At the end of the Golden Age of Comic Books in the mid-1950’s, Atlas (later Marvel Comics) continued to publish pre-code horror in the pages of Journey Into Mystery. While the stories in Journey Into Mystery were generally fair, the title featured the work of many notable artists from the Golden Age. In continuing their reprinting of many of their Atlas titles, Marvel has published Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery, volume 2 in the past few weeks.
Marvel Masterworks Atlas Era Journey Into Mystery, V. 2 (2009)
This volume features all of the stories from Journey Into Mystery 11-20 (August 1953 through December 1954). The covers are by Russ Heath (#11), Carl Burgos (3s 13, 18, 20), Gene Colan (#14), Sol Brodsky (#s 15, 17, 19) and Harry Anderson (#16). The stories feature the work of many different artists including Russ Heath, George Tuska, Dick Briefer, George Roussos, Dick Ayers, Harry Anderson, Vince Colleta and many others. As mentioned, most of the stories are fair, but the art by so many Golden Age greats is nice to see.
The introduction to the book is by noted Atlas expert Dr. Michael J. Vassallo. The 259 page volume has a retail price of $59.99 but can be found for a discount at many online retailers. If you are interested in this period between the classic Marvel Golden Age superhero stories and the revival of the Marvel superheroes with Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, check out Marvel’s Atlas Era series of Marvel Masterworks.
