ON THE SPINNER RACKS 59 YEARS AGO TODAY

     Not only was Thor and Loki in both of these comics but so was Jane Foster.

     Both covers were by Jack Kirby (with intricate Dick Ayers embellishing). Kirby also did the story art on the AVENGERS. 
      The JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY Thor story was drawn by Joe Sinnott.    

       Words by Stan Lee.

IN YOUR LCS 4 YEARS AGO TODAY

Odinson did not grace any of the myriad covers of the MUST BUY COMIC OF THE WEEK  but he did appear in it!!!

 SECRET EMPIRE #5 $3.99

(W) Nick Spencer (A) Andrea Sorrentino, Rod Reis (CA) Mark Brooks
    The heroes of the Marvel Universe never reckoned on the dread power that Steve Rogers would unleash! The Odinson makes a worthy appearance!

IN YOUR LCS 5 YEARS AGO TODAY

MIGHTY THOR #20 $3.99

(W) Jason Aaron (A) Russell Dauterman, Valerio Schiti (CA) Russell Dauterman
   The Ultimate Thor died defending the Multiverse, but his hammer remains. Who will hold the hammer now?  War is coming to the Ten Realms. Can the new Ultimate Thor keep back the bloody tide? Thor Odinson appears!!!

Patrick Brown Mary Jane variant cover

 FOR AN ENJOYABLE OVERVIEW OF 

TALES OF ASGARD

CLICK HERE

ON THE SPINNER RACKS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

 cover by Rich Buckler, Joe Sinnott and Frank Giacoia

Thor appears on 10 of the 20 pages.

The issue is a middle chapter of a continued story.

 cover by John Buscema

Thor appears on 13 of the 20 pages.

This is the final chapter of a continued story.

55 YEARS AGO TODAY

The first Marvel comic I ever bought was fighting for attention on the nation's spinner racks.

Thor's 8th appearance of 1967. His 96th appearance of all time.

Balder's 2nd appearance of 1967. His 22nd appearance of all time.

Sif's 5th appearance of 1967. Her 8th appearance of all time.
Sif's 2nd cover appearance of 1967 and of all time.

Plus the epic introduction of Brona, Forsung and Magnir - the Enchanters!!

The issue was so good that I didn't even mind that both the lead story and the Tales of Asgard back-up were continued stories.

Stan Lee prided himself on making sure that every comic he worked on was a good jumping on point for new readers. He certainly succeeded with THOR #143. First, the Kirby cover had to get my attention!

The least important page in the issue?

Marvel waited 8 years to reprint THOR #143 in MARVEL SPECTACULAR #14. By then, to stay competitive, they had raised the price of their books and cut the page count by one.  Fortunately a full-page pin-up of Odin with a voice-over by Thor explaining who Odin is wasn't vital to the plot?!

IN YOUR LCS 5 YEARS AGO TODAY

3 DIFFERENT THORS APPEARED

AVENGERS #8 $3.99 

(W) Mark Waid, Jeremy Whitley (A) Phil Noto (CA) Alex Ross
    The Avengers have to decide whether the Infamous Iron Man is friend or foe! It's hard to trust an "ally" you've been fighting against for years! Lady Thor is on the cover and the inside too!

NOVA #7 $3.99

(W) Jeff Loveness, Ramon K. Perez (A) Scott Hepburn, Ramon K. Perez (CA) Dan Mora
    As Richard Rider struggles to come to terms with the revelations from his return to the Cancerverse, Sam Alexander struggles with homework, his family and dating! Cancerverse Thor has a brief scary appearance.

ZOMBIES ASSEMBLE #2 $4.99 

(W) Yusaku Komiyama, Jim Zub (A/CA) Yusaku Komiyama
   The original manga is adapted into English for the first time!  Earth's Mightiest Heroes must fight to contain an outbreak of horrifying zombies, and stop them from spreading across the Earth!  Thor Odinson goes full zombie.