— Ch. 1 · Creation And Premiere —
Thor (Marvel Comics).
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Larry Lieber brought Thor to life in 1962. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 that year. Kirby designed the visual look while Lee conceived the story concept. Lieber wrote the initial scripts for the early issues. This collaboration emerged when Marvel decided to replace monster fiction with superheroes. Bulfinch's Mythology served as a reference book during this creative process. Lee wanted to create a hero more powerful than the Hulk or the Fantastic Four. At that time, about fifteen million Scandinavian Americans lived in the United States. Cultural awareness of Vikings and Leif Erikson existed within the American public. A previous version of Thor had appeared in Venus #11 back in November 1950. Kirby himself had adapted Thor for DC Comics years earlier in Adventure Comics #75 from 1942.
Evolution Of Storytelling
Journey into Mystery #97 marked a turning point in 1963 when Stan Lee took over writing duties. Joe Sinnott and Don Heck worked as artists on those early issues. Kirby began his run shortly after in Journey into Mystery #101 during 1964. The series eventually became simply titled Thor starting with issue #126 in 1966. This shift moved the primary setting from Earth to Asgard. Jane Foster was written out of the story to make room for Sif. Hercules became a major character during this new era. Walter Simonson revitalized the series in the 1980s with highly praised runs. His work included The Surtur Saga and The Ballad of Beta Ray Bill. Dan Jurgens wrote a volume during the Heroes Return event featuring Jake Olson as an alter ego. Jason Aaron launched a new series in 2012 that followed Thor across time periods. Donny Cates began publication of another volume in January 2020. The Immortal Thor premiered in 2023 as the latest chapter in the franchise history.