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Katie Wright Ms. Bell English IV Period III 24 August 2013 1. History Of Comic Books Comic Books date back to the 1800s. The first known comic book is The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck. This comic book was written in many different languages, but in 1841 Britain designed an English version. The English version was then reprinted in New York on September 14, 1842, making it the first comic book printed in America. A copy of Obadiah Oldbuck was found in Oakland, California in 1998 (www.thecomicbooks.com). This was the beginning of something that was known as the Platinum Age (1897-1938). To begin the Platinum Age, a comic called The Yellow Kid was published in 1897 by G. W. Dillingham Company. The Yellow Kid was 196 pages long, in black and white, and only cost fifty cents! Two years later, a comic called Funny Folks didnt exactly follow the format of other comic books. Unlike the Yellow Kid (measuring to 5 by 7 ), Funny Folks measured to 16 by 12 and was a hardcover comic. Funny Folks was created by F. M. Howarth but published by E. P. Dutton. In 1901, The Blackberries became known as the first color comic book. Its format was 9 by 12 and was also a hardcover (www.thecomicbooks.com). The most common used format was 17 wide by 11 tall. The Katzenjammer Kids, Little Nemo, Happy Hooliganand many other comics used this format. Buster Brown was published in 1902 by Cupples & Leon. Thanks to a merchandising success by Buster Brown, many other

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companies made Buster Brown comics as premiums to their stuff. Most of the companies were in full color, but was only reprinted on one side of the Sunday paper. This type of format lasted over 10 years.In 1910, Mutt and Jeff created a new format, reprinting daily strips in black and white. It was still hardcover, but was 15 wide by 5 tall. It was published by Ball and they made 5 volumes of Mutt and Jeffbooks (www.thecomicbooks.com). In 1919, another format was created by publisher Cupples & Leon. They were 10 wide by 10 tall with 4 panels per page, every page. They were in black and white, 52 pages and only twenty-five cents! Mutt and Jeff and Bringing Up Father used this format in their books. In 1922, the first monthly comic book came out. It only cost ten cents! Comics Monthly has 12 issues and each issue was devoted to a popular comic strip character. The comics used in Comics Monthly were reprints of 1921 daily black and white strips (www.thecomicbooks.com). The other comic book ages were The Golden Age (1938-1956), The Silver Age (1956-1970), The Bronze Age (1970-1979), The Grim and Gritty Age (1979-1986), The Grimmick Age (1986-1992), and The Image Age (1992-1996). 2. History Of My Comic Book Character Thor, also known as the Asgardian God of Thunder, is the son of Odin. Thor was born in a cave in Norway and when he was old enough, Odin brought his to Asgard where he was raised to be the heir to the throne. Thor commands the thunder, the lightning, the wind, and the elements of a storm with his hammer Mjolnir. Mjolnir gives Thor the power to fly and focus his own elemental powers. After centuries of defeating Asgard from its enemies, Thor became too full of himself. His father Odin banished him from Midgard (Earth) to teach Thor needed humility. Thor was made mortal and given the form of a handicapped human doctor (Donald Blake), Thor

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learned what it was like to be small and frail. When in the disguise of Dr. Blake, Thor was able to transform into his godly form by striking his walking stick (Mjolnir in disguise) on a solid surface, causing the transformation that changed him into Thor and his walking stick into Mjolnir (www.comicvine.com). Loki has attempted to defeat and kill Thor throughout the years, but Thor has always been victorious. Thor kept his identity as Dr. Blake on Earth and continued to practice medicine. Thor began fighting evil and was one of the founding Avengers after Loki tricked the Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp into fighting each other, eventually leading them to realize they should combine their powers by forming a team to fight foes a single hero could not defeat: The Avengers.Thor gave up his identity as Dr. Blake, though later he returned to it, and went on to use other secret identities: Sigurd Jarlson and Jake Olsen(www.comicvine.com). After Thor, Balder (Thors brother) and Sif (Thors lover) defeated three giant spiders summoned by Loki, Odin saw that it was time to test them and send them on a quest to bring four mystic elements onto Odins hall, so he could give the sword to the worthiest warrior of Asgard. They first went to Nastrond, where they got Hakureis scale from his hide, which could make the blade of the sword unbreakable. Next they went to Jotunheim to take one of Gnoris feathers so the sword would be light. Then they later traveled to the deserts of Jennia, where they found a jewel to help balance the sword. After finding the jewel, Loki found them and warned them about Karnillas (Sorceress Queen of Nornheim) plan of attacking Asgard. Thor continued the quest while Balder, Loki and Sif traveled back to Asgard to tell Odin about the incoming attack. Thor finds the lake of Lilitha, where he found a small vial of water to keep the sword pure, but discovers that the water has become sand. When he arrives back in Asgard, the Gods are battling with Nornheim. As Karnilla sees her army being defeated, she shoots an arrow at

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Thor and kills him. When Odin arrives, he takes the sand and pours it on Thors body. When one of Sifs tears touches the sand, it turns into water and brings Thor back to life. One month later, the sword, now called Svadren, is given to Balder, the brave (www.comicvine.com). During a battle with a villain, Thors father died at the end of the battle. Odin beat the villain, but now there was a problem: Asgard was without a ruler. Thor, as Odins son, became the new ruler of Asgard in his fathers place. Thor then married a beautiful woman named Amora, and has a son named Magni. Thor decided that the Asgardians should take a larger role in life and transported Asgard back to Midgard (Earth). This caused a great disturbance for people of Earth. There were many violent assaults against the Asgardians by the humans. This made Thor more reluctant to stay, but also became more extreme (www.comicvine.com). When Thors allies Iron Man and Captain America turned against him, Thor angrily defeated the Avengers and imprisoned him. This gave him more power over Earth. Thor later banished all technology and other beliefs besides the Norse (mythological creatures from Northern Germanic tribes). Thor realized he was wrong and restored Asgard to its rightful place via time travel (www.comicvine.com). 3. History of the Comic Book Writers/Creators Thor was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby based on Thor the Thunder God of Norse Mythology (www.comicvine.com). Lee and Kirby are known as the Lennon and McCartney of comics. Stanley Martin Lieber was born on December 28, 1922 in New York City. He later shortened his name to Lee as a writer and went on to be hired as an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939. He later became an interim editor for the company in the early 1940s. Lee also

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served domestically in the Army during WWII, working as a writer and illustrator (www.biography.com). In the early 60s, Lee created a series for Marvel Comics (Timelys new name) that would compete with rival DC comics Justice League of America. Lee worked with artist and cocreator Jack Kirby, and the Fantastic Four was born in 1961. The Hulk, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil and X-Men soon followed afterwards. Marvel Comics became a high franchise, and Stan Lee was promoted to editorial director and publisher in 1972. He then moved to the West Coast to be involved in Marvels film ventures. Lee started his own company, POW! Entertainment, in 2001 and published his autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. He later received a Medal of Arts from George W. Bush and launched the history channel show Stan Lees Superhumans (www.biography.com). Jack Kirby was born on August 28, 1917 on the Lower East side of New York City. Kirby didnt have an official teacher growing up, he learned from anyone that would teach him. His source of art was Alex Raymonds Flash Gordon newspaper strip. Kirby was very inspired by Raymonds work. Many of Kirbys sketch books look like they were expertly-drawn, so his parents enrolled him into Pratt Institute. It came as a surprise when Kirby dropped out on his first day at Pratt. Kirby sent in some of his artwork to local markets, but no one would take them. This got him a job not in comics, but in animated cartoons (www.kirbymuseum.org). Kirby worked on Popeye cartoons at Max Fleischer studios as an in-betweener. Labor unrest erupted and Kirby decided to get out before finding himself on strike. He found a job at the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate, where he began his 3-1/2 year term as a political, gag and strip cartoonist. Kirby finally got into super hero comics when he went to work for Victor Fox, a

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low-paying comic book publisher. One of the employees, Joe Simon, became good friends with Kirby. Simon and Kirby both got hired at Timely Comics. Timely Comics only had two star characters: The Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. More stars were needed, and Simon and Kirby were just the people they needed to make new ones. They created the Hurricane, Tuk the Cave-Boy, Mercury, the Vision, Red Raven, Comet Pierce, and finally, Captain America (www.kirbymuseum.org). In 1943, Kirby was stationed overseas I the Fifth Division, Third Army, commanded by General Patton. He served as a combat infantryman, and earned two battle stars and a severe case of cold feet. While in the hospital, he wrote letters back to the US to his new bride, Rosalind. In 1945, he returned to America and re-teamed with Joe Simon to work with Harvey Comics Company. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, he had many other comic book jobs, even working with Stan Lee and creating the Avengers and other popular comic book heroes. Unfortunately, Kirby passed away on February 6, 1994 (www.kirbymuseum.org). 4. Summary of the Comic Book In the Comic Share Your Universe Thor: God Of Thunder, Thors foster- brother Loki tries to destroy him. He sends Bragmir (one of Lokis frost giants) to destroy Thor. Thor is disguised as Dr. Blake and is with a patient when Bragmir breaks the wall of his office and challenges Dr. Blake to a fight. Dr. Blake turns into Thor by hitting his walking stick to the ground. His walking stick turns into Mjolnir (his hammer) and his doctors outfit into his Thor outfit. Thor realizes that Loki sent Bragmir to defeat him. Thor and Bragmir start fighting and Thor tells him that Loki is a coward for sending someone else to fight for him. Bragmir feels offended and tells

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Thor that Odin (his father) loves Loki more than him. Thor has a flashback of when Loki was introduced to the world. In time, Thor earned his magic hammer, Mjolnir. But his father Odin believed this was arrogance. Odin said, I banish you to Earth! There you will be a lame human doctor, Donald Blake, to learn humility. You will no longer have Mjolnir, nor will you retain any memory of your time as a god. Even as a mortal, Thor found ways to use his powers for good. Odin began to take pride in Dr. Blakes accomplishments. Lokis hatred grew. Odin forgave Thor, realizing he was wrong and led Thor to find Mjolnir disguised as the walking stick. He transformed back into Thor and said, I am Thor! My power is restored! I will use it to protect and defend the mortals whom I have lived among! Soon he became a legendary hero on Earth and in Asgard. Thor comes back to reality and Basgard tells him that Loki tricked him and told him to destroy Thor. Bragmir starts to believe that Thor is right and leaves. Then a fire demon that Loki sent to destroy the town. Thor finds him and starts fighting him. The fire demon is winning against Thor and Bragmir comes back and teams up with Thor to defeat the fire demon. Bragmir and Thor destroy the fire demon and Thor takes Bragmir back to his family. Thor tells Bragmirs family how brave he is and how he helped destroy the fire demon. Thor transforms back into Dr. Blake and returns back to work. 5. Review of the Comic Book I think this comic book was very well written. I like how the writing flows and that it isnt too choppy. I liked how when the writers had a flashback in the story, it didnt change the structure of the story. It didnt change subjects during the subjects. It showed the flashback to

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prove a point and to show how Loki has always wanted to destroy Thor. I believe that even comic books can have the same structure as a normal essay or writing. This comic, Share Your Universe Thor: God Of Thunder, reminds me of the essay Bringing Pell Grants To My Eyes by Sarah Vowell. In Vowells essay, her thesis isnt easy to find; In God Of Thunder, the theme isnt easy to find either. Most comic books have you wanting to know more and more, and that is exactly what this comic did. This comic caught my attention right away. I read about 5 other comics before finding this one, and this one was by far the best. The other comics didnt have a plot to them, they basically just told Thors story. In this comic there is at least a problem that Thor fixes. I would recommend this comic for anyone doing research on Thor or comic books.

My email: katie.wright1001@gmail.com

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Works Cited Page Coville, Jamie The History Of Comic Books 1996 30 September 2013 http://www.thecomicbooks.com/old/Platinum.html

Duin, Steve The Back Story on Stan Lee vs. Jack Kirby 2011 30 September 2013 http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2011/06/the_sunday_re view_or_the_usual.html

Evanier, Mark Jack Kirby Biography 1972 30 August 2013 http://kirbymuseum.org/biography/

Wickline, Dan Were Stan Lee And Jack Kirby The Lennon And McCartney Of Comics? 2013 1 September 2013 http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/08/28/where-stan-lee-and-jack-kirby-the-lennon-andmccarthy-of-comics/

A&E Networks Stan Lee Biography 2013 2 September 2013 http://www.biography.com/people/stan-lee-21101093

CBS Interactive Inc. Character Wiki: Thor 2013 30 August 2013 http://www.comicvine.com/thor/4005-2268/