Thor debuted in Journey Into Mystery 83, cover-dated August 1962. This was, of course, the very early days of modern Marvel. The Fantastic Four had only 5 issues under their belts, and the Incredible Hulk had just 2. JIM was a monthly title (FF and Hulk were bi-monthlies), so Thor was actually the first super-hero headliner to appear every month, beating out Ant-Man by a month. Spider-Man also debuted in Aug '62, but would have to wait 7 months to get his own magazine.
Of all the Silver Age Marvel books, JIM/Thor seems to get a lot less love and respect than other creations. That may be because Thor is not really a creation of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee as it is their adaptation of the Thor of Norse myths. There is one aspect of Marvel's Thor that is possibly borrowed from the Fawcett Captain Marvel, and in some of the early stories, Thor comes across as a poor man's Superman.
In the first year or so, Stan sometimes was credited as the writer, sometimes only the plotter. It's debatable how much he did or didn't do - it always will be, I suppose - but one thing for sure, he very obviously didn't do the dialogue every issue. Jack did the pencils on JIM 83-89, 93, and 97, and then was the regular penciller every month starting with 101. Jack also did the backup feature, Tales of Asgard, starting in JIM 97, a very significant - and excellent - strip on its own.
Inspired by the Baron, I'm going to re-read the Thor stories starting with JIM 83 and give you my thoughts. I may stop at Kirby's last issue, or I may keep going, I haven't really decided yet. Like Bob, I'm going to try to be succinct, even though it's not my strong suit - I'm sure I'll be long winded from time to time. I'm looking forward to what you guys think of these stories as well.
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I wonder if the name change had anything to do with the Beatles' brief involvement with Indian philosophy.
Yeah, and he had three different names in his first three appearances. Clearly not A-list, and yet they kept bringing him back. I remember reading the book above back in the day and thinking "Not this guy again!"
Before I get to JIM 97, some comments:
With JIM 96, an era has ended. From JIM 83-96, Stan Lee plotted but did not write Thor. Jack Kirby drew all of the covers but did not do all of the interiors. As I stated before, Larry Lieber did full scripts from Stan's plots and then gave the script to Jack and the other artists. My guess is that Robert Bernstein, credited as R. Berns for his five issues (JIM 92-96), did the same.
Larry Lieber was Stan's brother, but he had his own writing style, a little duller and not quite as flashy as Stan, but certainly competent enough for the day. Lieber came up with the name "Don Blake" and Thor's hammer being made of "Uru metal". Uru was just a word Lieber made up, but it stuck. Having Jane Foster as the only supporting character created a vacuum that would be filled by the Asgardians, as Lieber slowly added them in. Lieber, imo, doesn't get the recognition he deserves for Thor, and I'm glad he got some in the Thor movies.
While I lambasted Robert Bernstein's issues for the most part, I do have to give him credit for making even greater use of the Asgardians - and full credit to Legionnaire Luke Blanchard for pointing this out. Unfortunately, other than Loki, the other Asgardians didn't have much of a personality, not even Odin. And Asgard itself was nothing special so far. It looked like an asteroid with a handful of buildings on it.
Thor himself didn't have much of a personality, and was usually as generic as any hero could be. He's heroic, sure, but that grandeur and nobility was lacking in the early days. The fake Shakespearean talk wasn't there much either, although Odin sometimes spoke that way, and Thor would use "thee" and "thy" when he talked to him. But most of the time Thor spoke like any other Earthling.
Jack did the pencils for JIM 83-89 and 93. It seems like he always had a crazy workload; certainly in 1963 that was the case. JIM 90, cover dated March '63, was the first Thor story without Kirby interior artwork. That month, Jack did 10 covers, as well as the interiors for Fantastic Four, a 13 page and a 5 page story for Two-Gun KId, and a 7 page story for Love Romances. Whew!
Stan Lee was no slouch either. He edited the entire line, an average of 11 books. Plus he was credited as the writer on FF, Amazing Spider-Man, Sgt. Fury, Dr. Strange, and was coming up with plots for Thor and other strips.
Marvel had 12 comics cover dated July '63, and 10 for August '63. This had been the pattern (12, 10, 12, 10) going back to Nov '61 (FF 1). Sept '63 saw an astounding output of 17 titles with the debut of Avengers and X-Men and the release of a few annuals, notably the first FF Annual. Despite the heavy workload for both men, and Marvel's growth in output, the two men turned their attention to Thor. Perhaps they were disappointed in the strip so far and knew it had to be fixed. I suspect Jack's fondness for the Norse myths had him itching to do the book, and Stan found his enthusiasm infectious. In any event, I'm glad they decided Thor merited their attention.
Changes are coming, and things will never be the same again!
The stories written by Bernstein hardly sound like the plots originated with Stan. Stan must have given just hints and suggestions. Maybe they were, like some of the DC books, written based upon the terrific Kirby covers.
Bernstein was also writing Adventures of the Fly and Adventures of the Jaguar for Archie in the period.
Great analysis, John. I think overall, Kirby's run on Thor, once he really got his motor running after his return to the series (really starting, IMO, with the introduction of the Absorbing Man) was even better than his work on the Fantastic Four. And Kirby kept returning to and expanding on elements introduced in Thor, mixed in with a few from the FF as well, for the remainder of his career in comics. Personally, I'd rate the best 4 runs of the Silver Age as Lee & Kirby on FF & Thor; and Lee & Ditko on Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. Yeah, there were certainly other great stuff, but those were the peaks.
John Dunbar (the mod of maple) said:
GCD says that Bernstein was credited as R. Berns. This is possibly because he was working for another company. I remember that Gene Colan was originally credited as Adam Austin at Marvel for that reason. I believe there were others.
Luke Blanchard said:
There were a lot of pseudonyms early on. I remember Mickey Demeo was really Mike Esposito.
Richard Willis said:
Journey Into Mystery 97 (OCT 63)
"The Mighty Thor Battles The Lava Man"
Writer-Stan Lee, Pencils-Jack Kirby, Inks-Don Heck
Cover - Kirby & George Roussos
The cover announces to the reader that this is a "Super Special Issue!" and that "Lee and Kirby combine talents to bring you Mighty Thor battling the amazing Lava Man!". Hey, nothing wrong with a little hype!
The story opens with a jet fighter about to crash in the middle of the city. The pilot had blacked out from lack of oxygen, and Thor saves him and diverts the jet out to sea. As reporters gather, Thor takes off, and heads for Don Blake's office, ignoring a newsboy talking about a volcano monster. He decides that today is the day he will tell Jane Foster he loves her. He is about to do it, when he has second thoughts - he would have to reveal he is Thor, and he needs Odin's permission to do that. He tells Jane he needs one more day before he can ask her the question he wanted to ask. Jane is severely disappointed in Don's "lack of gumption" and says she can't wait forever for him to speak his mind.
Changing to Thor, he summons Odin and makes his request, and is shocked at Odin's response:
Odin vanishes before Thor can even plead further. Thor is broken-hearted, to the point where he has blocked out everyone below talking about the monster from the volcano, dubbed the Lava Man. All this delights Loki to no end. He had observed the whole thing with glee, and decides now is the best time to attack Thor. He is still a prisoner, and will need an agent to do the job for him. He remembers he recently caused a dormant volcano to erupt which brought the Lava Man to the surface.
Thor has changed back to Blake, and wonders if he should give up his life as Thor to marry Jane. Just then, Jane comes in, to tell him she is leaving to go work for another doctor. A dazed Don Blake wanders outside, to see the Army has mobilized to attack the Lava Man. Their weapons have no effect on the creature, and he turns them to ash. The army retreats, but then Thor appears, and attacks! He declares action is what he needed, and romantic pursuits are not for him. The Lava Man evades Thor by melting the ground below himself, and then attacks with geysers from underground. Thor hears laughter, and Loki reveals he is watching, taking joy in Thor meeting his match. Thor tells him the battle isn't over, and to watch what transpires.
Thor uses his hammer to flush out the Lava Man from hiding. He tells the creature flight is useless, there's nowhere to hide. When the Lava Man states he is claiming the surface world for his people, Thor says the world is vast, there is still time for peace, and the humans and his people could co-exist. The Lava Man says humanity is too weak for that, and Thor tells him he's had his chance. The Lava Man encases Thor is a shell of Lava, but Thor breaks free. Thor stops a further attack by creating a whirlwind around the Lava Man, sending him up into space, and then dropping him into a volcano. Thor takes a moment to mock Loki, who had been taunting him earlier but is now silent. Then he seals the volcano by smashing a mountain peak with his hammer, and dropping the rocks on it.
He heads back to the office to see if he can convince Jane to stay. She was there waiting for him, but only to say a final goodbye. When the Lava Man threatened the city, he didn't even look for her, and that was the final straw. A distraught Don Blake wonders if it is his destiny to be alone for the rest of his days.
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My rating: 9/10
This is head-and-shoulders a vast improvement over what has come before. Kirby's pencils are dynamite, even with Don Heck's heavy inks. The dialogue is wonderful, with both Thor and Don Blake showing an unforeseen wide spectrum of emotion. Thor sees himself as the protector of humanity and strives to live up to his own boasts. His nobility shines through, but he is also a bit haughty and quick tempered. His battle with the Lava Man is action packed, and I laughed when he trash talked Loki.
The subplots are well done. Jane going to work for another doctor - a "wolf" (according to Blake) who has tried to date her before - is she gone forever? And hey, everybody, Odin is a heartless jackass! Both of these are good hooks for readers to come back, another story telling device employed for the first time in this series. The final panel, with Blake staring forlornly out the window, lamenting his lot in life, is Silver Age Marvel pathos in fine form.
I can talk about the Tales of Asgard backup separately if people wish. Maybe someone who is well versed in Norse mythology may want to take the lead on it.
I see a lot more Don Heck in most of these pages than I see Jack Kirby (as others have observed). The credits read "drawn" by Kirby, but I suspect he provided only rought layouts. At this time, when Stan Lee was about to assign a new penciler to a series, he would have Kirby provide layouts for an issue or two as a kind of "roadmap" for the tyro to follow. Also, there are definite Stan Lee fourishes in the plot and script which have been sorely lacking up until now. The seires is getting better, but it's not quite there yet.
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