Thor by Walter Simonson Volume 2

Thor by Walter Simonson, Vol. 2 by Walter Simonson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A dark elf named Malekith seeks The Casket of Ancient Winters, which is in the hands of a mortal named Eric Willis. Can Thor prevent Malekith from getting the Casket and releasing his master, Surtur, on Midgard?

Thor by Walter Simonson, Volume 2 contains issues 346 to 355 of Simonson's revered run on Thor. And it's pretty spectacular.

I'll get my one gripe out of the way first: this book is stuffed to the gills with long-winded Asgardian dialogue.

Now that that's out of the way, this was, as I said, pretty spectacular. Simonson manages to convey an epic scope without using tons of full page spreads and his art is more heavily detailed from other comics of the same time period. AND he managed to make the deadlines every month despite being the writer AND the artist. You can feel his love for Norse sagas and comics in general on every page.

The story is much bigger than my teaser conveys. Malekith wants to free Surtur so Surtur will set the Nine Worlds ablaze. Once the Casket of Ancient Winters is open, it's all Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and the assembled might of Asgard and the Avengers to stop Surtur and his numberless horde. It's an epic battle between good and evil that rivals old Norse sagas and it is not without consequences.

Lots of stuff from the Thor movies was pinched from Simonson's run, like Malekith and Surtur. It could even be argued that parts were used to craft the template that a lot of Marvel's bigger movies use: hordes of disposable foot soldiers for one group of heroes to grapple with while Thor goes after the big guns. Odin and his sons facing down Surtur with the rainbow bridge destroyed and Earth being overrun by Surtur's minions is one of my favorite moments in the run so far.

Walter Simonson's Thor run is one of the best runs of the 1980s and this volume is a prime example. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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