Journey into Mystery #107
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJourney into Mystery #107 marks the debut of the Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval), a Silver Age villain whose deceptively simple power — petrifying anything he touches with his stone right hand — proved durable enough to pit him against Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, and the Avengers across six decades of Marvel publishing. The issue's lead story is also notable for demonstrating the dramatic weight of the Don Blake / Thor dual identity: it is Blake's ingenuity rather than Thor's raw power that ultimately defeats the Gargoyle, reinforcing the human-hero tension at the center of Stan Lee's early Thor scripts. The five-page 'Tales of Asgard' backup, 'Balder Must Die!', quietly introduces the unnamed Norn Queen — later firmly established as Karnilla — making this issue a double first-appearance. Sitting squarely within the creative peak of the Lee–Kirby Thor run, the issue also captures a structural turning point: just two issues earlier the Thor feature had expanded to 18 pages as the anthology backup material was dropped, signaling that the mythological world Lee and Kirby were constructing had outgrown its anthology container.
In "When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes!", a scientist's accidental transformation into living stone sets him on a deadly path through New York, driven by a desperate quest for immortality. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby deliver a classic Marvel mystery, with Chic Stone’s inks and Art Simek’s lettering adding sharp detail to the tale, all framed by Kirby’s dynamic cover art.
In "When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes!", a desperate scientist transformed into living stone sets his sights on Thor in New York, driven by a dangerous obsession with immortality. With the power to petrify at will, he stalks the city until Thor, in his human guise as Don Blake, devises a cunning plan to stop him.
In "Balder Must Die!" from Journey into Mystery #107, Loki, driven by his cunning malice, manipulates the Norn Queen into revealing Balder’s fatal weakness—mistletoe—only to find his plan thwarted at the last moment by the very fate-wielder who holds the truth. The story unfolds with chilling precision, as the god of mischief confronts the limits of his schemes in a moment that tests both prophecy and power.
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The issue was written by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Chic Stone, with lettering by Art Simek — the same core team responsible for the entire early Silver Age Thor run. It went on sale June 2, 1964, and carried an August 1964 cover date, placing it in the period just after Journey into Mystery had dropped its old science-fiction anthology backup features (with issue #105) and expanded the Thor lead story from 13 to 18 pages. The 'Tales of Asgard' backup was inked by Vince Colletta rather than Stone, which was standard practice for that secondary feature. One small continuity wrinkle notable enough to be discussed by fans and later addressed by Marvel's digital reprints: the duration of the Grey Gargoyle's petrification spell is inconsistently stated throughout the original issue — ranging from a minute to a full day — a discrepancy that Marvel quietly corrected to a uniform one-hour duration in digital editions.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of the Grey Gargoyle (Paul Pierre Duval), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — a French chemist transformed by a laboratory accident who can petrify anything he touches with his right hand.
- The 'Tales of Asgard' backup story, 'Balder Must Die!', features the first appearance (unnamed) of the Norn Queen, later confirmed to be Karnilla, a significant recurring figure in Thor's Asgardian mythology.
- The issue's lead story is titled 'When the Grey Gargoyle Strikes!' — Thor is actually turned to stone by the villain during their debut clash, making the Gargoyle one of the first foes to physically incapacitate Marvel's God of Thunder.
- Don Blake defeats the Gargoyle not through Thor's power but through strategy — borrowing a Stark Industries 3D projector to lure the stone-bodied villain into the Hudson River, where his weight causes him to sink.
- The Grey Gargoyle's stated motivation from his very first appearance is the pursuit of immortality, believing Thor's longevity is tied to Mjolnir — a character thread that recurred throughout his publication history.
- The issue was on sale June 2, 1964, with an August 1964 cover date; the 12-cent cover price was standard for Marvel's Silver Age line at the time.
- The main Thor story has been reprinted multiple times, including in: Fantastic! (IPC, UK, 1967, issues #31–32); Marvel Tales #20 (May 1969); Thor Epic Collection Vol. 1: The God of Thunder (2014); and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Thor Vol. 2 – The Invasion of Asgard (2022).
- The Grey Gargoyle has since appeared in multiple animated adaptations, voiced by Chris Wiggins in The Marvel Super Heroes (1966), Ed Gilbert in the Iron Man animated series, and Troy Baker in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Uncanny Tales #44 (1956)
Reprinted in Mystic #53 (1965), Fantastic! #31 (1967), Fantastic! #32 (1967), Marvel Tales #20 (1969), Thor Annual #3 (1971), Il Mitico Thor #8 (1971), Il Mitico Thor #12 (1971), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #25 (1973), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #26 (1973), Etranges Aventures #48 (1975), Thor #10 (1978), Edderkoppen Superseriealbum #6 (1981), Grandes Heróis Marvel #16 (1987), Marvel Masterworks #26 (1993), Essential Thor #1 (2001), Biblioteca Marvel: Thor #1 (2001), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #2 (2003), Thor #600 (2009), Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby #2 (2009), The Mighty Thor Omnibus #1 (2010), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2010), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2011), Marvel Gold. El Poderoso Thor: En Mis Manos, Este Martillo #[nn] (2013), Thor : L'intégrale #1964 (2013) + 10 more
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