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HB: Given all the theologies you were dealing with, did you receive any outraged letters?
NG: I did; but most of them were from comics fans who felt I was creating cruel parodies of the Marvel Comics characters Thor, Loki, and Odin. [Laughter.] At the same time, I received quite a few letters from readers in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who thanked me for portraying Norse gods accurately.
All I really did was follow the actual legends. In Norse mythology, Thor is enormously strong, bearded, and overmuscled; and heβs also quite stupid, and is easily made drunk. And if you rub his hammer, it really does get bigger. [Laughter.] The legends also strongly imply that Thorβs wife is bonking Loki on the side.
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