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Post by dlw66 on May 27, 2008 12:16:59 GMT -5
At the request of our beloved Global Moderator, here are my initial selections for the Top 5 Thor covers. From Journey Into Mystery #103, the Executioner and the Enchantress!  Great Absorbing Man cover, from #121.  Great Thor/Loki battle cover, from #147.  For my money, perhaps the most interesting Galactus cover there is? From #168  Lastly, from Tales of Asgard #1, an iconic cover featuring most of the main players.  Of course, I've featured no Neal Adams, no John Buscema, and no Beta Ray Bill, as drawn by Simonson on a VERY memorable Thor cover. But, this should get us started... |
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Post by sharkar on May 27, 2008 17:05:22 GMT -5
In combing through the JIM/Thor covers, I came across some, er, precursors to the scintillatin' superheroes of the Marvel Age...  Hulk:Gray    Even supervillains can trace their roots back to JIM!  Those horns look awfully familiar, don't they?  |
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Doctor Bong
Reservist Avenger
Master of belly dancing (no, really...)!
Posts: 167
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Post by Doctor Bong on May 27, 2008 20:04:26 GMT -5
In addition to becoming gray, the Hulk seems to have gotten a lot bigger!
"Hulk smash!!!", anyone...?
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Post by Tana Nile on May 27, 2008 21:38:48 GMT -5
How could I resist this topic? The Thunder God is very near and dear to my heart. So without any further ado:  Thor's first battle with the Destroyer! A classic.  One of the most dramatic covers I've ever seen. Kirby at his finest.  Another dramatic Kirby cover, this time with Thor in the clutches of Mangog.  How could I not include at least one of the issues dealing with Thor's search for Galactus? I like this cover the best. It's almost like a movie poster.  Thor #200 was one of the first issues I had of Thor. My introduction to Thor was through the great John Buscema, not Jack Kirby. Even with the ridiculous borders on this cover (why Marvel did this I'll never understand), it looks fantastic, with Thor facing Loki at (yet another) Ragnarok. |
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Post by dlw66 on May 28, 2008 8:37:37 GMT -5
The Silver Age Marvel Comics Cover Index is down (again!) this morning. If history holds, it will soon revive itself... Sharkar, isn't the "Hulk" really Xemnu the Titan?? www.geocities.com/marvel_monsters/xemnu/xemnu.htmlReference by AA!'s very own Sean McQuaid. |
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Post by sharkar on May 28, 2008 10:24:48 GMT -5
In addition to becoming gray, the Hulk seems to have gotten a lot bigger! "Hulk smash!!!", anyone...? LOL! Yes, he must have been subjected to an extra dose of gamma rays off-panel, in between issues #62 and #66...  Wow! Thanks for the link, dlw. |
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Post by sharkar on May 28, 2008 10:30:51 GMT -5
I'm still in the process of selecting my 5 favorite covers for this thread, but in the meantime I'd like to present:  EDIT: REPLACED COVER LINK. Now you can see Thorr in all his glory! |
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Post by Tana Nile on May 28, 2008 14:45:29 GMT -5
Don't forget this Dr. Strange:  |
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Post by Shiryu on May 28, 2008 18:51:36 GMT -5
At the request of our beloved Global Moderator, here are my initial selections for the Top 5 Thor covers. The moderator is very thankful!  I fixed your links, Samcii was down again, so I changed them to ImmortalThor (www.immortalthor.net) which is a nice Thor's resource. My picks are #2 Thor 161 - the anatomy is a bit off, but Thor in the middle of a Galactus-Ego fight is a must. I always thought it was interesting that we discovered the origins of Galactus in Thor and not in FF.  #3 Thor 130 - This cover has a great concept  # 4 JIM 126 - just a great fighting pose for a clash of titans!  # 5 Thor 218 - Very dramatic yet action packed!  I have to think about #1. Most likely it will be a Buscema cover (I don't like Williamson's art) but it's hard to decide which! |
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Post by sharkar on May 28, 2008 22:44:43 GMT -5
So many great covers have already been posted here --particular favorites of mine are #130--as Shiryu noted, an intriguing composition (#138 is similar)...I love the way the "Netherworld" is depicted; and #103's Enchantress and Executioner--talk about beauty and the beast! So, excluding those two covers, and the great Galactus covers, here are some other Thor covers I've long admired: Classic Thor image.  Another classic cover.  This cover has always captured my eye because it's atypical for a superhero comic book cover--there's no battle-related action or obvious, overt conflict. The placement of the figures--if not for the book's title and the corner box, you wouldn't know who the star is; Thor's part of the tableau but doesn't dominate. Love the dramatic title "Trial of the Gods" (and we Avengers fans know this issue is the reason why Thor was absent from much of the contemporaneous Avengers #16!  ).  This may be my favorite. For me, knowing the outcome of the story adds to the heartbreaking effect of this cover. I love Thor's expression.  Hela--one of Kirby's most exquisite creations.  |
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Doctor Bong
Reservist Avenger
Master of belly dancing (no, really...)!
Posts: 167
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Post by Doctor Bong on May 29, 2008 0:46:34 GMT -5
I always liked Jane Foster better than Sif.
Anybody else shares on this...?
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Post by sharkar on May 29, 2008 19:29:46 GMT -5
I always liked Jane Foster better than Sif. Anybody else shares on this...? While I like Sif's visuals, I too have always preferred Jane Foster as a character. This may be due in part to nostalgia, because my first introduction to Thor was in the old Marvel Superheroes cartoons. I was a fan of the show well before I ever read an issue of Thor, and Jane was prominently featured in the Thor episodes. When I finally started to read the Thor comic later on, I was very disappointed to learn that she was no longer part of his milieu (the supporting cast was now Sif and Balder). Jane is mentioned in what has always been one my favorite Avengers passages, from Av. #110. Wanda and Vision have recently announced their love, provoking an angry tirade from Pietro. The ugly scene reminds Thor of his own star-crossed romance with Jane; he muses that while he and Jane overcame many obstacles, "in the end- -our passion died anyway. A most unpleasant parallel to ponder." |
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Doctor Bong
Reservist Avenger
Master of belly dancing (no, really...)!
Posts: 167
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Post by Doctor Bong on May 29, 2008 19:45:30 GMT -5
As the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, idol of millions would say, sharkar: "Wotta revoltin' development!"
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Post by sharkar on May 30, 2008 15:00:54 GMT -5
As the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, idol of millions would say, sharkar: "Wotta revoltin' development!" LOL! Or to put it another way: Oy |
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Post by sharkar on Jun 2, 2008 19:52:14 GMT -5
This (Thor #136) may be my favorite. For me, knowing the outcome of the story adds to the heartbreaking effect of this cover. Hmmm...come to think of it, #136 is kind of like Thor's "One More Day." In going through the Thor covers, I was struck by a few Silver Age covers in which his full face or profile is not shown and his body is not fully shown...IMO, a sort of odd approach to take with the titular character of a comic (in the Marvel SA era, anyway). Thor #155I know, I know...the hammer is supposed to be the focal point here. Even so, it's oddly positioned...toward the side of the cover, instead of in the center...so for me the effect is blunted.  Thor #162, 163 and 165Here are some in quick succession! Only #164 (not shown) is the odd man out, since it contained a full body, profile shot of Thor.    EDIT: replaced cover links |
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Post by scottharris on Jan 2, 2009 3:10:21 GMT -5
There are a lot of classic covers in this thread. I just picked up JiM 89 and 103 in the last couple weeks, which are two of my all-time favorites. I'd also like to second the votes for 126, 127, 130 and 162, all of which are great. There are a few great covers that weren't mentioned, though, so I thought I'd rectify that here. First up, an iconic Kirby image:  Here's Bill Seinkiewicz making Sif look cool, along with an unexpected villain:  Seriously, Dracula vs. Thor -- why did it take 250 issues to come up with that fight? One of the first comics I ever owned:  A great image from Simonson for Marvel's 25th Anniversary:  And the death of Skurge the Executioner, which was just reprinted in the one-shot God-Sized. Notice how much nicer this version of the cover looks than the one they included in the reprint, thanks entirely to the great M design with the large print issue number, as opposed to the newsstand version with the tiny numbers and all the codes and crap in the box. I try to get the direct edition versions of the comics from this era whenever I can, as they just look so much nicer than the newsstand copies:  |
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