Marvel Numbering Explained: Thor

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Table Of Contents

• Introduction
• Understanding This Guide
• Jane Foster
• Journey Into Mystery
• Thor

 

Introduction

There are few things in comics that more commonly generate confusion than Marvel’s comic book numbering.  For a variety of reasons, what should be a simple exercise in sequential numbering has instead morphed into an incredibly byzantine system that could not be less intuitive.  Fortunately, CBSI and Kornblatt’s Corner are here to help!  The goal of this series of articles is to examine Marvel’s numbering and explain how it works in context.  For this article, we are going to be talking about Thor and his supporting cast!

 

Understanding This Guide

• In some cases, there are graphics fully explaining parts of the numbering.  Those graphics were not generated by me, but rather by Marvel as a part of the Marvel Legacy initiative.  Those graphics were created several years ago and thus, in some cases, are not always completely up to date.  In situations like that, I have listed any missing books just below the graphics.
• Whenever something is italicized, that means I am referring to a comic book series or movie.  For example, if you see Spider-Man, I am talking about the character.  If you see Spider-Man, I am talking about the Marvel comic book titled Spider-Man.
• Throughout this article, you will see the name of a series followed by a year in parentheses.  That is the year that that particular volume of the book was launched.  If you see a series name without an accompanying year, that usually means I am referring to the overall issue count of the series spread across several different books and volumes.
• All numberings are based on official statements from Marvel and/or cover numbering.  A good example of the latter would be this partial image of the Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #49.  Below the 49 is “LGY #850”, which indicates that the comic has a legacy number of 850.  Meanwhile, issues from the current run of Punisher, such as issue #2, have no legacy numbering on the cover, so they are not included in a numbering.
• I have tried to provide explanations wherever I felt it might be even slightly confusing why a book or series would or would not be included in a numbering.  If there is something that confuses you that I did not explain, please put your question(s) in the comments and I will try my best to answer.

 

Jane Foster

#1 – 10: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #1 – 10

#11 – 14: King In Black: Return Of The Valkyries #1 – 4

#15 – 19: Mighty Valkyries #1 – 5

#20 – 24: Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor #1 – 5

How Did Marvel Come Up With This Numbering?

Marvel is counting any series, ongoing or limited, that has Jane Foster (As Valkyrie) as a lead / primary character.

 

Journey Into Mystery

#1 – 125: Journey Into Mystery #1 – 125

#126 – 502: Thor (1966) #126 – 502

#503 – 587: Thor (1998) #1 – 85

#588 – 599: Thor (2007) #1 – 12

#600 – 621: Thor (2007) #600 – #621

#622 – #655: Journey Into Mystery #622 – 655

#656 – 660: War Of The Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1 – 5

How Did Marvel Come Up With This Numbering?

Journey Into Mystery started out as an anthology book before it shifted its focus entirely to Thor.  In 2007, Marvel launched The Mighty Thor as the new flagship Thor comic and changed the title of this book back to Journey Into Mystery.  During that time, it focused on Kid Loki and later Lady Sif.

The first 621 issues of this numbering are identical to Thor‘s numbering, providing yet another example of the needless complexity at play here.

War Of The Realms: Journey Into Mystery

It feels kind of absurd to include this book in the numbering, but not include the 19 issues of Journey Into Mystery (1972) or the additional 19 issues of Journey Into Mystery produced under Heroes Reborn.

 

Thor

#701 – 706: The Mighty Thor #701 – 706

#707 – 722: Thor (2018) #1 – 16

#723 – 726: King Thor #1 – 4

#727 – Current: Thor (2020) #1 – Current

Journey Into Mystery

Journey Into Mystery was an anthology series first published in 1952.  In issue #83, Marvel published the very first appearance of their version of Thor.  Thor and his supporting cast were a big hit with readers and, over time, came to dominate more and more of the pages of Journey Into Mystery.  In February of 1966, Marvel changed the title of the series to Thor, recognizing that Journey Into Mystery had effectively become a solo Thor book.

Name Confusion

The majority of the 376 issues published for Thor (1966) had a cover title of The Mighty Thor, but have an Indicia title of Thor.  This can cause a lot of confusion, especially with various tracking tools and efforts to alphabetize books.

The Mighty Thor (2011)

In 2011, Marvel retitled Thor back to Journey Into Mystery and turned it into a spinoff about Kid Loki.  Marvel then launched a new book titled Mighty Thor and made it the primary Thor book.

Thor: God Of Thunder

As a part of the Marvel Now! publishing initiative, Marvel relaunched nearly all of its books with new #1s and, in many cases, new titles.  This was done to make Marvel’s books feel new and different in the hopes of capturing new readers.

Thor (2014)

This relaunch corresponded with a shift in focus from Thor Odinson to Jane Foster, who took up Mjolnir and the Thor mantle after the Odinson became unworthy.

The Mighty Thor (2015)

A core premise of Secret Wars was the idea that the Marvel Universe was coming to an end.  To sell this idea, Marvel canceled all of its ongoing titles and briefly replaced them with new limited series set in the various areas that made up Battleworld.  When Marvel inevitably brought most of their comic titles back, they retitled the primary Thor book to Mighty Thor.  This was part of a concerted effort by Marvel to market the Jane Foster incarnation of Thor as “Mighty Thor”.

Thor (2018)

Once the Odinson became the focus character again, Marvel dropped the “Mighty” from the title and relaunched the book as Thor.

King Thor

Marvel included this series because it was the primary Thor book at the time and it represented the conclusion of the storyline Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic started about a future King Thor seven years prior in the pages of Thor: God of Thunder.

 

 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and learnt a lot from the article!!  To check out other guides explaining how Marvel’s numbering works, just click here!

 

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The post Marvel Numbering Explained: Thor appeared first on CBSI Comics.

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here