''Journey into Mystery'' is an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor,

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Initially a

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

anthology, it changed to giant-monster and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

stories in the late 1950s. Beginning with issue #83 (

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Aug. 1962), it ran the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

feature " The Mighty Thor", created by writers

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and Larry Lieber and artist

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, and inspired by the mythological Norse thunder god. The series, which was renamed for its superhero star with issue #126 (March 1966), has been revived three times: in the 1970s as a horror anthology, and in the 1990s and 2010s with characters from Marvel's Thor mythos. The title was also used in 2019 for a limited series as part of the " War of the Realms" storyline.

Publication history

1950s–1960s

The first ''Journey into Mystery'' series was initially a horror-fantasy anthology published by

' 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, with a first issue cover-dated June 1952. Artist

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawk ...

, who would later become one of the main war comics artists for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, drew the story "The Hog" in ''Journey into Mystery'' #21 (January 1955). Issue #23 was the first to be approved by the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

, which led to restrictions on horror comics. The title was caught in the collapse of Atlas' distributor, and publication was suspended for a year between issues #48 (Aug. 1957) and #49 (Nov. 1958). Xemnu, a huge, furry alien monster, first appeared in ''Journey Into Mystery'' #62 (Nov. 1960). The character reappeared in issue #66 (March 1961). Since then the character has been a mainstay in the Marvel Universe, and was renamed Xemnu the Titan. ''Journey into Mystery'' #69 and the teen-humor title ''

Patsy Walker Patricia "Patsy" Walker is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944), published by Marvel prec ...

'' #95 (both June 1961) are the first modern comic books labeled "Marvel Comics", with each showing an "MC" box on its cover. Beginning with issue #83 (Aug. 1962), the title introduced the Norse god

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

. The anthological stories, by now primarily

-fantasy, gradually diminished after this, with the Thor-spinoff backup feature "Tales of Asgard" beginning in issue #97 (Oct. 1963). They were dropped entirely with issue #105 (June 1964), when the "Thor" feature expanded from 13 to 18 pages. With the previous issue, the cover logo had changed to ''Journey into Mystery with the Mighty Thor''. Its final issue was #125 (Feb. 1966), after which the series was retitled ''The Mighty Thor'' in its

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

ed cover logo and simply ''Thor'' in its postal indicia

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

notice. Thor's evil adoptive brother

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

was introduced in issue #85 (October 1962). Other adversaries for the new hero included the Radioactive Man introduced in #93 (June 1963), the Enchantress and the

Executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who effects a sentence of capital punishment on a condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorizing or ordering him to ...

in #104 (April 1964), the Absorbing Man in #114 (March 1965), and the

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in #118 (July 1965). An oversized

annual publication Annual publications, more often simply called annuals, are periodical publications appearing regularly once per year."Annuals", in '' Encyclopedia of library and information science'' (1968), vol. 1, pp. 434–447. Although exact definitions may v ...

, featuring Thor, was released in 1965 and introduced the Marvel version of the Greco-Roman demigod

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "the adventures of Thor were gradually transformed from stories about a strange-looking superhero into a spectacular saga."

Volume 2 (1970s)

A second ''Journey into Mystery'' ran 19 issues (October 1972 – October 1975). The title was one of four launched by Marvel Comics editor-in-chief

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

to form a line of science fiction and horror anthologies with more thematic cohesion than the company's earlier attempts that decade, which had included the series ''

Chamber of Darkness Chamber or The Chamber may refer to: Organizations and government *Chamber of commerce, a form of business network *Legislative chamber, a deliberative assembly within a legislature *Debate chamber, a room for people to discuss and debate Arts ...

'' and '' Tower of Shadows''. Whereas those titles generally presented original stories, these new books would instead adapt genre classics and other stories. With the four titles' debuts set to be staggered over the course of four months, Marvel premiered ''Journey into Mystery'' vol. 2 (October 1972), '' Chamber of Chills'' (Nov. 1972), '' Supernatural Thrillers'' (Dec. 1972), and, with a late start, '' Worlds Unknown'' (May 1973). The first five issues of ''Journey into Mystery'' vol. 2 featured such adaptations as

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

's "Dig Me No Grave", by writer Thomas and penciler

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

, in issue #1;

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime fiction, crime, psychological horror fiction, horror and Fantasy Fiction, fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and ...

's "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" by Thomas and

Ron Goulart Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. He worked on novels and novelizations (and other works) being published under various ps ...

and penciler Kane, in #2; and

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

's "The Haunter of the Dark" by Goulart and penciler

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

, in addition to anthological horror stories by writers including George Alec Effinger,

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

, and Steve Skeates, and pencilers such as

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

, Jim Starlin, Ralph Reese, and P. Craig Russell. Most issues also included a reprinted story from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. By issue #6, however, the magazine became a reprint title featuring science-fiction and giant-monster tales from the first ''Journey into Mystery'' series, as well as from the " pre-superhero Marvel" anthologies '' Amazing Adult Fantasy'', ''

Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...

'', '' Strange Worlds'', and ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...

''.

1990s series

As a consequence of the company-wide crossover " Heroes Reborn", Thor ceased to be the focus of his own series, which was restored to ''Journey into Mystery'' beginning with issue #503 (Nov. 1996). The feature "The Lost Gods" ran through issue #513, followed by issues starring

Shang-Chi Zheng Shang-Chi,. also known as the Master of Kung Fu and Brother Hand, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, debuting in ''Spec ...

, Master of Kung Fu and the Black Widow for three issues each, and reluctant vampire Hannibal King for two, ending with issue #521 (June 1998).

2010s series

The ''Thor'' title resumed its original numbering in 2009 with ''Thor'' #600, including the intervening issues of ''Thor'' in its count while disregarding the 1990s ''Journey Into Mystery'' issues. Starting with issue #622, the series for a second time had its title restored to ''Journey Into Mystery'', which accompanied the launch of a new title, ''Mighty Thor.'' Thor's supporting cast returned as the focus of a run written by

Kieron Gillen Kieron Michael Gillen (; born 30 September 1975) is a British comic book writer and former video game and music journalist. In comics, Gillen is known for his creator-owned series such as '' Once & Future'' (2019–2022), '' Die'' (2018–202 ...

, who had written ''Thor'' from #604 to #614, and drawn by

Doug Braithwaite Doug Braithwaite is a British comic book artist. Career Braithwaite began his career working in the British comics industry starting with '' 2000 AD'' and '' A1''; later he worked on Marvel's ''Earth X'' sequels, ''Universe X'' and ''Paradise ...

. Starring was the Thor antagonist

, who had been reincarnated as a child following his sacrifice in the series ''

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

''. Gillen's run was favorably reviewed, with one critic writing: In Gillen's final issue, a letter from

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...

, who portrays Loki in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

, was published, in which he praised Gillen for his take on the character. With issue #646, the focus of ''Journey into Mystery'' changed with its rebranding under the

Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...

imprint. Written by Kathryn Immonen and drawn by Valerio Schiti, the series began starring the Marvel Asgardians, with the Lady Sif as its lead character. The series was cancelled with issue #655 (Oct. 2013).

War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery

During the " War of the Realms" storyline in 2019, the title was used for a limited five–issue run written by

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, Travis and Clint McElroy. The series was drawn by André Lima Araújo with covers from Valerio Schiti. In the limited series, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Wonder Man, Sebastian Druid, Death Locket, Thori the Hellhound, and Balder the Brave go on a quest to save the Earth. In 2023, the McElroys continued the storyline in the " Outre Space" arc of their tabletop role playing podcast, ''

The Adventure Zone ''The Adventure Zone'' is a weekly comedy and adventure actual play podcast, in which the McElroy family play ''Dungeons & Dragons'' along with other role-playing games. The show is distributed by the Maximum Fun network and hosted by brother ...

'', using the Marvel Multiverse rules set.

Collected editions

* '' Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #1-10, 272 pages, 2008, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #11-20, 272 pages, 2009, ** ''Volume 3'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #21-30, 272 pages, 2010, ** ''Volume 4'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #31-40, 272 pages, 2012, * ''Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #83-100, 280 pages, 1991, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #101-110, 224 pages, 1994, ** ''Volume 3'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #111-120 and ''Journey into Mystery Annual'' #1, 256 pages, 2001, ** ''Volume 4'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #121-125 and ''Thor'' #126-130, 240 pages, 2005, * '' Essential Thor'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #83-112, 536 pages, 2001, ** ''Volume 2'' collects ''Journey into Mystery'' #113-125; 'Journey into Mystery Annual'' #1; ''Tho''r #126-136; and ''Thor Annual'' #2, 584 pages, 2005, * '' Origins of Marvel Comics'' includes Thor story from ''Journey into Mystery'' #83, 254 pages, 1974,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, *''Bring on the Bad Guys'' includes Thor stories from ''Journey into Mystery'' #112-113 and 115, 253 pages, 1976, Simon & Schuster, *''Fear Itself: Journey into Mystery'' collects #622-626, ''Thor Spotlight'', and ''Fear Itself Spotlight'', 136 pages, 2012, *''Journey into Mystery: Fear Itself Fallout'' collects #626.1, 627-631, 136 pages, 2012, *''Journey into Mystery: Terrorism Myth'' collects #632-636, 120 pages, 2012, *''Journey into Mystery/New Mutants: Exiled'' collects #637-638, ''Exiled'' #1, and ''New Mutants'' #42-43, 120 pages, 2012, *''Journey into Mystery: The Manchester Gods'' collects #639-641 and ''The Mighty Thor Annual'' #1, 120 pages, 2012, *''The Mighty Thor/Journey into Mystery: Everything Burns'' collects #642-645 and ''The Mighty Thor'' #18-22, 216 pages, 2013, *''Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif – Vol. 1: Stronger Than Monsters'' collects #646-650, 120 pages, 2013. * ''Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif – Vol. 2: Seeds of Destruction'' collects #651-655, 112 pages, 2013, *''War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery'' collects #1-5, 112 pages, 2019,

In other media

*In the 2011 film ''

'', a billboard features the words "Journey into Mystery". *In the pilot episode for '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Jemma Simmons asks Grant Ward, "Are you excited to be coming on our journey into mystery?" *The fifth episode of the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

series ''

'' is titled "Journey into Mystery." * In "Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead Elwood mentions reading the "Journey into Mystery" books

References

{{Larry Lieber 1952 comics debuts 1966 comics endings 1972 comics debuts 1975 comics endings 1996 comics debuts 1998 comics endings 2011 comics debuts 2013 comics endings Comics magazines published in the United States Atlas Comics titles Comics by Jack Kirby Comics by Stan Lee Defunct American comics Fantasy comics Magazines established in 1952 Magazines disestablished in 1966 Magazines established in 1972 Magazines disestablished in 1975 Magazines established in 1996 Magazines disestablished in 1998 Magazines established in 2011 Magazines disestablished in 2013 Marvel Comics titles Mystery comics Thor (Marvel Comics)