odin – Page 4 – Coke & Comics

Journey Into Mystery #108

At the Mercy of Loki, Prince of Evil!

Featuring: Thor
Release: July 2, 1964
Cover: September 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, the idol of millions!
Illustrated by: Jack Kirby, the toast of the town!
Inked by: Chic Stone, the man of the hour!
Lettered by Art Simek, the people’s choice!
18 pages

Stan Lee grants himself the tagline that will eventually get applied (usually self-applied) frequently to Ben Grimm: “the idol of millions”.

We get an offbeat opening sequence. Maybe it’s cool. I find it stretches credibility, though I confess a difficulty expressing what doesn’t in Thor stories. Thor appears to go mad, striking the ground with his hammer to create an earthquake. This shaking threw a truck off the ground a few blocks away, just high enough to not hit a boy. I find it hard to believe Thor could be that precise, and that nobody else was injured. Thor claims there was only some damaged property, which could be paid for out of the Avengers emergency fund.

The notable event in this issue is the first meeting of Thor and Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange had just barely defeated Baron Mordo and was left weakened by the battle. Strange fights Mordo pretty often. The last battle we saw was a few months ago and didn’t seem to leave Strange this weakened. There is likely some untold battle between Strange and Mordo that precedes this story.

Avengers #7

Their Darkest Hour!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: June 9, 1964
Cover: August 1964
12 cents
Magnificently written by: Stan Lee
Majestically illustrated by: Jack Kirby
Masterfully inked by: Chic Stone
Meticulously lettered by: Art Simek
22 pages

In Tales of Suspense #56, Tony Stark very briefly flirted with giving up his Iron Man identity. He now faces a board of inquiry for his failure to answer an Avengers call. At that very moment, Odin is rendering judgment on Enchantress and Executioner for their part in the events of Journey Into Mystery #103. These events show the ever-tightening interconnectedness of the series.

Recall that Thor’s title went over a dozen issues without referencing or being referenced by any other series. There was no evidence it was set in the same world as that of the other heroes. Now, they are rather intertwined.

But continuity brings continuity errors, even when a single writer is nominally writing every title. The inquiry is tricky to reconcile with the details of Tales of Suspense #56 in a few ways. Thor charges Iron Man with ignoring a call. However, the Avengers didn’t really know how to contact him and never reached him. They talked to Mr. Stark’s secretary. She was able to talk to Mr. Stark, but never (as far as anyone knows) Iron Man. It would be like somebody who doesn’t know my phone number charging me with not answering my phone they didn’t call.

Secondly, they were trying to contact Iron Man to ask him to look into the Unicorn. Within a couple hours of that failed call, Iron Man did indeed find, battle, and defeat the Unicorn. So they attempted to contact Iron Man, didn’t know how to, never reached him, and thus it was, say, 2 hours between their attempt at contact and his completing the mission they sought to assign him. That hardly seems worth an inquiry.

There was no mention of this coming inquiry in the Iron Man comic. In fact, at the time, the Avengers all seemed to agree that Iron Man was in his rights to live his own life.

Journey Into Mystery #106, Story B

The Brave

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.

Journey Into Mystery #105, Story B

When Heimdall Failed!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: April 2, 1964
Cover: June 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Geo Bell
Lettering: Art Simek
5 pages

Recall that last issue, we learned the origin of Heimdall. This issue we get another Heimdall tale, before the spotlight shifts to Balder starting next issue.

Nedra hatches a plot with Brimer, King of the Storm Giants, to invade Asgard, even under Heimdall’s watch. Nothing can escape his sight or hearing, but the air creatures known as the Vanna can be neither seen nor heard.

Nonetheless, Heimdall senses the approaching Vanna and lashes out. He misses and is uncertain whether to trust his own instincts.

Journey Into Mystery #104, Story C

Heimdall, Guardian of the Mystic Rainbow Bridge

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: March 3, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
A tale told in splendor by: Stan Lee
A drama drawn in glory by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Don Heck
Lettering: Art Simek
5 pages

I appreciate that the Tales of Asgard stories are willing to try different things. The initial offerings concerned Odin and the early days of creation. Then we got a series of stories about Thor as a youth. Now we will get a series focused on Heimdall. Stories about Balder will follow. The series feels it has the freedom to explore a variety of characters and eras of Asgard.

Heimdall was briefly introduced to us in Journey Into Mystery #85, where we learned he was the Warder of the Bifrost. We are given the general sense that he is very good at his job and that almost nothing slips past him. However, we haven’t seen much evidence of that. Indeed, we’ve seen Loki fool him twice. In issue 88, Loki disguised himself as a snake to escape Asgard. In an ancient tale told in issue 101, young Loki created a hole in Asgard’s defenses without Heimdall realizing it.

We now learn the story of how Heimdall was awarded his post. The right to stand eternal watch at a station is not something I would have competed for, but Heimdall did. Agnar the Fierce and Gotron the Agile both presented their cases to Odin. But they could not compete with Heimdall’s heightened senses. He could hear a plant growing far away in hills thought to be barren, and his eyes that can scan time and space could see an approaching army of Storm Giants still two days away.

Journey Into Mystery #104

Giants Walk the Earth!

Featuring: Thor
Release: March 3, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
…only the inspired talent of Stan Lee could have written it…
Only the gifted hand of Jack Kirby could have illustrated it!!
Inked by: Chic Stone
Lettered by: S. Rosen
13 pages

As with last month’s Tales of Suspense, this issue sees Thor take a more significant place on the cover. He gets his own logo, prominent on the cover, with the series’ title taking a subordinate position. “Journey Into Mystery with The Mighty Thor”. This is Thor’s comic now.

Thor has spent most of this series battling threats that really should be beneath his notice. Cobra with his slithering power? Finally, Thor’s mettle gets tested. In fact, it’s a test too great for him. He’ll need the help of Balder and his father Odin to overcome this threat.

The story begins soon after the end of the previous issue. Loki is chastising Enchantress and Executioner for their recent failure. If Enchantress could only have waited a few seconds to turn Executioner into a tree…

We really need to talk about Loki. I mean, we already did, but it’s getting more confounding. Odin had sentenced him to eternal imprisonment. I really must stress the word “eternal”. But then suddenly Loki was seemingly Odin’s most trusted advisor. No explanation was offered. Loki manipulated the supposedly wise Odin into causing Thor’s most recent grief, both his battles against Zarrko and the Enchantress. Now, Loki not only convinces Odin to travel to Earth, but Odin lets Loki rule in his stead, and grants him extra power to do so.

Journey Into Mystery #103

The Enchantress and the Executioner!

Featuring: Thor
Release: February 4, 1964
Cover: April 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, master of fantasy
Illustrated by: Jack Kirby, master of picto-drama
Inked by: Chic Stone
Lettered by: S. Rosen
13 pages

The phrase “feature-length” clearly means nothing to Stan. 13 pages is the same length the Thor stories have always been. It’s only half a comic.

I had some trouble deciding where it was best to read this story. I had originally posted it a little early, I decided, and moved it to where it fits in terms of publication dates, after the introduction of Black Widow. I’m not sure when it best takes place chronologically.

We start with Thor returning to the 20th century from the future, so there’s no time gap between the beginning of this story and Journey Into Mystery #102. Dr. Blake needs a nap, and we do have a short time gap before the main action of the story begins.

Journey Into Mystery #102

Slave of Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man!

Featuring: Thor
Release: January 3, 1964
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Cunningly conceived by: Stan Lee
Daringly drawn by: Jack Kirby
Ingeniously inked by: Chic Stone
Lovingly lettered by: Art Simek
13 pages

Well. It’s 1964. Welcome.

But not for Thor. He’s trapped in the 23rd century.

This is our first exposure to Chic Stone. He’s been working in comics since the 1930s, including on Marvel’s own Blonde Phantom, but has spent the last several years doing art direction for assorted magazines. He recently returned to doing occasional jobs in comics, and now has found his way to back Marvel. I think he and Kirby make a good team.

Journey Into Mystery #101, Story C

The Invasion of Asgard!

Featuring: Tales of Asgard
Release: December 2, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: G. Bell
Lettered by: Art Simek
5 pages

Forces of Evil are set to attack Asgard, but Heimdall stands vigilant. However, Loki has created a hole in Asgard’s defenses and somehow kept it secret from even Heimdall. He tricks Thor into thinking he discovered this gap, and suggests that Thor guard it. This leads to the young Thor having to battle the Forces of Evil alone.

Journey Into Mystery #101

The Return of Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man!

Featuring: Thor
Release: December 2, 1963
Cover: February 1964
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: G. Bell
Lettered by: S. Rosen
13 pages

We are one week late reading this comic because it begins a two-part battle against Tomorrow Man. How this comic fits in with Thor’s appearances in Avengers is pretty complicated, and we’ll be addressing that in a later post.

I’ll remind readers that the Avengers really do have some urgent business to get back to. Both Hulk and Namor remain at large. It should also be noted that Giant-Man recently fractured his ankle, but seems better now.

Jack Kirby is back and here to stay. Perhaps he’ll be able to turn around what up to this point has been one of the worst comics. Perhaps not, as he was there for the earliest issues of Thor and they were still of low quality. But Stan Lee was also farming out the writing to a variety of people. Now, for the first time, Stan and Jack will be the team on this book, just like on Fantastic Four and Sgt. Fury. They’ve also reached the point in their working relationship where their “coplotting” of the stories likely involves Stan less and less. Kirby will be taking greater control of the storytelling going forward. We’ll see how it goes.

Now that Lee is scripting, there is a detectable difference in Thor’s speech patterns. Under other writers, he had slowly evolved from talking like he was Don to talking like he was Thor. Now, there’s a certain haughty regality to the language. Words like “naught”.