Nostalgia

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JSG asked what else was in my closet besides my golf clubs. Well, besides the clothes there is a lightsaber, a microphone, two footballs, and some comic books. I have lots of X-men, some cross over stuff, and 15 years of The Mighty Thor (he's the guy top left) from 1983 to 1998. My Thor collection starts when Walt Simonson took over writing duties and introduced Beta Ray Bill (top right). I've always been a mythology guy which is probably why I was drawn to this Marvel character. I've always been fascinated with the cultural residue that is left behind as cultures move forward. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all get their names from Norse mythological figures. Only Saturday comes from Greco-Roman mythology. Which is strange because the Vikings were only in Britain for about twenty minutes, but they left a deep cultural footprint. Thor has a hammer that only he can lift. First of all it's frickin heavy, and second there is an enchantment put on it by Thor's father Odin that only someone worthy of the hammer will be able to lift it, and if they are worthy then they will possess the power of Thor. This had been the premise of the comic since it began back in the early sixties. Walt Simonson's first story changed that. It wound up being a bold move because it worked. If it hadn't been done right it just would have been a cheap trick. Simonson introduced Beta Ray Bill. Bill is a melancholy hero who has sacrificed his "humanity" to save his people. There is a misunderstanding and he gets into it with Thor. Thor underestimates Bill, drops his hammer, and Bill picks it it up. I remember reading Thor sporadically up until that point, and then I was taken on a four year roller coaster ride that was Simonson's run, and it became my favorite comic. They just sit there now in their plastic bags and cardboard boxes. I don't know what to do with them. They're a pain to get out and reread, but I don't want to sell them because of the memories of the process of collecting them. They mark critical periods in my life. When I do get them out they remind me of high school or college or early adulthood depending on when they were issued. There are roughly 180 of them and I can tell you the store or newsstand where I bought each one, and I stopped collecting them almost ten years ago. Sometimes it's hard being a pack rat.