Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: August 2, 1966 Cover: October 1966 12 cents A Stan Lee-Jack Kirby production Inked by: Vince Colletta Lettered by: Sam Rosen 5 pages
From out of the mists she hath come… She… before whom all who live must one day bow!
As we saw in the last post, my version of this comic has been well looted of pages, and this entire story has been absconded with. So we’ll look to the digital version for our images.
The battle with Harokin and his Warlock’s Eye to retake Muspelheim was entirely forgettable. But it led to this fairly unique coda, two issues devoted to the death of Harokin. Last issue was an ominous and ritualistic issue about acceptance of death. A drumbeat, an approaching black horse…
Featuring: Thor Release: August 2, 1966 Cover: October 1966 12 cents Star-studded script: Stan Lee Planet-pounding pencilling: Jack Kirby Real Rigellian rendering: Vince Colletta Lots of little lettering: Artie Simek 16 pages
Every part of this planet upon which we stand is verily a part of Ego! He is everywhere– he is everything! He is a living world!
I’d like to say I own this comic, but really I own some fraction of this comic, as a lot of pages have been ripped out of my copy. I’m sure I didn’t know that when I bought it. I’m not too picky about condition. I look for “readable” copies… but readable includes having all the pages.
Wonder what I paid for it. I have no idea because I have tens of thousands of these things. Not even sure where I bought it. Probably at some comic convention with a couple hundred other comics I thought would help me complete the Marvel Universe so that one day I could read through all of them in order. Presumably it was pretty cheap– that’s what I was always looking for.
I spoke at length about how cool I thought it was when Ditko introduced a being that was also a universe. So of course I also think it’s cool when Kirby introduces a being who is also a planet. Not as cool as being a universe, of course. But still cool.
Thor is also impressed, and you figure this is a guy who’s been around and seen some stuff. He says that the planet developed a face right in front of them and then they heard it speak.
Now, even if a planet could speak, there’s presumably no way it could transmit that voice across space. Unless the substance of this Black Galaxy is really different from our universe. Or unless the planet is broadcasting its speech through some other means than sound, some form of transverse wave.
Reminder of where we are. Tana Nile has conquered Earth via a Space Lock. The Space Lock was controlled from Rigel, so Thor went there to free Earth. The Rigellians agreed to free Earth if Thor dealt with the menace of the Black Galaxy. So here is Thor, accompanied by a Recorder, confronting Ego, the living planet.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: June 30, 1966 Cover: September 1966 12 cents Script writing: Stan Lee Picture drawing: Jack Kirby Panel inking: Vince Colletta Word lettering: Sam Rosen Armor polishing: Irving Forbush 5 page
Already the Stygian darkness looming ahead… blotting out the comforting glow of a thousand stars…!
Where were we. While Thor was fighting Pluto in the Netherworld, Jane’s roommate Tana Nile sent her away with mind control. Tana Nile has since been revealed as a Rigellian and conquered earth via a Space Lock from Rigel. Thor has traveled to Rigel to destroy the Space Lock.
The Rigellians have some pretty advanced technology, and aren’t used to losing. But Thor is Thor.
So! Thou wouldst trifle with Volstagg? Know you that my very belly is more than a match for a dozen such as thee!
It’s been a minute. We were in the middle of the Harokin/Warlock’s Eye saga. I’ve decided not to worry about the flow of the Tales of Asgard feature, and just read them as back-ups to the Thor comics, as they were published. So because we paused Thor’s story in the main stories, we paused here.
But now it’s been 9 months and we need to remember things. Harokin has used the Warlock’s Eye to conquer Muspelheim. Thor looks enough like Harokin that he thinks he can disguise himself as Harokin and do some subterfuge.
Ay! The gladness in his heart doth make mine own regal soul rejoice! Too long hath he been brother to sorrow! Too long hath grim duty o’ershadowed his days! Yet, a feeling of unease lies within my heart! I fear that happiness may still be denied to the so-richly-deserving, most noble Thor!
Thor’s comic has become one ongoing saga to the point where it’s hard to figure out where to cut. We obviously did cut after the last issue, which basically ended the Hercules/Pluto saga. But here we are picking up right where that left off, with Thor and Hercules returning from the Netherworld to Olympus.
We’re just going to plow through the next 6 issues of Thor, getting a bit ahead in time of the rest of the Marvel Universe. There are probably 3 distinct arcs among them, but they all just flow together. Really, the main plot of this issue has been building for a bit now. Jane has had a strange roommate named Tana Nile, who’s up to some stuff. It’s been in the background, but now comes to the foreground. And Jane’s encounter with Tana Nile will be the springboard for the next two arcs.
Of course the other springboard is Thor’s decision to marry Jane, even though a god and a mortal may not marry. Thor is ready to surrender his immortality for this.
