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<HEAD><TITLE>Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Thor </TITLE> <script language="JavaScript"></script> <META name = "author" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "description" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "subject" content = "Hypertext encyclopedia of comics and animation"> <META name = "keywords" content = "comic books animated cartoons animation comics comix syndicated comic strips"> <META name = "publisher" content = "Donald D. Markstein"> <META name = "format" content = "text/html"> <META name = "language" content = "EN"> </HEAD><BODY> <body onload="if (self!= top) top.location = self.location"></body> <BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" TEXT="000000" LINK="0000EE" VLINK="551A8B"> <TABLE><TR><TD WIDTH=310 VALIGN="CENTER"><IMG GALLERYIMG="NO" ALIGN="LEFT" HEIGHT=324 WIDTH=300 ALT="Thor. Artist: Pierce Rice." SRC="thor0.jpg"> <TD VALIGN="CENTER"> <H1>THOR</H1><FONT SIZE=4> <B>Medium:</B> Comic Books <BR><B>Published by:</B> Fox Feature Syndicate <BR><B>First Appeared:</B> 1940 <BR><B>Creators:</B> unknown writer and Pierce Rice (artist) <FONT SIZE=3> <! BEGIN DONATION CODE> <HR><FONT SIZE=2 COLOR="993366"><CENTER> If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, <BR>Please contribute to its necessary financial support. <BR><A HREF="http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/pay/T1237L0BCY25QA" TARGET="_blank">Amazon.com</A> or <A HREF="https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=don%40toonopedia.com&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_cod e=USD" TARGET="_blank">PayPal</A> </FONT></CENTER><HR> <! END DONATION CODE> <P><A NAME="cont"> When <A HREF="marvel.htm">Marvel Comics</A> launched <A HREF="thor.htm">The Mighty Thor</A> in 1962, that character was unique in comic books — an authentic mythological god, complete with pantheon, descended from on-high to cavort with the ordinary <A HREF="glossary.htm#superhero">superheroes</A> in a  <P ALIGN="RIGHT"><A HREF="#cont"><FONT SIZE=2><I>continued below</A></FONT> </TABLE> <CENTER><! BEGIN ADSENSE "LEADERBOARD" CODE> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> <! END ADSENSE CODE></CENTER> <P><TABLE><TR><TD VALIGN="TOP"> regularly-published series. <A HREF="sovulcan.htm">Son of Vulcan</A> offered a reasonable facsimile of a mythological god, but came along later and lasted only a little while. But earlier, the idea of drawing superheroes from Bullfinch wasn't all that uncommon. Thor himself was anticipated by <A HREF="foxfeatr.htm">Fox Comics</A> (<A HREF="wondrmn1.htm">Wonder Man,</A> <A HREF="bouncer.htm">The Bouncer</A>) as early as 1940. <P> This version of Thor was originally a regular human, a scientist named Grant Farrel, who was working on a revolutionary new electrical conductor. In Fox's <I>Weird Comics</I> #1 (April, 1940) — the same issue that introduced <A HREF="birdman0.htm">The Bird Man,</A> another namesake of <A HREF="birdman.htm">a later character</A> — a thunderstorm was going on while he did his experiments. Naturally (this being a comic book), lightning struck him. Equally naturally (for the same reason), this rendered him super-powered (immensely strong and able to project lightning bolts of his own) instead of dead, and again equally naturally, he took this as his cue to adopt a secret identity for purposes of fighting crime. From then on, lightning would strike and power him up again, every time he was in danger. Compared to the more over-dressed superheroes, his crime-bashing ensemble was of the minimalist variety. He wore what looked like swim trunks with nothing else escept a helmet and a cape. Even his feet were bare. <P> The lightning bolt had been sent by the original Thor, the one of myth and legend, who was looking for a successor in the modern world. Because of this connection, Grant could call on his supernatural namesake for useful weapons such as strength-conferring gauntlets and, of course, The Hammer. Also, with the more famous Thor's assistance, he could get from place to place by riding lightning bolts. <P> Nobody knows who wrote Thor's first story — or any of his subsequent ones, for that matter. The artist on all of them was Pierce Rice, who had a hand in creating at least a couple of other minor players on the funnybook scene, <A href="fawcett.htm">Fawcett's</A> Atom Blake (a kid scientific whiz) and <A HREF="harvey.htm">Harvey's</A> <A HREF="zebra.htm">The Zebra</A> (who wore a prison uniform as a superhero get-up). Thor appeared in the lead position of the first few issues of <I>Weird Comics,</I> but not once was he seen on the cover. The usual occupant of that spot was Dr. Mortal (a villain protagonist like <A HREF="yeloclaw.htm">The Yellow Claw</A> or <A HREF="patb.htm">The Brain</A>), but <A HREF="sorczoom.htm">The Sorceress of Zoom</A> (who ruled a fantasy realm like <A HREF="amethyst.htm">Amethyst</A> or <A HREF="ladydeth.htm">Lady Death</A>) also had her hand in. <P> This Thor didn't enjoy the enduring popularity of Marvel's. In fact, he lasted only five issues. In <I>Weird Comics</I> #6 (September, 1940) he was replaced by a completely unrelated character called "Dynamite" Thor — a guy whose last name happened to be Thor, whose nickname came from his method of getting around (blowing himself into the air with that substance, and by the way, <A HREF="dynamite.htm">no relation</A>) — and that was the end of him. <P ALIGN = "RIGHT">— DDM <P><A HREF="index.htm">BACK</A> to <I>Don Markstein's Toonopedia</I> Home Page <BR><A HREF="today.htm">Today in Toons:</A> Every day's an anniversary! <P><! BEGIN ADSENSE BANNER CODE><CENTER> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </CENTER><! END ADSENSE CODE> <TD WIDTH=10><TD WIDTH=180 VALIGN="TOP"> <! BEGIN ADLINKS CODE><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><! END ADLINKS CODE> <P><! 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