Community Corner
At Pittsburgh Comics, Every Day is Thor’s Day!
Thor, Norse God and iconic Marvel superhero, thunders onto the silver screen May 6. Colin McMahon, owner of Pittsburgh Comics, gives us mere mortals the lowdown on the titular Thunder God.
Local comic book shop, , formerly New Dimensions Comics, is abuzz with several upcoming superhero movies this summer. First up is "Thor" starring Chris Hemsworth as the Norse-god-cum-superhero. Owner Colin McMahon will be passing out a free Thor/Captain America comic book on May 7, a day after the movie opens theatrically.
"Thor is a character who should appeal to more than just superhero fans." McMahon said. "From trailers, the movie looks like it will have all the elements from the comic book, including fantasy, romance and comedy. It’s 'Lord of the Rings' with a superhero spin."
"There’s an entire pantheon of gods and kings. It’s a story on a grand scope."
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The superhero version was created by Stan Lee (legally changed from Stanley Lieber), his brother Larry Lieber and artist Jack Kirby. Lee took Scandinavian mythology and modernized it for a pop culture audience. The writer humanized the hero by having the god of thunder fall in love with a mortal nurse, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman in the upcoming film), and having an intense love/hate relationship with his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of the Asgardian gods. The anger between father and son is fueled by his silver-tongued brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the god of mischief.
"Loki is sort of like Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) from the 'Lord of the Rings’ movies," McMahon said. "Everyone knows he’s lying, but they listen to him anyway. Loki’s a fascinating character. He’s Thor’s main nemesis, but he’s also his brother. How’s that for family dynamics?”
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Thor debuted in "Journey into Mystery" #83 (Aug. 1962). As the popularity of the character grew, the title "Journey into Mystery" became "The Mighty Thor," and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created hundreds of legendary adventures for the Thunder God.
Pittsburgh Comics has a plethora of Thor merchandise on its shelves. McMahon recommended several stories featuring the hammer-tossing hero.
Marvel Masterworks, volume 18, reprints the earliest adventures of the titular Thunder God, "Journey into Mystery" 83 – 100 in its full four-color glowy. For more smash for your cash, Essential Thor #1 reprints "Journey into Mystery" #83-112 in black and white.
McMahon pointed to a few Thor-related items on his shelves.
"I think 'Thor: Disassembled' is a great story," he said. "It’s got everything—superheroes, gods, swords and sorcery. It’s about Ragnarök, the mythical end of the gods."
"I liked Straczynski’s run (TV writer and creator of 'Babylon 5')," he added. "And customers rave about Simonson’s run (artist and writer Walter Simonson)."
McMahon pointed to "Thor,” volume 1, by Michael J. Straczynski. The graphic novel tells the story of Thor’s return to Earth, after his apparent death during the “Disassembled” event. The store owner then held up a copy of "Marvel Visionaries - Walt Simonson," which compiles "The Mighty Thor" issues #339 to #348. A fan-favorite character, Beta Ray Bill, is introduced in the story arc.
Saturday, May 7 is Free Comic Book Day, and McMahon will be handing out a comic book featuring Thor and fellow Avenger Captain America (also slated to have his own film debut later this summer). The shop owner will also have a few other free promotional comics to distribute.
Free Comic Book Day, started in 2002, is a public relations initiative by the North American comic book industry to bring new readers into independent comic book stores. It is usually the first Saturday in May. Marvel chose the release date for "Thor" to coincide with the event.
