Tales to Astonish #16
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTales to Astonish #16 occupies a notable place in Marvel's pre-superhero monster era as the debut appearance of Thorr (later renamed Thorg in reprints), a colossal stone alien whose visual design — an Easter Island–style figure awakened from a million-year sleep to conquer Earth — Kirby would repurpose less than two years later when he drew the Stone Men of Saturn in the first Thor story in Journey Into Mystery #83. The near-identical name and the stone-giant concept make this issue one of the most discussed 'prototype' entries in the entire Atlas/Marvel monster canon, sitting at the intersection of Kirby's obsessive recycling of the Easter Island motif and the creative pipeline that fed directly into the Marvel Age. Beyond the Thorr connection, the issue is a representative showcase of the pre-hero anthology format: four distinct stories by four different artists (Kirby, Don Heck, Paul Reinman, and Steve Ditko), demonstrating the collective storytelling workshop from which the Marvel Universe would soon emerge.
In "Here Comes... Thorr the Unbelievable," a desperate bank teller faces a moral crisis when he plans to rob his own bank to save his wife’s life. After a terrifying vision of being irradiated and turned deadly to the touch during his escape, he’s left questioning whether the experience was real—or a psychological trick. Written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, with art by Don Heck and colors by Stan Goldberg, this 1961 tale blends suspense and sci-fi unease. The cover by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko captures the story’s eerie, otherworldly tension.
When Professor Linus accidentally awakens Thorr the Unbelievable, he must race to prevent the mighty warrior from rousing his ancient comrades and unleashing chaos—before Helen and the world are caught in the storm.
When Bill Howard plans to rob his bank to save his wife Martha’s life, he never expects the guard on duty to be Dr. Johnson—a psychiatrist hypnotist whose mind games turn a desperate act into a nightmare. As Bill flees, he’s haunted by a vision of himself irradiated, his touch deadly, and the terrifying truth that his own mind may be the real weapon.
In "I Am the Victim of the Sorcerer!", a disoriented man named Joe stumbles through a fog-laden night, his mind fractured and his past a mystery. Haunted by unseen forces, he’s drawn back to the only place he can remember—the prison of a cursed painting, where he’s been trapped since his betrayal of a powerful sorcerer.
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The issue went on sale September 28, 1960, carrying a February 1961 cover date — standard for the era's two-month lead time. It was produced under the indicia of Vista Publications Inc. and printed by Eastern Color Printing in Waterbury, Connecticut, with Stan Lee serving as editor-in-chief. All writing in the Atlas-era Tales to Astonish run is credited by Marvel's own Masterworks collections to Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, though individual story credits were not printed in the original issues. Kirby had already drawn thematically similar stone-giant concepts for DC's House of Mystery #85 in April 1959, meaning the Thorr design in this issue represents at least the third iteration of what became one of his signature monster archetypes before it fully crystallized in the Thor mythology.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Cover date: February 1961; on-sale date: September 28, 1960. Published under the indicia of Vista Publications Inc.
- Lead story: 'Here Comes… Thorr the Unbelievable' — pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers. Features the first appearance of the stone alien Thorr (later retroactively renamed Thorg in the 1970 reprint to avoid confusion with Marvel's Thor).
- The issue contains four comic stories in total: 'Here Comes… Thorr the Unbelievable' (Kirby/Ayers), 'My Touch Means… Doom!' (Don Heck), 'Save Me from the Mole Men!' (Paul Reinman), and 'I Am the Victim of the Sorcerer!' (Steve Ditko), plus a prose text story, 'The Bridge.'
- Cover art is by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Lettering by Artie Simek; colors by Stan Goldberg.
- The issue exists in two contemporaneous variants: a standard U.S. edition and a British edition with a 9d cover price, otherwise identical in content.
- The lead Thorr story was reprinted in Where Creatures Roam #3 (November 1970) with the monster's name relettered to 'Thorg' and with figures added by Marie Severin. It was also collected in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish Vol. 2 (March 2008) and the 2017 omnibus Monsters: The Marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby.
- All writing in this issue is credited in the Masterworks collections to Stan Lee and Larry Lieber; individual writer credits were not printed in the original publication, as was standard practice for Atlas-era anthology titles.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Mystery Tales #42 (1956)
Reprinted in Zombie #8 (1961), Mystic #33 (1963), Spellbound #33 (1963), Amazing Stories of Suspense #17 (1964), Tower of Shadows #8 (1970), Where Creatures Roam #3 (1970), Amazing Stories of Suspense #142 (1974), Creepy Worlds #147 (1974), Durfal Classics #27 (1974), X-Mannen Classics #26 (1974), Acção e Mistério - Edição Especial #3 (1977), Creepy Worlds #183 (1978), Amazing Stories of Suspense #175 (1979), Amazing Stories of Suspense #217 (1984), Creepy Worlds #220 (1984), Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2 (2008), Monsters: The Marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby #1 (2017), The A-Z of Marvel Monsters #[nn] (2017), Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus #1 (2019), Amazing Stories of Suspense #85, Misterios del Gato Negro #142, Sinister Tales #11, Voodoo #7
Key issues in Tales to Astonish
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