The 14 issues of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY leading up to historic #97 all had the same format: a 13 page Thor story (half the time with Kirby art) followed by a 5 page fantasy story drawn by anybody but Kirby or Ditko and finishing up with a Lee/Ditko 5 page fantasy.

With issue #97 Lee/Kirby decided to double down on connecting their creation with the Mythic Thor. The series inspired these top creators to produce some of their best work.