Journey into Mystery #121 - First Appearance of Absorbing Man, Printings and Contents

Identification plate

Series: Journey into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series)
Issue: #121
Publication date: October 1965
Key date: October 1965
On-sale date: August 3, 1965
Indicia publisher: Atlas Magazines Inc.
Price: $0.12
Pages: 36
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 (cover) of Absorbing Man - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance (cover) of Crusher Creel - the earliest appearance on record is a cover, not an interior story.

First appearance of Ularic - 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: Vince Colletta; colors: Stan Goldberg	Absorbing Man First, Thor Odinson, Crusher Creel First, Thor
2	The Power! The Passion! The Pride!	comic story	16	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Vince Colletta; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Absorbing Man First, Balder, Thor Odinson, Crusher Creel First, Jane Foster, Loki, Odin, Thor, Ularic First
3	4 More Marvel Masterpieces!	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Severin; inks: Vince Colletta, Steve Ditko, John Severin; letters: Sam Rosen	Fantastic Four [Mr. Fantastic; Invisible Girl; Human Torch [Johnny Storm]; Thing]; Medusa; Gorgon; Dragon Man; Spider-Man; The Cat; Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandoes [Dum Dum Dugan; Gabriel Jones; "Rebel" Ralston; Dino Manelli; Izzy Cohen; Percival Pinkerton]; Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Hy
4	The 1965 Marvel Annuals	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	pencils: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Dick Ayers; inks: Mike Esposito, Steve Ditko, Dick Ayers, Sol Brodsky; letters: Sam Rosen	Fantastic Four [Mr. Fantastic; Invisible Girl; Human Torch [Johnny Storm]; Thing]; Spider-Man; Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes [Dum Dum Dugan; Gabriel Jones; "Rebel" Ralston; Dino Manelli; Izzy Cohen; Percival Pinkerton; Eric Koenig]; Baron Strucker; Avengers [Thor; Iron Man [Tony Stark]; Hulk
5	Maelstrom!	comic story	5	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Vince Colletta; colors: Stan Goldberg; letters: Artie Simek	Balder, Loki, Thor, Thor Odinson
6	Marvel T-Shirts	promo (ad from the publisher)	1	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Marie Severin, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko; inks: Marie Severin, Frank Giacoia, Dick Ayers, Chic Stone, Steve Ditko; letters: Artie Simek	Thor
7	-	letters page	1	script: Stan Lee; pencils: Jack Kirby; inks: Chic Stone	Thor

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

Printings and variants

Edition	How to tell
British	price 10d [0-0-10 GBP]

Where to read it

Collection	Year
Special Marvel Edition #2	1971	On eBay ›
Marvel Spectacular #6	1974	On eBay ›
Essential Thor #2 ISBN 9780785115915; 0-7851-1591-9	2005	On eBay ›
Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #4 ISBN 0-7851-1880-2	2005	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

‹ #120121 of 125#122 ›

Sources

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

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