There was an interesting allusion to Tolkien back in the 80's. The political caricature IF Chronicles by Steve Bell published a sequence where Mrs Tahtcher, losing all her influence and despised by everyone finally decides to put an end to it all. First she throws herself in front of abus but that destrys the bus leaving her unscathed. She realises the only way to perish is to cast herself in the cracks of doom, and sets out on an epic journey. I still have the comic (somewhere?) and could scan and post it on my website if anybody is interested