From the Mouths of the Marvels:

"I'm in love - - even as you are! Do you hear?? Thor is in love!!"

- - Thor, to a young couple in love, page 3

See what that hammer's doing to that cement facade, GG? Think about it!!!

Thor and Tales of Asgard
from Journey Into Mystery #107
August 1964 • 23 pages

Publication Date: June 2, 1964

Letters Page: No letters page was published in this issue

I: Feature Story: "When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes!"

Pages: 18

Script: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Artie Simek

Villain/First Appearance/Origin: Grey Gargoyle/Paul Duval

Guest Appearance: Jane Foster

Gadgets & Technology: 3-D Type Projector

Synopsis: In his office laboratory, Dr. Don Blake is so engrossed in his romantic problems and double-life that when he switches into Thor, he has to think quick when Jane Foster walks in. He tells her that he has come to see Blake, because he heard that the doctor had betrayed him (see JiM #106.) Jane says she has no idea where Dr. Blake is (he's supposed to be in his office, she says!) but she begs of Thor not to hurt him, for she knows he's a good and kind man, and she confesses her love for the lame doctor to Thor. Shocked at such honest words, Thor leaves the office from the window and promises no harm will come to Blake, and then....

He flies through the skies, happy as can be! Jane Foster loves him!!! (As Dr. Blake, that is!)

But watching from the window of a passenger jet plane is one Paul Duval, a chemist from France who he has traveled to America to defeat. When he steps off the plane, he leaves behind a whole cabin full of innocent people- turned completely to stone! As he takes a cab to his destination, he ruminates on his origin, when he accidentally spilled some chemicals on his hand that enabled him to turn any matter he touched to stone, including himself! He went on a robbery spree that eventually brought him no pleasure, until he stumbled onto the idea that he would like to steal Thor's immortality- which means stealing his hammer! He leaves the cabby completely turned to stone.

News of the odd happenings reaches Thor's ears, and he sees the cops taking away the cabbie's stone body. He commandeers the body as a matter of Avengers privilege and takes it back to his office, where as Dr. Don Blake, he detects a heartbeat. As he tries to find the cure for the man, Duval has changed into his costume and turned completely into stone. As the Grey Gargoyle, he barges into Blake's office, which he knows as the place where Thor took the cabby. He wants to know where Thor is, but Blake runs away and makes it to the roof, where he turns into Thor. The Grey Gargoyle climbs up to the roof to reach Thor, and the Thunder God slams his hammer down upon him, knocking him down to the street.

The Grey Gargoyle is chased by Thor to a gas station, where he rubs his stones hands together to create a spark that ignites gas fumes, knocking Thor back in a concussive explosion. His hammer lies nearby, and the Gargoyle tries to pick it up, but he cannot. As Thor goes to pick it up, the Gargoyle touches him, and he turns completely to stone! The police arrive with a flame thrower, and aim the blast at him, sending the villain racing up the side of a building. As Thor falls, his hammer strikes the ground, causing him to turn back into Don Blake, in the flesh! Blake concocts a plan with the help of Tony Stark, who provides him with a "TV 3-D Type" Projector, a camera which projects a lifelike image that the user can manipulate by remote control. Blake mounts the camera to a motorbike and then races through the streets, projecting an image of Thor flying through the air.

The Grey Gargoyle spots this fake image and chases it, trying to catch up to what he thinks is the real Thor. But he soon realizes he's chasing a mirage, and detects Blake as the source of it. He chases Blake's motorbike, but Blake times it so he runs it off a pier, and both men go hurtling into the drink. Blake, however, can swim. The Grey Gargoyle, leaden by his immense stone weight, is sucked into deeper water by the wake of a large ship, where he falls many fathoms below sea level, unable to turn back to the flesh until the proper amount of time has passed by, at which time....it may be too late!

--synopsis by Gormuu

Issues Reprinted
Thor and Tales of Asgard from
Journey Into Mystery #101-110

Click on cover image to learn more about each issue.

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