COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Thor 361 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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0911772016
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Owner:
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Thorseface
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Thor no. 361: “The Quick and the Dead!”
Publication date: November 10, 1985
Census: As of 6/20/23, 8 copies in 9.8, 1 signed. There are no Canadian 9.8s. No change since last year. Thor 361 still has the lowest 9.8 representation on the census for those books in the run that Walt penciled, with the arguable exception of 380 for which he did the breakdowns and Sal did finishes. Why this book is so scarce in 9.8 is a bit unclear. It might be due to the lack of the cover's visual interest compared to some other issues (though I think it's pretty cool), since the book's titular hero doesn't pop from the page (this is the point, however, as Garm, the Hel hound, is very, very big).
Writer, penciler, inker: Simonson
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: Scheele
Favorite line and some thoughts:
"Feel the unbreakable grip of old age...and despair!"
-Hela, Goddess of death and dedicated wearer of the color green.
This issue begins with a quote about Garm from Voluspa, the Seeress'Prophecy as found in the Poetic Edda: "Garm bays loudly before Gnipa cave." For much of this issue, however, Walt is mainly drawing on Gylfaginning (in the Prose Edda) and its account of Hermod's journey into Hel to free Balder after he is killed by the mistletoe. It is there, too, that we find support for Gjallerbru--the golden bridge that covers the river Gjoll--and its silent guardian, Modgud. The appearance of Nanna (Balder's wife) in this issue is likewise indebted to Gylfaginning.
As mentioned earlier, Roy Thomas did a version of the death of Balder during his earlier Thor run, which in some respects Walt built upon for his take on Balder by having him remember his earlier sojourn in Hel and, usefully, to share with Thor how one might get the hell out of Hel. Walt made sure to keep Balder foregrounded here, probably to hew to the mythology in spirit if not to the letter.
It is Thor who has business in Hel this time, and it turns out that this is because Walt wanted to use the journey to the underworld to offer his own spin on another episode from Norse mythology, namely Thor's wrestling match with "old age." As described elsewhere in Gylfaginning, Thor wrestles the old woman Elli (in the old Norse literally "old age"), and comes close to defeating her. This is why Walt's Thor challenges Hela to a wrestling match for the souls of the mortals she has unjustly kept in Hel. Turns out that Marvel's Hela has the power to make one "feel the unbreakable grip of old age." For this reason Thor has armored up: he has brought his iron gauntlets (also supported by the mythological record but rarely featured in Marvel's Thor). Turns out Hela's cape is actually preventing her from dying of old age (or something like that). In short, Walt conflated Elli and Hel(a) so that he might offer a new take on this beloved episode in the mythology.
The romantic drama continues. Hela's illusions, along with poor Nanna's revelation to Thor, give him cause to rethink how he's left things with Sif. For his part, having been ditched by Amora, Skurge is feeling like he's nothing left to lose. This doesn't bode well for the denizens of Hel, as reader's of Walt's run know well.
The bit with Hildy and Hogun is just too damn cute. I'm a sentimental type. The ball cap that Hogun has for Hildy he delivers to her on behalf of Katie Power (see Louise's Power Pack 15). A sweet crossover.
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