Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor From Journey Into Mystery Nos. 111-120 & Annual #1 (Volume 3)

Rating:
Summary: Good news and bad news
Review: The good news is that this volume includes the stories that really launched Thor on the path to greatness. The period from 1965 through 1968 encompasses Thor at his best, with some of Jack Kirby's finest work, accompanied by some damn good writing by Stan Lee. With issue 114 in this volume, which saw the creation of the Absorbing Man (a version of which Nick Nolte turned into in the movie version of "Hulk"), the stories arched into an epic adventure that mixed action, heroic fantasy, solid characterization and soap opera into a wonderfully entertaining blend. And they hold up quite well almost 40 years later.
The bad news is that the quality of the art reproduction is inconsistent and leaves a lot to be desired. On many pages, the delicate quality of Vince Colletta's feathered inking is muddied and lost, and the color work often looks sloppy.
It's hard to believe that in this age of computers that a better product couldn't have been created from this material.
Also lacking is an introduction. Marvel should take a lesson from DC and get some fans or comic scholars to contribute an introductory essay with background and anecdotes about the material (as DC does in their fine Archive Editions).
So that's why I couldn't give this a higher rating -- as good as the content of the stories is, more work should have gone into the preparation of this volume.