How I Learned To Love (Well, Appreciate) Thor

When I was younger, my buddy "Sluggo" and I would argue the most mindless, mundane minutae of comic book lore. We'd argue over who was the best comic book artist. Who was a better character. Which titles were good and which ones weren't. Whether or not some random plot point was totally stupid or only marginally so. I miss those stupid arguments sometimes...

Anyway, there were two arguments that never failed to spark up considerable dialogue. The first was which of us was the better artist, because - of course, in true fanboy fashion, both of us felt we should be comic book artists someday. There were many random "I can draw better than (insert name)!" This argument went on for a while until I decided that perhaps I'd rather be a writer. I still think I could have been a damn fine artist.

The second was "Which character is better?" And it frequently came down to Spider-Man (me) or Thor (Sluggo). Forget for a moment that Sluggo would pronounce O-din as Odd-in and refused to accept it when I would correct him. This argument was based purely on who was stronger. If it was based on which character had a better run of comics, Spidey wins hands down. It was pretty lean between the Stan Lee and Walt Simonson runs.

That's right - the Simonson issues. Other than the Lee issues - in my mind - the only significant run of Thor issues even worth looking at. After years of trying to convince me that Thor was great, Sluggo hits me with Thor 337. Look at the cover. It's ridiculous. Some weird lookin' dude in a Thor suit smashing the Thor logo. Big deal.

"It's great," Sluggo tells me. And he was right.

By the end of it, I wanted to see what happened next. Usually anytime someone tried to pick up Thor's hammer, they were unable to due to their unworthiness. Now here was Beta Ray Bill, not only picking up the hammer, but being summoned to Asgard by the All-Father (Oh-din) instead of Thor! What's a Don Blake to do?

And it got better from there. On to Beta Ray Bill getting his own hammer, fighting alongside Thor and just being a part of some really cool stories. Add in a french fry that 'kills' someone, a Casket of Ancient Winters (and a mortal who is entrusted with a centuries-old god legacy) and a Thor Frog, and - by Sigurd Jarlson's Beard, you've got something.

It was just the right mix of quality art, great storytelling, Norse mythology and just plain fun. A comic, that, just like Keith Giffen's Justice League, had a ball telling great stories without getting mired in the grim & gritty thing. Comics were meant to be escapist fun, and Simonson's Thor was just what the doctor ordered. The run even includes a hilarious Bob Layton fill-in issue that pits Thor against Hercules and is just as enjoyable as the Simonson issues.

In my opionion, it holds up very well when compared to today's comic books. Especially recent Thor comic books. And, while I haven't even flipped through a Thor comic in a few years...I doubt I'd like what I'd find.

So I thank Sluggo for introducing me to this great comic book run, and I thank Walt Simonson for creating it in the first place. If you haven't read this before (Thor 337-382), and you plan to do so - I envy you. You are in for a real treat.