Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: September 2, 1965 Cover: November 1965 12 cents A Stan Lee story spectacular! A Jack Kirby pencilling panorama! A Vince Colletta delineation drama! An Artie Simek lettering landmark! 5 pages
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: August 3, 1965 Cover: October 1965 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Illustrator: Jack Kirby Delineated by: Vince Colletta Lettered by: Artie Simek 5 pages
According to the legends, the Pillars are merely the feet of the Utgard Dragon! Beneath the waves his jaws lie open, waiting for every ship that passes!
It’s not obvious to me how this ship knows where it’s going. All we’ve been told is they are searching for some hidden evil. Not much of a clue. Undeterred by his own ignorance, Thor decides the “Sea of Fear” is as good a place to start as any.
I expect better of the Asgardians, but maybe the Sea of Fear has some effect on people.
After 5 issues of waiting for the ship to set sail, now it has. The issue opens with the ship caught in a storm headed toward these deadly Pillars, and ends… with the ship caught in a storm headed toward these deadly Pillars.
Featuring: Thor Release: August 3, 1965 Cover: October 1965 12 cents Another towering triumph for Stan Lee, writer! Another fabulous feat for Jack Kirby, illustrator! Another amazing achievement for Vince Colletta, delineator! Another day, another dollar for Artie Simek, letterer! 16 pages
But, no matter how awesome the odds may be, I am son of Odin, Prince of Asgard! I would ever choose the eternal sleep, rather than a moment’s cowardice!
Kirby’s taken some artistic license with that cover. He metaphorically depicts Thor as gigantic compared to the city and bystanders caught in their battle. Absorbing Man is literally gigantic. But Thor is not, and I don’t think forced perspective is enough to justify Thor’s apparent size compared to those buildings.
As the length of stories is expanding, so is the length of action scenes. We pointed out that Fantastic Four #42 was entirely action start to finish, with the set-up and wrap-up in surrounding issues. This isn’t entirely that, as there are some interludes. We need to check on Jane. And Loki. And that lost Norn Stone. But most of the page count is just Thor battling Absorbing Man.
We’re still spinning out of the events of issue 114, when Loki kidnapped Jane. This led directly to last issue’s Trial of the Gods, a challenge which Loki won by cheating, right as last issue closed.
We pick up precisely where we left off. For continuity’s sake, Thor is still without his cape. He’ll get another one when they get home.
This issue, Thor finds himself entangled in the Vietnam war. Marvel heroes have been fighting Communists for as long as we’ve been reading, often in Vietnam. The nature of US involvement in Vietnam was changing drastically, as this comic was published just 7 months after the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Here, we see the civil war that ravages South Vietnam, as South Vietnamese farmers face the terror of the Viet Cong, guerilla forces supported by the North Vietnamese.
Before we get to Viet Nam, we have unresolved plot points from last issue. Who won the Trial of the Gods? Will Jane be rescued from Enchantress and Executioner?
Featuring: Thor Release: March 4, 1965 Cover: May 1965 12 cents Written by imperial Stan Lee Illustrated by impregnable Jack Kirby Inked by implacable Vince Colletta Lettered by impossible Artie Simek 16 pages
Colletta graduates from inking the backup stories to the main Thor feature. He will be the Thor artist for a very long time to come. For better or worse. In fact, he will ink the next 52 consecutive Thor stories, and a good many of the next 50 after that over the course of an 8-year run.
We’ll reserve commentary on the his style for now. Let’s spend a few issues taking in this new art style before we try to see how we think Colletta compares to Chic Stone.
Another compelling Thor title. “The Trial of the Gods!”
We’ve known the phrase since we read Avengers #16, which was actually published a week after this, but took place earlier. At least, Thor’s appearance in the story took place before this issue.
Kirby seemed to use the same concept for cover and first page.
I’ve never really understood Odin and never will. Everybody seems to agree he is wise, but his wisdom must be too much for my mortal intelligence to grasp. Thor claims Loki kidnapped Jane to Asgard; Loki claims Thor brought Jane to Asgard because he loves her. Who is lying? The God of Thunder or the God of Lies?
Only one way to find out, says Odin. The Trial of the Gods!
Featuring: Thor Release: January 5, 1965 Cover: March 1965 12 cents Written at white heat by: Stan Lee Drawn with purple passion by: Jack Kirby Inked with golden serenity by: Chic Stone Lettered on a blue Monday by: Sam Rosen 16 pages
Well, damn. That’s maybe the most compelling title yet. It turns out to also make complete sense into the context of the story. I like it.
“souped up bucket racing car”
This is the issue Thor finally gets good.
Quality-wise, Thor’s been turning around since about a dozen issues back. It went from being the single worst title to a pretty decent one. The stories still haven’t been much to speak of, but the art and action have been excellent. There’s been great storytelling of late, even if not applied to many stories worth telling.
The great storytelling has been owed to the pairing of Kirby and Stone. We just bid farewell to Stone’s tenure on FF. Now we must bid farewell to him on Thor (recall we’ve jumped back in time, so this is a month before his final FF issue). Vince Colletta will graduate from the Tales of Asgard backups and start on the main strip. There are those who love Colletta’s work on Thor, and there are many others who… don’t. We’ll see what we think in the months to come.
We are jumping back in time a couple months. Thor is changing. It has so far mostly consisted of identifiable discrete stories, usually one or two issues long. No more. Stories will flow into each other; it will be hard to tell where one begins and ends. It will be hard to identify where Thor gets enough of a breather to go be an Avenger. (Though we know that soon won’t be an issue.) We’re already behind on our Dr. Strange and Hulk reading because they’ve started the “saga” approach to storytelling.
To that end, the plan is to read the next 6 issues of Thor basically together, pausing only to check in on Daredevil, because it’s relevant to the happenings in Thor.
Most of the issue is dedicated to Thor’s battle against the Absorbing Man, but it ends indecisively. It’s over for the moment, but Thor’s foe remains at large. Meanwhile, we get a second conflict in the final pages. Loki has kidnapped Jane and holds her in his stronghold. Thor must go battle Loki and rescue Jane. Next issue will pick up both of these plots, but the Absorbing Man story still won’t conclude, and it will bleed into the Trial of the Gods” arc, which has already been hinted at in our Avengers reading because we got 2 months ahead.
We’ll talk in more detail about chronology next issue, but my loose idea is that this story takes place between the pages of Avengers #15. After the first Thor scene but before the second. The MCP disagrees, placing this squarely after Avengers #16.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: October 1, 1964 Cover: December 1964 12 cents Superbly written by: Stan Lee Supremely drawn by: Jack Kirby Savagely inked by: Vince Colletta Sagatiously lettered by: Artie Simek 5 page
The theme of many of these early Thor stories is that Loki is still considered a friend and ally by Thor, yet Loki is always secretly trying to get Thor killed, usually in pretty non-subtle ways. This has been going on since they were children.
Loki has recommended a short cut through a forbidden forest, then goads Sigurd and Thor into battle. Balder is suspicious.
Featuring: Thor Release: October 1, 1964 Cover: December 1964 12 cents Written with the mastery of: Stan Lee Illustrated with the genius of: Jack Kirby Delineated with the delicacy of: Chic Stone Lettered with the India ink of: Artie Simek 16 pages
It is a pretty cover. I would argue the box about not having captions counts as a caption.
The two panels devoted to the love of Odin’s youth is far more interesting than the many pages devoted Thor fighting Cobra and Mr. Hyde.
It’s tantalizingly sparse in details. Balder sings a song of Odin’s youth and own forbidden love, until Loki interrupts, fearing Balder is trying to sway Odin to be fairer to Jane. Odin and the unnamed girl he was forbidden to marry took “one last ride over the eternal chasm together”. What does that even mean?
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: June 2, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Written and drawn by the prize-winning team of: Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby Inked by: Vince Colletta Lettering: Art Simek 5 pages
For several months now, Stan has used all kind of creative license in the credits, applying clever nicknames to everybody. Two months ago in Fantastic Four #28, Jack was referred to as “The King”. Now, we get the credits that will resonate through the decades and become basically the official nicknames of the famous duo: “Stan (The Man) Lee and Jack (King) Kirby”.
This might be the first time they’ve ever shown up. Certainly that I’ve come across. Caveat that I’m reading these Marvel stories in reprints, so miss many house ads and letters pages, which are likely sources of the nicknames. This is definitely the first time we’ve seen both “The Man” and “King” within an issue’s credits.
This is the second story starring Balder, depicted here in what looks to be a Disney movie. Loki is jealous of the favoritism Odin shows to Balder, second only to his love for Thor. Loki decides to kill Balder. The only snag is the gift of invulnerability Odin had bestowed upon Balder last issue.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: May 5, 1964 Cover: July 1964 12 cents Written with passion by: Stan Lee Drawn with pageantry by: Jack Kirby Inked with power by: Vince Colletta Lettered with pride by: Art Simek 5 pages
We recently met Vince Colletta over in Daredevil. This issue begins Vince Colletta’s long relationship with Thor, spanning almost a decade. He will be the regular inker on “Tales of Asgard” from here on out, and soon graduate to the main title. He will be the inker for over 60 consecutive issues and remain a frequent inker on the title thereafter.
Contrasting his work with, say, Chic Stone, we see more hatchings to represent shadow and shape than we have been seeing, yet less crispness. The features are often softer and less defined. I’ve seen it described as “atmospheric”.
The next two chapters of “Tales of Asgard” will focus on Balder. Let’s review his history.
