Thor #347

Name: Thor #347
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Sep 1984 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.30 GBP; 0.75 CAD

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“Into the Realm of Faerie!”

★ 1st appearance — Kurse

About this Issue

Thor #347 is the pivot point of Walter Simonson's celebrated Surtur Saga, the issue where nearly a year's worth of carefully interwoven plot threads — Malekith's hunt for the Casket of Ancient Winters, Thor's enchantment by Lorelei, Balder's encounter with the Norns, and Surtur's mounting invasion — converge in a single, breathless chapter. It marks the first appearance of Algrim the Strong, the Dark Elf warrior who would eventually be transformed into Kurse and go on to appear in the 2013 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: The Dark World, giving the issue a lasting footprint well beyond its original publication. The issue also debuts the Realm of Faerie as a Marvel location, expanding the Nine Realms cosmology in a distinctly Shakespearean-fairy-tale register that distinguished Simonson's run from every previous approach to the Thor mythos. As one chapter of what many readers and critics regard as the definitive Thor run of any era, #347 exemplifies how Simonson used sprawling, multi-strand epic structure — then uncommon in mainstream superhero books — to raise the dramatic stakes of an entire shared universe.

In "Into the Realm of Faerie!", Thor and Roger plunge into the mystical realm of Faerie on a desperate mission to rescue Thor's beloved, all while racing to keep the Casket of Ancient Winters from falling into Malekith's grasp. Walter Simonson’s dynamic storytelling and breathtaking art—penciled, inked, and colored by the creative team—bring the clash of myth and magic to life, as Balder speaks with a Norn and Odin readies for war, while Surtur draws ever closer to Earth.

colorist Christie Scheele · writer, artist, inker Walter Simonson · letterer John Workman Jr. · cover Walter Simonson

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $5

CGC 9.8 · 47 in census $69

CGC 9.6 · 45 in census $26

CGC 9.4 · 20 in census $20

CGC 9.2 · 19 in census $20

CGC 9.0 · 10 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 3 in census $20

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CGC 8.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 none in existence

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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CGC 9 $1,125 1 listing CBCS $35 1 listing Raw — MINT $49.95 1 listing Raw — VF+ $22.41 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $8.49–$16.99 3 listings

Raw / ungraded $8.49 Raw / ungraded $12.95 Raw / ungraded $16.99

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Newsstand $3.59 VERY FINE $3.99 FN $3.99 Newsstand $4.95 VG $5 VF $7.4 Newsstand $9.99 NM · Newsstand $14.99

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History

Walter Simonson served as writer, penciler, and inker on this issue — a solo creative control typical of his run — with Christie Scheele on colors, John Workman Jr. on letters, and Mark Gruenwald as editor, under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Simonson has described the Surtur storyline as one he first began conceiving in college around 1967, meaning the narrative architecture culminating in this issue had been gestating for roughly seventeen years before it reached print. The issue was cover-dated September 1984, with the newsstand edition shipping in May 1984, and it carries the chapter title 'Into the Realm of Faerie!' — the third installment of the four-part Malekith/Casket of Ancient Winters arc that ran from #344 through #349.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Algrim the Strong (Dark Elf), created by Walter Simonson; Algrim is later transformed into Kurse by the Beyonder in Secret Wars II #4 (October 1985).
First appearance of Wormwood, Malekith's Dark Elf servant, and the first appearance of the Realm of Faerie as a Marvel location.
Full creative team: Walter Simonson (writer/penciler/inker), Christie Scheele (colorist), John Workman Jr. (letterer), Mark Gruenwald (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).
Chapter title is 'Into the Realm of Faerie!'; the issue is the third part of the four-issue Malekith/Casket of Ancient Winters arc within the larger Surtur Saga (Thor #340–353).
The story's climax — Malekith casting Thor and Algrim into a magma chasm, seizing the Casket, and preparing to welcome Surtur — sets up the Fimbulwinter event that would ripple as a crossover into Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, and other Marvel titles.
Balder's subplot in this issue has him encounter the three Norns (Skuld, Verdandi, and Urd/Wyrd), who reveal they have been waiting to speak with him 'since the dawn of time,' deepening his destiny thread ahead of the Balder the Brave miniseries.
Algrim's portrayal by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in Thor: The Dark World (2013) drew directly from his debut in this issue and his subsequent transformation into Kurse.
The issue has been reprinted in Thor Visionaries: Walter Simonson Vol. 1 (2000/2001), the Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus (2011, recolored by Steve Oliff), Thor of the Realms (2019), and Marvel Masterworks Vol. 23 (2024, with original colors), as well as in French, Spanish, and German editions.