*Marvel: One of the major milestones of the early Marvel Age, Journey Into Mystery – like several companion titles, previously devoted to what we’ve termed the “Big Panty Monster” genre of science-fiction stories – had an epiphany with its 83rd issue, and introduced timid Doctor Don Blake, who assumed (or, as it was later revealed, resumed) the mantle of Thor, God of Thunder. Although the creators hedged their bets by having Thor fight a decidedly sci-fi menace in his first issue – the Stone Men of Saturn – they needn’t have worried, as Lee & Kirby’s creation was an instant hit, and spawned countless more comics, plus an ever-increasing number of successful movies in later years. This copy is Pence priced, and graded as Fine+, but, it must be observed, it’s’ a much more attractive copy than that bald grade would seem to indicate. The most significant drawback is light discoloration, in the form of grubbiness, possibly even original over-inking in the printing process, which is present on the upper corner of the last page, which is ads-only; neither the lead story, nor the two fantasy back-ups (by Heck and Ditko, should you be wondering) are affected. All other interior pages are clean, off-white and flexible, and the cover scene is unimpaired, with excellent unfaded colour. A thin, marginal portion of the cover scene has been printed on the back cover edge due to an original printing misalignment; however, no key elements are missing from the cover scene. We attach scans of the front and back covers to illustrate this. In all other respects, this is an exceptionally bright and attractive copy for the grade, and is offered at £4,000. High resolution scans are available on request and, of course, this comic is eligible for a payment instalment plan if required. If you wish to view this comic at our shop, please contact us to book a viewing appointment.