The 100: Chapter 1 100 and 99

Who doesn't love a list?

I devour the BFI Best Films of All Time list whenever they deem it necessary to revise and (invariably) disagree with most of the findings, but I still get a kick out of browsing. Same with Rolling Stone's inane Best 100 Albums (how does Sgt. Pepper drop from #1 to #24 in the latest incarnation?); the anger I feel subsides when I see they've put a couple of Aerosmith albums on the list! We all disagree with that number one but we keep right on scrolling through each choice.

This project, which has been percolating for quite a while, originated from the constant back-and-forth "good-natured bickering" between John Scoleri and myself. John invariably loves everything and I hate it all (for more of the discourse, I advise one and all to pick up a copy of bare•bones print magazine and read our debates about streaming and movie theaters to get a taste). I began to think it would be fun to compose a Favorite (as opposed to Best) 100 and compare our selections. Making it even more tantalizing, I managed to talk the third head of Ghidorah, Jack Seabrook, into participating. This could be interesting, since John's never seen a movie the two Georges (Romero and Lucas) didn't have a hand in, and Jack usually favors the flicks that have words at the bottom of the screen (dis-moi que j'ai tort, Jack!). I, on the other hand, can't wait to educate these two gentlemen as to what constitutes good cinema.

Every Thursday for the next 51 weeks (Christmas week off!), we'll count down our picks two at a time. We're hoping this will generate discourse outside of our trio. Let us know just how crazy we are for loving a comedy about two Brits touring the restaurants of Europe or a bloodless 1950s western about a gunless gunslinger with an annoying brat sidekick. This is going to be fun! —Peter

Ronin (1998)

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgard

Director: John Frankenheimer

    Sam: Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. That's                     the first thing they teach you.

    Vincent: Who taught you?

    Sam: I don't remember. That's the second thing they teach you.

Four years before Jason Bourne became an action hero, Ronin combined espionage with French Connection-esque stunt driving and a captivating (if overly-complicated) plot. DeNiro plays Sam, a mystery man with particular skills, who joins a group of (what seems to be) mysterious soldiers of fortune hired to steal a briefcase off the wrist of yet another mystery man. Who are these guys (and gal)? Who hired them? Who is the guy with the briefcase? What’s in the briefcase? 

Though most of the questions are never answered, we do discover (in a expository-stuffed finale) that Sam is actually CIA and his job is to take down the “boss”, Seamus (Jonathan Pryce). Anyone else who gets in the way, evidently, is collateral damage as we see by the copious amount of innocent bystander corpses littering the background in the action scenes. Is Seamus an IRA bigwig? Who knows? Do I care? Not one bit.

In fact, the entirety is riddled with such enigmas and that only adds to my love of the film. The set pieces, in particular the insanely exciting ten-minute car chase through Paris, are all first rate. The dialogue is witty and believable (exactly what you’d come to expect from David Mamet).  DeNiro can hmmph a little too much, coming off like that obligatory grumpy old man but you can tell he’s treating this disposable thriller as serious as he would a Scorsese role. He’s got a dynamite supporting cast as well, with Skarsgard, Reno, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him Sean Bean all generating legit tough guy vibes. And what’s in that briefcase? Only Frankenheimer and his writers, Mamet and Zeik, know for sure. 

I saw this on opening weekend at a local multiplex, having not heard anything about it other than the cast and the director, and was absorbed right from the Hammer Films-esque titles to DeNiro’s final visit to the Paris cafe. It remains a perfect Friday night rewatch. —Peter

Remarks from the Gallery

John: This is probably in my top five DeNiro performances. Infinitely re-watchable, and I love the use of Sean Bean (who I was a fan of after first seeing him in Patriot Games). It's pretty damn impressive that Frankenheimer was almost 70 when he made this.  

Jack: I saw this when it came out but don't remember much about it. I've never been a big DeNiro fan.

The Trip (2010)

Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon

Director: Michael Winterbottom

"Gentlemen! To bed! For we rise at 9:30...ish." 

Steve Coogan plays himself as a conceited but very funny jerk, whose insecurities lead to hilarity. Rob Brydon plays himself as a likeable guy with infinite patience who leads a happier, domestic life than his pal, who envies Rob's success with impressions and a funny little voice called "Small Man in a Box."

Steve is hired to tour fancy restaurants in the north of England and, when his girlfriend backs out, he asks Rob to accompany him. Much of the dialogue was improvised and it's a riot, especially when the duo start trading impressions of movie stars such as Michael Caine and Sean Connery. Their riff on British soldiers preparing for battle the next day is classic. —Jack

Remarks from the Gallery

Peter: Oh yeah, one of my favorite comedies. This was actually an edited down version of a 6-episode series (the shorter edit is, in my opinion, the better format) that you might still be able to stream here and there. Though each subsequent trip to the well has met with so-so results, there are still enough "Brydon/Coogan sitting in a restaurant making noise" scenes to make the three sequels watchable.

John: I think Peter must have recommended this to me. It was definitely the best of the... Trips... though to be perfectly honest, I have little distinct recollection of this one outside the Caine/Connery discussion. 

Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967)

Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Sid Haig, Jill Banner

Director: Jack Hill

"Just because something isn't good doesn't mean it's bad."

My first exposure to Jack Hill's black comedic masterpiece was from a clip on the Zacherle's Horrible Horror compilation tape. The two scenes included Jill Banner attacking (and slicing off the ear of) mailman Mantan Moreland when she catches him in her 'spiderweb', and caretaker Bruno (Chaney) returning home with Ralph (Haig — in what is an amazing performance before he became typecast as generic thug #1). Beverly Washburn also appears as the other daughter in a family suffering from a regressive syndrome leading to cannibalism. 

It's funny, it's creepy, at times it's downright sleazy... and I love every minute of it. It's got a great Ronald Stein score, and Chaney even sings the film's theme song! This film introduced me to Jill Banner, who I was instantly smitten with, and I was devastated to learn that she died in a car accident at the age of 35. Jack Hill has made many entertaining films in his career, but nothing that stands out quite like Spider Baby. When things were touch and go about what would make it on to my list, and what didn't make the cut, I had to hold the line on this one. —John

Remarks from the Gallery

Jack: I've heard of it but I've never seen it. I've always liked Lon Chaney, Jr., but I'm not sure I want to see him in decline like this.

Peter: Way too goofy for my tastes. Obviously I love sleaze but Spider Baby is just icky. That's the intent, I understand, it's just not my bag, baby. Watching Chaney in the last few years of his life, bloated and showing the effects of drinking an entire liquor store every day, is depressing as all hell.

Shane (1953)

Starring: Alan Ladd, Van Helfin, Jean Arthur

Director: George Stevens

Shane: So you're Jack Wilson.

Jack Wilson: What's that mean to you, Shane?

Shane: I've heard about you.

Jack Wilson: What have you heard, Shane?

Shane: I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar.

Jack Wilson: Prove it.

I think I only came around to this one after a couple of viewings. A lot of the pre-1960 movies I caught on my grandmother’s TV (as a kid in the early ‘70s), a by-product of my grandfather’s love for westerns (in particular, John Wayne westerns). It might have been that Shane didn’t have enough to hold my pre-teen interest; there’s not a lot of horse riding nor does it lean on violence. It’s famous for its peaceful moments. Like John Wayne in The Quiet Man, Shane is a guy who turns his back on his violent past;  he just wants to be left alone while on his journey “home.” When the inevitable showdown finally arrives, it’s a kick in the nuts (and for a lot of western fans, I'd wager the moment comes off as anticlimactic) after so much simmering. Jack Palance is perfect as the oily, eerily calm gunfighter, Wilson, come to roust settler Van Heflin and family off their land. 

Clint Eastwood lifted the murder of fellow settler Stonewall (Elisha Cook, Jr.) for his Pale Rider but I think this version, much less bloodier, is far more effective. It’s a relief that director Stevens (whose next project would be the epic Giant, a flick polar opposite in scope of Shane) and writer A. B. Guthrie wisely avoided the cliche of Shane and Marian becoming entangled in extra-marital nonsense. The only flaw is an annoyingly cutesy-pie performance by young Brandon De Wilde (inexplicably nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year), who spends the length of the film staring into the camera and crying “Shane! Shane! Come in for dinner, Shane!” Or “Shane! Shane! Teach me how to shoot, Shane!” 

In the end, it’s the never-better Ladd who makes the most lasting impression; he says more with just a look than most actors say with a page of dialogue. What happens to our wounded hero at the climax of the film? Slumping in the saddle, heading up into the high country, I like to think he’s entering his house justified. —Peter

Remarks from the Gallery

John: It's been years since I've seen it, but I do have fond memories of it. Not enough to crack my top 100, though. 

Jack: Definitely one of the great '50s westerns. Jack Palance makes a great villain. That kid is kind of annoying, though.

Chinatown (1974)

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway

Director: Roman Polanski

One of the best neo-noir detective films, Chinatown holds up well on rewatching. For my money, Jack Nicholson is the best movie actor of the 1970s. He gives a great performance as Jake Gittes, a somewhat sleazy P.I. who does divorce work and gets involved in a case that ends up involving murder. The scene where Roman Polanski cuts Nicholson's nostril with a blade is still hard to watch.

As I was watching, I was thinking about the title. At one point, Jake remarks something like, "Chinatown is where nothing is what it seems to be." That sums up what happens in the movie as a whole. The ending, where the relationship between Faye Dunaway's character and John Huston's character is clarified, is horrifying. Huston is barely in the movie, but his scenes are unforgettable.

Should Chinatown be higher on my list than #99? Maybe so. That will continue to be an issue I struggle with as we work our way through our favorite 100 movies — how to put them in order? —Jack

Remarks from the Gallery

John: This one is not among my 100 favorites list because it's on a different list — the, "I own it, but I've not yet seen it," list. I have a hunch that I'll enjoy it when I do get around to it, but will it make my top 100? I will second what Jack says. Compiling a list of 100 favorites is one thing — ranking them in order can be a torturous process! 

Peter: It's been decades since I revisited this one so I popped it in and was stunned at how dark this picture is throughout; I mean, yeah, it's got that reputation but how the hell did Polanski ever get this greenlit? Unrelentingly grim. I'm a little more hot-and-cold about Jack's performances in the 1970s; he found that schtick and mined it for everything it was worth, culminating in the over-the-top The Shining. Still, with this, Five Easy Pieces, and The Last Detail, he's definitely in the conversation for Top Five Actors of the '70s.

A Mighty Wind (2003)

Starring: Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Fred Willard

Director: Christopher Guest

"There was abuse in my family, but it was mostly musical in nature."

Christopher Guest has a ridiculous batting average when it comes to his improvisational features. In A Mighty Wind, he brings together several groups of past-their-prime folk singers to honor a famous producer who has passed on. From The Folksmen (made up of Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest — a trio that had opened for Spinal Tap on tour for years before this film was ever conceived) to The New Main Street Singers (led by John Michael Higgins, with no shortage of hilarious insight provided by their manager, played by Fred Willard), to the vocal duo of Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara), there is plenty of opportunity for antics that only Christopher Guest's stock company can deliver. This is one of those great comedies where I know I will be in tears laughing before it's over, every time I watch it.

And as is the case in several of Guest's films, the songs are performed brilliantly — and catchy! Worth picking up the soundtrack, without a doubt. The songs are so good that the cast was able to go out on tour as the three bands, and they were just as good performing live as they were in the film. —John

Remarks from the Gallery

Jack: I saw this first-run in a theater and enjoyed it. I especially liked the way they nailed the changes in fashion and hairstyle through the years. When I was a kid, I listed to my parents' folk albums and this could've fit right in.

Peter: As I suspect might happen several times in the next year, I have to admit to never seeing A Mighty Wind. I saw the first hour or so of Best in Show and didn't appreciate the style of humor (the style being that the humor is not funny). Now that I'm 20+ years older, might I give these Christopher Guests a(nother) try? Probably not. Although my stepdaughter pressured me into watching Schitt's Creek and I'm enjoying that, so you never can tell. 

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 182: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 166

September-October 1959

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Journey Into Mystery #54 (September)

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"I Unleashed Monstro on the World!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"I Dared to Defy... the Idol's Curse!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2

"My Other Face!" (a: Al Williamson) ★1/2

"I Know the Gargoyle's Secret!" (a: John Severin) ★★

"I Am the Menace from the Purple Planet!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★

Sam "Spell" Binder is the greatest showman on Earth, able to tame a fierce gorilla named Moko and make him do parlor tricks for sold-out audiences. But then Moko has a bad fall and suffers a concussion, rendering him unusable in the act. Binder hears a rumor of the world's largest gorilla living in a jungle on an island off the African coast and hops a plane.

Binder is pleasantly surprised to discover the natives have held "Monstro" captive for decades and would love to be rid of him. With a little gas, Binder knocks Monstro unconscious, packs him on a boat, and heads for New York, where Monstro becomes the toast of Broadway. On opening night, Binder hypnotizes Monstro and then orders his chains removed, advising the audience that all is safe. As happens with these giant ape melodramas, that is the furthest from the truth. Monstro goes ape and destroys half of New York before being gassed in a tunnel. Just before being shipped back to Africa, Monstro is examined by a vet and it's determined he is blind! No wonder he didn't respond to hypnotism.

"I Unleashed Monstro on the World!" is goofy fun; obviously, the plot was lifted from King Kong, but then so will be half of the giant monster tales penned by Stan Lee and brother Larry Leiber in the months to come. The variations here are that Monstro is an albino and that he's allowed to survive after his rampage; he's shipped back home to his African village where "he's happy again..."

Dunstan Blake fancies himself an adventurer and rapscallion, but everyone else around him knows he's nothing more than a cheat and a thief. Blake hears of an idol that has mysteriously appeared "in the Northern region of Tibet," one that is supposed to hold the world's largest diamond, and he quickly hops a plane. He finds the idol and, despite warnings from the natives, enters its core. Suddenly a noxious gas fills the chamber and Blake passes out. He awakens to find himself encased inside the idol and a voice tells him the statue is actually a spaceship now headed to Superius Rex. Dunstan Blake will be studied by an alien race! "I Dared to Defy... the Idol's Curse!" is weak and silly. This idol magically appears and science doesn't want to study it? At least it's got a nice Sinnott polish.

Jason Gibbs has been plagued by his ugly face all his life; people won't treat him like a real man once they get a gander at his sour puss. But now Jason has gotten news that Dr. Rectumus on Mars has created a potion for good looks and he barges into the Professor's lab. As he grabs the beaker holding the potion, the egghead warns him it's not been tested. Shoulda listened! With "My Other Face!," we get a really nice graphics display from Al Williamson and that's about all. One of only two stories (of twenty) this time out that doesn't start with an "I." I guess Stan thought "I Was Trapped By My Other Face!" didn't roll off the tongue.

Pierre Duval lovingly cleans and cares for the gargoyles of Notre Dame during the Second World War. When the Nazis invade France, Pierre signs up for the Underground, fighting and killing the stinkin' Nazi bastards any chance he can. But like so many freedom fighters, Pierre is caught by the Germans and sentenced to die by firing squad. He is blindfolded and awaits the bullets of death, but before any damage can come to his flesh, he hears screaming and the sound of running feet. He tears off his blindfold to find the firing squad has vanished. What gives? The war over, Pierre heads back to Notre Dame, where he discovers chips out of his stone friends as if they had been shot at! 

Gargoyles have always creeped me out, but the problem with "I Know the Gargoyle's Secret!" is that any sense of dread has been eliminated by the CCA. In the pre-code Atlas strips, the critters would have torn the soldiers to pieces, whereas here, in the Gilded Age, the Nazis turn tail and run before any harm can befall them. The other problem is that the monsters are only spotlighted in a couple of panels; the human monsters get most of the attention. Nice Severin art, but I think the best gargoyle story is still the ultra-creepy "House of Gargoyles" by Jack Sparling (from House of Mystery #175). Last up is "I Am the Menace from the Purple Planet!," wherein an alien from outer space and his super robot land in New York to deliver an ultimatum to the human race: show Gxenu the latest war weapons or face the wrath of the planet Orion Major. I'm pretty sure I don't have to break it down much further. Shameless Stan mining the rich ore Hollywood had delivered.-Peter

Tales of Suspense #5 (September)

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"I Became a Human Robot!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★

(r: Fantasy Masterpieces #1)

"I Fought the Tyrannosaurus" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★★

"I Walk Thru Walls!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2

"I Travelled Thru Time!!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★

"I Was Trapped in the Tunnel to Nowhere!" (a: John Forte) ★★

On a planet a billion light years from Earth, a nasty plot is hatched: Gammus will travel to our world and use plan X322K (masquerade as a robot) to gain the trust of earthlings, the better to spy on our military status. Gammus saves lots of lives and becomes a hero of the people, but our government wants to cut him open and see how it is that he can operate as if he has a human brain. Once the professors decide they'll get no information from the tin can, Gammus is deactivated and put on display at the Atlas Museum for Used-Up Cliches. "I Became a Human Robot!" is the umpteenth reworking of the "distant planet invasion" plot. For the umpteenth time, I ask why a planet sixty-two katrillion miles away would have the slightest interest in a civilization that is obviously more primitive.

Rod and Kate have wanted to take an African vacation for years and when they finally make the trip, they take advantage of their time and explore dark caves. That's where they find the dinosaur egg! Overcome with awe, the couple grab the huge oval and drag it out to the sand. Unfortunately, the rays of the sun work their wonders and within a few hours the egg cracks open and out pops a baby T-Rex.

But he doesn't stay a wee lad for long, growing ten times his size in a matter of minutes, and he naturally does what dinosaurs do: they stomp things. Feeling responsible for the wreckage caused by the critter (because... well... he is responsible!), Rod won't rest until the thunder lizard is eliminated. Dinosaurs + Ditko? Sign me up. Who cares if the script makes no sense (no explanation is given for why this egg never hatched a million years ago or why it's still hatchable or why the T-Rex grows so big so fast), the ride is a fun one.

"I Walk Thru Walls!" is almost so bad it's worth reading... almost. An ex-con is hired as a janitor for a brilliant but absent genius scientist and this grunt loves to just "take things apart and put them back together again...," so he dismantles some unknown gadget and reassembles it in a way that it makes objects disappear and then reappear several feet away. Well, this ex-jailbird knows a payday when he sees one, so he starts using the "matter transmitter" to rob banks, but he doesn't plan for the one cop in New York who might be smarter than he. I laughed out loud at least one time during my reading of this nutty tale. Only in the Atlas universe do you have an uneducated criminal building something that scientists could only dream of simply because he put a few bolts in the wrong place. And then you've got the High-IQ beat cop who figures the whole thing out immediately ("I think that burglar's invented some means to make him disintegrate, pass through a wall, and integrate on the other side of it!") and sets an elaborate trap, involving a large building and a fake notice in the paper, all on his own without precinct approval. Now that's genius.

"I Traveled Through Time!!" tells the inane tale of three stinkin' commie spies who are tried and convicted of espionage and sentenced to death. They escape and head for the lab of Professor Pskov (pronounced piss-off), a stinkin' genius commie scientist, the only man in the world to have invented a time machine (evidently these commies don't read Atlas comics or they'd know there are lots of time machines popping up around town). They order the egghead to send them back in time so they can avoid the inevitable FBI raid. Pskov warns his clients that they will arrive in the past in another person's body; that's just the way it goes (what happens to the soul occupying that body is not detailed). The brilliant but politically incorrect Pskov only has time to send Vladimir Gorki back to the 18th century, where Gorki finds himself in the body of... you guessed it, Benedict Arnold, just as he's being arrested for treason. I love how elaborate the plans of these Atlas criminals can be. Rather than the usual way of meeting a freighter in New York harbor and hiding out in the cargo, these guys take it on faith that they can travel through time.

"We Were Trapped in the Tunnel to Nowhere!" tells the sad story of two bloggers, Peter and Jack, who thought it would be fun to read every post-code Atlas SF/Fantasy comic book published and regretted their decision very quickly. They shoulda listened to their wives. Believe me, that true story is so much more intriguing than the five pages masquerading as a legitimate comic book story.

Brilliant but arrogant construction engineer Eric Lansing, tired of hearing that so many other CEs are more brillianter than he, proclaims he will dig a tunnel under the sea from the US of A to Europe. A 3,000 mile tunnel! Why? Because he can. Unfortunately, halfway to his destination, Lansing and his crew encounter an undersea race of man-like fish who live in a big bubble at the bottom of the ocean. These critters are not happy about the off-ramp leading through their Atlantis and set some explosive charges to halt the construction. Lansing and his boys barely make it out of the tunnel before the ceiling caves in. 

There are all sorts of scientific questions that even my uneducated brain had to ask: At no time is it mentioned what sort of transport would run through the tunnel, be it trains or personal vehicles. Was Lansing intending on build gas stations and restaurants every few miles through his massive hole? The hole has to be miles below the waves, yet the diggers wear no protective uniforms to save them from the pressure. Is the title meant to infer that Europe is "Nowhere"? The best is saved for last when the creatures blow their TNT and the roof caves in, 1500 miles from safety. Our heroes simply hop in a mine car and ride back to the States, confident there will be no structural damage or leaks ahead of them. I'm of two minds (even though, as I've admitted, I'm not sure I have one brain) about "I Was Trapped in the Tunnel to Nowhere!"; it's dumber than a $250 bill but induces more laughs than... well, a $250 bill.-Peter

Tales to Astonish #5 (September)

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"I Was Trapped by the Things on Easter Island!" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #24)

"I Am the Menace from Outer Space!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

"I Can See Tomorrow!" (a: Don Heck) ★

"I Found the Nightmare Note" (a: Al Williamson) ★1/2

"I Landed on the Forbidden Planet!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

"I Was Trapped By the Things on Easter Island!" cries a pilot to anyone who'll listen. After crash-landing on the famous, remote spot, he had witnessed the stone heads emerge from the ground, bodies and all. They stood around chatting about how they were waiting for orders from their home planet to attack and conquer Earth. The man escaped in a boat and thought people would believe his story and bomb the heck out of the island, but everyone thought he was hallucinating. The stone statues decide to leave the poor guy alone, since no one believes him, and wait for orders as long as it takes.

It's a miracle that the main character survives a pretty severe crash landing in his plane, but what's even more amazing is the sudden appearance of an abandoned native boat, just as the guy is about to be caught by the statues. Big stone objects fit in perfectly with Kirby's art style and the panel on page five, where one of the things is looking in the window as the main character sleeps, recalls a similar shot in King Kong. How did we survive the '50s with so many aliens bent on taking over?

On a faraway planet, the people decide to send Krag to Earth to gather intelligence in preparation for an invasion. Krag takes off into space, but soon sees a big, beautiful space cruiser and decides to capture it to bring it home after his visit to Earth. Krag boards the ship, finds it empty, and discovers that it's actually a living organism that swallows him up!

"I Am the Menace from Outer Space!" is a pretty good story, with more going on than there was room for in the rigid, five-page slot. Joe Sinnott's art is smooth, as always, and he draws the aliens in a lizard-like way, with circles all over their yellow skin and webbed fingers. On page two, the aliens give Krag the ability to transform into the spitting image of an Earthman, in a neat, four-panel sequence where his alien skin and outfit melt away and are replaced with a man in a suit and tie; the man looks just like Thor's alter-ego, Dr. Don Blake. Of course, this is an example of misdirection, because poor Krag never makes it to Earth. I was expecting him to fall in love with an Earth woman and never return home, but the conclusion surprised me.

A small-time crook named Willy Adams steals a camera from an antique shop. The shop owner warns him that the camera takes pictures of tomorrow. Willy tests out the device and it works so, like every single other Atlas main character, he decides to use the power to make money. He takes photos at the racetrack and the stock exchange, certain that he'll cash in, but when he takes a self-portrait and the print shows an empty chair, he realizes that he may not live through the night.

It's bad enough that Don Heck's art on "I Can See Tomorrow!" looks like it was dashed off during a subway ride to pick up his check at the publisher's office, but the story is trite and the ending a letdown. Willy is sitting in the chair when he snaps a picture, and the picture that comes out shows the chair empty the next day. Willy concludes that, for him, "there might be no tomorrow." Isn't it more likely that the chair will be empty because he'll be at the racetrack collecting his winnings?

Joe Baxter works as an assistant in a record store. After hours, he experiments with sonics, searching for a note that can render a person unconscious. "I Found the Nightmare Note," he thinks, when the store's pussycat passes out. He sells a record to Spencer Worthington, the richest man in town, and waits outside his window, watching for the moment when the old guy collapses,  but to no avail. Joe slinks home, thinking that his plan failed, unaware that Spencer is deaf and bought the record for his wife.

I know we've seen that twist ending before, and not long ago. I think Al Williamson was on the same subway train as Don Heck, judging by the quality of the artwork. It looks like someone else must have inked this.

Tim Korey is dying to know why one particular planet is considered off limits, so he hops into his spaceship and heads right for it! "I Landed on the Forbidden Planet!" he exclaims and soon discovers it's a dangerous place. He barely avoids being crushed by a gigantic wheel, he manages to escape huge stone blocks falling from above, and he sees one giant insect after another. Tim races to his ship and takes off, glad to get away from a planet that we readers see, in the final panel, is called Earth.

At least Steve Ditko puts some effort into the art, even if the story is a rehash of one we've read over and over. From the start, I suspected that the mysterious planet was Earth, and I wasn't disappointed. Actually, I WAS disappointed by the lack of originality.-Jack

Strange Tales #71 (October)

Cover by Jack Davis

"I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★★

(r: Chamber of Darkness #5)

"I Am the Man Who Will... Destroy Your World!" (a: Don Heck) ★★1/2

(r: Fear #1)

"When the Saucer Strikes!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #6)

"I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!" (a: Sol Brodsky) ★

(r: Fear #1)

"I Am the Man Without a Face!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

(r: Where Creatures Roam #2)

While on a business trip in the Balkans, a man wanders into an old curio shop, where he picks up a beautiful old copy of Merlin's Diary. The shopkeeper insists that he put it down, but the man opens it and is cast back in time. He meets Merlin the Magician but remains skeptical. Merlin informs that man that he will believe when he sees a sign. The man returns to the present and looks in a mirror, where he is shocked to see that his hair has turned white. He leaves the curio shop and the owner, who turns out to be Merlin, vows to do a better job of hiding his diary.

"I Dared to Defy Merlin's...Black Magic!" is a strong story with evocative art by Ditko. Both theme and design look forward to the Dr. Strange comics. There are mentions of the mystic arts and, when the man is cast back in time, he is surrounded by multi-colored lines and finally slides down a rainbow slide into Merlin's presence. The story is a welcome break from tales about aliens invading Earth or people going to planets where the ants and spiders are giant-sized.

Mool is the emperor of a race on a planet far from Earth where they bathe once a year in rejuvenating waters that grant them eternal life. This warlike race travels to the vicinity of Earth, where Mool goes down to the surface to observe humans to decide if an invasion is a good idea. He promises to report back after 24 hours.

After landing on Earth, Mool breaks into a clothing store; he steals a suit and dons it, only to be caught by John, the proprietor, who runs the establishment with his sister, Anne. Mool tells John that he's Ralph Masters and that he's been down on his luck and was stealing a suit to wear in his job search. John feels pity for the man and hires him. Ralph meets Anne and it's pretty much love at first sight. The alien visitor, who arrived thinking that "I Am the Man Who Will... Destroy Your World!," initially thinks the Earthlings weak, but quickly responds to their kindness and love. In the end, he destroys the gadget that would send a report back to the invading force; Ralph gives up his immortality for the affection of a good woman.

I can't believe I'm typing these words, but that's two decent stories in a row! Heck's art is solid but nothing special, yet I was intrigued by Ralph's transformation from cruel, alien ruler to kind, loving Earthman--all in the space of 24 hours!

A jet pilot is flying along at night when he suddenly sees a flying saucer heading straight toward the plane! The pilot manages to avoid a collision and, when he lands, he reports what happened. All of the other passengers were asleep, except one man who says he didn't see anything. The pilot decides he needs to get some rest. The passenger who said he didn't see anything drives off, meets up with the Martian ship in a remote spot, removes his human mask, and tells the pilot to be more careful next time.

Dull art by Paul Reinman accompanies a predictable tale in "When  the Saucer Strikes!" The title is misleading since the whole point of the story is that the saucer did not strike.

In prison for armed robbery, Duke Jordan escapes after serving ten years of a thirty-year term and heads straight for the warehouse where he used to work. Duke breaks in and robs the safe but is quickly discovered by a policeman who can run super-fast, shrug off a large crate that Duke pushes over onto him, and remain unharmed by gunfire. It seems a lot has changed in ten years, since the police are now robots!

I shuddered when I saw that this story was drawn by Sol Brodsky and I was right to have that reaction, since the art in "I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!" is pure dreck. The story is awful as well. Paul Reinman, come home--all is forgiven.

A band of gypsies arrive in the quiet country town of Goosepan and Rufus Watkins is none too happy to see them. The mayor doesn't listen to Rufus's complaints about the new arrivals and the town's leading citizens tell him to relax, so Rufus heads to the pool hall and rustles up some folks to confront the Roma. After a fight erupts and a gypsy knocks Rufus out, he and his pals don black hoods and approach the camp, blowing horns to scare the gypsies away. Before they leave, however, the head of the gypsies tells Rufus that he'll regret his actions. As a result, Rufus can say that "I Am the Man Without a Face!," since the gypsy curse means he's never able to remove his black hood without another black hood appearing beneath it.

There's almost a decent story here and it's helped immeasurably by the art by Joe Sinnott, who has quickly become one of the stalwarts at Atlas. Like many a story by Carl Wessler (I don't know who wrote this one), things chug along reasonably well until they come to a screeching halt with a concluding twist that makes me scratch my head. The last panel has Rufus sitting alone in a room with innumerable black hoods piling up around him as he swears that he has learned his lesson about intolerance.-Jack

Coming This Thursday...
The Most Controversial...
The Most Daring...
The Most Fun...
What Is It????

And Next Week...
More Proof That
Heck Was No Hack

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 181: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 166

August 1959

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Strange Tales #70

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"A Giant Walks the Earth!" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★1/2

(r: Uncanny Tales #7)

"Earth in Chains!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"Ghost Ship!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★

"Escape to Tomorrow!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"When Walks the Sphinx!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

(r: Journey into Mystery #14)

Biochemist Wilbur Fiske never gets the promotions he deserves and he just knows it's because he's a runt, much shorter than any of the other scientists in his lab. Well, Wilbur is gonna show them a thing or two! The half-pint just happens to be working on a growth serum in his lab at home. That night, he has the breakthrough he's been waiting for and, without even testing the goop on a rat or a chicken or his mother-in-law, Wilbur downs the whole beaker.

The formula works immediately. In fact, it works too well--Wilbur keeps on growing and growing until he's as tall as a skyscraper. Itching to be rich, he grabs hold of the nearest bank and rips it from its foundation. But our hero finally grows so tall that he's running out of oxygen. Just before he hits the pavement, the serum begins to wear off and he becomes his old, small self again. That's okay, though, Wilbur muses after he's done ninety days in the pokey for major street and building damage: mankind should be happy with what its given and not look for easy answers in drugs and potions. 

Wilbur smiles and returns to his latest invention: a liquid that can make rocks into gold. Well, that last bit is of my own making. The real story ends with the maudlin "man should not mess with Mother Nature" message.  "A Giant Walks the Earth!" would probably be just as dull at double the length but perfectly illustrates why Kirby was later given 10+ pages to tell his giant monster stories.

Stop me if you've heard the plot of "Earth in Chains!" before. Aliens invade Earth and level a major city to create their new home and we have no defense against them!  Our salvation arrives in the form of "the smallest of creatures"--basic germs! That's right, the aliens can't handle the bacteria we all take for granted. What an original concept!

A coast guard boat stumbles across a "Ghost Ship!" floating in US waters. Turns out it's a stinkin' commie sub and, once the officers board it, they discover it's been abandoned. Dan finds a ship's log with lots of "commie writing" in it and, luck of the draw, he aced Communist Language in high school. He translates the startling story for his comrades: the sub was sneaking around in US waters, looking for any of our latest technology, when it came across an alien spaceship. Wanting to know more about the ship, they did what any stinkin' Bolshevik would do: they put the pedal to the metal and tried to ram it.

Just before making contact, the hatch to the spaceship opened and out popped a bevy of BEMs. The journal entry ends with a startled captain screaming in fear. The good guys continue their search of the Russkie ship and find a map of outer space left there by the BEMs for some reason. Surmising the aliens had nothing but good intentions, our coast guard officers head back to port. "Ghost Ship!" is another of those Atlas strips (written by Stan?) where the action keeps coming fast so that no questions will be asked. Like how did the Red ship captain write down all the details if he's constantly in the midst of the chaos? Did he wait until there was a break in the action and then run to his desk and put quill to paper? How could our heroes come to the conclusion that these aliens were only "lost while on a journey" and not actually casing our world for invasion? I have more questions but I'm out of space. I will say that I like the Burgos art; looks like the kind of penciling he pumped out for the 1940s titles.

Bank robber Joe Palmer forces Professor Whitehead to let him use his time machine and "Escape to Tomorrow!" Joe obviously didn't study economics in high school or he'd know that, with the rate of inflation being what it is, the dollar won't buy what it used to when he gets to 2010. Worse, as he soon discovers, paper money is obsolete. Stuck fifty years in the future with no way back, his haul is worthless, so Joe has to get a hard labor job. "Well," the dope sighs, "at least I've learned a mighty good lesson and now I'll be a decent human being!" You have to laugh at the fact that the newspaper headlines scream the news about Whitehead's time machine and yet the government hasn't swooped down on the egghead and hauled his tinker toy away.

When the first wave of an invasion from space arrives in Egypt, the Sphinx rises from its base to defend its people. There's really not much to the script, I'll grant you, but Ditko's art is dazzling and that saves the day (and the issue as well). At first glance, a strip containing a giant walking sphinx seems like a slam-dunk for Kirby, but the mystic elements push the tale into Ditko territory.-Peter

Strange Worlds #5

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"We Are the 3 Who Vanished!" (a: Don Heck) ★★1/2

" I Couldn't Stop the Runaway Comet!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"I Am... Gorilla!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★★1/2

"Don't Send Me... Out There!!!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★

"They Call Me... Space Pirate" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

The final issue of Strange Worlds begins in very familiar territory with the time machine fantasy, "We Are the 3 Who Vanished!" The police break down the door to Roger Hastings's lab after receiving reports of suspicious activity, but when they enter they can find no Roger. What the police inspector finds is Roger's lab journal, which tells the story of just what's been going on in the lab the last few days.

Roger Hastings forces two of his scientist buddies to help him finish his time machine. With work completed, Roger states that man will finally be able to travel back in time, while his two colleagues roll their eyes and make whistling noises. Roger sets the way-back machine to the 17th century (that's about as specific as Roger gets) and flips the switch. That's where the journal ends and the police are baffled. Did the three eggheads travel through time or did they vaporize themselves with the dangerous machinery they were working with? No one will ever know.

Aha, that's where Inspector Clouseau is wrong. If he had only turned the page of his copy of Strange Worlds #5, he'd have seen bonus coverage revealing the fate of the travelers in a very clever epilogue. I've had about enough of time machine yarns as they usually end up telling the same story over and over, but "We Are 3..." gives us another angle on the dangers of science. 

The most popular man in the world of 2060 is scientist Victor Sage, a man of the people. Just before he's a shoo-in for president of the new world, it's discovered that a destructive comet is heading for Earth in a matter of weeks. Sage calms his constituents and reminds them he's got the biggest brain in the galaxy. He'll figure it out. But Sage's rocket missiles are destroyed by the comet's intense heat before they can even get near. He tells the people of the world to ready themselves for annihilation.

With little help from science, the world begins praying as one and, miraculously, the comet is turned away as if "a giant unseen hand had brushed it aside." Promising himself not to ever become lost in his own ego again, Victor Sage looks to the sky and thanks... whatever... for the helping hand. I don't mind a little religion peppering my sci-fi/fantasy funny books now and then as long as the story being told is a good one; "I Couldn't Stop the Runaway Comet!" introduces an interesting character in Victor Sage, almost a superhero-type, and then knocks him off his pedestal a little at a time. More great experimental work by Ditko.

Bongo, the carnival gorilla, looks out at the world through his bars and wonders where his next banana will come from while his audience remarks about how dumb he looks. The crowds have grown considerably since the atomic testing facility opened up right next door (wink, wink) and the carnival owner has a lot on his mind lately. That's how Bongo's cage door is accidentally left open. Bongo goes on a bit of a tour of the area and wanders into one of the test areas, exposed to high radiation.

Suddenly, Bongo is the most intelligent gorilla in the world, but what to do with that extra brain power? After briefly considering sticking up a few local banks, our simian hero decides he's going to help mankind fulfill its potential to become a more peaceful and loving species. Why, maybe Bongo can even talk the Atlas scientists out of building any more time machines. But, just as he's about to call the President, the radiation wears off and Bongo becomes... Bongo again. Back to his cage he goes, once again on the receiving end of endless banana jokes.

I enjoyed "I Am... Gorilla!" a lot. It's very simple, very quick, and doesn't go overboard in the preaching department. It does have some very clunky exposition in the first few panels but effectively points out the pros and cons of having an atomic testing ground within walking distance of a populated area. Did you know that exposure to high radiation can cause mutation in a matter of seconds? I didn't. I was hoping we'd see a few panels of carnival attendees with three eyes or stretchable limbs.

"Don't Send Me... Out There!!!" is the hilarious tale of a spaceship pilot who's lost his nerve. The dope spends the first three pages pinballing between family members, trying to elicit sympathy to no effect, all while detailing the dangers of flying in space. When the final panel arrives and we discover the pilot is actually a robot (He's got a metal cranium! So that's why he's running around the house with his helmet on!), the laughs dry up and the eyes roll. This guy running around the house like a madman, shrieking about meteor showers while wearing what looks like a motorcycle helmet, reminded me of Ethel Merman's scene in Airplane! Comedy gold.

The 24th and final story to appear in Strange Worlds, "They Call Me... Space Pirate" is the humorous tale of Sandor, rapscallion and pirate, who leads his merry men on a scourge of the galaxy. Seeing what looks to be a very attractive and vulnerable planet in their view screen, the boys set down and immediately discover they've made a mistake. The world (which looks a lot like Earth) is populated by mutants who can control objects with their minds. Before long, Sandor and Co. are behind bars and bitching about prison food. Some nice Sinnott work and a few giggles. Looking back over our notes and ratings for Strange Worlds, it's easy to see why the title is virtually forgotten these days. Not one of the stories garnered over a 2.5 rating and most fell in the 1.5-2.0 range.-Peter

World of Fantasy #19

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"The Gargoyle from the Fifth Galaxy!" (a: Don Heck) ★1/2

(r: Vault of Evil #15)

"Deluge!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★1/2

(r: Dead of Night #7)

"The Iron Hulk!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2

"The Brain Destroyer!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★1/2

"I Was Stranded in Space" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2

When an alien rocket ship approaches the Earth, no one knows quite what to do, and when "The Gargoyle from the Fifth Galaxy!" emerges, spouting fire from his mouth and talking in gibberish, soldiers open fire. The creature turns around, gets back into his ship, and takes off, leaving a book behind on the ground. After months of work the volume is translated and--surprise!--the gargoyle came to Earth to share all the wonders of his advanced civilization with us. As usual, we chased him off and now hope he'll return some day.

What was the point of rehashing the same stories over and over? They could have just reprinted the first one ad nauseum. Would anyone have noticed? This time we don't even see much of the alien, who looks nothing like the version on the cover that Kirby drew. Inside the comic, he's green and much slimmer.

A scientist named Jason Trump is convinced that magnetism is the force that holds the universe together. After being fired from his job, he builds a big machine to control magnetism and aims it at the moon, thinking it will cause the moon to develop an atmosphere that can sustain life. His plan works, but an unintended consequence is that Earth is covered by a "Deluge!" of rain that threatens humanity. Army Major Tek figures out that the cause is in the vicinity of Jason's lab, so he journeys there and destroys the machine. The sun comes out and all is well again. All except Jason, whose corpse is found next to the machine.

Good lord, whoever wrote this (Stan the Man?) sure liked to pile word upon word! There are so many words in this five-page story that there's hardly room for Ditko to do much with the art. What puzzled me was that Major Tek managed to grab a crowbar and smash the machine with little effort, yet Jason Trump died trying to switch off the machine without wrecking it. At what point in a worldwide flood do you just give up and whack the thing?

In the year 3000, young Tim Jones's dad takes him to the store to buy Tim his very own robot. Dad is sure that the machine will be nothing more than "The Iron Hulk!," but Roby quickly becomes Tim's best pal. Tim is sure that Roby has feelings, but when Dad says they have to move to a small apartment in the city and sells Roby to the junk man for twenty-five bucks, Tim runs off to save his pal. On the way, his foot gets caught in a railroad track and it's Roby to the rescue! The heroic robot is damaged but Dad's mind changes when he observes a tear in Roby's eye. He has Roby repaired and robot and boy live happily ever after.

What nonsense! Joe Sinnott gets a gold star for holding his nose and turning in four nice pages of artwork to illustrate this heap of refuse. Even a kid reading this comic in 1959 would think this was dopey.

Did a meteorite just crash land in Central Park? Renowned astrophysicist Philip Latimer is summoned to examine the object, so he brings his wife and son along for the ride. The object seems to have been made by an intelligent creature and it starts to emit electronic waves that hypnotize the scientists in the area. Phil's wife and son run for it and New Yorkers panic. Soon, people across the world are convinced that the object must be "The Brain Destroyer!" Young Bobby won't give up on Phil and runs into the park, causing the machine to short circuit, since it didn't know what to do when it encountered a child's brain waves.

At least the machine wasn't sent to Earth to spread peace and love! This is not a great story, but I prefer a menacing machine from an unknown planet to the alien in the first story who just wanted to make the world a better place.

While being brought back to Earth to serve his time in jail, escaped convict Joe Burke manages to jump in a small space cruiser and get away. He crash lands on an unknown planet, where he laments the lack of civilization. He uses his wits to survive but complains that "I Was Stranded in Space." Joe combats loneliness in the years that follow by making pets of small, alien animals. Eventually he discovers other people and a civilization, and Joe decides that he's done his time and now will spend the rest of his life making up for his crimes. He does not know that the people knew all along that he was there and let him serve out his sentence alone.

Joe Sinnott deserves a medal for giving it the old college try twice in one issue. The story isn't any better than the others, but at least it looks good. And so ends the run of World of Fantasy, a comic that never distinguished itself from the other mags on the spinner rack. I doubt anyone noticed when it stopped coming out.-Jack

Next Week...
Jack and Peter Are Trapped
By the Secret of the Mystery
of the Things on Easter Island!!!