Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: January 4, 1966 Cover: March 1966 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: V. Colletta Lettering: Artie Simek 5 pages
Thy mission is ended! The danger you have been seeking is here– in the City of the Golden Spires! Return then at once– to Asgard!
Thor and his crew sail to find an unknown foe, but keep facing random dangers. At present, Loki has been captured by Queen Ula of Thryheim, and Thor has come to save him.
Ula wants Thor to be her King. If he agrees, she will release Loki. Else, she will kill his crew.
It’s important to note that Ula had nothing to do with cracking the Odinsword. She is not the unknown foe they are searching for, just a woman who wants to marry Thor.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: December 2, 1965 Cover: February 1966 12 cents None but Marvel’s Stan Lee could tell such a tale! None but Marvel’s Jack Kirby could draw such a tale! None but Marvel’s Vince Colletta could ink such a tale! None but Marvel’s Artie Simek could be such a pussycat! 5 pages
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: November 4, 1965 Cover: January 1966 12 cents How gallant, this script by: Stan Lee How glorious, this artwork by: Jack Kirby How gracious, this inking by: Vince Colletta How come? This lettering by: Artie Simek 5 pages
Is it not passing strange that the Grim One– the taker of countless lives in battle–should be so eager to protect the single life of Balder?
Ah, the Odinsword Saga. I made the decision not to read the whole thing at once, but that means we need to remind ourselves where we left off. In theory, the impetus for the Saga is that an unknown enemy has cracked the Odinsword, and Thor is leading a voyage to find the culprit. Along the way, Loki schemes to kill Thor, and the voyage encounters obstacles unrelated to the main quest. They just resolved one, involving a Dragon and Balder blowing a Horn. This issue introduces another such obstacle.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: October 5, 1965 Cover: December 1965 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Penciller: JacK Kirby Inker: Vince Colletta Letterer: Artie Simek 5 pages
I’ve lost track of how many issues we’ve been caught in this storm headed for these deadly Pillars, which turn out to be the claws of the Utgard Dragon. But we finally seem to resolve that.
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.
“What madness is this, Volstagg!!? I thought thou feared neither man nor beast!!” “In truth, I do not–!! But that is neither man nor beast– It is– my wife!!”
This is the fourth chapter of the Odinsword Saga. Let’s recap. The Odinsword was cracked by a mysterious enemy, so Thor is embarking on a quest to discover who is responsible. They are almost ready to leave.
Featuring: Thor Release: June 1, 1965 Cover: 1965 25 cents Mighty story by: Stan Lee Majestic art by: Jack Kirby Masterful inking by: Vince Colletta Mostly lettered by: Sam Rosen 15 pages
Thus, the Thunder God falls.. for time without end.. through a vast void of heavy nothingness… of shimmering energy barriers and mystic space disrupters…
This is the first Thor Annual. Your 25 cents is mostly buying you reprint stories. But you also get a 15 page new Thor story, which is perhaps more properly a Tales of Asgard story, focused as it is on an early adventure of Thor. In those tales, Loki is always scheming to kill him, but Thor seems blissfully unaware.
We’ve reviewed some early history of Hercules and Zeus. Marvel introduced a gigantic superhero named for Hercules then weeks later introduced a comedic hero named Little Hercules. A mythologically-confused version of Hercules gave his powers to Marvel Boy in 1940 and then to another Marvel Boy in 1943. Tommy Tyme witnessed the mythological Hercules’ legendary battle against Antaeus, which bore quite the resemblance to a Thor story we read where he battled Sigurd.
Jupiter was a recurring character in Venus, and the Jupiter of Roman myth is very similar to the Zeus of Greek myth. We saw Zeus unleash a Fury in a 1955 fantasy story. We know Zeus had given Pandora her box from a 1961 Tales of Suspense story. And that Pandora’s Box was later used by the Sorcerer to menace Johnny Storm. In the early days of our reading, we read a weird tale where Zeus came to Earth to prove his power, and was offered movie deals.
But those appearances of Hercules and Zeus are not necessarily part of our canon. This issue represents the proper Marvel Universe introductions of Hercules and Zeus.
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: June 1, 1965 Cover: August 1965 12 cents Written with gallantry by: Stan Lee Drawn with greatness by: Jack Kirby Inked with grandeur by: Vince Colletta Lettered with a straight face by: Artie Simek 5 pages
Featuring: Tales of Asgard Release: May 4, 1965 Cover: July 1965 12 cents Story by: Stan Lee the legend teller! Art by: Jack Kirby the legend maker! Inking by: Vince Colletta the legend portrayer! Lettering by: Sam Rosen the letterer! 5 pages
This is the second part of what I’ll dub the “Odinsword Saga”. Unlike most sagas which we’ll try to read all together, I’ve deemed this one reads best one chapter at a time, as the backups to the main Thor feature.
To recap, warriors of Asgard were getting restless, when Odin revealed the Oversword was broken, and directed Thor and Loki to go on a quest to learn who was responsible.
Now Thor is visiting Morduk the map maker.
Is that candle holder a monstrous hand? That’s cool.
Morduk warns Thor’s course will take him… into the unknown.
