Posted in: Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: beta ray bill, thor

First Appearance of Beta Ray Bill in Thor #337 Up for Auction

Published Sun, 23 May 2021 08:22:09 -0500

The world is about to see someone else take the mantle and powers of Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder, but Jane Foster isn't the only one to do so in the past. Thor #337 by multi-hyphenate writer/penciler/inker/cover artist Walt Simonson, colorist George Roussos, and letterer John Workman introduced the alien warrior Beta Ray Bill, a one-time rival and now ally of Thor's who is able to wield Mjolnir. Beta Ray Bill remains one of the most popular Thor characters despite never having appeared in the Marvel Studios Thor or Avengers films… yet. The character debuted with flair on Simonson's cover of Thor #337, rocking Thor's iconic costume and swinging the hammer of myth and legend, making folks at the time wonder how what seemed to be a monster could be worthy of the hammer of the Mighty Avenger. Now, you can bring that first appearance of Beta Ray Bill, slabbed and graded 9.2 by CGC, into your comics collection with this auction now running over at Heritage.

Front cover of Marvel's Thor #337, featuring the very first appearance of Beta Ray Bill. Credit: Heritage Auctions

Back cover of Marvel's Thor #337, featuring the very first appearance of Beta Ray Bill. Credit: Heritage Auctions

Thor #337 (Marvel, 1983) CGC NM- 9.2 White pages.

This first appearance of Beta Ray Bill. Cover by Walt Simonson, and the first issue of his run as series writer/artist. Overstreet 2020 NM- 9.2 value = $100. CGC census 5/21: 571 in 9.2, 3716 higher.

Now… will Beta Ray Bill ever appear in the films? That kind of appearance would potentially up the value of this comic. President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige once said:

"There was a Beta Ray Bill [appearance in Thor: Ragnarok], but it was so quick that you would have the same complaints that you have now. He was in it a little bit more and it just didn't do justice. And the feeling is, if you can't do it justice, do it later."

With that kind of statement, it may be a good idea to head over to Heritage and stake your claim for this issue while it's available.