The Classics - The Mighty Thor #188

We live in a Golden Age of comic reprints - but there's actually a drawback to that situation.

When you read comics in a collection, you're missing out on a key element in the equation - namely, the month-long wait between issues! (These days, the wait is often more than a month.)

It's the delight of the cliffhanger. When I was growing up, my Dad told me stories about going to the movies when he was a boy and seeing the adventure reels, which would end with the hero facing certain death. The next Saturday, the next installment would arrive, in which the hero would somehow escape destruction.

Comic books - especially Marvel's Silver Age output - made use of the same technique, using continued stories to keep the fans hanging on, anxious to see that next chapter.

I could probably find a hundred comics from the '60s and '70s that had me in agony, waiting for that final chapter - but this is the comic that came to mind.

With a cover date of May 1971, this is the final chapter in the saga of Infinity, a mysterious being that threatened the universe. Manifesting as a pair of mystic, galaxy-sized hands, the entity was making its way toward Earth and Asgard, destroying everything in its path.

The Mighty Thor is unable to stop the advance of the being, and Odin is the galaxy's last hope. But even the All-Father falls before the power of Infinity, and the universe seems doomed.

...

And that's where the previous issues left us, and we had to wait an agonizing 30 days for the final chapter.

I well remember the delight of seeing this issue in the spinner rack at my local newsstand! I bought it, ran out to the car and read it immediately.

Now, I'm not going to tell you that it was the most amazing wrap-up in the history of comics. In fact, the story ends up being kind of flimsy, and the resolution is way too pat.

But... I still loved it. The scripting by Stan Lee makes every page crackle with excitement, and the artwork by John Buscema and Jim Mooney is simply amazing. Buscema is one of the best pure artists in the history of comics, and his work is loaded with energy, great character designs and dynamic layouts.

Now, if you're reading this in a collection, there's no wait involved - you just crash from one story to the next instantly, and I think that actually takes away from the joy of the story. It was meant to be read from month to month, not moment to moment.

When I read a collection, I don't have the willpower to read a single issue and set it down for a month, but I do try to read several collections at once, reading one story at a time and alternating between books.

It's not the same as the classic torment - but it helps bring back a sense of the original intent.

Grade: A-