DeFalco/Frenz Retrospective: Thor #413



Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciler: Ron Frenz 

Synopsis: Thor visits Dr. Strange to figure what's behind the seizures troubling him. 

Comments: For years, Loki used to know Thor's secret identity as Don Blake and was not above threatening him as Blake or Jane Foster. It's good that his enchanted viewscreen cannot detect him as Eric. First appearance of Ulik in DeFalco/Frenz's run. 



I'm not sure what foreshadowing it turned out to be for since there were several candidates that caused Hercules to space out. 




Thor entering Dr. Strange's study is taken from Thor #159. 





Hercules runs off to confront Ulik. The next issue picks up shortly after West Coast Avengers #55, so Hercules must have been searching for a few hours. Hercules seems to have a form of PTSD. 



The cause of Thor's ailments and the architect of the Acts of Vengeance crossover is revealed to be Loki who regrets his role in the creation of the Avengers when rerouted a message meant for the Fantastic Four to Thor that was also picked up by Iron Man, Ant Man and the Wasp. Thor confronts Loki in West Coast Avengers #55 and buries him underground, but Loki appears in the next issue of Thor, so he wasn't kept out of action for more than a few minutes. Why is one of Loki's eyes look bigger than the other in the final panel of this issue? 












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Randall Frenz Interview

Image
  Superman #149, brothers Randall and Ron Frenz credited on the cover. The Randall Frenz Interview When I first read the issues of Thor #400 and #401 back in high school (this would have been in the early 2000s, years after they were first published in 1989), I saw the name of Randall Frenz. I was familiar with Ron Frenz, the penciler of Thor , The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Girl , but who was Randall Frenz? Was it Ron's real name? Was it his alter ego? I even admitted as much when Ron wished Randall a happy birthday on Facebook.  However, I saw that there was confusion from others online as to who Randall Frenz is. The above commenter is correct, but they should have written  is, not was.  Years later, with the advent of YouTube and a book written by Tom DeFalco titled  Comics Creators on Spider-Man , I also learned that Randall Frenz is Ron's older brother through various interviews that Ron has conducted.  Randall wrote 13 published comic book stor...
Read more

DeFalco/Frenz Retrospective: Krrish: Menace of the Monkey Men

Image
  Writer: Tom DeFalco Penciler: Ron Frenz Synopsis: A story featuring Krrish, India's superhero.  Comments: Ron wrote on his Facebook page that editor Scott Peterson contacted him when the movie company, FilmKRAFT, behind the Bollywood blockbusters featuring Krrish wanted an old fashioned Marvel comic book, Peterson knew that DeFalco and Frenz's style would play into their sensibilities. I first read this on Hoopla, a library app, and I remember asking Ron about it when I met him in Akron, OH in 2017.  When the project was announced it got a warm write up in Indian edition of Business Insider.    This story is kind a change of pace for DeFalco and Frenz in that it's set in a different country. If go through their body of work, DeFalco and Frenz stay usually in New York City. If one of their heroes travels, they go to a fictional countries like Belgruin and Latveria or other dimensions.  All that talk about powers and responsibility, where have I heard that ...
Read more

Spider-Girl #88

Image
  Writer: Tom DeFalco Penciller: Ron Frenz Synopsis: In the Negative Zone, the full force of the Fantastic Five meet the threat of Apox.  Comments: Fastball Special.  For some reason, this page with Howard, Sandra and Courtney was not in the digital issue of Marvel Unlimited. I had to get it elsewhere.  A nice resolution to the hanging plot threat from Fantastic Five.  I wouldn't violate that NDA. That guy's scary. 
Read more