Journey into Mystery Annual #1 for Sale - First Appearance of Hercules - Where to Buy

Identification plate

Series: Journey into Mystery Annual (Marvel, 1965 series)
Issue: #1
Publication date: [August] 1965
Key date: 1965-08-00
On-sale date: 1965-06-01
Indicia publisher: Atlas Magazines Inc.
Price: $0.25
Pages: 76
Rating: Approved by the Comics Code Authority

Match the book in your hand against this plate before paying an edition-specific price.

Why this issue matters

First appearance of Hercules - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

First appearance of Zeus - the earliest non-flashback appearance on record for this character.

The evidence

Claims here come from the story records for this issue, listed under Sources at the bottom of the file. Character hubs with full evidence tables are coming to this site.

Seq	Story	Type	Pages	Credits	Characters
0	-	cover	1	pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Sol Brodsky; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Hercules First, Loki, Chen Lu, Molto, Thor Odinson, Radioactive Man, Thor
2	When Titans Clash!	comic story	15	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Vince Colletta; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Sam Rosen	Hercules First, Loki, Thor Odinson, Thor, Zeus First
3	A Thor Bonus Feature [Map of Asgard]	illustration	2	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Vince Colletta; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Sam Rosen
4	Trapped by Loki, the God of Mischief!	comic story	13	script: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Dick Ayers; letters: Ray Holloway	Balder, Jane Foster, Heimdall, Loki, Odin, Thor Odinson, Thor, Tyr
5	-	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Jack Kirby, Marie Severin; inks: Chic Stone, Marie Severin; colors: Stan Goldberg
6	The Mysterious Radio-Active Man!	comic story	13	script: Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Dick Ayers; letters: Ray Holloway	Jane Foster, Chen Lu, Thor Odinson, Radioactive Man, Thor, Mao Zedong
8	The Demon Duplicators!	comic story	13	script: Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein; pencils: Joe Sinnott; inks: Joe Sinnott; letters: Sam Rosen	Jane Foster, Odin, Thor Odinson, Thor
9	-	promo (ad from the publisher)	1
10	Thor Battles... the Lava Man	comic story	13	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Don Heck; letters: Artie Simek	Jane Foster, Loki, Molto, Odin, Thor Odinson, Thor

Plus 4 pages of advertisements and other matter across 5 sequences, as published.

Printings and variants

Edition	How to tell
British	price 0-1-6 GBP

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Tales of Suspense #71	1965	On eBay ›
Marvel Treasury Edition #3	1974	On eBay ›
Giant-Size Thor #1	1975	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks #18 ISBN 0-87135-807-7	1991	On eBay ›
Essential Thor #2 ISBN 9780785115915; 0-7851-1591-9	2005	On eBay ›
The Mighty Thor Collector's Album #72-125	1966	On eBay ›
Marvel Milestones: Venom & Hercules #[nn]	2005	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #1 ISBN 0-7851-1267-7	2003	On eBay ›

Reading the story costs a fraction of owning the issue. Both routes are on every file.

Before you buy

Check spine ticks and cover gloss in the photos; silver-age Marvels chip at the edges easily.
Look for tanning at the page edges and transfer stains on the inside covers.
Confirm the cover price against the plate; higher prices can mean a later or foreign printing.

Series context

1 of 1

Sources

Grand Comics Database, issue record (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Found an error in this file? corrections@comicrecord.com