Thor #337 - Walt Simonson art & cover
Thor #337, 1983 - In a groundbreaking move, Walt Simonson takes over both scripting and art of this Marvel flagship title. Not since his premiere in Journey into Mystery has the character garnered such attention and deservedly so. Starting with this issue, Simonson introduces Beta Ray Bill, an equine-faced alien who proves himself equally worthy to wield Thor's hammer. On the cover the new hero demolishes the old masthead, an apt metaphor heralding a new direction for the series. Simonson combines inventive layouts with cleverly designed typography. His first several pages are completely devoid of dialogue, slowly building up to the visually explosive title page. After a disappointing run on this title in the late 1970s, the artist more than makes up the difference this time, establishing Thor one of his signature characters. This is 12 of 41 Thor issues with Simonson art. See today's posts or more Simonson or Thor issues. See also this blog's Walt Simonson checklist.
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Simonson cover pencils and inks = *****
"Doom!" Simonson story pencils and inks = *****
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2 comments to date:
I think Simonson's run on Thor-(him writing and doing the artwork) is one of the greatest runs on the book second only to the kirby lee stories.
Given that Thor had so few memorable runs, I'd have to agree. Kirby's best Thor issues were during the late 1960s (Ego, Him/Warlock storylines etc.) although his Fantastic Four issues from the same era were even better. As far as Simonson's work is concerned, I still discover new gems here and there from the 1980s. So far, few issues match the quality of his runs on Detective Comics (Manhunter) and Thor.
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