COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Thor 354 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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1997070013
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Owner:
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Thorseface
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Thor no. 354: “Pickin’ up the Pieces!”
Publication date: April 10, 1985
Census: As of 6/20/23, 24 copies in 9.8 (up by 4), with 1 signed (up by 1). There is one Canadian in 9.8, unsigned.
Writer, penciler, inker: Simonson
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: Scheele
Favorite line and some thoughts:
"Flee death! Flee, and lick thy wounds, you who are not fit to utter my father's name! And know that Thor shall not be far behind!"
In many ways the tussle between Thor and Hela with which this issue begins sets the stage for the remainder of Walt's run. The death goddess is in illicit possession of mortal souls (thanks to Malekith) and now, at least from Thor's perspective, has the temerity to show up in Asgard to collect the soul of Odin. The All-Father, we learn, is not only absent but Hela can detect no trace of his soul. In other words, Walt was keen to let us know that Odin would eventually return, though he left that story for another Thor scribe. Turns out that Seth, the Egyptian death god and old Thor foe, managed to separate Odin from Surtur and chain up the All-Father in his black pyramid (see Thor 398).
Colonel Sauleda's reference to "Mayor Koch" plants this issue and its events firmly in the 1980s, throughout which Ed Koch, himself a veteran of the US Army, was mayor.
With the Bifrost broken, Sif is forced to use her powers of teleportation to return to Asgard and Thor. "A tip to the hammer to those who remember the last time those powers were used!", says Walt. The answer is Thor 143 (1967), at the time a full eighteen years prior! It is clear here that Sif remains in love with our hero, despite her new relationship with Bill. Thor, for his part, is still enraptured with Lorelei.
Bill tells Sif that he was briefly absent to help the Avengers in a skirmish against the Dire Wraiths. See my comments for Thor 352. This is a reference to Bill's appearance in Rom #65, which as mentioned previously does not fit well with the continuity of the Surtur Saga (though Walt and co. tried to squeeze it in!). The biggest mistake in this case was that the interior pencils of Rom 65 showed Bill wielding Mjolnir rather than Stormbreaker! The Rom reference isn't the only "crossover" with this issue. It has been proposed that Marvel Team up no. 148 (Thor and Spidey) takes place either during or immediately after the events of this book.
Finally, I love Fandral's mission to Chicago that finishes off this issue. He pays off Donald Blake's office staff with Asgardian gold coins minted with an image of the All-Father, all the while sporting a sweet '80s tracks suit in his trademark green. It's a fitting bookend to the Surtur Saga, which began with Blake's walk through Hyde Park on a blustery Chicago day.
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