Guide Note

Thor is a series of comic books from Marvel Comics featuring the titular character's adventures on Earth, space, and in the home of the Norse gods, Asgard.

Fast Facts

1. Created by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
2. Publisher: Marvel Comics
3. Schedule: Monthly
4. Format: Ongoing
5. Publication Dates:
   1. Vol.1 (March 1966 - September 1996)
   2. Vol.2 (July 1998 - December 2004)
   3. Vol. 3 (September 2007 - present)
6. Inspired by Norse mythology

Following Stan Lee's creation of the Hulk, he wanted to outdo himself by answering his own question: "How do you make someone stronger than the strongest human? Don't make him human, make him a god." Lee decided to use the Norse myths as his springboard, and gave him an overly formal quasi-Shakespearian mode of speech for added nobility.

Under Lee and Jack Kirby, the Marvel interpretation of the Norse myths deviated wildly from the source material. The melodramatic interactions of Thor's fellow gods and goddesses had more in common with Greek mythology and the soap-opera dramatics common to Marvel Comics in the 1960s and 1970s.

There have been three different comic book series with the name Thor. The first run ended when Thor apparently died but was actually in an artificial "pocket universe." The second ended after the twilight of the Norse Gods, Ragnarok, when Thor was left in stasis.