Greetings everyone. Was hoping to get some assistance. I recently purchased Journey into Mystery 116. The Tales of Asgard story in the back starts with a caption that reads "in Thor 63", which obviously didn't exist. I've scoured the webs and see very little on the subject. One site mentions it as a reprint, another as genuine.
My question is, does anyone own an original copy of this issue, or know about this "Thor 63" statement? It's quite perplexing to me and I need to know in order to determine if I've been had. This particular issue is in excellent shape, which adds to my suspicion that it is counterfeit.
I own many silver age issues, so I'm quite familiar with how they look. This issue seems all legit, except for that dang "#63" business.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks
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Have you checked the indicia? That's the tiny type usually found at the bottom of the first page of inside front cover. It would list the title, number and date, among other things.
Have you checked the indicia? That's the tiny type usually found at the bottom of the first page of inside front cover. It would list the title, number and date, among other things.
Thanks for the reply. Yes Ive checked - it reads Atlas Magazines... (c) 1965. 1.75 for annual subscription ; 625 madison ave. etc
I own many silver ages and this book seems all legit. But I can't understand why it would say "in Thor 63." Assuming its authentic, I wonder where this 63 business comes from.
I don't have the original issue so I can't say this definitively, but my guess is you've got a copy of the original issue. Here's my reasoning.
First, there's a similar mistake on the first page of Avengers #7: Iron Man is being asked to explain why he ignored an Avengers call, and a caption says "As seen in Iron Man #56--Editor." That should be Tales of Suspense #56. Now, at that point ToS had a "The Power of Iron Man" logo on the covers - Captain America's feature hadn't started yet - so it could be that Lee didn't make a mistake, but simply chose to refer to the title that way. Either way, the case is a precedent for the use of Thor in the "In Thor #63" caption. Possibly Lee used it because it was the shorter title and what the kids called the comic anyway. The "In Thor #63" caption is also like the Avengers #7 one in that it has the title and issue number in bold.
Second, the Bronze Age Babies page here, which I see you found, has an image of a computer coloured version of the page with the error. My guess is that is from Thor: Tales of Asgard #3 (2009). It compares this with what it says is the original page, but the poster who supplied this isn't clear as to where she got it from. She says she found "the original issue", but she might mean a physical copy of the issue or an e-copy of the issue, or she might be speaking loosely and just mean a scan of the page. In the latter case, she may have mistaken the reprint of the page in Marvel Spectacular #1 for the original page. The image she posted could be a cropped version of the one here. Silver Age Marvel stories were recoloured when they were reprinted in the 70s and 80s, and their reproduction was sometimes a little fuzzy. The supposed scan of the original page has a fuzziness that could mean it's from a 70s reprint, but that might instead be an artefact of Vince Colletta's inking.
Third, if the "In Thor #63" caption is original, I can explain why the whole of the original caption was relettered when the story was reprinted. The reference is to the "Tales of Asgard" story from Journey into Mystery #115. Its 70s reprint was in Special Marvel Edition #4. That title could not have been squeezed into the original space, and altering the opening words to "Last issue" would not have solved the problem since the reprints of the two instalments were in different titles. The bottom edge of the "The god of mischief" version of the caption isn't parallel with the top panel border. That might be evidence of slightly careless relettering.
I have an Australian reprint with the opening of the story, but I can't get to it until tomorrow (and it wouldn't necessarily settle things, as reference captions were sometimes altered or eliminated in 70s Australian reprints, and the reprint may have been made from the Marvel Spectacular #1 version). I'll dig it out if if no-one with Journey into Mystery #116 or Marvel Spectacular #1 can help. If anyone has the latter issue, it should be possible to confirm whether the "The god of mischief" scan is from Marvel Spectacular #1 by the colours.
Also, in Journey into Mystery #116 Loki appeared in the lead story as well, so there was no need to open the "Tales of Asgard" instalment with a captain explaining who he is. But in Marvel Spectacular #1 the lead story was the one from Thor #128. That would explain why when the caption was redone the "The god of mischief" bit was added.
As for the wrong issue number in the "In Thor #63" caption, who knows, but Tales of Suspense #63 and Tales to Astonish #63were both in the fairly recent past. Perhaps Lee had a reference note to one of them ready for some other story and got his notes confused.
The caption was really referring to the events at the conclusion of the Tales of Asgard story in Journey Into Mystery #115, "A Viper in Our Midst" (reprinted in Bring on the Bad Guys as the conclusion of the Origin of Loki storyline. There never was a "Thor #63" and Journey Into Mystery #63 did not feature any Thor story at all. Stan goofed.
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Have you checked the indicia? That's the tiny type usually found at the bottom of the first page of inside front cover. It would list the title, number and date, among other things.
Captain Comics said:
Thanks for the reply. Yes Ive checked - it reads Atlas Magazines... (c) 1965. 1.75 for annual subscription ; 625 madison ave. etc
I own many silver ages and this book seems all legit. But I can't understand why it would say "in Thor 63." Assuming its authentic, I wonder where this 63 business comes from.
Perhaps a reference to a 1963 issue?
I don't have the original issue so I can't say this definitively, but my guess is you've got a copy of the original issue. Here's my reasoning.
First, there's a similar mistake on the first page of Avengers #7: Iron Man is being asked to explain why he ignored an Avengers call, and a caption says "As seen in Iron Man #56--Editor." That should be Tales of Suspense #56. Now, at that point ToS had a "The Power of Iron Man" logo on the covers - Captain America's feature hadn't started yet - so it could be that Lee didn't make a mistake, but simply chose to refer to the title that way. Either way, the case is a precedent for the use of Thor in the "In Thor #63" caption. Possibly Lee used it because it was the shorter title and what the kids called the comic anyway. The "In Thor #63" caption is also like the Avengers #7 one in that it has the title and issue number in bold.
Second, the Bronze Age Babies page here, which I see you found, has an image of a computer coloured version of the page with the error. My guess is that is from Thor: Tales of Asgard #3 (2009). It compares this with what it says is the original page, but the poster who supplied this isn't clear as to where she got it from. She says she found "the original issue", but she might mean a physical copy of the issue or an e-copy of the issue, or she might be speaking loosely and just mean a scan of the page. In the latter case, she may have mistaken the reprint of the page in Marvel Spectacular #1 for the original page. The image she posted could be a cropped version of the one here. Silver Age Marvel stories were recoloured when they were reprinted in the 70s and 80s, and their reproduction was sometimes a little fuzzy. The supposed scan of the original page has a fuzziness that could mean it's from a 70s reprint, but that might instead be an artefact of Vince Colletta's inking.
Third, if the "In Thor #63" caption is original, I can explain why the whole of the original caption was relettered when the story was reprinted. The reference is to the "Tales of Asgard" story from Journey into Mystery #115. Its 70s reprint was in Special Marvel Edition #4. That title could not have been squeezed into the original space, and altering the opening words to "Last issue" would not have solved the problem since the reprints of the two instalments were in different titles. The bottom edge of the "The god of mischief" version of the caption isn't parallel with the top panel border. That might be evidence of slightly careless relettering.
I have an Australian reprint with the opening of the story, but I can't get to it until tomorrow (and it wouldn't necessarily settle things, as reference captions were sometimes altered or eliminated in 70s Australian reprints, and the reprint may have been made from the Marvel Spectacular #1 version). I'll dig it out if if no-one with Journey into Mystery #116 or Marvel Spectacular #1 can help. If anyone has the latter issue, it should be possible to confirm whether the "The god of mischief" scan is from Marvel Spectacular #1 by the colours.
Also, in Journey into Mystery #116 Loki appeared in the lead story as well, so there was no need to open the "Tales of Asgard" instalment with a captain explaining who he is. But in Marvel Spectacular #1 the lead story was the one from Thor #128. That would explain why when the caption was redone the "The god of mischief" bit was added.
As for the wrong issue number in the "In Thor #63" caption, who knows, but Tales of Suspense #63 and Tales to Astonish #63 were both in the fairly recent past. Perhaps Lee had a reference note to one of them ready for some other story and got his notes confused.
There's an image of the original art of the page here. It has the "In Thor #63" caption.
I'm inclined to think that it was merely a "chronicler's error" as both Stan and Jack were stretched pretty thin in those early Marvel days.
The caption was really referring to the events at the conclusion of the Tales of Asgard story in Journey Into Mystery #115, "A Viper in Our Midst" (reprinted in Bring on the Bad Guys as the conclusion of the Origin of Loki storyline. There never was a "Thor #63" and Journey Into Mystery #63 did not feature any Thor story at all. Stan goofed.
As goofs go this isn't as bad as Doc Ock calling Spider-Man "Superman."
Good work, Legionnaires! (And now I don't have to pull my aging, brittle Journey into Mystery #116 out of the vault!)