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Thor appreciation thread
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741 posts in this topic

Kev, where did your beautiful splash page art go? It was a great example of Kirby's wild imaginative work that he especially showcased on the Tales of Asgard backup series.

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Next up is JIM 92, again featuring Loki as evil-doer, Thor being deprived of his hammer for 60 seconds as the major attack strategy, and Joe Sinnott on pencils. The series certainly did not benefit from Kirby's absence.

 

This is my only copy with c/ow page quality (which held up through a regrading into the new label), but since it is a relatively weak issue, I have no desire to upgrade it.

 

JIM92.jpg

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JIM 93 is a desirable issue, featuring the return (for only one issue) of Kirby art, and being relatively scarce in high grade. The villain's "powers" over radioactivity have a weird effect on the Mighty One, and are a bit like his kryptonite.

 

I bought this ish as a NM/NM- from Ted VanLiew at either a Philly or Baltimore comic con (can't remember which). It was and is gorgeous, despite the "R" penciled onto the front cover. If recollection serves me, I have seen this R pencilled onto one or two other high grade early Silver Age gems, and so suspect that this was used by a kid to mark his copies. Anyone else ever seen this cover marking?

 

JIM93.jpg

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With JIM 94, Kirby is once again absent from the interior. The cover menacingly shows the merciless Loki right here on Midgard, but without the Kirby magic I frankly don't remember this story.

 

This is also a White Mountain copy. Being a nice book in an old blue label and a very old serial number, it should probably be regraded in the near future. It has what appears to be a staple mark near the right edge, suggesting that it was stored in a stack of books with opposing orientations, a good strategy for minimizing spine roll back in the day.

 

JIM94.jpg

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Kev, where did your beautiful splash page art go? It was a great example of Kirby's wild imaginative work that he especially showcased on the Tales of Asgard backup series.

You mean this splash from JIM 103?

scan0002.jpg

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I especially appreciate the annecdotes that come with the books. Thanks for the posts.

 

Dennis

 

Great books!! 893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif

 

Keep them coming and I love hearing the stories behind each issue. cloud9.gif

 

Thanks for sharing these awesome books.

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JIM 93 is a desirable issue, featuring the return (for only one issue) of Kirby art, and being relatively scarce in high grade. The villain's "powers" over radioactivity have a weird effect on the Mighty One, and are a bit like his kryptonite.

 

I bought this ish as a NM/NM- from Ted VanLiew at either a Philly or Baltimore comic con (can't remember which). It was and is gorgeous, despite the "R" penciled onto the front cover. If recollection serves me, I have seen this R pencilled onto one or two other high grade early Silver Age gems, and so suspect that this was used by a kid to mark his copies. Anyone else ever seen this cover marking?

 

JIM93.jpg

 

Great looking book. 893applaud-thumb.gif

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Next up is JIM 92, again featuring Loki as evil-doer, Thor being deprived of his hammer for 60 seconds as the major attack strategy, and Joe Sinnott on pencils. The series certainly did not benefit from Kirby's absence.

 

This is my only copy with c/ow page quality (which held up through a regrading into the new label), but since it is a relatively weak issue, I have no desire to upgrade it.

 

#92 is actually one of my favorite covers. Have been very tempted to pick up a high grade copy.

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Picking up where we left off, here is my JIM 95. This book is essentially impossible to find in great shape. Like my VF+ copy, the very few high grade slabbed copies I've seen tend to suffer from poor cover wrap or miscut. It is a shame, because this is a cool cover with a beautiful green background. The story itself is pretty lame - turns out the second Thor is an android version created by an evil scientist (is there any other kind?). Pencils by Sinnott and -script by R. Berns - less than memorable. The ish does have a neat Lee/Ditko backup story and a short story called Time Machine, and so really feels more like an Atlas than a Marvel comic.

 

This copy came from Marnin Rosenberg many years ago. Marnin was, I believe, the very first dealer to specialize in "ultra high grade" Silver Age books, and when his prices seemed too steep to me (naive collector that I was), I'd buy his more affordable VF - VF/NM books, like this one:

 

JIM95.jpg

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JIM 96 is, thankfully, the last ish without the Lee/Kirby magic on Thor, and instead is another Berns/Sinnott production. In the story, Merlin sees the Mighty One revert back to Dr. Donald Blake. With quick thinking, Dr. Blake dupes Merlin into believing he has the power to change into any creature of his choice, thereby protecting Thor's secret identity. Merlin falls for it, of course. insane.gif

 

This ish is more plentiful in high grade, and I'm looking to upgrade without paying the exhorbitant price of a 9.6.

 

JIM96.jpg

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Last for today is what I consider to be a key issue in the title, JIM 97. It marks the return of Lee and Kirby to Thor for a run that would remain unbroken for 80 issues. It also has the first installment of the highly imaginative and grossly underrated Tales of Asgard backup series. This series explored genuine aspects of Norse mythology, and freed Jack to create a veritable army of wild characters and amazing costumes. The first story focuses on the origins of Odin himself, whose ancestors arose from the Well of Life (Odin's father as a young man looks remarkably like Kamandi...)

 

My copy of JIM 97 was acquired from another devoted Thor fan, Beltan (r100), who obtained it from Eides Entertainment when they auctioned their high grade early Marvel collection on E-Bay. It's a stunner.

 

JIM97-1.jpg

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Great stuff Bob ! Thank you for taking the time to describe how you got those and what you like (or dislike) in those issues thumbsup2.gif

 

I love those colors on that JIM 95 cloud9.gif, as for that Pacific Coast JIM 90 takeit.gif (seriously, you should resub that one : if there's no missing chip it's at least an 8.0 candidate if not 8.5) (I'm sure you compared it to the PC ST 103 (8.0) and ST 105 (9.0) that have similar pre-marvel chipping)

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Last for today is what I consider to be a key issue in the title, JIM 97. It marks the return of Lee and Kirby to Thor for a run that would remain unbroken for 80 issues. It also has the first installment of the highly imaginative and grossly underrated Tales of Asgard backup series. This series explored genuine aspects of Norse mythology, and freed Jack to create a veritable army of wild characters and amazing costumes. The first story focuses on the origins of Odin himself, whose ancestors arose from the Well of Life (Odin's father as a young man looks remarkably like Kamandi...)

 

My copy of JIM 97 was acquired from another devoted Thor fan, Beltan (r100), who obtained it from Eides Entertainment when they auctioned their high grade early Marvel collection on E-Bay. It's a stunner.

 

JIM97-1.jpg

 

Eides had some spectacular J.I.M.s. I remember the #103 CGC 9.4 in particular. It was every inch a 9.6, and that's exactly how it came back when it was re-submitted to CGC. Eides had quite an eye for high grade, even back in the day.

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Bob , I have a complete Silver Age Thor collection along with FF's & Spidey's ETC. nowhere near as nice or beautiful as your copies !!! hail.gif Awesome collection my Friend. Keep posting your books . I for one never get tired of seeing your books in such great shape. 893applaud-thumb.gif893applaud-thumb.gif

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The 3 for today start with JIM 98. This is the Northland pedigree copy and, as you'd expect from a premium collection, has remarkable preservation of cover colors and whiteness, not to mention essentially perfect registration. The story introduces the Human Cobra and has Kirby pencils inked by Donnie Heck. The Tales of Asgard story really gives Jack a chance to create fantastic creature/characters, and Stan to wax grandiose with his "verily"s and "thine"s. A most fun book.

 

JIM98.jpg

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JIM 99 introduces Mr. Hyde. Jane Foster looms as Thor's vulnerability, and the reader begins to sense for perhaps the first time that Dr.Blake's love for her cannot have a future. Although the cover is slightly miswrapped, it appears that Marvel had improved their overall quality of production by late 1963 and reduced the number of copies with chipping and severe miscuts/miswraps.

 

I honestly don't remember my source for this copy. confused-smiley-013.gif

 

JIM99.jpg

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Here's the anniversary ish, JIM 100. It once again features Mr. Hyde threatening Jane to get to Thor. There's another great Tales of Asgard backup, with a "Thorboy" story - young Thor looks like, you guessed it, Kamandi! In the inimatable, uneviable, undeniable Kirby style, each of the cover characters strikes an awesome pose.

 

This beautiful copy is from Harry's great original owner collection, the Sid's Luncheonette pedigree. It is one measly and tiny spine scuff away from NM and, like all of Harry's books, has terrific colors and nice registration. I was very happy to make a contribution towards Harry's retirement fund!

 

JIM100-1.jpg

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