By way of introduction: The “No-Prize” is a tradition at Marvel Comics, historically rewarded to astute readers who found a mistake in a comic book and write in a creative or clever explanation for why it wasn’t a mistake – something unseen between panels, etc. During my time as an assistant editor at Marvel, one of my responsibilities was reading and responding to reader mail to the various comics I worked on. One of those titles was THE MIGHTY THOR, and one day we recieved a letter requesting a No-Prize. This wasn’t the first request I’d read, but like so many others it simply pointed out a perceived error without the additional creative explanation component. So I took it upon myself, with the okay of my boss, Tom Brevoort, to “show ’em how it’s done.”
So, please enjoy the original letter and the response – a response in four parts which originally appeared in THE MIGHTY THOR, Vol. 2, issues 18-21 (cover dated Dec. 1999 – Mar. 2000):
