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Thor Epic Collection
Thor Epic Collection, Vol. 6: Into the Dark Nebula
When Odin sends Thor on a quest to the World's End, Loki looses the Mangog- a monster powered by the anger and hatred of a billion beings! It's an all-out epic that leads to the tragic death of Odin - but death is not the end! When Pluto comes to claim Odin's soul, a war with Hela, queen of the dead, erupts. What will become of the All-Father? Then, Ego-Prime goes on a time-twisting, evolution-bending rampage - and once the dust settles, Thor and company find themselves exiled from Asgard! Seeing his opportunity, Ulik, king of the Trolls, attempts to wrest Mjolnir from Thor and conquer Earth. The action leads directly into the Dark Nebula - where the 4-D Man and Xorr stand between Thor and the life of Lady Sif! COLLECTING: VOL. 6: THOR (1966) 195-216
477 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2020
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About the author
Gerry Conway
2,062 books89 followersGerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 11, 2022
Thor has consistently been one of the best titles in my semi-chronological Great Marvel Read, filled with hugely imaginative, completely epic sagas occurring regularly. Here is where that pattern begins to wear slightly thin. Thor goes from one universe-altering shenanigan to the next with nary a pause, and it's just all too much. Also, if you're going to have a Fourth-Dimensional Man, maybe give some thought to what those words mean.
I do like the expansion of Thor's supporting cast and the sword-and-sorcery novel vibe of their adventures. Parts of this collection have the large cast split up into several groups on several quests that eventually weave back together, which is a little more complex than most stories we've gotten to date in any title. I especially love the addition of Tana Nile - she's just so weird looking - though she tends to be under-utilized, and her prematurely-evolved alien sea captain boyfriend (?) is maybe a bridge too far. Swap him out for Balder next time.
These issues do some major damage to Asgard's status, rendering them as just another space-based civilization susceptible to attack from outside aggressors, like a really mean lizard in a toupee. It's especially striking how under-powered Odin is shown to be here, having been taken captive and tortured and then sort of wisping about in the background. What happened to Odin, "The Voice! The Power! And the Way!"? I guess it's good that we're softening our view of these beings down from being literal gods - the cosmological implications alone are boggling - but the whole mess of Asgardians now seem significantly less powerful than, say, Silver Surfer on his own.
This is especially striking given that one of Odin's plots this time around involved incubating a brand new crop of young gods from among Earth's notably diverse population. That was a really interesting sequence, and it was intriguing how it was depicted as all part of a grand design incorporating all the disparate plot threads across a number of issues, and was then said to have something to do with serving the grand cosmic tableau or whatever - but why was that Odin's job, and if Odin has that kind of portfolio, then, again, why was he susceptible to the Gila monster in a wig a few issues later? I'd have appreciated even a throwaway line to the effect that Odin was temporarily under-powered thanks to his midwifing of those three new deities. Heck, it would have been interesting if Odin was depicted as being de-powered because of the rift the whole affair caused between him and his son, Thor, with some world-building around the idea of Asgard's strength deriving in part from its unity. Alas, that kind of thoughtful narrative structure is not possible with the obvious veering from one issue and plotline to the next with no evidence of prior planning. (I did really enjoy the whole Thor-Odin rift, though. At last, some consequences that last for more than an issue! Also, Thor's exile to Earth made possible my favorite scene of the collection: having brought his whole coterie of rejected Asgardians to crash at Avengers mansion, a snippy Thor bites helpful Jarvis' head off; Jarvis takes it in stride, as befits a proper butler, but Thor recognizes that he has wronged the man, apologizes, and declares him his friend.)
Despite my criticisms, I do hold that Conway writes the best pseudo-Asgardian dialogue so far. It flows gracefully and with soaring effect, much more so than he often corny pastiches of Lee and Thomas.
I do like the expansion of Thor's supporting cast and the sword-and-sorcery novel vibe of their adventures. Parts of this collection have the large cast split up into several groups on several quests that eventually weave back together, which is a little more complex than most stories we've gotten to date in any title. I especially love the addition of Tana Nile - she's just so weird looking - though she tends to be under-utilized, and her prematurely-evolved alien sea captain boyfriend (?) is maybe a bridge too far. Swap him out for Balder next time.
These issues do some major damage to Asgard's status, rendering them as just another space-based civilization susceptible to attack from outside aggressors, like a really mean lizard in a toupee. It's especially striking how under-powered Odin is shown to be here, having been taken captive and tortured and then sort of wisping about in the background. What happened to Odin, "The Voice! The Power! And the Way!"? I guess it's good that we're softening our view of these beings down from being literal gods - the cosmological implications alone are boggling - but the whole mess of Asgardians now seem significantly less powerful than, say, Silver Surfer on his own.
This is especially striking given that one of Odin's plots this time around involved incubating a brand new crop of young gods from among Earth's notably diverse population. That was a really interesting sequence, and it was intriguing how it was depicted as all part of a grand design incorporating all the disparate plot threads across a number of issues, and was then said to have something to do with serving the grand cosmic tableau or whatever - but why was that Odin's job, and if Odin has that kind of portfolio, then, again, why was he susceptible to the Gila monster in a wig a few issues later? I'd have appreciated even a throwaway line to the effect that Odin was temporarily under-powered thanks to his midwifing of those three new deities. Heck, it would have been interesting if Odin was depicted as being de-powered because of the rift the whole affair caused between him and his son, Thor, with some world-building around the idea of Asgard's strength deriving in part from its unity. Alas, that kind of thoughtful narrative structure is not possible with the obvious veering from one issue and plotline to the next with no evidence of prior planning. (I did really enjoy the whole Thor-Odin rift, though. At last, some consequences that last for more than an issue! Also, Thor's exile to Earth made possible my favorite scene of the collection: having brought his whole coterie of rejected Asgardians to crash at Avengers mansion, a snippy Thor bites helpful Jarvis' head off; Jarvis takes it in stride, as befits a proper butler, but Thor recognizes that he has wronged the man, apologizes, and declares him his friend.)
Despite my criticisms, I do hold that Conway writes the best pseudo-Asgardian dialogue so far. It flows gracefully and with soaring effect, much more so than he often corny pastiches of Lee and Thomas.
July 31, 2024
Gerry Conway begins his run on Thor.
Instead of having a villain of the week, this epic can be divided into two main overarching stories. The first half of this book involves Mangog attacking Asgard while Odin is dead(ish). During this time, Hela and Pluto try and claim Odins soul. While I liked this story, it did get a bit convoluted by the end. The resolution of this plot leads to Thor being exiled from Asgard, which is the theme of the second half of the book.
With Thor being exiled along with a handful of his fellow Asgardians, they decide to take up residence in Avengers mansion. They take on adventures mainly on Earth (and Space), which gave these stories a different feel to previous Thor issues. During their time on Earth, the main cast go up against Mephisto, Absorbing Man, Loki, Ulik and more. By the end of this book, Thor's exile is resolved which makes this epic feel like one big story, with a beginning and an end.
I'm still not too fussed about these early Thor stories and I know they get a lot better later. This was worth reading once, but not something I see myself revisiting.
Instead of having a villain of the week, this epic can be divided into two main overarching stories. The first half of this book involves Mangog attacking Asgard while Odin is dead(ish). During this time, Hela and Pluto try and claim Odins soul. While I liked this story, it did get a bit convoluted by the end. The resolution of this plot leads to Thor being exiled from Asgard, which is the theme of the second half of the book.
With Thor being exiled along with a handful of his fellow Asgardians, they decide to take up residence in Avengers mansion. They take on adventures mainly on Earth (and Space), which gave these stories a different feel to previous Thor issues. During their time on Earth, the main cast go up against Mephisto, Absorbing Man, Loki, Ulik and more. By the end of this book, Thor's exile is resolved which makes this epic feel like one big story, with a beginning and an end.
I'm still not too fussed about these early Thor stories and I know they get a lot better later. This was worth reading once, but not something I see myself revisiting.
March 4, 2022
Welcomed Remembrance
I enjoyed this as a fond memory of my youth...when comic books were affordable...and simpler. Worth the price and time.
I enjoyed this as a fond memory of my youth...when comic books were affordable...and simpler. Worth the price and time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews