90s Thor (up until Onslaught)

[ARkadelphia]

I liked World Engine

[Somecrazyaussie]

I grew up with the Defalco/Frenz run. So I have a soft spot for it. I reread it a year or so ago and still found it to be a great yarn. I really liked Eric Masterson as a lead character. I liked his arc in that he grew into the role of Thor. Most replacement heroes come in and take over with minimal effort. But Masterson got jobbed numerous times. He tried to do things like Thor, but ultimately realized he had to do things his way. Plus I liked how he had ongoing custody issues. The Bloodaxe mystery was also well done.

Ron Marz has an affinity for Thor and, judging from interviews around the time, was very enthusiastic about taking over on the title. But if you read interviews he has done the past couple of years, you come to realize his run was hampered by editorial. Nothing hurts worse than a bloated mandatory crossover being forced on you. It just seemed like, now the real deal was back, they didn't know what to do with him. The artists working on the book at the time were loathed as well. Track down some issues and read the letter column. They are interesting reading.

Roy Thomas seemed like a safe pair of hands. But he had already said what he wanted to about Thor during his previous stints. I do admit to liking World Engine by Ellis. But Deodato's art, while not overly bad, was nowhere near as refined as it would be later on.

Now, Jurgens... well, his run was essentially a return to the traditional status quo. So if you like Thor with a mortal surrogate etc this run is for you. Actually, it is nowhere near as bad as some make out it is. It was certainly stronger than his Captain America run at the time. Plus he had great artists working with him. It starts to come off the rails towards the end, but overall, it is a fun read.

[gurkle]

My only major problem with Jurgens' run is that so much of it hangs on a new character, Jake Olson, who was doomed to be forgotten and retired right after Jurgens left the book. He was originally thinking of bringing back Don Blake, and I can see why he didn't because that would have been too much of a return to the old status quo, but the overarching theme of the whole run is that Thor needs to be both god and man, and it doesn't work so well with a human alter ego no one ever used before or again.

Other than that, while some issues/stories are better than others, I'm glad I read it and I really enjoy following the huge changes in Marvel storytelling from 1998 to 2004. When it starts out it's a festive neo-classical book with lots of continuity references, guest stars, soap opera subplots, thought balloons and editors' notes, and by the end it's got decompressed storytelling, a dark, morally ambiguous story completely cut off from other books, "realistic" coloring... and yet for all that it's recognizably telling the same story with the same themes that Jurgens set out in the very first issue (when Thor acts insulted by a cop who questions whether he's a real god).

[Somecrazyaussie]

My only major problem with Jurgens' run is that so much of it hangs on a new character, Jake Olson, who was doomed to be forgotten and retired right after Jurgens left the book. He was originally thinking of bringing back Don Blake, and I can see why he didn't because that would have been too much of a return to the old status quo, but the overarching theme of the whole run is that Thor needs to be both god and man, and it doesn't work so well with a human alter ego no one ever used before or again.

It is similar to how Defalco and Frenz introduced Eric Masterson during their Thor run. But I do see your point.

[MaximoffTrash]

I don't care what anyone says the Jurgens run to me is in the top 5 all time runs in my eyes. It was epic and everything from 'The Death of Odin" until the end of the Lord of Earth storyline was gold.

Yeah, and they used Jake Olson pretty well, the ending of Spiral arc gave me shivers.
I think this character serves his purpose pretty well.

[JKtheMac]

I don't care what anyone says the Jurgens run to me is in the top 5 all time runs in my eyes. It was epic and everything from 'The Death of Odin" until the end of the Lord of Earth storyline was gold.

Real talk, and I have said it before, Jurgens did OK, he got better as he went along and for me was great by the end. I just wouldn’t classify it as 90s Thor because it found its stride after that.

[Snoop Dogg]

Jurgens was okay when JRJR was carrying but only hit a creative stride when the Church stuff started happening but then the whatever timejump happens and then he just wastes all of your time by making it so the only interesting parts of his run literally don't happen.

Regardless, due to a certain movie, I guess the best and most important Thor comics of the 90's were from one arc of 90's Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Digifiend]

Asgardians of the Galaxy? Wow, the name's a lot older than I thought!

[JKtheMac]

I liked World Engine

Not judging you. It’s just one of those incredibly 90s stories. It manages to combine the 90s obsession with comparative mythology, trench coat cynicism, classic male fantasy relationships and the techno obsession of the era all in one very short story. I could equally attack recognised classics of the era as falling into some of these traps. Indeed I sometimes do, because even the hugely respected stories in the 90s are very dated IMO. I won’t single them out here because it would cause a huge tangent.

And yet I do secretly like some of this story. Like I said I think the art is really interesting and it makes me feel nostalgic.