Jane Foster Thor Reading Order: How to Read Jason Aaron’s Thor in 2022

Jason Aaron’s mighty run on Thor is highly regarded, and it’s also the inspiration behind the movie Thor: Love and Thunder. It includes now-famous plotlines, such as Thor hunting down Gorr the God Butcher and Jane Foster becoming Thor. However, the story jumps across a number of different series, and even the mainline series was renamed multiple times during this era. And to complicate things further, this run was also crisscrossed by three major Marvel events (Original Sin, Secret Wars, and War of the Realms).

On top of that, many of these issues have been collected multiple times across various editions, while others can be really difficult to find in any physical format at all. Marvel can’t ever seem to make this easy.

So if you’ve been struggling to figure out where to begin, or what to read next, strap in and check out my complete guide to reading Jason Aaron’s Thor. Not only will I give you the reading order, but I’ll explore multiple options for reading all this content, whether you prefer paperbacks, oversized hardcovers, omnibuses, or even digital editions — though, to be fair, I’m just going to recommend Marvel Unlimited for digital readers.

I’ll even throw in links to Goodreads, which will allow you to find things like ISBNs to help you locate the specific books you’re looking for. I’m even including links to CheapGraphicNovels.com, though keep in mind these books go in and out of print, so a link to CGN doesn’t guarantee that something’s in stock.

Also, I’m putting together the entirety of Jason Aaron’s work on Thor. The Jane Foster story is part of that run, but it doesn’t happen immediately. In fact, we’re 12 issues deep before we even see Jane in this run at all. But if you want to get all of the context and have a complete reading experience, I’m going to help you do that.

I’m not going to lie; this was a ton of work to put together. But if it makes reading this amazing run of comics easier for you, then it’s worth the effort.

Anyway, let’s read some Thor!

Thor by Jason Aaron: a complete reading order

Now let’s walk through the complete reading order for Jason Aaron’s Thor. Note that there are a lot of smaller pieces that often get overlooked on reading orders, so I’m making this list as comprehensive as possible. However, for this initial reading order, I am not including anything that wasn’t written by Aaron (with the exception of Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars). This allows readers to get the entire story by Jason Aaron without getting bogged down by supplemental side content that was written by other folks. Later on, when we get into collected editions, there will be some stuff by other writers (War of the Realms omnibus, cough cough), but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

If you’re just reading on Marvel Unlimited, you can simply follow the order below and you should have a pretty smooth experience. If you’re looking for physical editions, I’ll explain your options in a bit.

But before we get into collected editions, here’s the reading order:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-25
• Original Sin #1-3
• Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1-5
• Original Sin #4-8
• Thor (2014) #1-8
• Thor Annual (2015) #1
• Secret Wars (2015) #0-9
• Secret Wars: Thors (2015) #1-4 (this series is often just referred to as Thors, which can make it difficult to find)
• Mighty Thor (2015) #1-12
• The Unworthy Thor (2016) #1-5
• Mighty Thor (2015) #13-23
• Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor (2017)
• Mighty Thor (2015) #700-706
• Mighty Thor: at the Gates of Valhalla (2018)
• Thor (2018) #1-11
• War of the Realms #1-6
• War of the Realms: Omega
• Thor (2018) #12-16
• King Thor (2019) #1-4
• Valkyrie: Jane Foster (2019) #1-10

How to read Jason Aaron’s Thor in omnibus format

There are currently two omnibuses that collect content from Jason Aaron’s run on Thor. Considering the first one I’ve listed is labeled as Vol. 1, I assume there will be another volume at some point in the future. Also, the War of the Realms omnibus includes a ton of supplemental stuff that wasn’t penned by Aaron, so I didn’t include that extra content in my main reading order above.

I should also note that there’s a sizeable gap between what’s collected in Thor Vol. 1 and War of the Realms, so the omnibus format won’t give you a complete readthrough. You’ll have to fill the gaps with OHCs and/or trades.

Thor by Jason Aaron Vol. 1 omnibus

Note that this omnibus skips over Original Sin and Secret Wars, which was to be expected. What’s kind of baffling, though, is that it also skips Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm, but it includes Secret Wars: Thors. The volume cuts off right before The Unworthy Thor, so hopefully the inevitable Vol. 2 will collect that story. Collected editions have been hit or miss on whether or not to include Unworthy, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-25
• Excerpt from Original Sin #7
• Thor (2014) #1-8
• Thor Annual (2015) #1
• Secret Wars: Thors (2015) #1-4
• Mighty Thor (2015) #1-12

War of the Realms omnibus

This omnibus features a ton of stuff that’s not essential if you’re only looking to read Jason Aaron’s run. However, this is a massive tome that’s delightful for completionists. If you just want the six-issue War of the Realms story, you can get that in a trade paperback (more on that in the trade paperback section).

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book (in the order it’s collected):

• Thor (2018) #8-11
• War of the Realms #1-6
• Thor (2018) #12-16
• War of the Realms: War Scrolls #1-3
• War of the Realms: Punisher #1-3
• War of the Realms: Omega
• Avengers (2018) #18-20
• War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm
• War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Land of Giants
• War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers
• Tony Stark, Iron Man (2018) #12-13
• Asgardians of the Galaxy (2018) #8-10
• Captain Marvel (2019) #6-7
• Champions (2019) #5-6
• Deadpool (2018) #13-14
• Fantastic Four (2018) #10
• Giant-Man (2019) #1-3
• War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #1-5
• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2015) #43
• War of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1-4
• Spider-Man & the League of Realms #1-3
• Superior Spider-Man (2018) #7-8
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2105-B) #43-46
• War of the Realms: Uncanny X-Men #1-3
• Venom (2018) #13-15

How to read Jason Aaron’s Thor in oversized hardcover format

Oversized hardcover (OHC) is a great format for reading comics, because the pages are slightly larger than the pages of the original comic books. This gives you a closer look at the art, while also matching the size of your omnibuses. The downside, of course, is that they can be a bit spendy, and some of the Thor OHCs from this era are really hard to find (which only makes them even more expensive in the reseller market).

Thor: God of Thunder Volume 1 (OHC)

This volume contains the full God Butcher storyline, which kicks of Aaron’s run.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-11

Thor: God of Thunder Volume 2 (OHC)

This volume starts with a one-off story about a drunken night that turns tragic, and then goes into the Accursed storyline, which begins setting up War of the Realms.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #12-25

Original Sin (OHC)

There are a couple things to know about this collection. First off, the OHC contains more content than the trade paperback, but none of that content was written by Jason Aaron. I didn’t include those stories on my reading order, but I did include them in the list below. The main Original Sin story, though, was penned by Aaron.

You can read a more detailed review of the hardcover here. Plus, here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Point One 1 (Watcher story)
• Original Sin #0-8
• Original Sin: Secret Avengers (Infinite Comic) #1-2
• Original Sins #1-5

Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman Vol. 1 (OHC)

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor (2014) #1-8
• Thor Annual #1

Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman (OHC)

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Secret Wars (2015) #0-9

Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman Vol. 2 (OHC)

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #1-12

Thor by Jason Aaron & Russell Dauterman Vol. 3 (OHC)

For some reason, The Unworthy Thor isn’t collected in any of these oversized hardcovers. In the reading order, it would be wedged between this volume and the previous one.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #13-23
• Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor (2017)
• Mighty Thor (2015) #700-706
• Mighty Thor: at the Gates of Valhalla (2018)

Thor by Jason Aaron Vol. 4 (OHC)

You’ll notice that Russell Dauterman’s name is no longer in the title, because he did not draw these issues. However, the oversized hardcovers keep up the numbering scheme from earlier, making this Vol. 4 instead of Vol. 1.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor (2018) #1-11

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection

The Complete Collection is a series of full-color paperbacks that collect the mainline Thor books. They’re much chunkier than the basic trade paperbacks (which I’ve collected below), so they’re a good way to collect this run if you’re not into hardcovers. I wrote a detailed review of the first volume, if you want to see one of these books up close.

And I’ve also included Jane Foster: The Saga of Valkyrie in this list, even though it’s not officially part of the Complete Collection line. It does match the size of the collection nicely, though.

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-18

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 2

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #19-25
• Thor (2014) #1-8
• Thor Annual (2015) #1
• Secret Wars: Thors (2015) #1-4

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 3

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #1-19

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 4

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• The Unworthy Thor (2016) #1-5
• Mighty Thor (2015) #20-23
• Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor (2017)
• Mighty Thor (2015) #700-706
• Mighty Thor: at the Gates of Valhalla (2018)

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 5

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s included in this book:

• Thor (2018) #1-16
• King Thor (2019) #1-4

Jane Foster: The Saga of Valkyrie

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Material from Mighty Thor: at the Gates of Valhalla (2018)
• Mighty Thor (2015) #702-706
• Valkyrie: Jane Foster (2019) #1-10
• Material from War of the Realms: Omega

How to read Jason Aaron’s Thor in trade paperback

Now we get to the tiny little books. This is a massive run of comics, so the five-or-six-issue trade format means you’ll be buying an enormous pile of trades to get the whole series. One thing to be aware of, however, is that there are pieces of this run that are only available in this format.

I should also point out that a lot of these smaller collections get both a trade paperback and a hardcover version. Those are not oversized hardcovers — they’re smaller hardcover books that collect the same issues as the trade. I’ll make note of that when appropriate.

Thor: God of Thunder Volume 1: The God Butcher

This book features just the very first arc of this run, which is the first half of the God Butcher story. It’s also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-5

Thor: God of Thunder Volume 2: Godbomb

This book opens with a backstory for Gorr, and then it goes into the Godbomb arc, which concludes the saga of Gorr the God Butcher. It’s also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #6-11

Thor: The Saga of Gorr the God Butcher

This book collects the contents of the previous two books on this list.

Here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #1-11

Thor: God of Thunder Volume 3: The Accursed

This is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #12-18

Thor: God of Thunder, Volume 4: The Last Days of Midgard

This is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor: God of Thunder (2012) #19-25

Original Sin (trade paperback)

The paperback collection omits some of the material that’s collected in the oversized hardcover. Both the Original Sins five-issue story and the digital Secret Avengers story are missing from this volume. Nothing that’s omitted was penned by Jason Aaron, though, so if you’re only hoping to follow Aaron’s story, this paperback is a fine option.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Point One 1 (Watcher story)
• Original Sin #0-8

Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm

This story doesn’t seem to be collected in many other formats, aside from this skimpy trade paperback; even the omnibus skipped it. It is, however, collected in the Original Sin Companion hardcover.

If you’re looking for it digitally on Marvel Unlimited, it’s filed under Original Sin as issues #5.1-5.5. Despite that numbering, it can be read in its entirety right after Original Sin #3.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Original Sin: Thor & Loki: The Tenth Realm #1-5

Thor Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder

This book is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor (2014) #1-5

Thor Volume 2: Who Holds the Hammer?

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor (2014) #6-8
• Thor Annual (2015) #1
• What If? (1977) #10

Marvel-Verse: Jane Foster, The Mighty Thor

This volume is a weird one. Not only is it smaller in size than your normal trade paperback, but the contents of this volume are also misreported pretty much everywhere. I don’t actually own a copy of this, but after doing way more detective work than I should have, I’ve got what I believe is an accurate list of the actual contents of the book below.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s (allegedly) collected in this book:

• The Mighty Thor: Marvel Legacy Primer
• Thor (2014) #2
• All-New, All-Different Avengers #4
• Thor Annual (2015) #1
• Thor & Loki: Double Trouble #3-4
• Material from War of the Realms: Omega
• Journey Into Mystery (1952) #100

Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman (trade paperback)

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Secret Wars (2015) #0-9

Battleworld: Thors

This book collects the four-issue Thors miniseries. As a bonus, this contains a story from the 1980s in which Thor turned into a frog. Note that different publishers have different titles for this. For example, you might see it listed as Secret Wars: Thors instead of Battleworld: Thors.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Secret Wars: Thors (2015) #1-4
• Thor (1966) #364-365

The Mighty Thor Volume 1: Thunder in Her Veins

This volume is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #1-5

The Mighty Thor Volume 2: Lords of Midgard

This volume is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #6-12

The Unworthy Thor

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• The Unworthy Thor (2016) #1-5

The Mighty Thor Volume 3: The Asgard/Shi’ar War

This volume is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #13-19

The Mighty Thor Volume 4: The War Thor

This volume is available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #20-23
• Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor (2017)

The Mighty Thor Volume 5: The Death of the Mighty Thor

This volume is also available in hardcover.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Mighty Thor (2015) #700-706
• Mighty Thor: at the Gates of Valhalla

Thor Vol. 1: God of Thunder Reborn

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor (2018) #1-6

Thor Vol. 2: Road to War of the Realms

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor (2018) #7-11

War of the Realms (trade paperback)

If you only want to read the six-issue War of the Realms miniseries without all of the side material, this is a good option. However, completionists are going to want to pick up the omnibus, which is more than 1,500 pages long and collects absolutely everything.

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• War of the Realms #1-6
• War of the Realms: Omega

Thor Vol. 3: War’s End

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Thor (2018) #12-16

King Thor

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• King Thor #1-4

Valkyrie: Jane Foster Vol. 1: The Sacred And The Profane

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Valkyrie: Jane Foster (2019) #1-5
• Material from War of the Realms: Omega

Valkyrie: Jane Foster Vol. 2: At the End of All Things

Here’s a link to the Goodreads listing, and here’s a link to the listing on CheapGraphicNovels.com. Here’s what’s collected in this book:

• Valkyrie: Jane Foster (2019) #6-10