Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 199: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 184

August 1961

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Amazing Adventures #3

Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

"We Were Trapped in the Twilight World!" (a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★★

"The Teddy Bear" (a: Steve Ditko) ★1/2

"Doctor Droom Meets Zemu!" (a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★★ (r: Weird Wonder Tales #20)

Paul Harper's just had a tremendous argument with Professor Barnes at his college. You see, Paul is a science major and thinks he knows it all, including the fact that our Earth is surrounded by alternate Earths and alternate space and time and all that complicated mega-verse nonsense. Paul is a little angry so he does what anyone would do: he grabs his girl, Cathy, and goes for a long drive in the country.

As they're tootling along, minding their own business, a sinister green fog comes out of nowhere and envelops their convertible. Paul has to stop the car and the couple explore the fog on foot. When the mist evaporates, Paul and Cathy are horrified to learn they're in some prehistoric world, complete with cavemen and dinosaurs. That means Paul was right! While he rants on and on about "I told him so! I told him so!," Cathy hits him upside the head with a Stegosaurus jawbone and tells him they'd better find a way out of this place pronto before they're served up as dinner.

After several near-fatal encounters with the wildlife, the couple stumble across a more intelligent caveman who calls himself "Cro" and shows Paul and Cathy the way out of the valley. The dazed lovebirds climb back in their car but Paul is obviously still rattled as he drives his auto off the road. Luckily, who should stop by to help but Professor Barnes (Paul never questions that his world is full of coincidences), who scoffs at his pupil's tale, even when Cathy exclaims "We Were Trapped in the Twilight World!" But the old stick in the mud has to change his tune when he finds a necklace of tiger teeth (a gift from Cro) in the back of Paul's hot rod.

Don't you just love how everything turns out for Paul and Cathy in the end? And how about the fact that Paul is the guy who proves his whole alternate world/dimension theory is true? What are the odds? Probably better than the odds that the first Cro-Magnon man would be able to name himself "Cro!" You think scientists stumbled over a tree with "Cro Was Hear" etched in its bark? How about Cro tossing his necklace at Cathy? Was that his way of saying "Let's go steady?" Alright, enough, we all know the script is going to suck, but at least Stan has a reason to order Jack and Dick to whip up some cool dinosaurs for us pre-teens.

Jim really loves Carol but she won't get rid of that damn stuffed teddy bear, even when he's trying to get to third base in the back seat of his Ford they get married! Carol insists "The Teddy Bear" is her bodyguard and if Jim doesn't like it, he can pound sand. Jim's a surveyor so, a few months after they're married, he has to go camping in the wild. Carol insists on accompanying her new hubby and brings Teddy along for the ride. One night, Jim goes out hunting a big cat he suspects has been circling their camp and he's taken by surprise. The mountain lion runs right past him and heads for Carol's tent. Horrified, Jim throws open the tent and finds the lion dead and Teddy a little worse for wear. What's more astonishing? That Teddy was actually alive or that Jim married Carol even though she was an obvious mental case?

Last up is the latest adventure of Doctor Droom! In "Doctor Droom Meets Zemu!," our hero discovers that a popular magician is actually a warrior sent from the planet Saturn to hypnotize the Earth's population. Droom turns the tables on the Saturnian and Zemu is led away (in a very posh ascot and smoking jacket) to prison. Wholly preposterous stuff (everyone knows space warriors always come from Mars!) but, as usual, very entertaining. A different "Zemu" (sans the cool attire) will battle the Human Torch in Strange Tales #103, another example of how Jack and Stan constantly cannibalized their older work for the new Marvel era in the 1960s.-Peter

Journey Into Mystery #71

Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

"I Brought the Roc to Life!" 

(a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #10)

"The Boy Who Vanished!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

(r: Fear #4)

"The Painting" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Where Creatures Roam #6)(r: Amazing Adventures #24)

After having survived his marriage ceremony, archaeologist John Avery is thrust into an entirely different but still dangerous and horrifying event. He and Anne are driving through the desert of Cairo looking for bones and stuff when Anne shouts out that a nearby sand dune looks too "geometrically perfect" and must be hiding some mysterious object.

Sure enough, when John gets a shovel and starts digging, he unearths a huge egg. "Why, this must be an egg containing the mythic Roc, a bird so gigantic it could fly away with elephants in its talons!" John decides he's going to go back to Cairo and get a crew of men to transport the egg back to "civilization." Even though John seems to be a bright guy, he leaves the egg exposed to the sun and it hatches.

Out pops a giant chick and he seems to be feeling fowl. Very soon thereafter, he gains the gift of flight and heads off to town for a good time. The big bird begins disassembling structures such as bridges and skyscrapers and carting off passenger trains (don't get yer panties in a bunch CCA--the trains were emptied first); only John Avery knows what's going on. Yep, the big fella is building a nest!

So, John goes to the World's Foremost Scientists' Bar & Grill, where he powwows with a bunch of boring characters (at one point confiding that, yes, "I Brought the Roc to Life!") and convinces them that they have to build a rocket ship version of the Roc and blast it into space. That's the only way to destroy the Giant Claw. Sure enough, once Mecha-Roc flies past the real thing, NASA hits the "Space" button and both monsters head deep into outer space, never to return. Anne tells John she's going to want a better honeymoon and he chuckles, heading back into the desert in his jeep.

When I Googled "How fast do Rocs grow wings?" I was met with a blank stare. This little guy not only grows fast (Stan could have at least leaned on the conspiracy theory that Cairo was testing A-bombs in the desert) but then takes to the air in a matter of seconds! I sure hope we get a "Return of the Roc!" wherein the metal contraption finally runs out of fuel and the big chicken heads back home.

Thirteen-year-old Billy Carter (yes, that Billy Carter) is confined to a wheelchair but dreams of walking again someday. In fact, after reading the latest issue of Journey into Mystery, he closes his eyes and dreams himself into the future. There, he meets the really pretty Alana, who makes fun of him because he won't stand up and walk, and is informed that Alana's Pop is a doctor who can do anything. Sure enough, the doc cures Billy and sends him back to 1961. There, Billy's mom sobs tears of joy when her boy walks across the kitchen and asks what's for lunch. "The Boy Who Vanished!" is the pits, no two ways about it. Paul Reinman's pencils have degenerated into lifeless scribbles and Stan/Larry's script is pieced together from old strips. Poor Billy's physical condition is called "lame" and that's a pretty good label to apply to this story.

Simon Squeed is a heartless bastitch who takes advantage of poor painters, buying their work and selling it for hundreds of times its original purchase price. But Simon finally meets his match when he steals "The Painting" from a gypsy in Bessarabia. The twist in the final panel has been done to death but it's given new life thanks to Steve Ditko, who just keeps getting better and better. This guy is going places, take it from me.-Peter

Strange Tales #87

Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

"The Return of... Grogg!" (a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★★

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #23)

"The Lighthouse from Nowhere!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★1/2

(r: Creatures on the Loose #24)

"The Macabre Mirror!" (a: Don Heck) ★

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #23)

Miklos Zozlov, the renowned scientist from behind the Iron Curtain, is back! When last seen in Strange Tales #83, Miklos managed to escape Grogg. Now he's defected to the U.S.A., where no one believes his yarn about the fire-breathing dragon. Miklos wonders about Grogg, so one day, when government officials send him back to Russia undercover to find out what's going on in the Northern territory where there's a news blackout, he jumps at the chance.

In Russia, Miklos is aided by a friendly farmer named Ivan Grotsky, who also hates tyranny. Together, they journey into the snowy mountains and locate Grogg, who briefly attacks them before flying off. The men find a secret army base, where the Reds have built a huge spaceship. They plan to send a thousand soldiers to Mars to set up a base from which they can threaten the free nations of Earth!

Determined to stop this diabolical plan, Miklos and Ivan summon Grogg using a torch and set off an explosion at the army base. Miklos manages to trick Grogg into entering the spaceship, which Miklos then blasts off into space! His plan? Grogg will travel to Mars and be there to greet the Russians after they build a replacement spaceship and carry out their plan!

"The Return of... Grogg!" seems like an afterthought in this ridiculous story, where the fire-breathing dragon appears in flashback, briefly attacks Miklos and Ivan, and is tricked into being sent into space. Grogg has to be one of the dumber monsters out there, since Miklos deceives him by means of a small Grogg-like statue made of snow and some big shadows made with a flashlight. Just for the record, the obligatory panel showing Earth from space with word balloons appears on page 9, while the required panel of floating heads is on page 10. Kirby does a decent job on Grogg; it's a shame the story is so weak.

After a ship is wrecked in the fog off the coast of a small Scottish village, the townsfolk agree that they need a lighthouse. A week later, "The Lighthouse from Nowhere!" suddenly appears! Most people are happy to see it and don't ask questions, but the schoolteacher is upset that they received something they didn't build themselves. One night he blows it up! Agreeing to work day and night to rebuild it, the schoolteacher is unaware that the lighthouse was actually installed by aliens as a beacon to guide their invasion of Earth. By removing it, he saved the planet!

Even Ditko can't save this one. The only good parts are the splash page and the green aliens.

Long ago, a rich duke kept raising taxes on the people of a European province in order to increase his own wealth. When they couldn't pay, he confiscated their possessions. Finally, the only person he had not squeezed dry was Carlotta, the gypsy woman. The duke visited her and, since she had no cash, he decided to take "The Macabre Mirror!" despite her warning that it was enchanted. She told him it would have to stay with him always and he agreed that he wanted that. Just then, something mystical happened!

The duke disappeared and no one knew where he had gone, so eventually they took back their wealth and possessions. As for the duke, he was trapped inside the mirror, looking out at the inside of the gypsy's wagon, unable to escape!

Did any reader not know what was going to happen right away? Don Heck's art is usually better than this--it looks like he was in a hurry or just didn't care. This is a sub-par issue of Strange Tales.-Jack

Tales of Suspense #20

Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

"Colossus Lives Again" (a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #25)

"The Rocking Horse" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"The Bomb" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

After the fearsome events detailed in "I Created the Colossus!," the big lug has been hanging out in Moscow, doing little to nothing 24/7. The Russkies are invited to an international fair and decide to send the giant statue as an exhibit for all to see. They lash the Colossus onto their biggest freighter and set sail for New York!

Meanwhile on Cancresorius-III, the crab-like creatures who inhabited Colossus's stone body all those months ago have declared war on the entire galaxy. King Crab spins the wheel and it's decided that Earth will fall first. The crabs head back to Earth and once again inhabit the stone statue, bringing it to life and jumping ship, heading for America the hard way. Colossus rises from the sea on a California beach, causing a panic but stepping on absolutely no one.

At that exact second, fifty miles away, Bob, a well-paid set decorator in Hollywood, is trying to make time with famous screen star Diane Cummings (think, oh, I don't know, Sue Storm) and finding the task next to impossible. Diane wants a he-man with lots of money and bravery and nice shoes, but Bob checks none of those boxes. Grant Marshall does, though, and he woos and wins the starlet. Bob is left feeling gloomy until he hears the bulletin informing the public that a giant statue has been sighted at Long Beach. Bob grabs his special effects crew (including intern Wah Chang), a couple of hammers and a bag of nails and begins building the greatest prop ever constructed.

Coincidentally (or not), Colossus ends up right where Bob wants him and rather than step on these puny humans, he stops to have a convo with them. Bob tells the big guy to turn around and meet his maker. The grey gargantua does indeed turn and beholds... an even bigger monster! Without waiting to see if this thing even moves, the crabs jump ship and burrow into the new creature. Quickly, Bob screams "Now!" and his right hand man explodes the prop, blowing the crabs to hell!

Suddenly, Diane arrives and embraces Bob, telling him he's all the man she'll ever want. Forgetting that, just twenty minutes or so before, she called him a spineless worm, Bob picks up Diane in his arms and proposes to her. Colossus stands immobile once again but, he muses, at least he ain't gettin' married!

Wouldn't it have made more sense for the Crabs to lay low and get a free ride to the US on the big boat? Walking underwater to New York must have taken them years. And how does Bob know where to build his greatest achievement? What if the traffic on the 101 was murder and Colossus opted to bypass Hollywood and head for San Bernardino instead? Of course, this was not the last we'd see of Colossus since he was rebooted in 1973 by Tony Isabella for a short-lived series in Astonishing Tales. You can read more about that here. I thought Tony's take was awful (and the dreadful art of Dick Ayers--who had graduated to penciling by 1973--didn't help), but your mileage may vary. 

Poor little "lame" Hamim wishes he had a rocking horse to keep him company; his father thinks his son is selfish for wishing for such a luxury when the family is starving but Hamim writes a letter to America and gets his wish. "The Rocking Horse" arrives and his father keeps bitching until the day an earthquake strikes and the rocking horse saves little Hamim. Stan the Man calls up Reinman, tells him he's got a "lame" script that needs some "lame" art, and Paul comes through.

A gigantic, ticking mechanism from outer space lands smack-dab in New York, setting off a panic. Could it be an explosive device? The army is being cautious, leaving "The Bomb" alone to see if it blows. Then, once a team is sent in to investigate, the object heads back into space without a by your leave. Unbeknownst to anyone not reading Tales of Suspense #20, the craft lands on Saturn, where an old man sits and ponders why no sounds were made around the mechanism. Surely, that planet must be dead and so it won't be given all "our knowledge and secrets of long life." Klaatu Barada Nikto.-Peter

Tales to Astonish #22

Cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers

"I Dared to Battle the Crawling Creature!" (a: Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #13)

"Help!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

(r: Creatures on the Loose #15)(r: Crypt of Shadows #21)

"For Whom the Drum Beats!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Creatures on the Loose #20)

Walter Carter is a high school bookworm who enjoys reading stories about creatures who live under the Earth's surface. When the government builds a new drilling machine and is looking for a volunteer to head way under ground, Walter is first in line! Down he goes and, in a subterranean tunnel, he comes face to face with cavemen who warn him about a big creature that crawls around and generally causes trouble.

Suddenly finding reserves of bravery, Walter goes looking and discovers a great big lizard! "I Dared to Battle the Crawling Creature!" says he and the cavemen help out by dumping a load of salt, knowing that the lizard won't crawl over it for some reason. Walter decides that the best thing to do is to lure the big lizard up to the surface, which he does without much difficulty. Luring it to the edge of the Grand Canyon, Walter makes sure that it ends up at the bottom and he's able to escape by means of a handy helicopter. Government agents make Walter promise to say nothing, so he heads back to school to face more bullying.

The Crawling Creature isn't much of a threat. It's not an alien or a Commie and it never menaces a big city. It really doesn't do much at all. Fortunately, Walter's complex plan works, though the big lizard lives in case of a sequel. There is a panel where we see the Earth from outer space and three dialogue balloons on page 10, but no panels with floating heads this time.

A writer buys a second-hand typewriter to replace one that breaks and soon finds that the machine has a mind of its own, typing out a message crying for "Help!" It gives instructions to go to Liberty Road and Route 42. The writer heads out and, at the designated location, finds a car teetering on the edge of a cliff, its driver afraid to move. The writer hooks up a chain and tows to car safely away from the edge. The driver gets out and, when he hears about the magical typewriter, reveals that he is the person who sold it to the second-hand shop! 

I like a story about a writer who buys a magical typewriter. Don Heck is at his best when drawing men in suits who like to smoke cigarettes, so this five-pager is right in his wheelhouse.

Max Kole may be in the Swinging Six, a hot jazz band, but he doesn't like being second drummer, since all the chicks dig the first drummer. After a gig in Transylvania, Max visits a gypsy known as Madame Grimm and insists that she cast a spell to make him the greatest drummer. She reluctantly agrees but gives him the usual warning. Max quickly becomes the undisputed king of the drums, but there's a catch--he can't stop playing!

"For Whom the Drum Beats!" ends with Max unable to stop drumming. Any reader above the age of five saw this coming a mile away. At least Ditko provides cool graphics, even though the portrait of the hip jazz group and its adoring teen fans seems a decade or two out of touch.-Jack

This Thursday...
Join Us...
Don't Be A Chicken!

And Next Week...
Help Us Celebrate Our 
200th Issue With a Cake
Full of Glob!

The 100 Chapter 17: 68 & 67

 

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, 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. This is going to be fun!—Peter

The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) 

Starring: Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Jack Weston

Directed by Norman Jewison

" Let's play something else."

Who was it that gifted Steve McQueen with the nickname "King of Cool?" Coulda been anyone since it was evident to anyone who had a pair of eyes that Steve was indeed the king of cool. No movie star could do things with a smile and a turn of the head like McQueen, effortlessly as if he didn't even know he was doing it himself. But he did. That wagon scene in The Magnificent Seven where Steve purposely attracted the audience's eyes from star Yul Brynner to him shows he knew exactly what was what.

McQueen had built a career playing tough guys, usually macho men who worked the range or hunted outlaws or wore a soldier's uniform so, when The Thomas Crown Affair was released in 1968, audiences must not have known what to make of this startling transformation. Steve McQueen as a multi-millionaire, wearing a three-piece suit tailored in London, who moonlights as the master-planner of bank heists? Preposterous. And yet the guy pulls it off without effort.

McQueen has quite a bit of help though. There's director Jewison, who opted for a gentler, thoughtful approach to his crime drama. The famous chess scene seems to go on forever, quite a bit longer than contemporary "filmmakers" would attempt, and accomplishes the same effect as the obligatory soft-focus hump. It's even sexier, I'd argue. Jewison knew that if he told a compelling story, audiences would be patient. If you're looking for a big heist scene, go elsewhere; Jewison  films the robberies almost matter of factly, without much fanfare or trickery. The heist advances the plot, nothing more.

Then there's Faye, coming off the huge hit, Bonnie and Clyde, and soon to be the hottest actress in Hollywood, the perfect counterpart to McQueen. Sexy but brainy. Tough but vulnerable. She falls for Crown but just can't help double-crossing him. In future roles, Dunaway almost seemed to mute her sexual charisma, but here she's molten.

I first saw The Thomas Crown Affair in the early 1980s shortly after McQueen's death. One of the local stations was running a McQueen marathon, I think, and that's where I first saw this, The Cincinnati Kid, and Papillon. I had an inkling (from Bullitt and The Magnificent Seven) that this guy was something special but Crown sealed the deal for me. There were better actors, certainly, but only one male movie star was more captivating than Steve McQueen. We'll get to him soon. 

That final scene, Crown on a jet flying to freedom in another country with a smile on his face reminds me of Neil McCauley's credo: "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat." This guy looks like he'll be just fine.—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

Jack: I've never seen this and I don't know why. It seems like one I'd enjoy. Is that really a photo of Faye Dunaway? It doesn't look much like her.

John: This is a McQueen film that I own but have yet to see. I don't know if I saw him first in The Blob or The Great Escape, but I've been a fan since then. I even like The Hunter, which was my first time seeing him on the big screen.  I finally got around to The Getaway a few months back when it played at the Alamo Drafthouse, and seeing the trailer for the latest rehash of Thomas Crown just makes me more interested in checking out the original.

Gone With the Wind (1939)

Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable

Directed by Victor Fleming

"Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn."

Things are going swimmingly for gorgeous Scarlett O’Hara on her daddy’s plantation in the Old South until the Civil War breaks out and her home and plantation are ravaged! Though she has set her sights on Ashley Wilkes (who is married to the saintly Melanie), she finds it hard to resist the charms of roguish Rhett Butler, whom she marries (eventually) after he saves her and Melanie when those durn Yankees set fire to Atlanta. Will Scarlet ever stop chasing Ashley? Will Melanie survive another pregnancy? Will Rhett realize that his wife is a jerk?

Like many members of my generation, I first saw Gone With the Wind when it was broadcast in late 1976 over two nights on NBC. It was an epic then and, watching it today in the wake of all the reassessment of its depiction of the Old South, it’s still a great movie. Vivien Leigh portrays Scarlett initially as a spoiled girl; as the film goes on, the character grows deeper and more complex, but you never really root for her. The screen lights up whenever Clark Gable appears as Rhett and he seems to be having a whale of a time, though (as usual) he shows many layers of his character as well. The costumes, the sets, the color, the cinematography—wow! And that terrific score by Max Steiner. What a movie!—Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: The first time I saw this was in (I think) the late 1980s, when the film had a major re-release (including the intermission) at the Town & Country in San Jose. Hard to believe it's nearly four hours long since it just seems to breeze on by. It has an epic quality that I don't think has ever been captured since. Gable is great but what keeps me coming back (I've seen it at least a half dozen times since that initial theater viewing) is Vivien, who might just be the most beautiful thing I ever saw on a movie screen.

John: I had never seen this one on TV growing up, so when it came around to our local rep house (The Towne—not the Town & Country Peter refers to) in the late '80s or early '90s, I thought I should finally check it out on the big screen. Sadly, I was not impressed. It wasn't hard for me to believe it was four hours long; I felt every minute of it. As a result, I haven't revisited it since. Perhaps I should, since I obviously went in to that first viewing with my expectations set far too high. 

March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) 

Starring: Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Henry Brandon

Directed by Gus Meins, Charley Rogers

"Ollie Dee: So far so good.

Stannie Dum: It wasn't so far. We just came across the street."

To me, this will always be March of the Wooden Soldiers, though many are more familiar with it as Babes in Toyland. It's my favorite Laurel & Hardy film. The interweaving of all the fairy tale characters is quite clever, and the way in which they are rendered onscreen is pretty cool (even when it leads to us briefly believing a string of sausages is all that's left of one of the three little pigs...). And it's got a great monkey in a Mickey Mouse costume (apparently Walt Disney licensed the Mouse to Hal Roach Studios for inclusion in the film!), but it's Henry Brandon's Silas Barnaby and the Bogeymen who are the real stars of this children's horror show!

Ill-fitting, somewhat ridiculous costumes which appear to be made out of carpet samples notwithstanding, the Bogeymen are a convincing threat as we see them invade Toyland. This is probably at the top of my list of holiday classics I revisit every few years.—John

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: 78 minutes of sheer joy and one I must admit I'd forgotten all about. March was a Thanksgiving ritual around my grandmother's house in the 1960s. It usually came on around one in the afternoon and I never got tired of it. Thanks for reminding me of this one, John; it almost makes up for Highlander.

Jack: My wife turned me on to this one many years ago and we've watched it often, usually around Thanksgiving or Christmas, whenever it airs locally on channel 11. It's a lot of fun. The line, "A Christmas present? In the middle of July?" is one of those that we can say to each other (and to our kids) at random when the situation is right.

Rocky III (1982) 

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers

Directed by Sylvester Stallone

"This guy is a wrecking machine! And he's hungry! Hell, you ain't been hungry since you won that belt."

Rocky was the feel-good movie of the 1970s, a little nothing that grew into a big something. You had to be there to experience the buzz, not quite the proportion of a Jaws or Star Wars but still a seismic shift in culture. Everyone at school was talking about Rocky, but when I finally got around to seeing it (shortly after Rocky stole the statue from Network), I thought it was "okay." Three years later, Rocky II was a little less "okay," owing much to Stallone's very public campaign to be taken seriously as an artist (see the snoozefests known as Paradise Alley and FIST); the actor's pretentious interviews at the time couldn't help but enter my brain as I sat there in the theater. Still, looking back, II had some interesting takes on sudden fame and self-worth despite the increased sap and sentimentality.

1982. Probably the greatest summer ever (mine at least) at the Century Theaters. It seemed like two or three compelling flicks would land every week. E.T., The Thing, The Wrath of Khan, Poltergeist, Conan... the list goes on. So, there I stood in front of the Century 22, trying to decide whether to see Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid or Rocky III. I opted for the latter (thank goodness). An hour and a half later I exited the building exhilarated and ready to go right back in.

With III, Stallone for the most part discards the sap and sentimentality (save Mickey's death) and concentrates on giving the people what they want: fight scenes. The three bouts here are electric (in particular the climactic match) and are choreographed so well that you miss the seams and the missed punches. Raise your hand if you used Rocky's training scenes to motivate you for that day's trip to the gym. Stallone's muscles had muscles. 

Stallone surrounds himself with a strong supporting cast, most of whom are back for their third go-round. Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Burgess Meredith, and Talia Shire (the latter's is the only performance that doesn't ring true—Adrian's become a completely different person between II and III—some might say that's how a real-life person matures when their surroundings change, but the Rocky/Adrian argument at the beach comes off as phony to me) all make for interesting and humorous traveling companions for the ex-champ. Newcomer Mr. T. is the eye-opener here; his Clubber Lang almost seems to explode with pent-up energy, hate, and jealousy. His is the best performance in the film. The catchy theme song ("Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor) held on to the American Top 40 just like the film held on to the box office all through the Summer of '82.

There have been nine Rocky franchise films and I've watched every one of them several times (II and V the least), but it's III that I come back to the most for that adrenaline surge.—Peter

Remarks from the Gallery:

Jack: This was a fun movie! I remember we were all going around saying "I pity the fool" for a while. I may still say it from time to time. I managed to see this and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid in the theaters! Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid had Rachel Ward, so how bad could it be?

John: In the mix of the great 1982 lineup, Rocky III is certainly worthy of mention, but in my opinion there are a lot of other films from that year worthy of top 100 recognition ahead of this one. Yes, it's probably the most entertaining and rewatchable of the early Rocky films (I've only seen it once but was surprised by how much I enjoyed Rocky Balboa); the last time I revisited III was when we hosted a summer of '82 celebration back in 2012 and I've not been drawn back to see it since.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Starring: James Stewart, Doris Day

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

"Whatever will be, will be."

While on vacation in French Morocco, Dr. Ben McKenna, his wife Jo, and their son Hank, witness a murder in an open-air market. Before he dies, the victim whispers a message to Ben, leading to the kidnapping of Hank by criminals determined to carry out an assassination back in London. Can Ben and Jo find Hank and get him back safely? Will the assassination plot be foiled? And most important, what does the song “Que Sera, Sera?” have to do with it all?

I first saw The Man Who Knew Too Much when it was re-released in early 1984 after being kept out of circulation for two decades by Hitchcock, who knew a thing or two about suspense. It’s the first of his films to appear in the countdown of my 100 Favorite Movies and it’s certainly a goodie—Jimmy Stewart is my all-time favorite male movie star and, of course, Hitch is my all-time favorite director. Doris Day is terrific and the climactic sequence at the Albert Hall is gripping. Just try to watch this movie and not going around humming “Que Sera, Sera” for a day or two!—Jack

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: A really good Hitch with a fabulous Herrmann score. Though not one of my Top Five Hitch flicks, it's got a typically good performance by Stewart and it's immensely rewatchable. 

John: This one's a bit further down my Hitch list. The Birds didn't even make the final cut; nor did North by Northwest, and I'm still agonizing over the absence of both of those. But Hitch will be represented in my top 100, all in good time.   

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) 

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire

Directed by John McPhail

"Christmas is fast becoming my least favorite "C" word."

I've just about had my fill of zombie films. So much so that I will often avoid those that I am assured will win me over. Like Train to Busan. Or One Cut of the Dead. And don't even get me started on George Romeo's final zombie opus, which lacks the necessary George Romero to be called that... Twilight of the Dead. If you thought The Walking Dead was a great show because "it focused on the human characters, not the zombies," that just tells me you're not appropriately versed in the films of the master. But every once in a while, something will slip through the cracks and prove to be a fresh, new, worthy addition to a genre that has, let's face it, been chewed and re-chewed endlessly. Something that serves as a love letter to Romero and his films, and gives us a unique take on the phenomenon. Shaun of the Dead is an obvious example. And so is Anna and the Apocalypse. 

Ella Hunt is absolutely charming as Anna, who is prepared to launch herself into the world, post high school, in a way that doesn't align with her father's wishes for her. She's got a jerk for an ex-boyfriend, a best friend who likes her more than she realizes, and a teacher who is out to get her; basically, a normal high school life. So, when a zombie outbreak occurs, it's just one more thing to deal with. And deal with it she does. 

On paper, extending the rom-zom-com into the realm of musicals sounds like a horrible idea. But when I saw it was going to get a limited theatrical release, I watched the trailer and was compelled to check it out. Like Shaun, it was not only funny, but it didn't let you forget that a zombie apocalypse is a horror scenario where people you care about can die. And laid on top of that are a series of musical numbers that were both witty and catchy. "Break Away" and "Hollywood Ending" are two great examples. We were so enamored with the film on our first viewing that we went back to see it a second time during its one-week theatrical engagement. And, years later, it continues to please. We regularly sing along with the soundtrack album. It's my favorite Christmas musical (just edging out March of the Wooden Soldiers), and it might even be my all-time favorite musical, depending on your definition of the term (we'll see if any of my future selections qualify).—John

Remarks from the Gallery:

Peter: Here's one I've never seen and, sorry, mate, the tag line "Shaun of the Dead Meets La-La Land" does not make me want to seek it out. 

Jack: Well, that's a new one on me. A zombie musical? Why am I not surprised? In the last bunch of years, zombies have been so hot that it had to happen. I think the most recent zombie movie I saw was Dawn of the Dead. That was, what, 50 years ago or so?

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 198: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 183

July 1961

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Amazing Adventures #2

Cover by Jack Kirby & Sal Brodsky

"I Led the Strange Search for Manoo!" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★

"The World Below!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★★

(r: Weird Wonder Tales #22)

"Rocky's Last Ride!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★

Poor (and I do mean poor) Billy Jones can't get himself invited to any of the rich kids' parties; they tell him to stay in his own "social set." Heartbroken, Billy walks through the woods one day and stumbles upon a sight hundreds of Atlas protagonists before him have taken in: a busted-up spaceship and its mildly damaged cargo, a very strange looking alien (think, maybe, Humpty Dumpty with frog legs). The creature tells him that he is on Earth searching for the dangerous space criminal, Manoo, who has gotten the better of him and disappeared into the city. 

The alien explains that their race can morph into anything they want; right now his prey is disguised as a human. The only way to tell the invader from a normal human is that he won't cast a shadow. The creature hands our hero a ray gun and tells him to find Manoo and blast him before he destroys Earth. Billy lets out a cry of "I Led the Strange Search for Manoo!" and heads out on his trek. Even though there are millions of humans in the city, it doesn't take Billy very long to find Manoo hiding in an abandoned theater. 

Billy takes aim but just can't pull the trigger. Manoo takes the ray gun away and asks Billy where he got it. When Billy spills the beans, Manoo lowers his ray gun and explains that it is he, Manoo, who is the outer space policeman and the other big egg the real criminal. Billy doesn't know who to believe so he marches Manoo back into the forest at gunpoint and delivers him to his adversary. The two giant goofballs engage in some fisticuffs before the truth comes out and Manoo rewards his new friend for his bravery. Billy receives a gargantuan diamond for his troubles, heads back to town, buys the university all the rich kids were going to enroll in, and denies them entrance. So, in the end, Billy learns a valuable lesson: do unto others before they do it to you and if they've already done it to you then do it back even worse.

"Manoo" is the pits, the umpteenth tale that begins with a stroll through the woods and a shipwrecked alien. There's literally not one aspect of this crap I can recommend. The script is not the only low point; Kirby and Ayers are clearly running on fumes; the creature design is pathetic and it's hard to tell one human from another. And how about that climactic moral: good job, Stan! It's no wonder that this was one of only a handful of the Kirby/Lee monster tales that was ignored for reprinting.

Doctor Droom is hired by a steamship company to find their missing luxury liner, the Luxuria, which has vanished into thin air at sea. Droom boards a bathysphere and stumbles across a hatch on the bottom of the sea. When he enters the hole, he discovers it's a portal to the lost city of Atlantis. Investigating "The World Below!," he finds that the Atlanteans are about to launch a full scale attack on the surface world. Through the magical art of hypnosis, Droom quashes the invasion and saves all mankind. Though the script isn't breaking any ground and the art isn't much more than a bunch of talking heads, I still like the idea of a series character breaking up the monotony. 

Rocky Baines, manager of the local automated car wash, has been working the perfect con: he convinces the old people who drive into his wash that they've A/ run over his foot; B/ clipped his hip with their fender; or C/squashed his head under their tires. The con nets him lots of extra bucks but then this goofy guy comes in driving a "foreign model" and Rocky goes into his act, only to discover the mark ain't got no dough. When the nut hands Rocky the keys to the auto and tells him to keep it, the con artist quickly learns that this ain't no ordinary "foreign model." It's the old "Car from Mars" twist that's been used a few times before and ain't getting any newer, believe me.-Peter

Journey Into Mystery #70

Cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers

"The Sandman Cometh!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #13)

"A Thousand Years" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

(r: Crypt of Shadows #6)

"The Stone Man" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Kull the Destroyer #12)

Afraid his only son is becoming a limp-wristed mama's boy, Steve Bronson grabs the kid off his piano stool and tosses him onto an airplane bound for Mexico. Along with his wife, Anne, Steve visits a wonderful little village, hoping the outdoor atmosphere will stimulate little Bobby's manliness. The three discover a remote cave and do some family exploring. 

In the back of the cave, they find a locked steel door. Unable to jimmy the portal, Steve grabs hold of some blasting powder and blows open the door. Behind it they find a single, shapeless statue. Suddenly, the form comes to life, tells the startled family that he is the Sandman, and relates an origin story told many times before: centuries before, the Sandman had flown to Earth from the planet Sandinia-X410 (okay, I made up that part), but his ship had crashed and the natives, afraid Sandy was an "evil spirit," locked him away in the cave. Finally, he is free!

Being a he-man macho dude, Steve begins pummeling the alien, but to no avail; the monster keeps reassembling his disembodied grains. Sandman assumes a human shape and forces the Bronsons to drive him to America, so that he can scope out the vulnerability of Earth's people. Steve manages to draw the attention of the army but Sandman is not worried... once he hits the beach, it's Katy bar the door. He will absorb all the grains of sand in the world and become unstoppable. That is... until little Bobby tosses a bucket of water at the astonished creature and then scoops up all the wet sand and locks it in a crate. Steve congratulates Bobby on his intelligent thinking. Sure, the kid's reading books like a little fruitcake, but he destroyed a menace the army couldn't stop. Maybe an education isn't so bad.

No, but "The Sandman Cometh!" definitely is bad. The only things this microwaved mess has going for it are the two mighty guffaws I let out at the aforementioned scene where Steve just happens to have blasting powder while taking a hike with his family, and that climax, where Bobby takes a pretty small pail of water and destroys a six-foot-plus sand monster. I'm not sure why the Sandman can't just bust out of that crate. His plan for world conquest, as with that of other alien forces in the Atlas comics, needs a little filling in. What will he do with the world once he is its master? And how come he's called "Sandman" when he comes from outer space? Universal language?

In the deadly dull "A Thousand Years," a convict spending life behind bars wishes out loud for freedom and then is startled when the devil appears in his cell (well, we know he's the devil but Stan can't call him that lest the CCA stamp a "Refused" on the script). Old Scratch tells the con that he'll give him one thousand years of freedom for his signature. Satan gets the guy's mark and then causes an earthquake, releasing the prisoner. With hounds right behind him, the dope hides in what he believes is a plane on an air force base (best place to hide, no?). Later, he screams in shock as he realizes the craft is a rocket and it blasts into space. 

Last up is Steve Ditko's "The Stone Man," wherein an old man begs the statue of war hero Dralla for relief from hunger and poverty. The old-timer goes home and takes a nap, unaware that outside on his land gold nuggets begin popping up like mushrooms. Unfortunately, his greedy neighbors snap up all the shiny morsels and become rich, then enact laws that forbid the poor in their village. Dralla's statue is so enraged that it comes to life, transforms the gold into worthless dirt, and hustles the old man away to Valhalla. One of the better strips this month, despite its heavy moral climax (if you believe, you will win out) and awful proofreading (halfway through the story, Dralla becomes Drallas!). Sharp Ditko graphics.-Peter

Strange Tales #86

Cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers

"I Created Mechano!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers)  ★★

"The Secret of 'Georgie's Globe!'" (a: Steve Ditko) ★

"Beware of Meeks Bringing Gifts!" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Sol Brodsky)  ★★

Little Tommy's parents are worried about him since he's been spending so much time with "that old tramp Hopkins," but the little imp loves how Hopkins can make anything out of small pieces of nothing. When the State Fair is announced, Tommy convinces the old geezer to make something "real big," like the "biggest machine in the world!" After some thinking, Hopkins agrees if the kid will give him a hand.

One year later, the giant machine is ready to be tested just in time for the State Fair. Bobby christens the nuts 'n' bolts "Mechano" ("absolute genius," sighs Hopkins while questioning whether it was a good idea to let the kid play with the soldering iron) and Hopkins throws the switch. Sure enough, Mechano walks right out of the factory and along the city streets to the fairgrounds. Unfortunately, once he gets there, Mechano is accidentally blasted with an experimental atomic transmitter. Absorbing a ray of pure energy, Mechano becomes his own man and heads out of the fairgrounds to stir up some s**t. 

The police arrive on scene and shoot the robot full of holes but it just keeps coming. Hopkins grabs a crowbar and attempts to jam Mechano's pinion bar (!) but fails to stop the marauding monster. At just that time, an unscheduled armada arrives from space on a mission to conquer Earth. A group of coneheads pop out of the ship, armed with ray guns, remarking that their intel is crap. They were told earthlings were weak and read too many funny books, not that they were gigantic steel machines. After their rays do little damage to Mechano, they hop back in their tin can and fly back into space. The police arrive and blast Mechano with machine guns, destroying the savior of Earth.

Another month, another invasion from space, but at least this one is a little different. I like the interaction between mentor and pupil and the fact that, after he's created his glorious machine, Hopkins doesn't opt to get revenge on all his neighbors who've kicked him out of the country club. The art is hot and cold; some of the panels of Mechano are nicely inked while others look almost ignored. The aliens are hilarious; are those helmets or their heads?

What is "The Secret of Georgie's Globe?" Besides five pages of wasted space, it chronicles the adventures of Georgie, who receives the fabulous gift of a replica of Earth from his parents for his birthday (what kid wouldn't crave a globe?) and then discovers, to his dismay, that anything that happens to the sphere happens in the real world. He spills a glass of water on the Sahara and the Sahara floods, etc. Then, while moving house, the globe drops and breaks. Is it the end of the world? Not quite.

Reporter Walter Johnson is the only man on Earth who mistrusts the Meeks. Who are the Meeks? Well, they are a band of critters from another world who land on Earth and hand out gifts, claiming they are friends from another planet who exist only to make others happy. But Walter is wary. He cries "Beware of Meeks Bringing Gifts!" and forces a Meek onto his TV show to confess that the aliens are here to inherit the Earth. Their plan, to make humans fat and lazy (so that's how we got this way!) so that they could enslave them, worked like a charm until Walter Johnson saw through their scheme. I like the Kirby/Brodsky art but the (clearly) Stan statement in the last panels is a laugh.-Peter

Tales of Suspense #19

Cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers

"The Green Thing!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #14)

"The Haunted Paper!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #14)

"The Coming of Maaboo!" (a: Don Heck) ★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #14)

Why is a botanist so jumpy when he sees a plant sway in a breeze? His bored colleagues listen to the man's story about his efforts to create a serum to increase a plant's intelligence. Once he was satisfied that he had the right formula, he journeyed to an uninhabited island for a test and injected an ordinary weed with the fluid. The weed immediately grew six feet tall and began to move and speak.

After a shaky first step, "The Green Thing!" got its act together and demanded that the botanist ferry it to the mainland so it could embark on world domination. The man refused, raced to his boat, grabbed the outboard motor, and dove beneath the water, intending to smash the motor on the undersea rocks. Before the plant could stop him it had to do battle with a huge shark! Back on land, the botanist vainly tried to beat back the walking, talking plant with a tree limb before climbing a tree in an effort to avoid the Green Thing.

The plant compelled the tree to bend and deliver the man back to the ground, but the plucky botanist made a run for it and hid in a cave, where he found a small Ignatius Rex plant growing in the soil. This was the plant he originally intended to use for his experiments because it's known to be the highest form of plant life. The man injected serum into the little plant and it grew big and smart and defeated the Green Thing in stalk to stalk combat. Ignatius Rex bid the botanist farewell, cautioning him never again to fool with Mother Nature. That's why, when he tells his colleagues his tale, the botanist claims that his experiments were a failure.

The best thing I can say about "The Green Thing" is that it doesn't involve an invasion from outer space. Kirby and Ayers's art is adequate, as usual, but there's only so much that can be done to make a walking, talking weed visually interesting. It kind of resembles a prototype of Jack Skellington if the pumpkin head were green. The botanist makes some pretty questionable decisions along the way. Since he can't find one Ignatius Rex plant--the whole reason he went to this isolated island--he decides to inject a random weed instead, and why does he jump into the water to destroy the motor? There are plenty of surface rocks available. In my ongoing study, I see one panel with a view of Earth from space and dialogue balloons (p. 5) and zero panels depicting a group of floating heads.

A crook named Nick Rover has to leave town when he hears that the income tax boys are after him, so he relocates under another name, adding a pair of glasses and dyeing his hair black. Nick uses his ill-gotten gains to purchase the town paper, where he discovers that Olef, the old typesetter, has a knack for writing headlines trumpeting unfortunate events before they occur. "The Haunted Paper!" is always right and Nick demands to know how Olef can predict the future. The next day, the headline reads: "Smalltown Newspaper Owner Meets With Serious Accident!" and Nick quickly turns himself in at the police station, certain that a nice, cozy cell is the safest place. Back in the composing room, Olef chuckles to himself and remarks that sometimes fate needs a helping hand.

Ditko's art is so strong at this point that I wish he'd be assigned some longer stories. These five-pagers don't give him enough room! It's funny that the taxman is what strikes fear into Nick's heart; I guess he heard about Capone.

Charlie Wilkes will do anything for a buck. Presently, he's kind of beaten up and, when an old pal runs into him in Burma, Charlie tells the tale of "The Coming of Maaboo!" Having heard the legend of Maaboo, an alien who came to Earth ages ago and commanded local natives to gather up all the gold they could find and store it until he returned, Charlie hired a native guide to take him to visit the tribe. He disguised himself as Maaboo and announced that he was back and wanted the gold. The natives obliged and Charlie was on his way back to the city with his guide when the guide revealed that he was the real Maaboo and he was none too happy with Charlie.

Another dud from Don Heck. The odd thing about this story is that it ends with Maaboo menacing Charlie but it begins with Charlie back in the city, a bit beaten up and without gold, but not that bad off. I guess Maaboo didn't rough him up too badly.-Jack

Tales to Astonish #21

Cover by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers

"Trull! The Inhuman!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★★

(r: Creatures on the Loose #10)

"It Happened on 'The Silent Screen'" (a: Steve Ditko) ★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #8)

"Open Wider, Please!" (a: Don Heck) ★

An alien rocket ship crash lands in Africa, killing its sole occupant. The creature's life essence survives and floats through the air, looking for a new form to inhabit. Meanwhile, Phil, an engineer whose career came crashing down when a large bridge that he designed fell apart right after being dedicated, is on a ship bound for Africa, where he tries to forget his former fiance, Gloria, who dumped him after the bridge collapsed.

Gloria has taken up with Bart, the foreman of a construction crew slated to build a village in the African jungle. The project will utilize a big steam shovel designed by Phil. On site, Phil stops Bart from whipping a recalcitrant elephant and, just then, the wandering life force decides to enter the steam shovel, bringing it to life. The steam shovel suddenly acts on its own and announces that its name is Trull and it's an alien who plans to rule the world.

Phil, Bart, Gloria, and the work crew are forced to assist Trull as it studies the people of Earth and plans to take over. Gloria makes a run for it and is saved from certain death by the very elephant that Phil had spared from a beating by Bart. The elephant destroys the sentient steam shovel and the alien's life essence floats off again, presumably waiting for a sequel. Gloria tells Phil that she wants him back now that he's proven his manliness, but he tells her that she and Bart deserve each other.

"Trull! The Inhuman!" is truly all over the place. It's interesting that the Trull on the cover looks nothing like the big red steam shovel of the story; perhaps Lee and Kirby realized that it would look too silly. There was a tradition in science fiction stories of inanimate objects taking on lives of their own, but only in a 1961 Atlas tale would this be merged with a story about an alien who wants to take over the world. For the record, we have a floating heads panel on page 7 and panels with views of the Earth from outer space with dialogue balloons on pages 3 and 10.

"It Happened on 'The Silent Screen'" depicts movie theater patrons going to see a film called The Hulk. At the end they leave and the creature steps off the screen and into the auditorium! But wait, it's only a movie about that! No, the creature steps off the screen again! No, it's just a movie! And so on. A waste of five pages and of Ditko's talents.

Finally, in "Open Wider, Please!," a dentist determines that his patient is really a Martian spy. They grapple and it turns out that the patient is a robot from the Red Planet! The dentist pushes the robot's off button and ends the menace before revealing to the reader that he's a robot from Venus! Hoo boy, how many times will they pull out that twist ending? At least Don Heck draws a pretty nurse.-Jack

Thursday...
Jack Gives
a Damn

And Next Week...
The Sequel Absolutely
No One Begged For!