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Atomic Zombies & Other Mutants in Journey into Mystery #15, at Auction

Marvel/Atlas' Journey into Mystery #15 is another mid-1950s example of radiation-transformed mutants in comic books.

Published Sat, 22 Oct 2022 08:47:10 -0500

Last updated Wed, 15 Feb 2023 12:54:38 -0600

In recent years, we've talked a lot in these auction posts about the low-key role that radiation-transformed characters played in comic books long before the Silver Age Marvel Universe. From the cosmic ray-powered The Ray and Bill Everett's The Conqueror; to a second, post-Atomic Bomb wave of characters like Atoman and Atomic Man; and a third wave inspired by escalating fears of the consequences of nuclear war as the United States ramped up atomic bomb testing and the Soviet Union became the second nuclear power. In comics, Strange Worlds #7 is a fascinating early entry into the consequences of this third wave. And while it doesn't name them as such in the text, Marvel/Atlas' Journey into Mystery #15 is another mid-1950s example of radiation-transformed mutants. There's a Journey Into Mystery #15 (Atlas, 1954) CBCS FN+ 6.5 Off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 October 27 – 28 Halloween Pre-Code Horror and Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40207 at Heritage Auctions.

The cover of Journey into Mystery #15 by Sol Brodsky is a representation of the interior story "Till Death Us Do Part", is symbolic of the concept of the story — a couple being sent to their death together by some zombie-like creature. But the interior story drawn by Vic Carrabotta that corresponds to this cover tells a different story. The couple in that story fought until the husband was literally at his wife's throat — and at that moment an atomic war started. As the captions explain:

I never finished the job… because at that point the greatest violence the world had ever known was perpetrated upon civilization. The dreaded Atomic War which everyone had anticipated since 1953 was finally an actuality.

Half the world's population was wiped out before peace came. Those who were spared considered themselves fortunate, even though atomic shock had left man in a deplorable state, and many underwent dreadful changes under the influence of atomic radiation.

While those dreadful changes didn't include powers, at least as depicted in the story, the implications of mutation are still made clear. A fascinating depiction of the consequences of atomic war appropriately wrapped up into Pre-Code Horror, there's a Journey Into Mystery #15 (Atlas, 1954) CBCS FN+ 6.5 Off-white pages up for auction in the 2022 October 27 – 28 Halloween Pre-Code Horror and Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40207 at Heritage Auctions. If you've never bid at Heritage Auctions before, you can get further information, you can check out their FAQ on the bidding process and related matters.