Thor in 1964

At the tail end of last year, the series belatedly dipped its toes into conceptually interesting territory. On the personal end: Odin refuses to allow Thor to marry a mortal, Jane Foster. On the world-building side: The series finally allowed itself to engage with the realm of Asgard and Norse mythology beyond a very superficial level, but only as a backup feature.

Methinks they should have flipped the main stories and the backups.

It’s all a half-win. The main stories are still simplistic and boring. The backup features that deal with Thor’s past and the development of Asgard are more-or-less winners. I think I know where the rating this year will fall.

Why am I consistently so down on Thor, you ask? We’re in year three and the protagonist has no friends, no family, and no life outside of the office. There is a grand total of one supporting character, who acts as nothing more than a plot point. It is amusing that this series shares the same creative team as several other (better) monthly books with a sizable cast, three-dimensional characters, and a retinue of intriguing villains.

What villainy is Journey into Mystery graced with in 1964?

The Grey Gargoyle. Hyde. Cobra. Yechhhhhhh.

It is also amusing how both the Thor and Blake sides share a consistent sentience in the same body, yet they can’t seem to avoid fumbling Blake’s cane over and over again. Ah yes, there’s a villain approaching and I may need my hammer, else I’ll be useless after 60 seconds. But I don’t need it for the next 45 seconds, so I’ll just set it aside so it’s unreachable.

🤯 

And then there’s Thor constantly flying into the window of Blake’s office to change back into Blake. It’s not like Peter Parker, who has to sneak into the window of his bedroom to change. 

Blake (probably?) has a domicile of his own where he can change. You would think, at some point, onlookers would wonder why Thor keeps flying into the same office window, and then not leaving for extended periods of time. The Thunder God doth adopt pretentions of laziness methinks.

Once again, wonderful art.