marvel mystery comics – Coke ⊕ Comics

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #92

The Birth of the Torch

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: February 16, 1949
Cover: June 1949
10 cents
14 pages

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All-Winners Comics #19	PRELUDE	Young Men #24
Fantastic Four #56	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 4

The Academy then publicly reinstated Horton, and recognized his greatest achievement, the Human Torch!

The popularity of superheroes waned post World War II, and in 1949, Marvel was ready to give up on the genre completely. This final issue of Marvel Mystery Comics features the last Human Torch story, as well as a Captain America story.

The series will change its name to Marvel Tales and become a horror anthology.

Human Torch’s own series ended with Human Torch #35 two months earlier. In that story, Human Torch travels to Venus to deal with some interplanetary diplomacy. Given that we know his flame is powered by oxygen, it’s not clear how he made it all the way there.

In a few months, Sub-Mariner’s story will come to an end, and later that year Captain America would have his final adventure in Captain America’s Weird Tales before the book became a full horror anthology.

Human Torch was created by Professor Horton. He then turned on and killed his creator. Or did he? It was later revealed Horton was alive and working secretly for the US government. Any old conflict between Horton and the Torch seemed to be in the past. And the Torch later saved Horton’s niece Doris from foreign spies.

Now, we learn Professor Horton is dead. Again. We also learn I think for the first time his full name: Professor Albert Horton.

The Human Torch notes it’s been 10 years since he’s seen Horton. Either he’s rounding or something off. They were together in 1942, and certainly those stories take place after the US joined the war.

But this issue seems to not acknowledge those 1942 stories and wants to claim Human Torch hasn’t seen Horton since his first adventure in 1939.

We get a retelling of the Torch’s origin. Apparently thousand of readers have asked to hear the origin of the Human Torch. Why not just track down Marvel Comics #1?

And did these readers want to read the origin of the Human Torch only to then never read another Human Torch story again? Because that’s what they’re getting.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #31

Scuttle the Japs

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: March 17, 1942
Cover: May 1942
10 cents
By Carl Burgos
12 pages

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Marvel Mystery Comics #17	PRELUDE	Human Torch #8
Fantastic Four #56	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 4

That was for Pearl Harbor!

The heroes have been defending America from German and Japanese spies, saboteurs, and invasions for a couple years now. But now America is at war, and the heroes are ready to take the fight to them.

This comic was released about 3 months after Pearl Harbor, about as soon as a story could react to it and get to print.

“Remember Pearl Harbor” reads the cover.

I will note that Burgos’ art isn’t especially racist. The script refers to the Japanese as “Japs” or “Jap-rats”, but that is probably an accurate capturing of how American soldiers referred to them at the time. What’s inexcusable and dehumanizing is the Al Gabriele art on the cover, with Japanese people depicted with yellow skin and sharp teeth.

Writing a letter to Marvel could win you a defense bond. These comics will start promoting defense bonds heavily as a way ordinary people can help with the war effort and show their patriotism.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #17

Fighting Side by Side!

Featuring: Human Torch and Sub-Mariner
Release: January 13, 1941
Cover: March 1941
10 cents
By Carl Burgos & Bill Everett
26 pages

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Human Torch #2	PRELUDE	Marvel Mystery Comics #31
Fantastic Four #56	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 4

“Are you ready to fight for Uncle Sam under any conditions?”
“You know I am!”

We’ve now seen Namor and the Human Torch battle twice. But between those two encounters, they were sometimes on the same side. This is the story of their first team-up. Their first meeting since that first epic battle.

Usually, this title features a Human Torch story and a Sub-Mariner story. This issue combines them into a single double-length feature that both creators worked on together.

It’s not clear to me precisely which creator did what.

What unites them? Why, patriotism and love for America, of course.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #4

The Human Torch

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: December 20, 1939
Cover: February 1940
10 cents
By: Carl Burgos
12 pages

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Marvel Mystery Comics #2	PRELUDE	Human Torch #2
Fantastic Four #56	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 4

“What’s your name?”
“–Er–Hamond–Jim Hamond”

We’ve now read the first two Human Torch stories. At this point, he’s going around stopping bad guys and stuff like a typical superhero. The third issue does confirm that Professor Horton is dead.

We’ll jump ahead to the close of the 1930s for the fourth story, as it adds something significant to his mythos, give or take an M.

The Human Torch is described as “the master of all flame”, which will be a common slogan for the character.

Johnson, Human Torch’s friend from the second issue, recommended the Torch come up with a civilian name and keep his identity secret. So the Torch calls himself Jim Hamond.

The Torch has some imitators, these green flames.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #2

The Human Torch

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: October 13, 1939
Cover: December 1939
10 cents
By Carl Burgos
16 pages

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	PRELUDE	Marvel Mystery Comics #4
Fantastic Four #56	Reading order	Fantastic Four Annual 4

“I say, it was an awful crime for the Torch to burn up Horton’s home and kill him!”
“Perhaps it was his own fault, ma’am– He saw the possibilities of making a fortune for himself… obviously the Torch didn’t approve!”

When we first began this blog with Fantastic Four #1, we met Johnny Storm, and noted he was not Marvel’s first character named Human Torch, and so read the story of Marvel’s very first superhero in Marvel Comics #1.

We later saw the battles of the Human Torch and Namor in Marvel Mystery Comics #7 and Human Torch #5. The latter includes Human Torch’s sidekick Toro. We read some Young Allies stories, which also featured Toro, though we haven’t been properly introduced to him.

Now it’s time to do a good read-through of some of the early Human Torch stories. I’ve tried to pick out 10 key stories.

For its second issue, the title of this inaugural magazine is being expanded from simply Marvel Comics to Marvel Mystery Comics. Human Torch graced the first issue’s cover, but this issue it will go to one of the book’s other stars, the Angel.

In his origin, the Human Torch was a robot created by Professor Horton designed to be just like a human. A flaw in his design caused him to burst into flame. The press wanted Horton to destroy his creation. He instead reached a compromise with the scientific community to seal the Human Torch away until they could figure out how to control his flame. The Torch broke out, got duped by some mobsters, figured out he’d been duped and killed them. In the process, he was exposed to nitrogen, which gave him control over his own flame. He can turn it on or off at will, and even shoot fireballs. When he realized Horton also just hoped to profit off him, the Human Torch burned a hole in Horton’s ceiling and flew away.

Professor Horton kept a journal. We see snippets of it recounting the above events, including the Human Torch leaving him.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #4, Story E

Electro, the Marvel of the Age

Featuring: Electro
Release: December 20, 1939 (estimated)
Cover: February 1940
10 cents
By: Dahl
8 pages

The comic is signed “Dahl”. This refers to creator Steve Dahlman.

We just met Spider-Man’s new nemesis, Electro. Electro is the third Marvel character with that name. The second was a 1950s foe of Captain America. We’ll read his story in the near future with some other Captain America stories. The original is this robot.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #10

Well, that was anticlimactic.

The Result of the Most Famous Battle in Comic Magazines
Featuring: Human Torch and Sub-Mariner
Release: June 15, 1940
Cover: August 1940
10 cents
Credits: Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, and John Compton
1 page

No credits appear on the page. The art reminds me most of Burgos’ style. I borrowed the credits from the previous issue; the GCD agrees.

The finale of the epic is a single page. A single page.

Betty Dean finally gets her way and convinces Torch and Namor to call a truce. It makes sense for the fight to end in a draw, to disappoint neither set of fans. But letting Namor go is entirely unsatisfying. He crashed a train, flooded a tunnel. Who knows how many people died on his rampage?

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #9

An epic battle between two Marvel superstars!

The Battle of the Comic Century!
Featuring: Human Torch vs. Sub-Mariner
Release: May 17, 1940
Cover: July 1940
10 cents
Credits: Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, and John Compton
22 pages

It’s not quite clear how Everett and Burgos split up the art duties. I’m sure they both pulled their weight, though most of the issue reminds me of Everett’s work.

John Compton is most likely on hand to assist with scripting. I don’t know my Golden Age creators well, so can’t tell you much about John Compton. And Google at a glance doesn’t know much more than me.

One thing to note about the very fancy title page is the phrase, “Marvel Comics Presents”. Almost seems anachronistic, as the company wasn’t yet called Marvel Comics (it still isn’t necessarily, even in 1963; every cover has that “MC” on it, but the word Marvel isn’t evident). Though it was the name of the first issue of this series, before the word “Mystery” was inserted. But it’s a very prescient phrase.

As I reflect, that title is a bit hard to parse. “The Battle of the Comic Century”. “Comic Century”. I might think they mean that this is the battle of the century told in comic form, or perhaps that this is the battle of the century, at least within comics. But it doesn’t really say either of these things. Perhaps they mean that the 20th century is the century of comics. Or perhaps that of the current century the comics are depicting, this is the great battle.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #8, Story B

Still not the big battle I was promised…

Featuring: Human Torch
Release: April 24, 1940
Cover: June 1940
10 cents
Credits: Carl Burgos
12 pages

The Human Torch has many nicknames for Namor: “water bug”, “water beetle”, “water rat”. Namor calls him “fire bug”. You can tell they’re not going to get along.

I really think that repairs can wait, Torch…

This story is a bit disappointing, as one may have expected it to continue the last one. It does not. It instead tells the events of the last two stories from the Torch’s point of view. But Torch is the less interesting character, and Burgos is the less talented artist.

PRELUDE: Marvel Mystery Comics #8

The Marvel Universe starts to take shape as two of its greatest champions meet in battle.

The Human Torch and Sub-Mariner meet!!!
Featuring: Sub-Mariner
Release: April 24, 1940
Cover: June 1940
10 cents
Story and art: Bill Everett (uncredited)
10 pages

Hard to believe something as significant as Human Torch meeting Sub-Mariner didn’t even get top billing on the cover. I guess Angel battling some monster was more exciting.

Usually, Bill Everett’s signature appears on the first page of each Sub-Mariner story, but I’m not finding it here.

“…for having attempted to electrocute him after he had promised to lend his powers to his cause…” I guess you can see why he might be miffed.

It really all begins here. Eight months after the respective debuts of Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, the characters meet in conflict. The Marvel Comics series becomes more than independent stories in an anthology. The seeds of a universe sprout. So it is that 23 years later, Sub-Mariner can battle the Fantastic Four with a new Human Torch, while that same Fantastic Four battle Hulk and Spider-Man in other stories. So it is that 80 years later, a movie studio can throw dozens of superheroes up on the big screen in a epic big-budget battle.

I think this is one of the most significant pages in Marvel history.

The highlight of the story, the reason we’re here, is short. The final 2 pages of a 10-page story tell of the meeting between Human Torch and Namor. The Torch quickly gains the upper hand and Namor retreats.