Mystic Comics #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeMystic Comics #1 (cover-dated March 1940, on sale January 15, 1940) was Timely Comics' third superhero anthology title and one of the earliest testing grounds for Marvel's Golden Age character roster. The issue packed in first appearances of Flexo the Rubber Man, the Blue Blaze, Dakor the Magician, and Dynamic Man — four distinct approaches to the superhero concept (a remote-controlled rubber robot, an undead revenant, a globe-trotting sorcerer-for-hire, and a synthetic android with FBI cover identity) that collectively demonstrate how early Timely writers and packagers were casting as wide a genre net as possible. The 3Xs detective trio debuting here holds a particular structural distinction: it is recognized as Timely's first team feature, predating the company's more famous wartime assemblages. Several of these debut characters — especially Dynamic Man — were rediscovered and recontextualized in major 21st-century Marvel projects, proving that the issue's creative footprint stretched far beyond the Golden Age.
"Introducing Flexo the Rubber Man" kicks off with Spencer Keen, a man who awakens in 1940 after a century-long hibernation triggered by a mysterious blue flame his father once studied. Now possessing extraordinary strength and durability, he must confront a mad scientist's scheme to dominate the world using an army of mind-controlled corpses. Written, drawn, and inked by Harry Douglas, this early Marvel adventure features a striking cover by Alex Schomburg, capturing the era’s pulp-inspired flair.
In "Introducing Flexo the Rubber Man," brothers Joel and Joshua Williams unleash their incredible creation—Flexo, a man of elastic form—to stop a mad scientist's daring raid on a hospital's radium supply. With his stretchable body and the brothers' quick thinking, Flexo takes on the threat in a battle of wits and willpower.
Spencer Keen awakens in 1940 after a century-long hibernation triggered by a strange blue blaze his father once studied, now granting him superhuman strength and durability. When a mad scientist attempts to seize control of the world using an army of mind-controlled corpses, the revived Keen must confront the threat—though how he’ll face it remains a mystery.
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Publisher Martin Goodman launched Mystic Comics as Timely's third superhero anthology, part of a strategy to flood the market with new 'long underwear' heroes during the boom years following Marvel Comics #1. Unable to staff an internal bullpen at scale, Goodman outsourced the majority of the issue's content: the Grand Comics Database, supported by scholarship from Michael Vassallo and Hames Ware, confirms that most stories in issue #1 trace to the Harry 'A' Chesler shop, with at least the Flexo lead story also drawing on Chesler talent, though the origins of individual features — particularly the Dynamic Man story drawn by the otherwise-unknown Daniel Peters — remain partially unresolved. The issue was nominally edited by Goodman himself; Joe Simon would later take a more hands-on editorial role with the series. The cover, depicting the Blue Blaze fighting a band of gangsters, was painted by Alex Schomburg, beginning an association between that artist and Timely's anthology covers that would become a hallmark of the publisher's Golden Age output.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Flexo the Rubber Man (script: Will Harr; art: Jack Binder with probable inks by E.C. Stoner) — a remote-controlled rubber robot operated by scientist brothers Joel and Joshua Williams, making him one of the earliest robot heroes in American comics.
- First appearance of the Blue Blaze (script and art: Harry Douglas) — Spencer Keen, entombed in suspended animation since 1852, revives in 1940 with superhuman durability and strength derived from his father's mysterious 'blue blaze' energy research.
- First appearance of Dynamic Man (art: Daniel Peters), a genderless android created by Professor Goettler who adopts the civilian identity of FBI agent Curt Cowan — Timely's second android hero after the Human Torch, and a character later central to J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston's 2008 limited series The Twelve.
- First appearance of the 3Xs detective trio — recognized by the Wikipedia article on Mystic Comics (citing the Grand Comics Database) as Timely's first team feature in any of its titles; the GCD notes that 1X handles deduction, 2X functions as an encyclopedia, and 3X provides muscle.
- The issue's cover was drawn by Alex Schomburg, an early example of his work for Timely; the interiors involved a large roster of packaged talent including writers Joe Cal Cagno (Zephyr Jones), Robert O. Erisman (Green Terror), and Norman Daniels (Deep Sea Demon/Dave Dean story), with art by Fred Schwartz, Newt Alfred, Lorence Bjorklund, and Fred Guardineer.
- Zephyr Jones (and supporting characters Corky, Allan Lewis) makes his final comics appearance in this issue, having debuted in Daring Mystery Comics #2; the feature's final splash panel erroneously promised readers they could follow Flexo's next adventure in 'Daring Comics,' when the character actually remained in Mystic Comics.
- The issue was collected and reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Mystic Comics Vol. 1 (2011), making the stories accessible to modern readers for the first time in decades.
Cast · 17 characters
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Funny Pages #1 (1937)
Reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Mystic Comics #1 (2011), Marvel Firsts: WWII Super Heroes #[nn] (2013)
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