Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Mighty Thor #180: "When Gods Go Mad!"


Download The Mighty Thor #180





Long fascinated by Norse mythology, Jack Kirby returned to it in 1962 when he and Stan Lee got together to invent yet another Marvel superhero. The helmeted and golden-haired Thor was introduced in Journey into Mystery #83 (August 1962). Lee's brother Larry Leiber wrote the scripts. Thor soon won a following and dominated the magazine. Early in 1966, with the 126th issue, the magazine changed its name to Thor.

The first adventure told how frail, lame Dr. Don Drake found the hammer of Thor in a secret cave while vacationing in Norway. As soon as he clutched the legendary implement, the spindly doctor was miraculously transformed into a muscular superman with shoulder-length blond hair and a form-fitting Norse costume, complete with winged helmet. In subsequent stories the amount of mythology increased. Lee, who'd taken over the writing early on, added Thor's traditional nemesis, Loki, and also tossed in Balder and Odin.

Stan Lee has said that when he started scripting, "Thor became the first regularly published superhero to speak in a consistently archaic manner. Call it Biblical style—call it neo-Shakespearean." Jack Kirby departed the feature in 1970, and Lee stopped writing in 1972. Roy Thomas and John Buscema carried on for some time. Then Walt Simonson took over the writing and the editing. Thor #337 (November 1983), the first written and drawn by Simonson, sold out in comic shops. Simonson remained with the character until the summer of 1987, and Thor has continued, though with diminished popularity, under the hands of various writers and artists.

To go to Mighty Thor #181 please click here.


Credits

Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Neal Adams
Inks: Joe Sinnott

Reprinted:
  • in Essential Thor (Marvel, 2001 series) #4 [black & white]
  • in Marvel Visionaries: Stan Lee (Marvel, 2005 series) #[nn]
  • in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor (Marvel, 2003 series) #9 (2010)
  • in Thor le fils d'Odin (Artima, 1979 series) #10
  • in Marvel Deluxe : Stan Lee (Panini, 2007 series) #1





















Saturday, November 20, 2010

World of Fantasy #2: "Inside the Tunnel" (Al Williamson art)


Download World of Fantasy #2




More late night weirdness: I am miserable with a bad cold or the flu and can't sleep, so here's some more Al Williamson artwork from years ago.




Monday, November 15, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Strange Tales #84: "They Met On Mars!"


Download Strange Tales #84





Two beings in grotesque space suits fight on Mars. One of them destroys the other's ship and escapes, with the two never knowing that they were both humans: one from the US, one from the USSR.
Reprinted:
  • in Monsters on the Prowl (Marvel, 1971 series) #24 (August 1973) [retouched into a SHIELD vs Hydra story]







Download Monsters on the Prowl #24




Synopsis: Two unrecognizable beings land on Mars and fight. One of them destroys the other's ship and escapes, with the two never knowing that they were both human space travelers: one from the United States, one from the Soviet Union.

Reprinted from Strange Tales (Marvel, 1951 series) #84 (May 1961).

Story has been altered to add references to S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.






Saturday, November 13, 2010

Fear #5: "Rocket Ship X-200" Vs. Rocketship X-M!


Download Fear #5



Rocket Ship X-200: An aging space pilot is mocked for his slow ship, but when an invading armada approaches Earth his ship is the first to see it.
Art by Don Heck. Reprinted from Strange Tales (Marvel, 1951 series) #69 (June 1959).

Rocketship X-M (1950) was the second of the American science fiction feature films of the space adventure genre begun in the post-war era, in 1950. Because expensive special effects and production value delayed the release of Destination Moon, this black-and-white film from Lippert Pictures was quickly shot (in 18 days) so as to be able to make it to the cinemas first with the story of a moon expedition that instead lands on Mars.








http://www.archive.org/details/RocketshipXM

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