COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Thor 378 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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2096838003
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Owner:
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Thorseface
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Thor no. 378: “When Loki stood Alone”
Publication date: April 1, 1987
Census: As of 6/20/23, 15 copies in 9.8 (up by 2), 2 of which are signed (no change). There is no Canadian variant listed.
Writer: Simonson
Penciler, inker: Sal Buscema
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: Scheele
Favorite line(s) and some thoughts:
"...And Thor's heart misgives him that before all is said and done...it will not be Thor's armor that will be tested by fate...but his very heart and sou!"
-Thor
"The Serpent's mad!"
-The Frost Giants, who aren't exactly sure that Grundroth's plan is a wise one.
At last, Thor's full battle armor, zapped to Asgard just in time to stop the Frost Giants from killing Loki. As Thor punishes the giants he reveals that the armor is in fact one with his flesh and blood: "Forged in the furnaces of Pittsburgh, graven with the runes of my father, this armor has become my body! And the frail flesh and bones within command it even as they once commanded the body that was whole!" Whether that's true of the Stark arm isn't clear, but the fact that Thor kept that bit makes the full ensemble that much cooler.
Bearded and with his new duds, Thor resembles something like a medieval warlord. I say "something" because this armor is very much a pastiche dreamt up by Walt. The scale hauberk and skirt recall Roman and Byzantine work, but together with the other elements (particularly the leggings) there is a general resemblance to Renaissance parade armor (by way of Kirby). That said, the fibulae are very close to high medieval penannular brooch configurations from the Baltic region. Have a look at this example from the British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1852-0329-147. For the helmet, Walt might have drawn inspiration from Anglo-Saxon work or the Spangenhelm style helm, to which mail curtains were sometimes affixed to protect the neck. In any event, Walt has now completed the transformation of Marvel Thor's into something closer to the Viking deity of old. And just in time, too.
Grundroth--prompted by Loki--has an idea for how to deal with Thor at last...the giants will attempt to summon Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent. The weary Thor, for his part, has a sense of intense dread...he seems to sense that his death, so long prophesied, is approaching.
Finally, another very deep pull: Balder's counsel, Ularic, is the same Asgardian Warlock who Loki long ago captured in Journey into Mystery 119–121. So yet another connection to JiM no. 120!
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