I only started reading Marvel comics in the past year. I've been trying to read the major "event" storylines, but have also been picking up individual Thor collections since he is my favorite Avenger. I chose this collection because the price was low and it is a stand-alone; e.g. you don't need other books in order to understand what is going on. The four stories collected here are all tied together by the question "what is Thor's purpose and why is he here"?

In the first story, Asgard is under attack and Thor goes to the dungeon to question his brother Loki about whether this is Raganarok. What follows is an interesting lecture by Loki (broken up by Thor beating on him) about how everything has a purpose, even Loki himself, and that Ragnarok must and will happen. Can Thor accept Loki's explanation if it brings into questions Thor's own purpose in the world?

The second story opens with Thor being summoned to a hostage situation. The villain wants Thor to bring back his 5 year old son, killed while trying to fly like Spiderman. Thor tries to convince him to stand down by explaining why Asgardians cannot interfere with men's choices. An interesting look at free will.

The third story is similar to the second in that a Catholic priest finds his faith in doubt after seeing what Thor can do. If Thor can open a rainbow bridge and travel between worlds, how can he know that his savior was even real? Thor provides an answer, though not one I was expecting.

The last story is something of a folk story taking place in Wales. A writer is putting together a travel guide and a stranger shares a fun story about a dragon's battle with the Asgardians.

Another reviewer was disappointed that this collection raised some interesting questions but never seemed to answer them. I felt that the point was that the questions needed to be asked but the answer is for the reader to decide. Overall, this collection takes a more philosophical approach to Thor's character rather than the standard "bash the enemies" story. It's not for everyone, but I found it very well done. Recommended. ( )