| Slot: |
Thor 363 Canadian Edition |
| Item: |
Thor 363 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
4427526001
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Owner Comments
Thor no. 363: “The Kursed Earth”
Publication date: January 10, 1986
Direct Market Copy [4469021015] and Canadian Edition [4427526001]. The latter was signed by Walt and Louise Simonson on 7/11/24. As of October '24 it is the only signed copy of this book in 9.8 regardless of variant.
Census:
Writer, penciler, inker: Simonson
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: Scheele
Favorite line and some thoughts:
"It's called irony, Beyonder. I suspect your life is filled with it."
-Thor
No, Walt did not foresee the Covid 19 outbreak some 33 years in advance. Yes, Kurse looks like the love child of a shogun warrior and an Elizabethean stage actor (though somehow this works). No, you do not really need to have read Secret Wars no. 4 and Power Pack no. 18 to understand fully what is happening at the beginning of this issue, though it helps. Yes, all of this sounds confusing. No, it was not entirely Walt's fault.
This was the second time that Walt and other Marvel creators had to accommodate Jim Shooter's Secret Wars extravagances, and this time around--despite the best efforts of Walt and others to shoehorn full-issue tie-ins into their runs-- the results were decidedly less well received. No wonder. The Beyonder's "human" iteration reads like a whiney advertisement for Activator and harem pants. All the more satisfying, then, when Thor takes a jab at him.
This is the first real encounter between Walt's Thor and Weezie's Power Pack. The emphasis on family was, I take it, a nod to the husband-wife collaboration. Thus the signatures of both Walt and Weezie on this issue.
For his part, Kurse, whose actual first, full appearance is found in PP no. 18 (for which Walt did the cover honors) was destined to redeem himself for his attack on the Power family kids as the defender of Asgard's children. The Beyonder was destined to remain a douche, but thankfully Walt was able to jettison him before moving on to the arc for which his run is perhaps most famous: "Thor croaks."
Keep an eye out here for an EXTREMELY deep pull: Thor's belt of strength, which he happens to have packed in his goat chariot, had not been seen since Journey into Mystery 91! It finds support in the mythology where is known as Megingjörð ("power belt"); its mythological origins undoubtedly recommended the belt's return to Walt.
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