Thor Epic Collection: Hel On Earth

Collects Thor (1966) #476-490, Thor Annual (1966) #19, material from Avengers Annual (1967) #23. Who is Don Blake?! For years, Thor thought "Blake" was a mortal guise created by Odin - so how is he standing here, alive and well? The all-powerful Destroyer interrupts Thor's quest for answers - but when he finally confronts Odin, he finds another Thor waiting for him! Red Norvell is back - but why? And can Odin's shocking revelations about Blake be believed? Thor rejoins the High Evolutionary's cosmic conflict - but when Kurse returns, manipulated by an old foe and backed by a squad of undead allies, Thor is in for a battle that might destroy New York City! Can the Hulk help Thor fight his way to Hel and back? Plus: Thor battles the Thing and War Machine! And Loki and Pluto team up to kill Thor and Hercules!

Roy Thomas joined the Marvel Bullpen as a writer and editor under Stan Lee, scripting key runs of nearly every title of the time: Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Thor, X-Men and more. He wrote the first 10 years of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian and Savage Sword of Conan; and launched such series as Defenders, Iron Fist, Invaders and Warlock. At DC, he developed All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc. and related titles, proving instrumental in reviving the Golden Age Justice Society of America. Thomas later became editor of Alter Ego, a magazine devoted to comic-book history, and co-scripted the sword-and-sorcery films Fire and Ice and Conan the Destroyer.

Keith Pollard drew simultaneous runs on three of Marvel’s longest-running titles: Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Thor, including Roy Thomas and Mark Gruenwald’s “Eternals Saga.” During the 1990s, he singlehandedly penciled hundreds of characters for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition.

John Buscema (1927-2002) literally wrote the book on being a Marvel artist — namely, How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way — and few were better qualified. His career dated back to the Timely/Atlas era of the late ’40s and early ’50s. Soon after beginning the Marvel Age of Comics, Stan Lee recruited Buscema from the advertising field to the Marvel Bullpen. Buscema followed a long run on Avengers with the long-anticipated first Silver Surfer series. He subsequently succeeded Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four, Thor and other titles. By the time of his retirement in 1996, Buscema had penciled nearly every Marvel title — including his personal favorite, Conan the Barbarian.