Mystic #28

History

Mystic launched in March 1951 as Atlas's horror-suspense answer to EC Comics, debuting shortly before Strange Tales and expanding the publisher's genre-anthology line from four titles to six. By the time issue #28 reached newsstands in late 1953, Stan Lee was overseeing a sprawling stable of anthology titles, with horror scripts farmed out to a rotating pool of freelancers working in the same bullpen that would later produce Marvel's Silver Age. The cover was produced by Joe Maneely, who was so fast and versatile that Stan Lee later said he would have been the next Jack Kirby — a talent cut short by Maneely's accidental death in 1958 at age 32.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Released December 22, 1953; cover-dated March 1954 — published by Atlas Comics (Marvel's 1950s predecessor) under editor Stan Lee's oversight.
• Cover art by Joe Maneely, Atlas's most prolific and versatile cover artist of the era, known for his chiaroscuro inking style and extraordinary speed.
• Interior stories include: 'Not Dead Enough' (art by Vince Colletta), 'Too Human' (art by Doug Wildey), 'The Truth About the Flying Dutchman' (art by Vic Carrabotta), 'Forbidden' (art by Tony DiPreta), 'The Terrible Triangle,' and a two-page text story, 'The Bad Omen!'
• No confirmed first appearances of major Marvel characters in this issue; it is a standalone horror-anthology entry.
• Produced entirely in the pre-Comics Code era — Mystic as a series only softened its horror content starting with issue #37 (May 1955), when the Comics Code Authority took effect.
• Doug Wildey, who contributed interior art, later became well known as the creator and designer of the Jonny Quest animated series for Hanna-Barbera.
• Mystic ran for 61 issues (March 1951–August 1957) and is considered an obscure Atlas title, with its full run rarely discussed in mainstream comics history despite its deep roster of artists who became Marvel mainstays.
• The series was part of Atlas's expansion of science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthology titles, a line that served as a creative apprenticeship for artists including Gene Colan, John Romita Sr., Bill Everett, and John Severin.

Full credits