‘Thor Epic Collection: In Mortal Flesh’ review

The care that DeFalco, Frenz, and Thomas put into their Thor issues is a true treasure of the comic medium.

August 9, 2023

The late 1980s was an exciting time for comic fans, with a general mainstream interest in the medium and books routinely selling well over hundreds of thousands of copies. I remember getting into the X-Men and the up-and-coming artists that Marvel had curated at the time. Knowing that the likes of Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane were my go-to creators, it isn’t surprising that Thor from this era was not on my radar. Thankfully, Marvel has been consistently putting out large portions of their back catalog in the highly readable Epic Collection line of trades, and the issues collected here make me wish I was picking Thor up in late ’80s.

In this trade, we get Thor #401-418 and Annual #4, all published between 1989 and 1990. It’s a mix of adventures, featuring villains such as Quicksand, Mongoose, Doctor Doom, Juggernaut, and the Executioner. Fittingly, there are ample cameos, with She-Hulk, Doctor Strange, and The New Warriors all making an appearance. While there are multiple small adventures to be found within these pages, there is a central narrative arc focusing on Thor’s friend, Eric Masterson, a character that will eventually take up the Thor mantle. Seeing the story before Masterson would take on Mjolnir was enjoyable, and gave Thor a central, sympathetic arc to follow.

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My favorite issue of the lot is #410 titled “Two Dooms to Destroy,” a retro-styled adventure featuring Hercules and She-Hulk that includes a time displacement storyline and two Doctor Dooms. It’s big, colorful, completely silly and out of time, but a reminder of what was once commonplace in comic narrative even as late as 1990.

Anyone familiar with comics will recognize such luminaries as Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and Roy Thomas who already made a name for themselves in developing Thor and his cast of characters into the figure he is today. If I didn’t know better, I would have guessed that these issues came right out of the 1970s, with their Kirby-inspired colors and visual melodrama turned up to 11. These creators knew how to write and animate a Thor adventure and were unwilling to be out of step with the trends of the day. This collection stands out as a testament to having a clear vision and pursuing it even when swimming upstream.

This Epic Collection concludes with a hefty helping of supplemental materials, including inked pages and entire Thor scripts from Tom Defalco, as well as the assorted variant covers. I appreciate when Marvel includes these modest historical details, even if they may only appeal to a small sliver of the fanbase.

The care that DeFalco, Frenz, and Thomas put into their Thor issues is a true treasure of the comic medium, and one that should be enjoyed by old and new fans alike. It may not have the gritty modernity of its contemporaries, but it excels in making each page spring with life and vibrancy.