define his epic saga – to insert the little touches which add up to so much more. We are introduced to characters and concepts without need for clumsy exposition. I would use the adjective “stately” rather than “glacial”, and point out that Straczynski is able to give his story depth and breadth in those extra pages. They’ll tell you that the pacing is glacial and that nothing really happens. Straczynski is able to accomplish this effect with two issues of Fantastic Four, rather than a massive event or miniseries.Ī lot of people have complained that Straczynski’s run on Thor is decompressed comics at their worst. There’s a definite feeling of a preamble, of the fact that the Thor (both the comic book and the character) are the product of far bigger events playing themselves out. Opening with two issues of Fantastic Four, one gets the sense that this is a story so epic that it can’t even be contained to the title character’s comic. In many ways, this is how the story feels – at least when it starts. He’s the Norse God of Thunder, so perhaps he lends himself to an epic. Still, it’s a great epic story, albeit one with a slightly disappointing ending. That’s a lot of subtext behind one lovely hardcover volume, but it’s something that was always in my mind – particularly as I approached the somewhat “crowded” conclusion. To this day, both sides have differing accounts of what occurred, and both insist that they are in the right. The saga of Straczynski’s run on Thor is a long and complicated one, but it ended with the author departing both the publisher and the comic a lot earlier than anticipated.

One can almost sense the discomfort in the air. There is no introduction from a recognisable figure, nor any scripts included, nor any commentary or interviews.

In fact, this rather wonderful omnibus collection comes with little by way of textual extras. Michael Straczynski’s run on Thor is a somewhat controversial one. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review. With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder.

Thor by j michael straczynski volume 1