As he would with Fantastic Four, Tom DeFalco took over as writer on Thor after Walt Simonson left. Thor probably suited DeFalco's style better, with his tendency to describe every conflict or individual hit as the mightiest one ever unleashed (or words to that effect). Fits with Marvel Thor's tendency to talk big-time shit.
While DeFalco did keep certain aspects of Simonson's run intact - the Rainbow Bridge remains shattered, and DeFalco expands this to have Asgard drift among different dimensions - others get promptly rolled back. The beard Thor grew to disguise the damage from Hela's Pimp Slap of Death? Cut, revealing Thor's face is entirely healed. Beta Ray Bill drops out of the book almost entirely, replaced more by Hercules. Don Blake remains out of the picture, but DeFalco bonds Thor to an actual mortal, architect Eric Masterson, after he's injured during one of Thor's battles.
Now Thor can have conflicts between his fights and Eric needing to pick up his son from school, or attend a custody hearing! Um, hooray?
DeFalco tries to go big with the conflicts, throwing Thor up against the Celestials right off, while Asgard is under attack by the forces of Seth, the Serpent God of Death (I think he has to be referred to by the entire title.) Odin comes back after his big move against Surtur, but I think that was as much so DeFalco could throw Surtur into the mix, too.
During that stretch, Ron Frenz is being inked by Joe Sinnott, and that really gives the book a retro feel, as Frenz seems to be trying to ape Kirby. His characters aren't as blocky and rough, but some of the energy's there. The covers are definitely done in a way to evoke the older comics. The dialogue is overwrought and dramatic, probably too much so at times, but the cast is mostly mythic figures, so you can argue that's just how things are with them.
After that arc concludes in issue 400, Frenz starts co-plotting the books with DeFalco. Sinnott stays on as inker, or sometimes is credited for finished art, but eventually that role goes to Al Milgrom takes. At that point, the art shifts away from the Kirby pastiche/homage and more closely resembles Frenz' work on Amazing Spider-Girl. Enough so I thought it was Sal Buscema inking him, but apparently not.
Probably the most notable addition from the Defalco/Frenz run, which lasted for over 70 issues, was Eric Masterson, who was Thor (or pretending to be Thor) for a time, before receiving his own enchanted weapon and becoming Thunderstrike. It's either that or the issue where Steve Rogers (as The Captain) is able to lift Mjolnir.
Masterson should probably be considered in the context of all the "replacement" versions we saw in the '90s, like Azrael-Batman or the various Supermen. At one point, when helping to rescue a sleeping Odin from Annihilus, he even goes so far as to heft a big gun emplacement and turn it on Annihilus' forces. This gets him chided by Sif for not being befitting of a true warrior, but hey, he can't be concerned with things like that, winning is what matters, lady.
That's not a stretch of issues I've read a lot of, though, so any comments beyond that would be based on half-remembered things or vague impressions.
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