The Thor Readathon

[Thor-El]

And so it came a day when Thor-El decided it was time to revisit the glory and grandeur that was his childhood hero: The Mighty Thor!!! Fueled by the popularity of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the expectations for the hero in Phase 4 and hoping for the further development of these characters in movies and the upcoming Disney + service. Having cosplayed the character a couple of times in conventions and feeling the necessity that every proper Thor fan must have to know the mythology thoroughly, I embark myself in this journey into mystery and discovery! Hoping to have other truebelivers join me in the discussion!!

And after that winded introduction, lets start this post with Journey into Mystery 83, published in August 1962. Thor was created by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, the invention of two brother writers, they came up with a response to DC Superman that was totally original.



An american tourist, a lame doctor Donald Blake visiting Norway stumbles into a space invasion of rock men from Saturn. The same race our beloved MCU character Korg comes from! Fleeing the aliens he enters into a cave and gets trapped inside and while trying to free himself using a cane that was mysteriously left in the center of such cave he strikes the boulder with it and it transforms into Mjolnir, Thor's magic hammer and Dr. Blake into the god of thunder Thor! The hero exits the cave, fights the invaders and vanquishes them.

Artwork is by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. So Jack Kirby, the other Thor creator, the King of Marvel Comics that fresh from his golden age adventures of Captain America started creating the Marvel Universe at this time. Its notable that Jack Kirby style was at this time very different, his figures weren't as massive as they would be drawn in future issues and his unique visual style hadn't fully developed yet. Kirby stayed mainly with Thor and Fantastic Four, very sci-fi heavy comic books and gave us some of the most unique original visuals in the medium.


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

[Thor-El]

Decades later we would get this cool scene between Thor (played by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth) and one of the descendants of the Stone men from Saturn in the movie Thor Ragnarok. And everything originated in this comic!:

[Phoenixx9]

Hello my friend!

Great thread. It is fun to do a read-a-thon of a favorite character. I have always loved those early, original stories that sometimes feel so far removed of the characters of today, some 50, almost 60 years later.

I always wondered if there was a link between the Stone Men of Saturn and the Thing? The Stone Men seem much larger and stronger get than Thing, especially back in those early days, so I always chuckled when Thing would fight Thor thinking he would win. Even without his godly strength, in one fight Thor still did well against Thing.

[Thor-El]

Hello my friend!

Great thread. It is fun to do a read-a-thon of a favorite character. I have always loved those early, original stories that sometimes feel so far removed of the characters of today, some 50, almost 60 years later.

I always wondered if there was a link between the Stone Men of Saturn and the Thing? The Stone Men seem much larger and stronger get than Thing, especially back in those early days, so I always chuckled when Thing would fight Thor thinking he would win. Even without his godly strength, in one fight Thor still did well against Thing.

Phoenixx9, my brother from another mother, so glad to see you comment! Its those original stories the movies go to in order to capture the essence of these characters. Those classic Thor stories have so much going on for them that it makes me feel the movies haven't even started to scratch the surface of the mythology. A lot of things they change and a lot of missed opportunities that I hope to comment as I read on. Also I have to confess I have a big chunk of Thor's history I've never read because it was before my time that I hope to finally read in order. Like the Sub-mariner readathon that I started years ago and still need to go back to I hope this is going to be a lot of fun. But in this one I'm not going to post too many graphics other than the cover and one or two panels to make it more viable timewise.

To touch upon the Thing and Korg similarities but on the movies I noticed the latest Fantastic Four movie, the skin rock effect on The Thing looks very much like Korg from Ragnarok, but while it works well on Korg I think it doesn't on The Thing. There was also a stone man from Saturn on Thor: The Dark World, their first appearance in the MCU. That movie has so much awesome and is so underrated. For those that geek out like me and are interested in watching how it was done here is an interesting video.

[Thor-El]

The second issue of Thor, Journey into Mystery #84 was published on September 1962. The writing is again credited to writer brothers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, and the artwork is also once again by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. It introduces us to Dr. Donald Blake's (Thor) romantic interest: Jane Foster who works as Dr. Blake's nurse. Since Blake is a cripple, meaning he needs a cane to walk properly he feels unworthy of Jane's love, and Jane being his nurse and working for him poses another barrier too. They both love each other but are afraid to show it which makes for the romantic conflict for the hero.

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




The story follows Dr. Don Blake and Jane Foster that are traveling on an american ship of mercy to the communist island of San Diablo to bring provisions to the oppressed people of the island.

[Thor-El]

They get captured when war airplanes attack the pacific ship and are brought to the presence of the island warlord, a leader known as "The Executioner" who gets infatuated by Jane's beauty and wants to marry her. Thor ends up fighting against the army of the tyrant and exposing him as a traitor to his own people who turn against him and give way for the opposing democratic party to take control of the island.



Even though Jane is written as the usual romantic interest of the times she still shows bravery when approached by the Executioner and rejects his aproaches even when her life might be on the line.

[Thor-El]

Jane would be upgraded to Dr. Jane Foster in Thor volume 3 by writer Dan Jurgens and eventually even be able to wield Mjolnir and turn into a female Thor and replace the proper Thor and carry the title on her own for awhile.
Jane Foster is an astro physicist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is played by Oscar winner Natalie Portman opposite to Chris Hemsworth who plays Thor.

[Phoenixx9]

While I have many times seen the cover to Journey into Mystery #83, the first issue, I have never seen #84, issue #2, until now! Thank you my friend!

You know, this issue and the tyrant, San Diablo and the oppressed people remind me of an old 70's issue of Thor, when Thor, Jane and Firelord went to a similar nation. I think Jane had to fight a female rebel leader.

[Thor-El]

While I have many times seen the cover to Journey into Mystery #83, the first issue, I have never seen #84, issue #2, until now! Thank you my friend!

You know, this issue and the tyrant, San Diablo and the oppressed people remind me of an old 70's issue of Thor, when Thor, Jane and Firelord went to a similar nation. I think Jane had to fight a female rebel leader.

I remember that issue, its from the period when Jane had been saved by Lady Sif essence and was brought back as Thor's love interest after years of having been replaced by Sif. I grew up reading Sif in the comics but my introduction to Thor was thru the 60s cartoons re-runs where Jane Foster was Thor's romantic interest. I always wondered what happened to Jane until that storyline that re-introduced her and explained Odin meddled and separated them. I thought it was so interesting and some of the stories I enjoyed the most. At that time also Hercules started to hang around in the comic almost as a sidekick. It was a great time to be reading Thor.

[Phoenixx9]

I remember that issue, its from the period when Jane had been saved by Lady Sif essence and was brought back as Thor's love interest after years of having been replaced by Sif. I grew up reading Sif in the comics but my introduction to Thor was thru the 60s cartoons re-runs where Jane Foster was Thor's romantic interest. I always wondered what happened to Jane until that storyline that re-introduced her and explained Odin meddled and separated them. I thought it was so interesting and some of the stories I enjoyed the most. At that time also Hercules started to hang around in the comic almost as a sidekick. It was a great time to be reading Thor.

Yes, it was! I almost mentioned Hercules in that story, but couldn't remember what he did in it. I know later they faced Ego and that is when they strapped an engine to his far side to get rid of Ego.

[Thor-El]

Journey into Mystery #85 Written by brothers Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and drawn by artists Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers introduces Thor's main nemesis, the norse god of mischief Loki.


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

The story starts with our first look into Asgard, the home of the Norse gods where Loki was imprisoned by Thor and Odin inside of a tree for ages where he will remain until someone sheds a tear for him. Having gained control of the tree Loki causes a leave to fall into the eye of the god Heimdall, causing his eye to shed a tear and that frees him to go look for Thor on earth for revenge and cause all kinds of havoc.

Thor seems to recognize Loki but you get the impression that memories are not his but part of Donald Blake knowledge of mythology but Loki harbors a hatred for Thor that tells us that they have past history. Loki also mentions that Thor has not been on Asgard for ages and no one knows where he is. Loki says that before he was imprisoned he established a mental link with Thor's hammer and that's how he is able to track him to earth.

[Thor-El]

Once introduced Loki challenges Thor to battle, after Loki has ran amock causing all kinds of trouble in the city Thor finally catches him neutralizes him and sends him back to Asgard to be taken prisoner again by Odin and the Norse gods.

In this story we only get a glimpse in one panel that shows Bifrost, the rainbow bridge and the first design of Asgard by artist Jack Kirby. The gods Heimdall and Odin have just very small cameos, in the case of Odin you just see a bearded figure with a helmet like Thor on just one of the final panels and Heimdal is just on a couple panels at the beginning so besides Loki, the introduction of the Norse Pantheon is very brief as most of the story develops on earth.



This comic was also adapted as a cartoon for the 60's Marvel animated show.

Loki would go on to become the most important villain in Thor stories, be featured as the main villain in the first issue of Marvel Comics superhero group The Avengers and the character would be eventually adapted on film by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and played by British actor Tom Hiddleston. The character of Loki would go to enjoy great popularity and become a very important part of the Thor and Avengers franchise of movies and is currently the protagonist of a streaming series for the Disney + platform that will launch November of this year.

[JKtheMac]

Just for a bit of balance over the creation of Thor a snippet of the Kirby interview for the Prisoners of gravity TV series:

Q: What prompted you to reinvent Thor for the comics in 1962?
JACK: Well, I knew the Thor legends very well, but I wanted to modernize them. I felt that might be a new thing for comics, taking the old legends and modernizing them. I believe I accomplished that.

Q: What is it about ancient heroes like Thor that make them so enduring and relevant today?
JACK: Well, the heroes represent the wholesome part of society. Society has a wholesome side and it has a down side. We know where those facets lie.
They're common to all of us, and if we want to be our wholesome selves, we'll stick with legends like Thor and Odin.

Q: Why are you so fascinated by gods?
JACK: We all have a kind of feeling that I think we've had for thousands of years, that there are higher beings somewhere. I think all our spiritual feelings stem from that. The truth is that the Greeks had Hercules, even as the Norsemen had Thor, and through the ages we have had heroes similar to them.

---
Snippets of this and other interesting interviews can be found <here>
Including him discussing his earlier Thor in Superheroes: The Language That Jack Kirby Wrote

I did a version of Thor for DC. In the Fifties before I did him for Marvel. He had a red beard but he was a legendary figure, which I liked. I liked the figure of Thor at DC and I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends. I knew all about these legends which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall and Odin. I tried to update Thor and put him in a superhero costume. He looked great in it and everybody loved him, but he was still Thor.

[Reviresco]

What a great idea, Thor-El!

I'd love to read along, but I'm already behind. Will see what I can do. But at least I can read your posts!

[Thor-El]

Just for a bit of balance over the creation of Thor a snippet of the Kirby interview for the Prisoners of gravity TV series:

Q: What prompted you to reinvent Thor for the comics in 1962?
JACK: Well, I knew the Thor legends very well, but I wanted to modernize them. I felt that might be a new thing for comics, taking the old legends and modernizing them. I believe I accomplished that.

Q: What is it about ancient heroes like Thor that make them so enduring and relevant today?
JACK: Well, the heroes represent the wholesome part of society. Society has a wholesome side and it has a down side. We know where those facets lie.
They're common to all of us, and if we want to be our wholesome selves, we'll stick with legends like Thor and Odin.

Q: Why are you so fascinated by gods?
JACK: We all have a kind of feeling that I think we've had for thousands of years, that there are higher beings somewhere. I think all our spiritual feelings stem from that. The truth is that the Greeks had Hercules, even as the Norsemen had Thor, and through the ages we have had heroes similar to them.

---
Snippets of this and other interesting interviews can be found <here>
Including him discussing his earlier Thor in Superheroes: The Language That Jack Kirby Wrote

I did a version of Thor for DC. In the Fifties before I did him for Marvel. He had a red beard but he was a legendary figure, which I liked. I liked the figure of Thor at DC and I created Thor at Marvel because I was forever enamored of legends. I knew all about these legends which is why I knew about Balder, Heimdall and Odin. I tried to update Thor and put him in a superhero costume. He looked great in it and everybody loved him, but he was still Thor.

Great post!!! Thank you for posting this! And we needed for sure to have Kirby's voice here as the other creative half of Thor. He never gets enough credit, I wish we could have a video of him talking about his creation like Stan Lee. I've been also meaning to check Roy Thomas Kirby Collector to see if I can find something more about him.