Time of the Trolls!

THE MIGHTY THOR — Issue no. 277, August 1978

Chance Shirley

Oct 22, 2024

Book: The Mighty Thor

Issue No.: 277

Published: August 15, 1978

Title: “Time of the Trolls!”

Cover Price: 35¢

Format: Original paper copy

Aside from being one of the great comics artists of the Bronze Age, John Buscema was apparently fast. Maybe not Jack Kirby fast, but fast enough to draw this book and Conan the Barbarian while also, I assume, working on a big story for an upcoming issue of the Savage Sword of Conan magazine. I am generally awestruck by comic book artists, but I am especially awestruck by the prolific ones — I can’t imagine being able to draw like that, much less being able to do it quickly.

This is another solid issue of The Mighty Thor documenting the seemingly (at the time) inevitable coming of Ragnarok, AKA the end of the universe as we know it. In seventeen story pages, Buscema and writer Roy Thomas move the Ragnarok story forward. Hela, the goddess of death, sends an army of trolls and other malicious creatures to the gods’ domain Asgard. For his crimes, Loki, god of evil and instigator of Ragnarok, is sentenced to be tortured by a giant snake — this bit seems like something that Thomas might have pulled from the original Norse myths that Thor is based on.

Two panels from this issue. In the first, Thor leads a band of warriors. Narration reads, “‘Thus the scions of Asgard shall go forward do do battle with their power but a fraction of what it should be — yet, to battle shall they go, nonetheless!’” The second panel shows Harris Hobbs, a regular non-superhero guy, with a large video camera. Narration reads, “‘And ne’er knowing whether he doth record the glorious combat for an earth which shall survive Asgard’s fall, or no — the mortal called Harris Hobbs will doubtless strive to film it all, e’en though he stands alone.’”

There’s also some good backstory here, with Loki explaining how he conspired with Hela and others to kill Baldur the Brave (who, as of this story, is not totally dead yet) and bring about Ragnarok. And Sif (Thor’s girlfriend) explains how Other Thor came to be. Yes, there’s a second Thor in this storyline who owes his existence to Loki’s machinations, and I call him Other Thor. Other Thor is a jerk, and he’s taken Sif away from Asgard against her will, which is bad for multiple reasons.

It seems that with the trolls reaching Asgard in this issue, this Ragnarok storyline will have to get resolved relatively soon. That said, it’s a fun story with entertaining twists and turns, so I’m along for the Ragnarok ride as long as it lasts.

Next time — Black Panther vs. the agents of Kiber!

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