I Say Thee Neigh
Thor 340

COMIC DETAILS

Comic Description: Thor #340 Universal
Grade: 9.8
Page Quality: WHITE
Certification #: 2081891021
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. 340: “Though Hel Should Bar the Way!”

Publication date: November 1, 1983

Census: As of 6/14/22 there are 67 copies in 9.8 on the census, with only 2 signed.

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

Synopsis for “Though Hel Should Bar the Way”:*

Thor, Beta Ray Bill, and Sif finally catch up to the last ship of Bill's fleet, only to find it destroyed by the demons. They slay the demons on that one ship, and Sif leaps out. She will stay and try to defend the rest of the ships while Thor and Bill fly on to destroy the source of the demons. They finally reach the galactic core and discover not stars but a portal, out of which flows countless demons. On the other side of the portal, the giant is continuing it's forging, while, on Earth, creatures begin to awaken. Meanwhile, Sif is about to be overrun by demons when massive blasts destroy the immediate horde. Sif turns to find a warship, which she surmises is Skuttlebutt. Skuttlebutt confirms this and they team together to try and lead the demons from the fleet. Back in Asgard, Volstagg continues telling Agnar of Balder's journey through Niffleheim. Seeing Nidhogg consuming the dead, and meeting the warriors that he himself sent there, changing him forever. Volstagg goes on to tell him that both he and Thor are warriors, and might understand and forgive Agnar if he were to bring harm to Balder. After finally letting him up, Agnar turns and sees Hogun standing there. Volstagg tells him that Hogun would never forget, or forgive. Back in space, at the portal, Thor has a plan. With him on one side and Bill on the other, they both throw their respective hammers to collide within the portal, destroying it. Back aboard Skuttlebutt, the ship is about to self-destruct, taking the demons with them, when they simply vanish. As Sif and Skuttlebutt wait for Thor and Bill's return, Sif asks to know all about Bill. Back on Earth, Lorelei asks Loki what he is getting out of their game, to which Loki replies that it will amuse him. Bill, Sif, Thor, and Skuttlebutt return to Asgard with the victory and are greeted with cheers. Bill and Thor clean up and change, and discuss Bill's melancholy. Bill tells Thor that though he knows he must return to his people, he is loathed to leave Asgard. He has found companionship here, and even the touch of a woman's hand while his own people can barely look at him. Elsewhere, Odin has called for Sif and wants to discuss Bill. Sif tells Odin that Skuttlebutt revealed the entire truth to her. Even though his story was true, it was not complete. How he won over thousands of others in grueling tests of power and endurance. Then came the psychological tests that left most of them dead or insane. Then the surgical alterations, including excruciating pain, out of which only Bill survived. And the change is irreversible, with his own people unable to even look at him. At the feast, Odin honors both heroes with a gift. They both raise their hammers and Odin unleashes vast energy into them both. Bill states that he feels no different, but Odin states he had an old enchantment that has outlived its usefulness. He strikes Stormbreaker on the ground, and Bill is transformed into his original, unaltered self, before the test and surgeries. The next morning, after the celebrations have died down, Sif decides she will go with Bill on his quest, to help regain her senses, and Odin transports them both aboard Skuttlebutt. Back on Earth, the tanker Astraglia is broken in two by a gigantic clawed hand rising from the sea. The gigantic dragon roars to the heavens above, to Odin, that he has returned and Thor's life is forfeited.

*Synopsis from marvel.fandom.com

Favorite line and some thoughts: An exhausted but far from defeated Sif, having already done some serious damage, facing down a literal wave of demons: “Come Demons! Who will the first to taste this sweet steel?” Skuttlebutt arrives just in the nick of the time and the duo manages to protect Bill’s fleet long enough for Thor and Bill to destroy the portal to that ominous place “beyond the fields we know.” One of Sif’s finest moments in Walt’s run.

Walt’s trademark writhing demon waves (or a version thereof) will show up again during his collaboration with Louise on the X-Factor issues of the "Inferno" crossover. Now that I think about it, X-Factor’s sentient celestial spaceship is likewise very similar to Skuttlebutt.

Thor 337–340 have been reprinted several times, most recently in volume one of the IDW “Artist’s Edition” series dedicated to Walt’s Thor run. I believe that volume (which is now in a second printing) also contains a reproduction of the original cover Walt did for a trade paperback of the same issues titled “The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill.” That cover (it’s a wraparound) shows Bill and Sif atop Skuttlebutt and Thor driving his goats. It’s dope. Oh yeah, there's also that "Marvel Visionaries" volume that came sealed with Walt's signature inside, the cover for which Walt newly designed to act as a bookend with Thor 382, the last issue in the run. You can still find those on ebay from time to time. Pretty cool.

Notice how Walt consciously chose to show Odin’s empty eye socket in this issue…it’s a reminder that he nonetheless “sees” in a way that everyone else cannot, a hint that he somehow knew the good that what would come from the arrival of Beta Ray Bill.
 
Image #1
Enlarge  
Image #2
Enlarge  

To follow or send a message to this user,
please log in