I’m almost done reading this, just have the final double-sized issue to read tonight.  Having read these issues only once when they first came out nearly thirty years ago, they seem almost brand new to me now. I really think I enjoyed them more this second time around! Some random thoughts:
 

*Walt Simonson doesn’t get enough credit for drawing attractive women. Granted, he may not be in the same league as Romita Sr., Dave Stevens, or Wally Wood but his females sure are purdy none-the-less. I know he modeled Lorelei after Debbie Harry of the group Blondie and Sif after Sigourney Weaver. Does anyone know if he had a particular model in mind for Amora or even Friggia?  They didn’t look like anyone recognizable to me. Heck, did any of the male characters have models for reference that I just missed? Okay, I know Beta Ray Bill was modeled after Mr. Ed…..

 *Speaking of  Lorelei, Walt seemed to get tired of her awfully quick halfway through the run when he brought in The Enchantress! Amora’s little sister was very prominent in the plot early on, but soon after the Thor-frog portion, Loki  makes an off-handed comment about getting tired of her annoyances and turning her into a statue in his courtyard. We never actually see this or  statue-Lorelei. It happens totally off-panel and even Loki’s remark’s are just throwaway lines while he’s doing something else.  

*Kind of ironic all the footnotes in which events reference from THOR issues published in the sixties are referred as  being published “at  the dawn of time”  or so forth. We’re now further away from these Simonson issues than they themselves were from the Kirby run when first published! Time marches on, indeed.
 

*Speaking of time marching on, it’s kind of poignant seeing how much the World Trade Center is a featured locale. The Midgard Serpent even plans to form Thor’s tombstone out of it’s ruins after he kills the Thunder God.  On a more personal level, having just lost my own father only four years ago, I could relate more to Thor’s sadness at losing Odin more now than I could in the ‘80’s as a twenty-something.
 

*No one should ever have used the Executioner ever again after his magnificent sacrifice  and death at the gates of Hel. A Grade C villain finally gets his moment of glory and he shouldn’t have been trotted out again for more mediocre battles. 
 

*Speaking of Hel: Hmmmm, in the recently reprinted Len Wein run Thor journeys to Hel in back in search of Odin in what seems just a day or two with no trouble at all. Here he has to consult Runes and wrestle a demon for directions and he and the army of Asgard march for days underground and over rivers to reach the place. Yeah, Simonson’s take is more true to Norse myths and the better story, but still it struck me as kind of amusing when reading it so soon after the Wein volume.
 

*The Secret Wars II, X-Factor, and Power Pack crossovers are kind of jarring, but Simonson deals with them well and you fortunately don’t need to read those other comics to follow the story here. He especially deals well with crossing over with that gawd-awful Mephisto mini-series. After the first two or three pages, the Avengers up and leave with no memory of anything and Thor is left exactly where he was at the conclusion of last issue. Good job, Walt.
 

I think there was some more stuff I wanted to comment on, but I can’t remember now and lunch break is over. I’m sure I’ll have more after “Journey into Mystery”!


Last Edited By: kosh62 May 18 11 2:24 PM. Edited 2 times.