Thor, Volume 1 is an ongoing American comic book series of the superhero fantasy subgenre. It was published by Marvel Comics from March, 1966 to September, 1996, spanning a total of 377 issues. The series was revived in 2009 beginning with the landmark 600th issue, which combined the total issue counts from Thor volumes one, two and three. The revival series ran until May, 2011 whereupon the numbering continued into Journey Into Mystery. That series is actually the precursor to Thor, Volume 1, which introduced the eponymous character Thor Odinson in Journey Into Mystery #83 in 1962. Journey Into Mystery changed it's title to Thor beginning with issue #126. The series has also boasted the cover copy title, The Mighty Thor.
The first creative team on Thor consisted of writer/editor Stan Lee, artist Jack Kirby and inker Vince Colletta. Lee consistently wrote stories for the series up until Thor #193. After which, Gerry Conway took over the writing chops and was the series writer up until Thor #238 in 1975. Artist Jack Kirby was the series penciler and cover artist up until issue #179. Following in Kirby's footsteps was Neal Adams who drew the next three issues, after which, the title was taken over by John Buscema who remained with the book for 103 issues, ending his run with Thor #285.
Outside of Jack Kirby, one of the most celebrated artists on the series was Walter Simonson, who worked as both a writer, artist and cover artist. Simonson came to the title in 1977 with issue #260. He was a consistent creator on the series, but he made his writing debut on Thor with issue #337, which he also drew and inked. That issue begins what is often referred to as the "Simonson era". It is also the issue that introduced the alien superhero Beta Ray Bill. Simonson's epic run on Thor concluded with issue #367, though he did return to write and draw the "Mjolnir's Song" story from Thor #380.
During the mid 1990s, Thor stories were written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by up-and-coming artist Mike Deodato, Jr. Ellis and Deodato's run on the title began with issue 491 and went until the end of the series.
