Got mine today.

After all the hype, after all the hyperlatives posted, my expectations were understandably high. And now, with the book in my hands, I would say...

It's big.
It's heavy.
And it's good. Very good. Thunderously good.

I would venture to suggest that it is the best Thor book your money can buy, by a far margin. Visually, it's a pleasure to behold, and Walt Simonson's full vision, as collected in a single volume, forms a most compelling and convincing epic. While I have the deepest respect and appreciation for the old Lee/Kirby classics, there is no single book collecting their Thor stories that is as consistent and comprehensive as this book. A theoretical mega-omnibus collecting Thor 118-157, would (IMO) be just about the only thing that could seriously challenge this book.
But as it is now, if you can afford only one Thor book in your lifetime, make darn sure it is this one!

The stories were just as good and epic as I remembered. What surprised me was how consistent the art was, even when Sal was handling it. While Sal's art was easy to recognize, Sal remains strikingly consistent with Walt's style earlier on in the book. It's not an imitation of Walt's style - it's Sal's own, individual take on Walt's vision. I would list this as one of Sal Buscema's finest efforts to date.

The colors. I loved the original subdued floppy colors which blended nicely on newsprint. But I hated them in the Visionaries TPBS. Like most colors from the newsprint era, they didn't translate well at all to the brighter paper: they were too strong and marked, simply unnatural and unconvincing.
I had certain expectations for new coloring job.
And I'm happy to say, I was not disappointed. The vivid, cinematic colors do wonders at breathing new life to the old stories. It's like a whole new reading experience - like experiencing the great stories again, for the first time! Of course they are not perfect. Some of the overly sophisticated light-and-shadow effects actually detract from your reading experience rather than impress you, some of the color schemes are not how you might visualize those particular scenes. And I personally dislike Surtur's yellow head/face (different hues of red would have been better). Also, the cover of #344, which has significantly darker overall color scheme, seems crowded. The layout looked better balanced on the original #344 cover because of the colors.
But these are minor complaints, really. Walt approved of the new coloring job, and so do I! I think they it is a great improvement over the awkward Visionaries colors - which really only worked on newsprint.

All I can say is: if you have the slightest hesitation, get this book while you can. If you miss it, you will be sorry until the day you die.

imagePray.
Last Edited By: Fyrcyning Apr 19 11 1:27 AM. Edited 2 times.