Journey into Mystery #62
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJourney into Mystery #62 holds a singular place in Marvel's pre-superhero Silver Age as the debut of the very first Marvel character to bear the name 'The Hulk' — a massive, furry alien convict who would later be rechristened Xemnu the Living Titan, distinguishing him from Bruce Banner's green giant who came along nearly two years later. As historian Tom DeFalco noted in the official Marvel reference work, the lead story introduced a creature that was 'similar in name only to the future Hulk,' yet the name itself was clearly rattling around in the creative team's imagination well before The Incredible Hulk #1 arrived in 1962. Beyond the name-game, the issue is structurally significant: its 13-page lead story was one of the very first 'feature-length' monster tales Marvel published, a format that broke from the short anthology vignettes that had defined the Atlas era and pointed toward the longer, character-driven narratives that would define the coming superhero explosion. Xemnu himself proved durable enough to become a recurring antagonist across decades of Marvel continuity, making this debut issue both a creative landmark and a genuine origin point for a corner of the Marvel Universe.
In "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!", a desperate electrician stumbles upon a dormant alien criminal and accidentally awakens him—only to find himself bound by a psychic chain that forces him to serve as the creature’s unwilling architect. Written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, with dynamic art by Jack Kirby and inks by Dick Ayers, this 1960 Marvel classic blends sci-fi dread with the raw energy of early superhero storytelling. The cover, a striking collaboration by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, captures the moment of terrifying transformation.
In "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!", an ordinary electrician stumbles upon a dormant alien criminal and unwittingly brings him back to life—only to find himself bound by psychic command as the creature enslaves humanity to construct a vessel for escape. With Earth's fate hanging in the balance, the electrician must use his wits to sabotage the ship and send the alien into the Sun’s orbit, all while fighting to reclaim his freedom.
In "There Is a Brain Behind the Fangs!", a man's paranoid belief that dogs are plotting global domination takes a bizarre turn when his friend attempts to prove him wrong by hypnotizing a dog—only to discover the animal can't grasp complex questions. Unbeknownst to them, the dog has been hypnotized by a clever cat, turning the tables in a silent, feline-powered scheme.
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The issue was released on July 28, 1960 (with a November 1960 cover date) under the Atlas Magazines imprint — the company would not formally adopt the 'Marvel' brand until the following year. The lead story's plot is generally credited to Stan Lee, with scripting attributed to Larry Lieber per researcher Nick Caputo, though George Olshevsky's Marvel Comics Index credits Lee alone; pencils on the lead story were by Jack Kirby, inked by Dick Ayers, with lettering by Artie Simek. The cover itself was a collaborative effort — penciled by Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko — while interior stories also featured art by Ditko, Don Heck, and Joe Maneely, making this a remarkable snapshot of the full creative bullpen that would soon build the Marvel Universe.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Xemnu (billed as 'The Living Hulk'), a giant, furry, cybernetic alien criminal — the first Marvel character to carry the name 'Hulk,' predating Bruce Banner's Hulk by nearly two years.
- The lead story, 'I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!' (also titled 'Here Comes… The Hulk!'), is a two-chapter, 13-page narrative — one of the very first feature-length monster stories published by Marvel, breaking from the short-vignette anthology format standard at Atlas.
- Cover date: November 1960; on-sale date: July 28, 1960; published under the Atlas Magazines Inc. indicia, before the 'Marvel Comics' brand was formally established.
- Cover penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko; lead story penciled by Kirby and inked by Dick Ayers, with lettering by Artie Simek; interior stories also feature art by Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and Joe Maneely.
- Script credit is contested: researcher Nick Caputo attributes the script to Larry Lieber from a Stan Lee plot, while George Olshevsky's Marvel Comics Index credits Stan Lee solely.
- Xemnu returned in Journey into Mystery #66 (March 1961) and was later retroactively renamed 'Xemnu the Living Titan' to avoid confusion with Bruce Banner's Hulk once that character became prominent.
- The lead story has been reprinted multiple times, including in Monsters on the Prowl #11 (June 1971), Monster Menace #2 (January 1994), and True Believers: Hulk — The Other Hulks #1 (November 2019).
- A UK edition of the issue exists, identical in content to the US printing but carrying a 9d cover price.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Mystery Tales #45 (1956)
Reprinted in Spellbound #24 (1962), Amazing Stories of Suspense #12 (1963), Amazing Stories of Suspense #15 (1964), Mystic #57 (1965), Astounding Stories #33 (1968), Sinister Tales #59 (1969), Monsters on the Prowl #11 (1971), Fear #6 (1972), Fear #8 (1972), Eclipso #54 (1975), L'Inattendu #13 (1978), L'Inattendu #19 (1979), Astounding Stories #195 (1988), Monster Menace #2 (1994), Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1 (2005), Marvel Monsters #[nn] (2006), Marvel Classic #8 (2012), Monsters: The Marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby #1 (2017), The A-Z of Marvel Monsters #[nn] (2017), True Believers: Kirby 100th - Groot #[nn] (2017), Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus #1 (2019), True Believers: Hulk - The Other Hulks #1 (2019), Gespenster Geschichten #1086
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