Thor: "Welcome the last Viking into Valhalla!"

[proteus_lives]

Greetings True Believers!

I can barely express my love and admiration for Walter Simonson's run on Thor. In my opinion it's as close to perfection as a comics run can be. He brought us the Last Stand of Skurge, Beta Ray Bill, Frog-Thor, Tales of Balder the Brave and others. Wonderful.

The best part was he didn't treat Thor and his supporting cast as just heroes and villains, he treated them like Gods and mythical beings. He made them epic.

Here is one of my favorite WS tales. The tale of Eilif the Lost. Hail!





Odin is considering omens at one of Asgard's celebrations.



Back on Midgard, Thor is adjusting to his new secret identity as Sigurd Jarlson, beefcake construction worker. He begins to hear a voice speaking an ancient Viking tongue, calling him across the sea.

He flies to Antarctica and discovers a green valley with a Viking village! He follows an entrance into a system of tunnels. He's set upon by traps and determines he will solve this mystery.





Meanwhile, a sorceress awakens the dragon Fafnir (previously defeated by Thor) and he goes on a rampage through New York.

Back at the mysterious village.









Fafnir rages across New York and Thor talks to Eilif.





Thor summons Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, his faithful chariot-goats and a flying Valkyrie-steed named Cloud-Rider for Eilif. They ride! But they meet a mysterious man and Eilif needs a power-up.







They arrive in NY and the battle is joined. Thor and Eilif battle the dragon side-by-side. Suddenly Fafnir gains the upper hand and strikes both of them to the ground.



Eilif's aim is true.



Thor flies up and with a swing of his hammer, pounds the spear in.



Thor's grief and respect is awe-inspiring.







By the gods, that was so METAL/EPIC I need to sit down for a bit. Hail Eilif! the Dragonslayer! Hail Thor, son of Odin!

Comments

[silicone_soul]

I've owned this comic for years, but I never get tired of the "it's a dog" part.

[filkertom]

Now I want to know if the guy who knew all that Norse mythology ever showed up again.

[icon_uk]

Sadly, Corporal Olafson was last seen during the Seige of Asgard, his final recorded words were "Awesome! I think that's Heimdall coming towards us... Yes, it's really him, and look at the craftsmanship on that sword, it must cut like a knife through butt-URK!"

[nezchan]

I love that whole run. Every event was more epic than the last, but there was a human quality to the characters even as they were true gods and legends at the same time. Effective storytelling, fantastic art, all around classic comics.

I think one of my favourite parts was the fall of the Executioner.

[icon_uk]

One of EVERYONE's favourite parts was the fall of the Execurtioner

They sing no songs in Hel, nor do they celebrate heroes.
For silent is that dismal realm, and cheerless,
But the story of the Gjallerbru and the god who defended it is whispered across the nine worlds
And when a new arrival asks about the one to whom even Hela bows her head
The answer is always the same;
"He stood alone at Gjallerbru"
And that is answer enough.

[nezchan]

His second encounter with Hela, ruler of that dark domain, was epic as well in yet another fashion.

[proteus_lives]

Very motto.

[proteus_lives]

So wonderful.

Those words need to be carved into stone and placed all around the world.

[sianmink]

Epic and Metal.

[proteus_lives]

Contact Manowar, Megadeth, Pantera, Dethklok and Metallica.

There is such a an EPIC seven minute METAL song in this.

[amaniwolf]

Wow, now that was epic.

[pallas_athena]

\m/

[icon_uk]

Daaaaammmmmn!

Awesome story!

[bradhanon]

I always get the feeling that's the kind of story Stan Lee WANTED to write when he first decided "Hey, a comic book about a Norse god would be cool!" But what we want and what we're capable of aren't always the same.

[philippos42]

This is amazing. You know, I hated Walt's Wonder Woman arc, I thought it too over the top. But this, this works for me. Maybe because he didn't off a pre-existing character to do it.

[psychopathicus_rex]

A goodly tale, indeed. I've always liked the basic message - namely 'it doesn't matter who you are, what you are or how old you are - there is a hero in everyone'.

[proteus_lives]

That is true.

What gets me is two things. Odin kept a seat for him and Thor's wild grief at the end.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Point of order - he wasn't keeping a seat for him specifically, he was keeping a seat for the next person to prove himself worthy of ascending to Valhalla. Which didn't leave him a lot of choices, of course, given that apparently the candidate had to be a viking of some sort, but still - he wasn't holding out for Eilif, he was holding out for someone who'd fill the criteria. Which needn't lessen the impact - I mean, he DID prove himself worthy of the spot, so yay Eilif.
And yes, Thor's grief is quite effective. The guy CARES about his brothers (and sisters) in arms.