*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 ‘Big Panty Monsters’ – 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 Big-Panty Monsters 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 Apparent VG-. The ‘Apparent’ is because at some time in the comic’s past, attempts have been made to erase a heavy-handed pencilled figure ‘6’ on the front cover; the original figure was written so ham-fistedly that it has creased and almost penetrated a segment of the cover (the curved corner at the lower right of the ‘mighty Thor’ blurb), and the faint pencil erasure mostly affects the area around the Stone Men’s landing craft, mid-upper cover. The deep crease on the front cover blurb, however, does not impact upon the splash page. Despite these drawbacks, the overall appearance of the issue is extremely attractive, with bright colours, moderate spine wear and off-white flexible interior pages. Scans of the front and back covers and the splash page of this hotly-pursued collectors’ item are reproduced below. High resolution images are available on request. Journey Into Mystery #83 App. VG- p £1,250. SORRY, THIS HAS NOW SOLD