Journey into Mystery #122
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJourney into Mystery #122 sits at the narrative apex of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's mid-1965 Absorbing Man saga, the moment Loki yanks Crusher Creel off an Earth battlefield and unleashes him on Odin himself in the halls of Asgard — a cosmic escalation that redefined how Thor's villains could threaten the whole Asgardian pantheon, not just a single hero. The issue is equally notable for its Harris Hobbs blackmail subplot, which forces Thor to use time travel and other-worldly threats to protect his secret identity while simultaneously setting up the first mortal journalist to witness Asgard, a storytelling device that gave Lee and Kirby a fresh point-of-view character for their mythology. Collectively, these two plot threads illustrate how thoroughly the Lee–Kirby Thor had evolved from a costumed superhero book into a serialized mythological epic by late 1965. The cover — Jack Kirby pencils inked by Wally Wood, one of only a handful of times those two Silver Age giants collaborated — makes the issue visually distinctive within the entire run.
In "Where Mortals Fear To Tread!", Thor and the Absorbing Man clash once more, with Thor gaining the upper hand—until Loki intervenes, whisking Creel to Asgard. Meanwhile, Thor rescues Jane Foster from a smoke-filled room, only to be seen transforming into Dr. Blake by reporter Harris Hobbs, who’s been orchestrating the trap to expose his secret. Hobbs demands Thor take him to Asgard in exchange for silence. On the divine realm, Creel confronts Odin, absorbing a blast of cosmic energy with terrifying ease. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, with inks by Vince Colletta and lettering by Artie Simek, the cover by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood captures the clash of myth and menace.
In "Where Mortals Fear To Tread!", Thor and the Absorbing Man clash once more, with Thor gaining the upper hand—until Loki intervenes, whisking Creel to Asgard. Back on Earth, Thor rescues Jane Foster from a smoke-filled room, only to be seen transforming into Dr. Blake by reporter Harris Hobbs, who orchestrated the trap to expose his secret. Hobbs demands a trip to Asgard in exchange for silence. Meanwhile, in the realm of the gods, the Absorbing Man faces Odin himself—and absorbs the All-Father’s cosmic blast.
In "The Grim Specter of Mutiny!" from Journey into Mystery #122 (1965), fear and betrayal tear apart the Asgardian crew as Loki's whispers drive them to turn on one another. With the ship adrift and the deadly Pillars of Utgard looming, a deafening sound cuts through the air—then Balder, bound to the figurehead, raises his horn and begins to blow.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 21 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
CGC 9.2 ▾ $390–$415 2 listings
Raw — VF+ ▾ $146–$242 2 listings
Raw — FN/VF ▾ $40–$79.99 2 listings
Raw — VG+ ▾ $17.1–$40 3 listings
Raw — VG ▾ $14.99–$50 12 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.99–$150 24 listings
More listings for this title
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, with interior inks by Vince Colletta and cover inks by Wally Wood, the issue went on sale September 2, 1965, carrying a November 1965 cover date. Colletta had been inking the lead Thor feature since Journey into Mystery #116, and his fine-line style on Kirby's figures had by this point become the defining look of the title. Wood's contribution to the cover was unusual: he and Kirby had collaborated very rarely during the Marvel Age, but Wood was an avowed admirer of Kirby's draftsmanship and took opportunities to ink his work when they arose; Marvel editor-in-chief Tom Brevoort has noted that the resulting image — centered on a commanding Odin with Thor and the Absorbing Man pushed to the margins — was an unconventional sales choice that bet entirely on the cosmic grandeur of the All-Father figure.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Lead story: 'Where Mortals Fear to Tread!' — script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Vince Colletta; cover pencils by Kirby, inked by Wally Wood in one of the rare Kirby–Wood collaborations of the Marvel Age.
- The Absorbing Man (Crusher Creel), who first debuted in JIM #114, is transported by Loki mid-battle from Earth to Asgard, where he absorbs the energy of Odin's own cosmic blast and turns it back against the All-Father — the single biggest power demonstration of the Absorbing Man arc.
- Reporter Harris Hobbs (first introduced in JIM #114) blackmails Thor by photographing the Thunder God's transformation back into Donald Blake; Thor counters by dragging Hobbs through time — dinosaur-era past, far-future Earth — until Hobbs agrees to destroy the evidence in exchange for a trip to Asgard, bridging into the following issue.
- Backup feature: 'Tales of Asgard — The Grim Specter of Mutiny!' (script Lee, pencils Kirby, inks Colletta); Loki foments a shipboard mutiny against Thor during the Odinsword Quest voyage, with Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, and Balder all appearing — Balder famously lashing himself to the prow and blowing his great horn as the ship enters the deadly Pillars of Utgard.
- This issue is a direct chapter in a multi-part serialized arc across JIM #120–123, showcasing the fully crystallized Marvel 'continued next issue' approach that distinguished the title from its contemporaries.
- The issue has been reprinted multiple times in English: Essential Thor Vol. 2 (b&w, 2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 4 (2005 and 2013 printings), The Mighty Thor Omnibus Vol. 2 (2013), and the Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 4 (collecting JIM #120–125 and Annual #1).
- The series was retitled The Mighty Thor with issue #126 (March 1966), making #122 one of the final four issues to carry the Journey into Mystery masthead during the Thor era.
Cast · 27 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Fantastic! #56 (1968), Fantastic! #57 (1968), Special Marvel Edition #2 (1971), Il Mitico Thor #23 (1972), Il Mitico Thor #24 (1972), Il Mitico Thor #69 (1973), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #48 (1974), Marvel Spectacular #7 (1974), Thor #1 (1977), Thor #4 (1978), O Poderoso Thor #3 (1983), Biblioteca Marvel: Thor #1 (2001), Essential Thor #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #4 (2005), Thor: Tales of Asgard by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby #4 (2009), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2010), Thor: Tales of Asgard #[nn] (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor #4 (2013), The Mighty Thor Omnibus #2 (2013), Marvel Gold. El Poderoso Thor: En Mis Manos, Este Martillo #[nn] (2013), Thor Epic Collection #2 (2016), Loki Omnibus #1 (2021), Biblioteca Marvel: El Poderoso Thor #6 (2023), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Thor #4 (2024) + 4 more
Key issues in Journey into Mystery
Variants (1)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.