Thor 1st/Nth Appearance Thor DC/Marvel/Charlton 2 2

[Upgrayedd2]

I searched the forum and could not find a discussion on this. 

In 1957, Kirby drew a story called “The Magic Hammer” in DC Comics’ Tales of the Unexpected #16. The tale portrays Thor as a Norse god, complete with a foil in the villainous Loki – who would, of course, become the main villain in the Marvel series. In addition, the hammer matches the one in Marvel, and calls on lightning and the weather.

If you provide a copy of the story to anyone familiar with Thor, they would recognize him, the hammer, lightning, etc without reading the text. Then when you read the text, they would clearly read the character names Thor, Loki... When I opened the first page, I didn't even need to see the hammer. I said, "that's Thor." Having recently read Tales of the Unexpected #16 (DC, 1957), I'm curious to see what Key Notes CGC places on the label. I've seen some comic book sites refer to this comic as, "Prototype of Thor, created by Jack Kirby prior to the character's introduction in Marvel Comics, Journey Into Mystery #83". But, I do not believe this is accurate.

If Thor had remained in DC, would this comic be considered a "prototype"?

I realize there are plenty of Golden Age references to Thor. My curiosity is what Key Notes CGC includes on the label. If anyone out there has a CGC copy, please share the Key Notes from the label.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Upgrayedd2
Place "Thor" in the Title

[Artboy99]

I have heard of this but I have never seen the book. Have a copy of the book? Post a few pics, it would be interesting to see them.

[Jeffro.]

I pulled this image off Heritage. It's just  one example though

[bc]

From the GCD:

Title: The Magic Hammer

Synopsis: Gerald Bard finds Thor's hammer and uses it as a rainmaker, but Thor arrives to retrieve it. The story explains that Thor’s hammer was stolen from him by Loki.

GCD Notes:

Thor precursor. Jack Kirby designs Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir the same exact way he would design Marvel Thor’s Mjolnir in Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #83 and tests both Mjolnir’s against a tree as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.

Loki story precursor. Jack Kirby reuses this story of Loki stealing the Hammer for the plot of Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #92 as per Comic Book Historians article researched by Alex Grand.

-bc

[bc]

-bc

 

[Upgrayedd2]

On 5/19/2022 at 6:46 AM, Artboy99 said:

I have heard of this but I have never seen the book. Have a copy of the book? Post a few pics, it would be interesting to see them.

You can find all of the pages via internet search "Tales of the Unexpected #16". 

[KCOComics]

This is no longer my copy,  but I did take some photos of Thor before I traded it. 

Ironically,  it was included in a trade for a JIM83 a few years ago. 

[grendelbo]

Unsurprisingly, eBay sellers are calling it Thor's and Loki's first appearance - predates JIM 83.

[grendelbo]

[eastriver400]

This is wild.

[Axe Elf]

 

[thunsicker]

https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=16579

[Upgrayedd2]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:06 AM, grendelbo said:

Unsurprisingly, eBay sellers are calling it Thor's and Loki's first appearance - predates JIM 83.

Based on what I am seeing:

This pre-dates Thor in Marvel. "Character named 'Thor'", come on! I would buy that if 'Thor' in this comic was not a God and did not carry a hammer which matches Thor's.

As for Loki, maybe first mention in a comic book.

[Browns81]

On board with this being Thor’s first appearance.

[thunsicker]

On 5/19/2022 at 10:22 PM, Browns81 said:

On board with this being Thor’s first appearance.

What?  My example doesn’t count?

[Jesse-Lee]

This is really cool - especially given the similarities, that it's Kirby and that it predates Thor's Marvel debut. But since Thor is a Norse god of mythology and can't be copyrighted as an idea, DC can still use him in their books. Here's a panel from Wonder Woman 771 that came out last year, when Diana went to Asgard:

 

Granted, it's not the same version of Thor popularized by Marvel, but the idea is similar to how a lot of the Disney classics are based on public domain stories - you can't copy Disney's version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, but you can make a product with Snow White as long as it doesn't copy Disney's version of the character.

The fact that the Tales of the Unexpected came first and is so close to what would ultimately become the Marvel Thor ideal is really interesting though.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Jesse-Lee

[Ken Aldred]

Tales of the Unexpected 16, 1957

Venus 6, first Marvel Loki, 1949

Edited May 20, 2022 by Ken Aldred

[Upgrayedd2]

Here is the breakdown based on good old internet searches.

1941: "Mercury" appears in Red Raven (Timely Comics)  and later becomes Hurricane in Captain America (Marvel Comics). Hurricane is the “son of Thor, god of Thunder, and the last descendant of the ancient Greek immortals.” – a Kirby character.

1942: "Thor" appears in Adventure Comics #75 (DC). Thor is a villain/mobster using tech to imitate the god. – Kirby-designed.

1948: "Mercury" (a similar character) appears in "Venus" (December issue) – edited by Stan Lee.

1957: "Thor" appears in Tales of the Unexpected #16 (DC). Thor is a Norse god, wears the same tunic which appears in today's story line, has the same hammer which appears in today's story line, reference to Loki as a villain. – illustrated by Kirby.

1959: "Thor" appears in Out of this World #11 (Charlton Comics). Thor discovers the hammer and uses it to drive away enemy forces. – illustrated by Ditko.

1962: "Thor" appears in Journey into Mystery #83 (Marvel). – Ditko/Kirby/Lee???

So how can one argue the 1957 appearance of a Norse god named Thor, with the same hammer and tunic, villain Loki, lightning bolts, etc does not represent the 1st appearance of Thor in a comic? Journey into Mystery #83, under the key notes should read, "1st Appearance of Thor in Marvel Comics". Would love to hear y'alls opinions pro and con.

[grendelbo]

On 5/19/2022 at 11:42 PM, Ken Aldred said:

Tales of the Unexpected 16, 1957

Venus 6, first Marvel Loki, 1949

 

Cool

 

[grendelbo]

On 5/19/2022 at 11:43 PM, Upgrayedd2 said:

So how can one argue the 1957 appearance of a Norse god named Thor, with the same hammer and tunic, villain Loki, lightning bolts, etc does not represent the 1st appearance of Thor in a comic? Journey into Mystery #83, under the key notes should read, "1st Appearance of Thor in Marvel Comics". Would love to hear y'alls opinions pro and con

It's Thor v. the Thor.

Like kind of, Hemsworth v. the Hemsworth 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by grendelbo