Thor Epic Collection vol. 23: Worldengine

Date Completed: 3 June 2025

Grade: B+

This was a treat. I was a little worried after the last volume of Thor that this would be more excessively 90s in tone. A frankly it is in a way, but in a fresh new way. The volume begins with a four-part story by Warren Ellis that keeps Thor grounded on Earth, but still maintains elements of Norse mythology in the background (a threat to the world tree Yggdrasil). The art by Mike Deodato Jr. is showing that bridge that occurred in the 90s between classic comics and the more modern age we are in now, with bigger, unusual panels, and a greater detail (without the oddities of proportion that were the trademarks of Liefeld and McFarlane in the 90s). Sure, Thor has a chest the size of Manhattan and hair reminiscent of Medusa (both the mythological character and the Marvel Inhuman...), but it was over the top in a fun way. I think seeing the "Computer Color" credit given to Malibu (the once-publisher was bought my Marvel in 1994) also provided a clear waypoint that this was an era of transition in comics.

After Ellis' run, William Meisner-Loebs does a fine job continuing this new direction, making the stories interesting and lively (and funny as well: the seven-page interlude of Red Norvell's troubles in issue 501 had me laughing out loud). He continued what Ellis began with having a grounded, Earth-based Thor, but still respecting the legacy of Asgard (maybe "respecting" is not the right word considering what happened to Asgard, but you get my point: the Gods are there, but not the main thrust of the stories). It was interesting to see this volume end int he lead-up to a fight with Onslaught. When I was first reading comics in the 90s, I gave up before the Onslaught saga. I had been burnt out by Spider-Man's Clone Saga and just didn't;t care anymore. However, I did have a friend who was still reading X-Men and told me about Onslaught, and while it sounded cool, I just couldn't commit to getting back into it. Oh well. I'm curious where it will go, as I am aware that Thor did not get wrapped up in the alternate dimension post-Onslaught, but this era is probably my biggest blank spot in Marvel comics before I came back to them in 2001/2.

What kept this volume from being in the 'A' range was some small stuff. One were some abandoned plot points. I can't think of a specific example as I write this, but I recall several times thinking that something was set-up, and then just abandoned. Maybe this is the fault of the Onslaught event (or the previous "First Sign" crossover) interrupting the stories (a plague which Marvel now has constantly today). There were a few small errors, such as repeating words in word balloons which was some sloppy editing. But I was also sad to see the 'Asgardian speak' just done away with. I remember in the 90s the desire to modernize, and I recall there being complaints about 'Asgardian speak' at the time, but I find it endearing now and part of the charm of the book. Ellis explained it away for Thor, but then other Asgardians who make appearances here just don't bother anymore.



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