Personal Collection // John  Buscema // The Mighty Thor #221, Page #26 Splash (Buscema/Esposito) (1974)

March 1974, The Mighty Thor #221, Page #26 Splash, John Buscema pencils/Mike Esposito inks, “Hercules Enraged”, Dear mere mortals: here is possibly the greatest Bronze Age Splash ever drawn, and most definitely the greatest punch ever thrown in comics. This astounding battle page between Hercules, the Prince of Power, and the Mighty Thor has been engrained into most of our minds for all eternity (at least for those of us that grew up reading comics in the 1970s). Both heroes, Thor and Hercules, are among my favorites. I remember reading this comic off the newsstand in 1974, and how happy I was that I would finally see this epic battle in a comic book. I remember thinking to myself, Hercules’s strength in Greek mythology is unparalleled, so he should easily beat Thor in hand to hand combat. But, on the other hand, I knew that Thor possesses the mighty Mjolnir, and with that in his grasp, he is basically omnipotent, truly unbeatable. I was 13 years old and life could not get any better than this as I sat down to devour this comic. This epic fight between the two gods was written by Gerry Conway, as he establishes Hercules as an equal to the Mighty Thor, but also sustains Thor’s longstanding perch at the top of the power level. I said this many times before, collecting original comic art is truly unlike any other hobby. The physical art acts like a gateway, or a portal, back in time for the true collector. Getting a page like this for me, basically teleported me back to the moment I read the comic off the stand. The feeling will wear off in a few days though. And like all drug addicts, we foolishly go back to the pond to find more, without a thought about the absurd amount of money we just spent on a single page. This quest, sadly, never ends for most of us, as we realize that this irrational hunt, that we all have succumbed to, is just part of this never- ending game. Nuff Said!

Personal Collection

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