''Mystic Comics'' is the name of three

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

series published by the company that eventually became

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The first two series were

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor,

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

, during what fans and historians call the

Golden Age of comic books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

. The third, simply titled ''Mystic'', was a

horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

-suspense anthology from Marvel's 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics.

''Mystic Comics'' (Timely)

Volume 1

The first two series titled ''Mystic'' came during the 1940s

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and ma ...

from publisher Martin Goodman, whose

by the early 1960s would evolve into

. The first four issues were nominally edited by Goodman, but the contents came almost entirely from either the Funnies, Inc., or Harry "A" Chesler studios. Editor Joe Simon relaunched the series after a seven-month gap, with future Marvel chief

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

taking over with issue #8 or #9 after Simon left the company. It ran 10 issues (March 1940 – Aug. 1942).''Mystic Comics'', Marvel, 1940 series
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

A superhero anthology with no regular starring feature, ''Mystic Comics'' introduced at least three notable characters: the Blazing Skull (issue #5, March 1941), who made appearances both in the Golden Age and in the 2000s; and the

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

(issue #6, Oct. 1941), noted by comics historian and former Marvel editor-in-chief

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

as "Stan's most popular superhero creation before the Fantastic Four". The Destroyer was cover-featured for the last half of the run. The Black Widow is one of comic books' first super-powered, costumed female characters; She appeared in ''Mystic Comics'' #4 (Aug. 1940) and #5 (Mar. 1941), as well as #7 (Dec. 1941). An antihero who killed evildoers to deliver their souls to Satan, her master, she is unrelated to Marvel Comics' later superspy character, Black Widow. Additional superheroes introduced in this initial series include the Thin Man, by artist Klaus Nordling and an unknown writer (issue #4, Aug. 1940); the Blue Blaze, a living dead man who disappeared into a swamp in his final appearance, by Harry Douglas who signed his name "Harry / Douglas" leading to much confusion and many theories over the possibility of two creators. (#1-4); the

robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...

hero Flexo the Rubber Man (#1-4); the Black Marvel (#5-9), by artist Al Gabriele and an unknown writer (not Stan Lee as often mis-attributed); and the Terror (#5-10) by writer Phil Sturm and penciler Syd Shores. The non-superhero trio of detectives the 3X's ic(issue #1) comprised Timely's first team feature.

Volume 2

Timely's second series titled ''Mystic Comics'' was a shorter-lived superhero anthology that ran four issues (Oct. 1944 – March 1945). This later revival was edited by Vincent Fago as Lee had left for

military duty Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

in early 1942.

Paul Gustavson Paul Gustavson (né Karl Paul Gustafson; August 16, 1916 – April 29, 1977) was a Finnish-American comic-book writer and artist. His most notable creations during the Golden Age of Comic Books were Human Bomb, The Human Bomb for Quality Comics, ...

's costumed detective the

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

was cover-featured for the first three, with one or two stories in each, and the Young Allies on issue #4. Timely star the

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

appeared in the first two issues, and

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

er Tommy Tyme in the first three. The Destroyer was the only character with a story every issue.

Other

A one-shot publication, ''Mystic Comics 70th Anniversary Special'' #1 (Oct. 2009), featured a new 22-page story of the Golden Age

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

by writer-artist David Lapham, and reprints of Sub-Mariner, Human Torch and Vision stories from '' Marvel Mystery Comics'' #12 and 14.

Complete list of features

* Flexo the Rubber-Man #1-4 (March 1940-August 1940) * The Blue Blaze #1-4 (March 1940-August 1940) * Zephyr Jones and His Rocket Ship #1 (March 1940) * The 3 X’s #1 (March 1940) * The Deep Sea Demon #1 (March 1940) * Dakor the Magician #1-3 (March 1940-June 1940) * The Dynamic Man #1-4 (March 1940-August 1940) * The Master Mind Excello #2-3 (April 1940-June 1940) * Space Rangers #2-3 (April 1940-June 1940) * Taxi Taylor and His Wonder Car #2 (April 1940) * The Invisible Man Known as Dr. Gade #2-4 (April 1940-August 1940) * Zara of the Jungle #2-3 (April 1940-June 1940) * Hercules David #3-4 (June 1940-August 1940) * Thin Man #4 (August 1940) * The Black Widow #4, 5, 7 (August 1940, March 1941, December 1941) * Merzah the Mystic #4 (August 1940) * Adventures of Super Slave #5 (March 1941) * Sub-Earth Man #5 (March 1941) * The Black Marvel #5-10 (March 1941-August 1942) * The Blazing Skull #5-9 (March 1941-May 1942) * The Moon-Man #5 (March 1941) * The Terror #5-10 (March 1941-August 1942) * The Destroyer #6-10; vol. 2 1-4 (October 1941-August 1942; October 1944-March 1945) * The Challenger #6-10 (October 1941-August 1942) * The Witness #7-9 (December 1941-May 1942) * Davey and the Demon #7-10 (December 1941-August 1942) * Dr. Robert Fields #8 (March 1942) * Gary Gaunt #9 (May 1942) * Inky Dinky #10 (August 1942) * The World of Wonder (August 1942) * Father Time #10 (August 1942) * Billy #10 (August 1942) * Red Skeleton #10 (August 1942) * The Angel, vol. 2, #1-3 (October 1944-Winter 1944) * The Human Torch, vol. 2, #1-2 (October 1944-Fall 1944) * Tommy Tyme, vol. 2, #1-3 (October 1944-Winter 1944) * Terry Vance, vol. 2, #1-2 (October 1944-Fall 1994) * The Young Allies, vol. 2, #4 (March 1945) * Detective Mike Trapp, vol. 2, #4 (March 1945)

''Mystic'' (Atlas Comics)

Titled simply ''Mystic'' and published by Marvel's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, this was a 61-issue horror-suspense anthology (March 1951-Aug. 1957). Mystic debuted shortly before Atlas' '' Strange Tales'', increasing the company's science fiction/fantasy/horror line from four titles to six. Begun prior to the creation of the comic-book industry's self-censorship board, the

Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...

, ''Mystic'' softened its horror when it went under the auspices of the Comics Code beginning with issue #37 (May 1955). The series' contributors included artists

Bill Everett William Blake Everett (; May 18, 1917 – February 27, 1973) was an American comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner as well as co-creating Zombie (comics), Zombie and Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil ...

and John Severin. ''Mystic'' ran until the collapse of

American News Company American News Company (ANC) was a magazine, newspaper, book, and comic book distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th ce ...

, Atlas' distributor, which forced Atlas to undergo drastic restructuring and the cancellation of most of its titles."Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas"
''Comic Book Artist'' (2). Summer 1998. Archived fro

on November 14, 2009.

Collected editions

* ''Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Mystic Comics'' Volume 1 (''Mystic Comics'' #1-4) Will Murray's introduction hypes how much better the content of the second volume would be, but it was never published.

References

{{reflist

External links

* Nevins, Jess
A Guide to Golden Age Marvel Characters
1940 comics debuts Golden Age comics titles 1942 comics endings 1944 comics debuts 1945 comics endings 1951 comics debuts 1957 comics endings Timely Comics titles Atlas Comics titles Fantasy comics Comics anthologies Comics by Carl Wessler