I Say Thee Neigh
Thor 341

COMIC DETAILS

Comic Description: Thor #341 Universal
Grade: 9.8
Page Quality: WHITE
Certification #: 0743586003
Owner: Thorseface

SET DETAILS

Winning Set: I Say Thee Neigh
Date Added: 6/4/2021
Research: See CGC's Census Report for this Comic

Owner's Description

Thor no. 341: “The Past is a Bucket of Ashes”

Publication date: November 29, 1983

Census: As of 6/14/22 there are 111 copies in 9.8, of which 4 are signed.

Writer, penciler: Simonson
Letterer: Workman
Colorist: George Roussos

Synopsis for “The Past is a Bucket of Ashes”:*
Thor arrives at Avengers Mansion, intent on finding new residence on Earth since Don Blake no longer exists. He steps inside and is transported to Battleworld. Meanwhile, Lorelei gets off the subway in a section where even the cops don't go. She is accosted by two thugs but mesmerizes them into fighting each other. She goes deeper and deeper until she comes to an abandoned station. There she finds the dragon, Fafnir and tries to mesmerize him into doing her bidding. But the power of the dragon is not only of flame, but of persuasion and mesmerizes her instead. Thor heads to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ to ask for Nick Fury's help in setting up a new civilian identity. Nick promises to do what he can and sends Thor with Marco. A half hour later, in walks Thor wearing jeans, a t-shirt, with his hair in a ponytail. Nick tells him that even S.H.I.E.L.D. can't find anything in Manhattan and he'll have to settle for Brooklyn. But he's more concerned about people still recognizing his physique. Nick gets an idea and hands, Thor, a pair of glasses. Nick takes Thor to a press conference to test his disguise. On the way out, Thor accidentally knocks Clark down. Clark thinks he might recognize Thor but then dismisses it. In Asgard, below Hlidskjalf, Odin is busy casting Runes. Odin carves Runes into the claws of Hugin and Munin so that they may travel beyond any barrier. He wants them to travel to the demons domain and discover the secret of their origin. On a Manhattan construction site, Sigurd Jarlson is reporting for his first day of work at Jerry Sapristi's office. They hear a scream and race outside to see a girl hanging from a construction crane. Sigurd races up the crane to rescue her when the ground begins to shake and the crane starts to topple. Sigurd manages to rescue her when the source of the trembling is revealed - Fafnir. Fafnir recognizes Thor, with Lorelei as the bait, and lashes out with his tail, smashing the building. Elsewhere, the gigantic figure that is forging summons the Dark Elf to seek out the second son of Odin. As Sigurd is protecting Lorelei from the falling debris, he hears someone calling his name in the ancient tongue of the Norsemen, but then it's gone. Thor strikes Mjolnir on the ground and it changes his raiment, and then he begins attacking Fafnir. Fafnir revels in his evil and seeks to slay Thor for old wrongs. Back in Asgard, Volstagg is searching for Balder but finds his home empty. Balder has left for the wilderness but left his pantry well stocked to distract Volstagg from finding and stopping him. Later, as Balder sits by his fire, he is unaware that he is observed by Karnilla and Haag. Karnilla orders that there is to be no harm done to Balder while he is in her kingdom. Back at the battle, Fafnir's flame has set some debris on fire. Thor calls down the rain to quench the blaze, and Fafnir mistakenly believes that Thor will trap him again as he did before, and leaves. Thor starts to follow but is stopped by the raging river Fafnir unleashed in his tunneling. In Asgard, Loki is enjoying the game he is playing between Thor, Fafnir, and Lorelei. Thor changes back to Sigurd and checks on the woman he rescued. She feels better in his arms and falls asleep. He then hears the same voice calling his name again in the language of old and is determined to find its source.

*Synopsis from marvel.fandom.com

Favorite line and some thoughts: Nick Fury, lending Thor some specs to complete his new secret identity, “Sigurd Jarlson”: “Here! Put these cheaters on! They always worked for that other guy!”

My pic this time doesn't show the quoted text but what follows, when "Sigurd" literally bumps into "that other guy" at a press conference. Walt’s really having a good laugh here.

The splash that opens this issue, with Thor returned to the Manhattan skyline after his rather weird sojourn in Chicago, is beautiful and somewhat bittersweet. The Twin Towers get me every time I see them in pre-2001 comics.

A deep pull here with the full return of Fafnir, who hadn’t been seen since Thor #134. I reckon Walt wanted to put his own spin on the dragon, another character Stan and Jack pulled from Norse mythology. The coolest scene in this issue, however, is Odin etching runes into the claws of Hugin and Munin. Nowadays Thor scribes take it for granted that Odin’s ravens can zoom around the universe / reality at will, but the technical details of this ability we owe to Walt.

 
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