Journey into Mystery #86
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeJourney into Mystery #86 (cover date November 1962, on sale September 4, 1962) is the debut issue of Artur Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man — a time-traveling villain from the utopian 23rd century whose concept of a 'future scientist bored with peace who travels back to conquer' predates the similar archetype of Kang the Conqueror by roughly a year. Beyond Zarrko, the issue also marks the first full on-panel appearance of Odin, who had been merely name-dropped in the preceding issue, establishing the Thor/Odin father-son dynamic that would anchor the mythology of the entire Thor run. It is also the first time in the series that Thor speaks directly to Odin and, notably, the first issue in which Thor consistently employs his now-signature Shakespearean dialect — both developments that locked in the characterization readers have known ever since. The issue additionally introduced the first alternate-Earth reality (Earth-6297) to appear in the early Marvel Universe.
In "On the Trail of the Tomorrow Man!", a humble janitor devises a daring plan to bridge the gap between Earth and Venus, where alien robots are poised to destroy any human landing party. With a clever twist and a touch of ingenuity, he sets out to build machines that might just be the key to peaceful first contact. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Don Heck, with vibrant colors by Stan Goldberg and letters by Sam Rosen, this 1962 adventure features a striking cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
In "On the Trail of the Tomorrow Man!", the time-traveling villain Zarrko from the year 2262 steals a Bomba-C in 1962, threatening the present with future chaos. With the aid of his mighty hammer, Thor leaps through time to confront him in the distant future, racing against the clock to stop a crime that echoes across decades.
In a tale of quiet ingenuity from *Journey into Mystery* #86, Jo, a humble janitor, stumbles upon a startling truth: Venusians see Earthlings as threats and have sent robotic enforcers to stop any landing. With no weapons or diplomacy at his disposal, Jo devises a bold plan—build robots of his own, hoping their mimicry will earn the trust of the alien machines.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The lead story, 'On the Trail of the Tomorrow Man!' (13 pages), was produced under the early Marvel bullpen's division-of-labor system: Stan Lee plotted, Larry Lieber scripted, Jack Kirby penciled, and Dick Ayers inked — with the same team responsible for the cover. Notably, this issue is recognized as one of the first times explicit, itemized credits were printed in a Thor story, crediting Lieber and Ayers by name and role, a practice that was just becoming standard at Marvel in the fall of 1962. Lee served as editor throughout.
Trivia · 10 facts
- First appearance of Artur Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man — a supervillain created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Journey into Mystery #86 (cover date November 1962).
- First full appearance of Odin; he had been mentioned but not seen in the immediately preceding issue, Journey into Mystery #85.
- This issue marks the first time Thor speaks directly to Odin on-panel, establishing their father-son relationship as an active story element.
- Thor's Shakespearean dialect ('thy,' 'whence,' etc.) appears consistently for the first time in this issue, having been largely absent in earlier issues.
- The issue introduced Earth-6297 (the year AD 2262), considered the first alternate-Earth reality to appear in the early Marvel Universe's reading order.
- Zarrko's origin: a discontented civil servant from a peaceful, weaponless 23rd century who builds a time machine to steal a cobalt bomb from 1962 and use it to seize power in his own era.
- The lead story was scripted by Larry Lieber from a Stan Lee plot, with Jack Kirby pencils and Dick Ayers inks — one of the first issues to give itemized, named credits to all contributors.
- The lead story 'On the Trail of the Tomorrow Man!' was reprinted in Marvel Tales Vol. 2 #4 (September 1966), and the issue's contents have been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 1, the Thor Epic Collection Vol. 1, and the Mighty Thor Omnibus Vol. 1, among other editions.
- Zarrko returns in Journey into Mystery #101 (February 1964); he was later adapted for 'The Mighty Thor' segment of The Marvel Super Heroes animated series, voiced by Rod Coneybeare.
- Jane Foster appears in a brief cameo at the issue's close — at this stage still referred to only by her first name, with her surname not yet definitively established in the text.
Cast · 5 characters
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Marvel Tales #139 (1955)
Reprinted in Weird Planets #4 (1962), Creepy Worlds #32 (1964), Spellbound #45 (1964), Astounding Stories #26 (1965), Marvel Tales #4 (1966), Amazing Stories of Suspense #58 (1967), Sinister Tales #70 (1967), Fantastic! #4 (1967), Fantastic! #10 (1967), Fantastic! #16 (1967), Fantastic Annual #1969 (1968), Hit Comics #124 (1969), Marvelserien #37 (1970), Hit Comics #136 (1970), Il Mitico Thor #2 (1971), Hit Comics Die Spinne #229 (1971), Astounding Stories #90 (1972), Vengeur #2 (1972), Eclipso #18 (1972), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #4 (1973), Hulk #6 (1974), Conan the Barbarian #40 (1974), Giant-Size Man-Thing #3 (1975), The Mighty Thor #2 (1978) + 24 more
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