The Thor Readathon

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

6 -- Thor

Issues Containing this Stamp:
Amazing Spider-Man #132, May 1974, p.19.
Captain Marvel #33, July 1974, p.19.
Marvel Premiere #19, November 1974, p.19.
Marvel Premiere #25, October 1975, p.19.

Stamp Artwork From:
Interior Page: Thor #219, p.14.

John Buscema's artwork from Thor #219 was used to produce the Thor stamp, #6.

[JKtheMac]

For more on the earlier Thors that Kirby worked on, this article gives some insight:

The Strange History of Jack Kirby's Three Thors - ComicsAlliance

[Phoenixx9]

I loved that silver Sif outfit and the artwork.

[JKtheMac]

DocuSeries 7: Jack Kirby, co-creator of Marvel ( 1/ 5): Thor by Alex Grand

[Reviresco]

Soooo, why is Blake's ability to transform into Thor a big secret?

Yes, this is always the stand out thing that people notice about the earliest comics. They were still finding their way with what it all meant at this stage. He was kind of Blake back then. A Blake transformed into an idealised god figure, wielding the power of that god. Things slowly begin to change, starting with Loki showing up, which begs questions, then a few things we will see as we go along that also make things odd and in need of clarification. In many ways this is pre-retcon Thor, or at least that's how I think of him. But again there are more timely moments to bring that stuff up.

In general this stuff is why I like Thor. You can see Lee and Kirby wresting with who the character is on the page. Then a few other things make them choose a path. I don't care a jot about the Lee Kirby spat, (aside from natural justice) they worked amazingly well together and when they agreed on things they made the whole Marvel Universe sing.

I agree. Their work together is amazing. Not weighing in on the contention between them also, but I think a major part of Lee's contribution is him basically serving as the early Marvel showrunner, for lack of a better term. By controlling all of editing and dialog, as well as whatever writing / plotting he contributed directly, he's building the MU and making the various books and their various styles, fit into a cohesive whole.

Yes, both Lee and Kirby are playing around with the character / characters. But I find it interesting that they revisit transformation, physical transformation, so much in the early Marvel stuff. We have Thing, Hulk and now Thor. Something for me to think more on.

But within the story, of two issues, I'm still wondering why Don Blake, who is being transformed from a lame guy to basically a physical god, is keeping it secret. If he didn't, he could stay that way all the time. And Jane would LOVE it. ;p

For more on the earlier Thors that Kirby worked on, this article gives some insight:

The Strange History of Jack Kirby's Three Thors - ComicsAlliance

That looks very informative! I'll definitely have to read it as I catch up. Thanks for sharing!

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

Captain Marvel and Thor

[Phoenixx9]

Captain Marvel and Thor

I love these "mixed" covers!

[Thor-El]

Journey into Mystery #88 is written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and drawn by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. It was published in January 1963. Title: The Vengeance of Loki


https://www.comixology.com/Journey-I...N1bHRzU2xpZGVy

The story picks up where last we saw Loki in issue 85 being taken by Thor's hammer into Odin's custody. He is prohibited to ever leave Asgard and curiously is not imprisoned in a tree like last time but let free in Asgard. Loki proceeds to plan his revenge on Thor and while spying on Thor's last adventure he catches Thor becoming Dr. Blake after being separated from his hammer so discovering Thor's secret identity and weakness proceeds to travel to earth to cause trouble. By encasing Thor's hammer in a force field so Don Blake can never touch it again and turn into the god of thunder Loki enacts his revenge. Thor ends up tricking Loki himself using a plastic dummy of himself so Loki turns off the force field to check on the hammer giving Dr. Blake a chance to jump in and grab the hammer, turn into Thor and once more catch the trickster and deliver the prisoner back to Asgard.

Its curious how Loki is not presented as a lethal villain and you get the feeling that he is really not out to harm anyone, just playing around with the humans. His turning humans into silhouettes or vehicles into candy seems more like immature pranks. While flying around he bumps into an enemy air bomber from Russia conducting some atomic bomb tests he makes the bomb fail, not explode and simply drop into the ocean. Odin in this issue describes Thor as his favorite son and mentions how Loki grows more dangerous and uncontrollable and a true menace for Thor, setting him up as a recurring supervillain.

Its also funny how Odin refers to Thor as "Lord of Thunder" in this and the previous issue just like the Grand Master does in the movie Thor Ragnarok.

[JKtheMac]

#88 has always been a favourite early story of mine. I like the way the story is based around trickster folklore. The tricking of the trickster with its message that those who seek to deceive are more susceptible to being deceived, because of the devious machinations of their mind, is a universal story. It bears comparison to medieval Reynard the Fox stories and Coyote folklore.

There is much debate in mythological circles as to whether Loki is truly a trickster, but here we are much more certain of the archetype Loki is based upon.

[Thor-El]

#88 has always been a favourite early story of mine. I like the way the story is based around trickster folklore. The tricking of the trickster with its message that those who seek to deceive are more susceptible to being deceived, because of the devious machinations of their mind, is a universal story. It bears comparison to medieval Reynard the Fox stories and Coyote folklore.

There is much debate in mythological circles as to whether Loki is truly a trickster, but here we are much more certain of the archetype Loki is based upon.

Yes, even Loki's costume is sort of based in a court jester.

[Thor-El]

Journey into Mystery #89 is written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and drawn by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. It was published in February 1963. Title: The Thunder God and the Thug


https://www.comixology.com/Journey-I...9pdGVtU2xpZGVy

A mobster Thug Thatcher escapes the police when being transported. During the shooting between the police and the mobster and his men the mobster gets injured and is brought to Dr. Don Blake who patches him up. When Dr. Blake changes into Thor the mobster tries to flee but is ultimately captured by the god of thunder.

Thor's origin is retold in this issue and it is also the first time Jane Foster last name is mentioned as until now she had only been referred as Jane. There is a very funny sequence were Jane daydreams about being married to Thor.

[JKtheMac]

Given that even the original sources of Thor mythology don’t shy away from Mjölnir being a phallic symbol or, as some have argued, deliberate innuendo, I have always found the picture of Jane polishing Thor’s hammer very amusing.

[Thor-El]

Given that even the original sources of Thor mythology don’t shy away from Mjölnir being a phallic symbol or, as some have argued, deliberate innuendo, I have always found the picture of Jane polishing Thor’s hammer very amusing.

Lol, I dont know if it was that deliberate back then, I doubt Lee and Kirby would intenionally introduce phallic innuendo in what was seen as children friendly literature, it where more innocent times but yeah I can see how today it can be interpret that way by adults.

[charliehustle415]

Let me know if this is the wrong thread for this question, but what do people think of Jurgen's run of Thor (the one right before Straczynski)?

I didn't realize JRR was on art for like 25 issues, does this run add to Thor's Mythos? I ask because I only started reading Thor with Straczynski's run, which I personally consider one of the greatest runs even though it was cut short.

[Thor-El]

Let me know if this is the wrong thread for this question, but what do people think of Jurgen's run of Thor (the one right before Straczynski)?

I didn't realize JRR was on art for like 25 issues, does this run add to Thor's Mythos? I ask because I only started reading Thor with Straczynski's run, which I personally consider one of the greatest runs even though it was cut short.

Not one of my favorites but i enjoyed it. Didn't like too much the paramedic secret id for Thor they created during this run but they had some cool villains like Thanos and Mangog plus there was even a Sub-mariner guest star issue which is another favorite of mine that hardly ever interacts with Thor. I also liked that Jane Foster another favorite reappeared and this time upgraded from nurse to doctor.