"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of ... THOR"

The Marvel Platinum series is designed to give new readers (such as myself) an overview of a character's origin and important stories in their lifetime.

[A note on SPOILERS: There won't be any as long as you don't consider mentioning the names of Thor, The Avengers or other Asgardians]

The Cast

Thor is the main character throughout but anyone who has watched the Marvel films will also recognise Odin, Loki, Volstagg (the Vast), The Lady Sif, Hogun and Fandral. There are also appearances by The Avengers and other Asgardians (above).

The Art

The artwork in this book spans the whole history of Thor and so the earlier comics are not as high quality as you'd expect today or in a good graphic novel. The depictions of Thor and his allies/foes definitely improve throughout the book but by the time you reach the more recent comics the quality is top notch :)

The Writing It's nice to see such a cross-section of comic history. You can see how the writing style changes (the early Thor comics do seem a little childish). One noticeable change in the writing style comes when Thor's speech is made more accessible (if you thought he talked strangely in the films wait 'til you read the earlier comics!).

The later stories are superbly written and the characters seem vivid and exciting. There's a brilliant bit where Thor is given a stern talking down for his actions.

The Stories

The first two stories cover Thor's origins (one from the first comic and another one with more detail from later on). From then on we see the God of Thunder dealing with many different foes including some you'll recognise from the films (with the aid of The Avengers). It's hard to discuss any of this further without spoilers but some of the story arcs in this collection are excellent and a must read for fans of the films.

The Conclusion

This is a great overview of a character I didn't know much about until the films came out. I've learnt lots and enjoyed the ride :)

Next time on Marvel Monday - Uncanny X-men 1!

Tom out! :)

The Linkhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/Marvel-Platinum-The-Definitive-Thor/dp/184653481X