@@captainjakemerica4579 they didn't. The first movie was mostly inspired by JMS's run. Loosely, of course. And Thor Ragnajoke had jack and sh1t to do with Walt's run or any other Thor run. In Walt's run Hela is Loki's daughter (well, she has always been that, but Walt put more emphasis on their familial ties), he brought Angrboda into Marvel Comics, made Hela's half-dead look from the Norse myths canon, introduced Gjöll and Móðguðr, introduced the Vigrid Battlefield, had Odin ride to battle with Einjarjar at the dawn of Ragnarok, had Thor battle Jormugandr. It was in service of the Norse myths, not a mockery of them like the MCU did
Lol, what a joke. You were happy with a pointless reference to an irrelevant story but didn't care that the movie was an absolute garbage that shat all over not even just the comics, but even the previous movies. MCU fans, how can you be this tasteless and easy to please? By Burri's bones, raise up your standards, for Aesir's sake.
Man, that Simonson quote is exactly what Ragnarok did not due, that movie was all winks and nudges about how silly it was and how hip and funny it would be to subvert the story
While I agree that Simonson's run on Thor is the best ever, Roy Thomas's storyarc that integrated the Eternals, Deviants and Celestials into the main Marvel Universe and told the story of Thor as Siegfried from Wagner's Ring Cycle was pretty good as well.
I just finished reading Walt EPIC run on Thor. And it truly is one of the greatest runs on a character ever. I am glad I got to enjoy the ride. Thor, like another very mighty character, Superman, can be hit or miss depending on who writes him. But Walt Simonsons run is as epic and bombastic and yet artistically skillfull as a Led Zeppelin-album. Defenitely one of my favourite runs on a character, and one that makes Thor one of my top 10 superheroes.
You say that like Superman is the only character in history that’s a hit or miss depending on the the writer. When we both know that any character is subject to bad writing. Not just Superman
@@CommanderShepard-wq3wo That's true. Fair criticism of my post. If I may defend myself, however, I did formulate myself poorly, and didn't get across what I was trying to say. My original point, which I will admit was poorly and sloppily worded, is that mighty characters like Thor and Superman generally are harder to write for. It's hard to create tension when a character is very powerful, and also make that tension believable. Since the threat has to be extraordinary since the original hero is so extra powerful, it can easily get over-done at times, or not enough at others. And since it is trickier to write, not a lot of writers are up to the task.
God this run is such a definite run of Thor. Beta Ray Bill and Odin's creation of Stormbreaker, Balder the Brave wandering endlessly on horrific self reflection of all the horrors seen in the realm of Hel, Fafnir, Lorelei ensnaring Thor, Malekith, the unleashing the Casket of Ancient Winters, Surtur invading New York, and his epic fight against Odin, Thor and Loki, Hela, Kurse and Skurge's last stand. Simonson threw all the best villains and did them justice in his run. I still have the trades of this run that will forever be part of my collection. Its just straight mix of zany stories, hard action, clever schemes and somber reflections and horror on behalf of various characters. Its a must read to me.
Just subbed. Walt Simonson's Thor run is my favorite. I got the 2nd issue of Walt's run from a snack shop that rented their comics to diners. I wasn't a collector yet. The book was rad! I never saw Thor depicted that way before. It was like he was brought into the modern times. There wasn't a comic shop where I lived, and new ones were too expensive for a student like myself. The run was reprinted into trades later on and that's when I collected them. I eventually left for New York where I currently live. I gave my collection to a kid back home as a goodbye gift. When news came that an Omnibus was coming out, I preordered it from Barnes and Noble. I got it for $75.00 back then. I still have the book to this date. I consider it a personal treasure. One which reminds me of the times when I only dreamt of completing the entire run.
You are absolutely correct about this review.I was following and collecting Thor since the 60's and nothing blew my mind like simonson.The stories,the art, the imagination, kept me invested.Jack Kirby was truly honered here.
@@popeye697 to me the movie feels more like a Thor parody movie, I don't feel the movie balanced comedy with the drama it required, I feel that the comic run managed to do that, in that yes there are many silly moments, but when serious situations happen it is treated with the seriousness and dramatic weight that it is due
The Surtur Saga is epic, Mjolnir' s Song is a nice conclusion but the Frog of Thunder is one of the most fun stories I have ever read plus to me it is Simonson at his best!
2:02 - seems like the opposite of what the movies do. They were ashamed of being Thor movies and were constantly winking at the audience. Especially in the third movie.
So much fun, great video. I could not afford these books back then so i loved the way you sumed up the tales and filled us in. Seems way more entertaining than the main storyarcs of most of todays books and their current themes
@@MattDraper "Today's leaner & faster comics".... I would say, in many cases, today's DUMBER comics. Today's writers (again, in many cases) act like continuity doesn't belong to comics; additionally, Thor's current treatment as a laughable punching bag by lesser characters is offensively cretinous.
I bought this copy way back in my teens in that "older volumes" section of my local comic shop. Cool to see Simonson's art again. The way he draws Thor's flight mechanics with Mjolnir really made it look like the throwing of the hammer and spinning of it in place like a helicopter holds sway over his trajectory. Brilliant!
God of Thunder...and Rock 'n' Roll!!! Simonson's run is verily an all-time classic (as is Lee and Kirby's, of course!), but I would be remiss if I didn't point out a few other stellar runs on the book that tend to be overlooked, such as Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz (who had the daunting task of immediately following Simonson, and who in my view pulled it off rather nicely), or Dan Jurgens and John Romita Jr (the artwork - of which you get a brief glimpse at 1.01 in this video - just bleeds epic!). Plus, one mustn't overlook Roger Langridge's 'Thor: The Mighty Avenger' series, which is perhaps the most charming portrayal of the Thor/Jane Foster romance ever seen (Langridge's Muppet comics are also well worth checking out, by the way...!!!). PS: Re: The Thor movies - great stuff, but needed much more of the Warriors Three, and especially the Voluminous Volstagg, yes? (Not to mention the Enchantress - not to be confused with the one from Suicide Squad, by the way - wonder who would best fit the role, eh?).
Awesome video & review as ever Matt :) after watching this I'm more psyched to read this run than ever I just need to pick up volumes 3 & 5 of Walt Simonson's Thor run ASAP then I can read the story in its entirity.
BetaRayBill isn't "ugly"... He's an alien... We're as "ugly" to him as he is to us... There is nothing special about our form ; it's a bias. His physique was there to show how much we project : "We good, them bad"... Everyone just assumed he was an evil monster despite him being one of the noblest soul in the universe. As Killowog once said : "We're all the alien of someone else." Great video. I will buy this saga.
well, to be fair, even to Bill's own people (and himself) he was considered hideous looking. that was part of the sacrifice he made to become the character he was. also why he got the power to transform into his original form.
If only Ragnarok was like this run instead of being the marvel comedy hour featuring Chris Hemsworth doing a Thor impression, at least infinity war found a better balance for Thor's character, but it should have been that way in his own movie
Captain Jakemerica I should have phrased it better, I meant I wish the movie was more accurate to the comic, with beta Ray bill, frog Thor ect, not the marvel comedy hour with Chris Hemsworth doing a Thor impression
Kyle Pietrusiewicz I didn’t mind the constant comedy bits, but the things that get me is that Beta Ray Bill only gets a Mount Rushmore face (which non BRB fans would’ve gone over their heads) and Throg became a childhood prank mentioned in passing. Not the way I wanted Beta Ray Bill to be put in the movie. And now in Infinity War and Endgame, Thor gets Beta Ray Bill’s weapon, Stormbreaker, to boot.
@@kylepietrusiewicz2749 The movie didn't need Bet Ray Bill and Chris Hemsworth wasn't doing a Thor impression. The Thor movies had weak reception beforehand what Taika Waititi did was what Thor needed
"No nudges in the ribs or sly winks to let them know we were all in on the joke" That sums up the problem with Disney Star Wars and 90% of the Marvel movies and shows. It is all nudges and winks demeaning the decades of myth making that came before these vultures came to cash in on this juicy IP.
I find how rarely BRB is utilized in modern comics genuinely upsetting. Even when he does crop up it's just to act in the capacity of kooky Thor space horse that opens a gateway to cosmic adventures for our heroes and/or provides extra muscle. Periodically he gets to job in a Thor story. Marvel has thrown so much shit at the wall that hasn't stuck, why not attempt a BRB book with a good team and a decent push? Even were they to cancel after 3 or 4 issues it'd be no different than all the aborted, recycled bullshit attempted runs, and they'd at least have given it a shot in a time when ppl are hungering for something different. The last thing I can remember focusing on him was Godhunter. Still have to check out that Sif mini he was a part of.
I've been hearing about how amazing Walt Simonson's run on Thor is, and you described it perfectly. Also, have you thought about doing a video on the New Gods?
agentofxehanort Thank you! I'd love to do a New Gods video, but I need to read more of Kirby's run. With Tom King's Mister Miracle going on right now, I may do something with that when it ends.
Jacob Levin-Fay I actually like the recoloring! I own the omnibus they put out a few years ago. But I can see why people would just want the original colors, which I liked using here.
Walt has said that the original coloring job didn’t translate well to the whiter paper, so it had to be done to some degree regardless. The older version relied heavily on the ink bleeding a bit into the newsprint.
I started buying *Thor* just after Walt Simonson's run. Something I've regretted ever since. Because of this guy, we got *Beta Ray Bill,* probably one of the most beloved Marvel characters ever.
Classic Thor is better than modern Thor he’s more powerful more stronger and more godly than modern Thor and honestly I did not like how marvel changed Thor making him more warrior and more miserable than more godly and mighty
You had a huge error almost immediately. While Stan Lee is attributed as one of the creators of Thor, it was in reality Jack Kirby who created the character. He brought forward some Golden Age work he had done on a Thor and designed the visuals and a lot of the storytelling elements. If Stan Lee is a credited creator and you’re not absolutely sure he had a hand in that creation, he probably didn’t.
Stan is, officially at least, credited with co-creating all the original Marvel heroes. Generally when doing any kind of documentary on these characters you kind of have to credit him as a creator. While I kind of resent the fact that Kirby, Ditko, and Romita are not officially credited with the plotting of the books they drew I do understand that Lee wasn't just fueling his ego, he was making sure the copyright and trade mark stayed with Marvel indisputably. It's pretty well known that Kirby wrote all the books he drew, as did Ditko. Those classic Spider-Man comics that John Romita Sr. drew? Yah, he wrote those to, he even admitted in an interview that he killed Gwen Stacy. Stan was severely overworked at this point. He was the only editor at Marvel, he also wrote the scripts for every book, handled all the administration alone. There was a time when Marvel had only one non-freelance, employee, that was Stanley Leiber. By the time Jack was attempting to get his original art back from Marvel Stan had nothing to do with the comic book company as he'd moved to Hollywood to manage Marvel Productions. Also, the company had grown from the small, penniless, shoe-string, operation Stan ran with virtually absolute authority to a corporate power with a legal department that could veto anybody actually working with the creative side of the business. Also Marvel, most likely, couldn't even physically return the art to Jack as common practice back then was to shred the original art since it was too expensive to store it. Dick Giordano had a similar fight at DC, though he did get slightly more support from Jeannette Khan.
I know I'm going to sound like a bit of nerd on this, but neither Stan Lee nor Jack Kirby "created" Thor. Thor was one of the Norse gods - in fact he was THE most popular character in the Norse pantheon. Okay, you're going to say your talking about Marvel's version. Fine. But in his book, "Origins of Marvel Comics," Stan spoke about how, after the publication of "The Fantastic Four," "The Incredible Hulk," and "The Amazing Spider-Man," he was looking for something different. He said that the only idea he liked was "Super-God," which he kept rejecting because he knew they would be offending just about every religion if it were published. But the idea wouldn't go away, and suddenly, according to Stan, he realized they couldn't do a comic book about God, but they could do one about a god. Stan said he always enjoyed stories about the Norse gods, and picked Thor because he found him the most visually exciting. Concerning Jack's contributions, I am certain he had an equal say in Thor's creation - particularly on the visual elements, which are fantastic. However, in the 1980s, when Jack was fighting with Marvel over ownership of his original artwork, he was quoted in an article saying he wanted exclusive creative credit from many of the books he had worked on at Marvel - including Thor. In making his argument, he cited issues of "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen," in which Thor had been used as an important character. Well I saw some of those issues, and I was not impressed. Basically, the character was Superman with a beard, carrying a hammer and wearing a horned helmet. In the Marvel version, one could truly believe that the stories were about the real McCoy, because Thor was depicted as being bigger than life, with all the nobility and strength of everyone's concept of a mythological character. Also, remember that dialog is very important in a book like Thor, and it was Stan who made him and the other gods speak with the pseudo-Shakespearian phrases. Corney? Sure, but it also made Thor seem real, which was the important thing. All right, despite my tearing into Jack a bit, I believe that equal credit should be given to him as well as Stan for Marvel's version of Thor. Separately, they could not have done the magnificent job on breathing life into a character which previously had simply been of historical importance to those interested in Norse mythology.
I was 12 years old when Walt took over Thor in ‘83 and let me tell you… prior to that Thor SUCKED. Throughout the 70’s and into the 80’s the writers on Thor really seemed to struggle with what to do with Thunder God. It was pretty uninspired. Terrible. Simonson’s run blew the doors off that book. We looked forward to “The Mighty Thor” every month as ravenously as we did “Uncanny X-Men”