Marvel Mystery Comics

Marvel Mystery Comics
Timely-Atlas 1939



In 1939, pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman expanded into the newly emerging comic book field by buying content from comics package Funnies, Inc.. His first effort, Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), featured the first appearances of writer-artist Carl Burgos\' android superhero, the Human Torch, and Paul Gustavson\'s costumed detective The Angel who was to last to issue 79, even gaining the power of flight for a few issues. As well, it contained the first generally available appearance of Bill Everett\'s mutant anti-hero Namor the Sub-Mariner, created for the unpublished movie-theater giveaway comic, Motion Picture Funnies Weekly earlier that year, with the eight-page original story now expanded by four pages.

Also included was Al Anders\' Western hero the Masked Raider; the jungle lord Ka-Zar the Great, with Ben Thompson adapting over the first five issues the story \"King of Fang and Claw\" by Bob Byrd in Goodman\'s eponymous pulp magazine Ka-Zar #1; the non-continuing-character story \"Jungle Terror,\" featuring an adventurer named Ken Masters, written by the quirkily named Tohm Dixon[1]; \"Now I\'ll Tell One\", five single-panel, black-and-white gag cartoons by Fred Schwab, on the inside front cover; and a two-page prose story by Ray Gill, \"Burning Rubber\", about auto racing. A painted cover by veteran science fiction pulp artist Frank R. Paul featured the Human Torch, looking much different than in the interior story.

The Ka-Zar here, who would appear in every issue through Marvel Mystery Comics #27 (Jan. 1942) is unrelated to the Marvel Comics jungle lord Ka-Zar introduced in The X-Men (March 1965).

That initial comic, cover-dated October 1939, quickly sold out 80,000 copies, prompting Goodman to produce a second printing, cover-dated November 1939 and identical except for a black bar in the inside-front-cover indicia over the October date, and the November date added at the end. That sold approximately 800,000 copies.[2] With a hit on his hands, Goodman began assembling an in-house staff, hiring Funnies, Inc. writer-artist Joe Simon as editor. Simon brought along his collaborator, artist Jack Kirby, followed by artist Syd Shores.

As Marvel Mystery Comics

The Torch and the Sub-Mariner would continue to star in the long-running title even after receiving their own solo comic-book series shortly afterward. The Angel, who was featured on the covers of #2 & 3, would appear in every issue through #79 (Dec. 1946).

Other characters introduced in the title include the aviator the American Ace (#2, Dec, 1939), with part one of his origin reprinted, like the first part of the Sub-Mariner\'s, from Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1; the Ferret; and writer-artist Steve Dahlman\'s robot hero Electro (appearing in every issue from #4-19, Feb. 1940 - May 1941). Issue #13 saw the first appearance of the Vision, the inspiration for the same-name Marvel Comics superhero created in 1968. The original Vision appeared in solo stories through Marvel Mystery Comics #48.

As Marvel Tales

In 1949, with the popularity of superheroes having waned, the book was converted into the horror anthology Marvel Tales from issue #93-159 (Aug. 1949 - Aug. 1957), when it ceased publication. Note: This is a different Marvel Tales than that published by Marvel in starting in the 1960s and primarily reprinting Spider-Man stories.

(From Wikipedia)

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