Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 137: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Horror Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 122

October 1956 Part II

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Mystery Tales #46

Cover by Bill Everett

"Forbidden!" (a: John Forte) ★

"Crisis!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

"Where is Lola Drake?" 

(a: Dick Giordano [?] & Vince Colletta) ★

"The Fake" (a: Al Williamson & Roy Krenkel) ★★

"The Strange Man!" (a: Sol Brodsky) ★

"The Empty Room!" (a: Robert Q. Sale) ★

Mobster Howard Burch has an irrational desire (some might say too irrational) to see what awaits him in the closet of his childhood home. Ma always told him that when she opened the door once she saw little Howie's future. From then on, the closet was "Forbidden!" But once Howard is through serving a five year sentence on Rykers, he heads right back to the old house, hoping to get answers to decades-old questions. Will he receive the knowledge he desires when he turns that knob? To make a long story short: No! Not that many of these stories make sense, but why would a criminal, on the run from the cops, stall his getaway to look into a closet? Especially since he's already in the future his mother would have seen.

A Martian armada is heading swiftly for Earth. "Crisis!" The military want to act fast and blast the ships into atoms, but the scientists argue that the intentions may be friendly. Eventually, a compromise is reached; Major Cabot will commandeer a fleet of fighter jets into outer space and await the aliens. If the visitors make any threatening move, Cabot is to take action. When a door opens in the lead craft and a sphere drops towards Earth, Talbot assumes the Martians have thrown out the first pitch in a galaxy war. He unleashes hell and the Martians turn tail.

Later, down on Earth, the sphere dropped by the spaceship is examined and a recording plays, notifying all that the Martians had come in peace and to prove it they were prepared to hand over a solution to all of Earth's troubles... war, famine, disease, Yoko Ono... the works. Boy, are we fools! Klaatu Barada Nikto! But at least the tired script is embellished by some nifty graphics by Harlan Ellison's whipping-boy, Don Heck 

Ed Gifford knows a good thing when he spots it, so he badgers millionairess Lola Drake into marrying him. Lola has other ideas; she's not in love with Ed. But Ed can be a determined dude and he hires a hypnotist to convince Lola that marrying Ed is the best thing in the world. While Ed is discussing the mesmerist's fee with him, Lola slips out the window and jumps into a nearby bomber jet (!), taking to the blue skies.

Ed hires a pilot to follow Lola and they crash land in a field. Ed has to write the pilot a check for  damage. He catches up to Lola and convinces her to head back with him. He has to buy a car from a nearby farmer and writes the man a check. Long story short: the hypnotist was in love with Lola and actually put Ed under a spell. The dope spends his entire life savings and loses his chance at a million bucks! "Where is Lola Drake?" is dumb with a capital "D." The Giordano/Colletta art is competent but looks more suited to a romance funny book.

In "The Fake," a sailor stumbles across Atlantis and discovers the legendary city's secret: it was founded by visitors from the planet Xyli! Slapdash sci-fi/fantasy script is heightened by Krenkel/Williamson graphics but, as usual, the boys aren't given much to work with other than talking heads. More's the pity. Fantastic adventures on the high seas continue with "The Strange Man!" Captain Mark Trent wrecks his ship and loses his nerve until a weird stranger tells him to quit whining and grow a set. Trent then overcomes wild obstacles, including giant birds and a rock storm from the heavens, to rediscover his love of the sailing life. Turns out, Trent was sailing in a youngster's toy boat. Groan.

In the truly awful final story this issue, "The Empty Room!," Lord Ainsley stops speaking after his son goes missing in the war. Ainsley blames himself for talking the kid into enlisting in the first place but... and here's the good news... Ainsley and his son are actually visitors from a parallel universe and Ainsley Jr. has been recalled to Earth-II to mend from the injuries he sustained in a fierce battle. More tedious and safe fluff delivered by a writing staff clearly drained of any original ideas.-Peter

Mystic #52

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Effigy!" (a: Wally Wood) ★★

"Iron Face!" (a: Bob Powell) ★1/2

"The Secret of the Iron Needle!" (a: John Forte) ★★

"The Last Laugh!" (a: Pete Morisi) ★

"They Wait in the Caves!" (a: Mort Drucker) ★★1/2

(r: Vault of Evil #10)

"The Land of Missing Persons" (a: Jim Infantino) ★

On the run from the cops, Vincent Durand ducks into the headquarters of the voodoo cult he used to belong to, headed up by Papa Genoux. The old man agrees to hide Durand, but when the cops come, they arrest the whole lot of them on suspicion of harboring a fugitive. Papa confesses to the police that he knows nothing of Durand's crimes and that the crook is no longer a member of their loony band of cultists.

Later, after the police release Papa and his followers, Durand makes a repeat appearance. Papa Geroux pleads with the wanted man to give himself up, but to no avail. Durand leaves, pledging he'll never surrender. So it's time for Papa and the voodoo cult to craft "The Effigy!," a small doll resembling Durand that supposedly has supernatural powers. Sure enough, the doll puts Durand through all kinds of obstacles and he narrowly escapes capture several times. Late that night, he busts into the cult HQ and steals his effigy, but the cops are waiting for him. He and Little Vince tear off into the night. Durand tosses the doll out the window high atop a cliff road, hoping the spell will be broken, but ultimately slams the brakes and heads back to search for the little rascal.

Oh, how far Atlas has fallen in a couple years. In 1954, Durand would have been torn to pieces by a badger who happens upon the doll and starts chewing but, here in 1956, the guy has an onrush of nerves and changes his mind. There is no suspense to speak of because we know, thanks to the CCA, voodoo is toothless. I do think it's a nice touch that the voodoo worshippers wear yellow robes and appear to be respectable businessmen rather than salivating zombies. Aside from that peculiarity, the Wally Wood art is the only drawing point. That splash looks like it was pulled straight from an EC comic.

In the future world of 1985, the West and the East fight a long, bitter war but the East holds the upper hand when they invent a gizmo they dub "Iron Face!" that can project the innermost thoughts of POWs. Now the West's secrets are out! But the West has its sly dogs as well... they come up with a foolproof plan: send the stupidest man in the Army to be captured and reveal false war plans. What a great idea! And it works. The stinkin' commies never knew what hit them!

In "The Secret of the Iron Needle!," space explorers, searching for a planet just like Earth, land on what they consider to be a prime candidate. There is foliage, animals, and oxygen. What else could you ask for? There's just that pesky giant silver tube that concerns our intrepid voyagers. In the end, it turns out to be a key to a child's wind-up toy. Time to amscray! Yep, it's an idea that's been done to death, but I thought it was moderately entertaining anyway. The final few panels, where the recognition hits these astronauts, is pretty funny stuff.

In the three-page "The Last Laugh!," a heartless businessman wishes he lived in "the dark ages" and gets his wish. Panyard and Nolan sail the seas in search of pearls but, on their latest voyage, they come up short and Panyard decides to get rid of his partner. In a bizarre accident, Nolan takes a dive overboard and is lost at sea. A year later, since his money earned from the paltry pearl expedition is almost gone, Panyard runs across Nolan on a Singapore street. When pushed, Nolan reveals he swam to a nearby island and was rescued by natives, who revealed to him their large cache of pearls! 

Panyard begs Nolan for the coordinates of the island and his ex-partner agrees. A few weeks later, Panyard steps ashore onto the magical island and meets the friendly natives, who happily lead him to the good stuff. There's only one hitch... I have a fond spot for this one as I can vividly recall reading it as an impressionable pre-teen in Vault of Evil #10. It's got some great Mort Drucker art and, yeah, the ending is a bit limp and unthreatening, but what post-code strip wasn't?

In the dreary and unimaginatively drawn "The Land of Missing Persons," a nutty scientist uses a magnetic beam to divert airplanes and their passengers into a desolate hideout, where they are forced to build the egghead's perfect city within a huge mountain. As usual, the evil genius's motives don't add up (he was unrecognized in our world for his brilliance, so he's gone on a dangerous pout). There's one decent twist in the final panel but even that doesn't make much sense.-Peter

Mystical Tales #3

Cover by Bill Everett

"Morton's Machine!" (a: Bob Forgione & Jack Abel) ★★

"Someone Behind Me!" (a: Reed Crandall) ★★★

"Four Doors To...?" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★1/2

"Bedtime Story" (a: ? and Jack Abel (?)) ★1/2

"Someone Stopped the Bus!" (a: Tony Mortellaro) ★1/2

"Trapped in the Phantom Lighthouse!" (a: Mac Pakula) ★

Walt Morton is a practical joker who has convinced his co-worker, an electronics expert named Harris, that he's working on a real time machine. One night, a short in the power system causes a fire and Harris risks his life to save the machine. Months pass and Harris announces that, despite a few kinks, the machine is ready. The next evening, Morton gathers his colleagues to see the machine fail but, when Harris pulls the switch, Morton disappears! Harris explains that one of the kinks is that "Morton's Machine!" sends people into the past but can't return them to the present!

I have to give Bob Forgione and Jack Abel credit for going above and beyond the call of duty to illustrate a mundane story. The splash page, which I've reproduced here, is striking, and the art throughout the story is sharp and more visually interesting than your run of the mill Atlas four-pager.

While prospecting for uranium in the Rocky Mountains, Harry and Fred have an accident when the brakes fail on their jeep. Harry's leg is broken and Fred discovers that the spot where they are stuck is loaded with the valuable mineral, but they have nothing to eat and no prospects for being saved. Fred abandons Harry and walks off alone, thinking that it's every man for himself, but he soon realizes that there is "Someone Behind Me!" A shadowy figure follows Fred, who soon does the right thing and returns to Harry, just in time to shoot and kill a mountain lion. A rescue plane flies over and the duo are saved; Fred sees the shadowy figure and it reveals that it is his conscience, which will now disappear.

Despite the corny ending, this is a solid story for a post-code Atlas comic, with art by another one of the EC greats, Reed Crandall. Of course, since the company was probably paying very little, it's not the best four pages I've ever seen from him, but it's better than most of what we read and he creates a haunting atmosphere.

Small-time crook Blackie Morgan robs a jewelry store and runs from the cops, hiding in the cellar of a deserted tenement. He meets a mysterious old man who offers "Four Doors To...??" and suggests that they'll lead to freedom if Blackie survives. The crook passes through the doors and enters the dimensions of guilt, conscience, remorse, and servitude, after which he realizes that he should turn himself in. Emerging from the final dimension, Blackie discovers that he has aged twenty years and the jewels were fakes to begin with!

These four doors should have been left closed. At least the editor didn't waste one of his better artists on this hokey morality play.

Little Tad asks Grandpa for a "Bedtime Story" and is treated to the tale of the first voyage from the Earth to the moon on a rocket ship called the Thunderer that was damaged halfway to its destination. There weren't enough space boats for everyone to exit, so the captains and their wives stayed aboard to wait for another ship to rescue them. Time passed and they had children and grandchildren who grew up thinking the spaceship was home and not knowing they were in space. Guess which grandpa and grandson are excited at the end to see a rescue ship approaching?

Groan! The GCD speculates that Jack Abel did the inks, but the bland pencils go uncredited, as does the lifeless story.

A bus carrying a traveling vaudeville troupe nearly drives off a cliff in the snowstorm but doom is averted when a ventriloquist's dummy is catapulted out of his carrying case and lands on the brake! "Someone Stopped the Bus!" is that rare Atlas post-code story where the writing is a hair better than the art--how many traveling vaudeville troupes were still going in 1956? The idea is so goofy that it manages to hold up for three entire pages.

Ed and his pal are a pair of writers whose small boat is tossed in a storm. Fortunately, they end up right where they wanted to go, at the lighthouse they were just hired to man. That night, the bright light illuminates a fleet of jets and the pair assume they're a foreign attack force. In order to save the country, they knock over the lighthouse with the butts of a couple of rifles, and the ships disappear. They are fired the next day but, on searching the area, they can't find any sign of the lighthouse, just part of one of the ships, floating in the water. It seems they were "Trapped in the Phantom Lighthouse!" though I can't exactly say they were ever trapped or what the heck was going on.-Jack

Spellbound #30

Cover by Bill Everett

"He Must Be Destroyed" (a: Doug Wildey) ★

"Homecoming" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"We're Going to Drown" (a: Bill Walton) ★

"Beware... the Giants" (a: Vic Carrabotta) ★1/2

"What Lurks in the Fog?" (a: Marvin Stein) ★

"The Tyrant!" (a: unknown) ★1/2

Carl Terrell's frequent headaches led him to a doctor, who ran tests and concluded that he was not normal. Carl fled town and now mopes about how he's different from everyone else. He can will objects to come to him, he can read minds, he can make people do things...your typical X-Man. Suddenly, a voice in his head calls to him and he's so excited to learn that there's another mutant that he drops everything and drives an hour to Boonetown to meet Justin Ford.

A newspaper reports on a crime wave in Boonetown and Carl realizes that Ford is using his powers for no good. Carl tells Justin, through brain messages, that he's not that kind of mutant and, when they meet, they have a mental battle that ends in both of them losing their mutant powers. Carl walks off, happy to be normal.

"He Must Be Destroyed" is terrible, from Doug Wildey's sub-par artwork to the bizarre story that ends with a standoff described this way: "Never was there such a duel upon the Earth before! Mind against mind, strange power against strange power!" You'd think that might generate some excitement in the artist, but no--we see the back of Carl's head and Justin in shadow, with a lightning bolt between them to represent this epic battle. In the next panel, Justin collapses, still in shadow. It's hardly Professor X vs. Magneto.

As boys, Phil and Jay liked to pretend to go to Mars; Phil wanted to help mankind, while Jay wanted to help himself. Fourteen years later, the brothers are in space, on a rocket ship coming back from the Red Planet. Their "Homecoming" is clouded by the fact that both contracted an alien virus! When they land on Earth, Jay cares not for others and leaps into a jeep, which he soon crashes. In an isolation ward, Phil learns that Jay has died, but the optimist is certain that a cure will be found and mankind will conquer Mars.

I can't believe I'm giving a one star rating to a story drawn by Paul Reinman, but this is terrible. There's little rationale for them having a virus or for Phil's concluding optimism.

Three men go down to the ocean floor in a giant diving bell; one is a professor, who has a theory that man might have evolved under the sea had he not come onto land. The cable lowering the bell snaps and it falls to the bottom, where the men fear that "We're Going to Drown" without oxygen or a means to get back to the surface. After a few hours, an air hammer from outside pierces a hole and air is fed into the bell by a hose, providing enough air pressure to cause the bell to float to the surface, where the men are rescued. The professor thinks his experiment failed until the captain of the ship that rescued them explains that no one was sent down to rescue the men, they must have somehow developed while they were down there and saved themselves.

I read this story twice, despite the terrible art, just so I could try to figure out what happened. As best I can figure it, the trio were subject to incredibly rapid evolution that somehow allowed them to introduce an air hose from outside the bell without going outside or having an air hose. Crazy, I know, but that's the best I can do.

A trio of white explorers lurk in the brush outside a native camp in the jungle, listening to the locals talk about giants! The men head off into the jungle and are followed by the natives, who do their level best to kill them with darts. The men escape and return to safety, where they are told that the tribe they observed are pygmies and the giants are the normal-sized white men!

I gave "Beware... the Giants" a mercy extra half star because Vic Carrabotta's art was not as bad as what I saw in the first three stories this issue. The story itself was a waste of four pages.

"What Lurks in the Fog?" you may ask? Another godforsaken Atlas story. In this one, a poor young man named Ricky thinks he's unworthy of the love of a rich young woman he met on the docks until he has a supernatural encounter with an old Spanish galleon in the fog that identified the amulet he wears around his neck as belonging to Spanish nobility. Now he can marry the rich blonde! Marvin Stein's scratchings are about on par with the rest of the pages in this train wreck of a comic.

Finally, "The Tyrant!" tells of Luther Gordwin, a scientist who invents a machine called the Futureviser that shows future events like a TV show. Leading scientists gather, without popcorn, and watch the world in 2011, where a tyrant named Mr. Supreme keeps everyone in a state of anger and hatred. Of course, he turns out to be Luther's great-grandson, so Luther destroys the machine, but Mr. Supreme still rules in the future.

Thank goodness the final panel tells us that "people will always rise against such dictators, for the people cannot be kept down for long." That's comforting in 2025 America. I knew reading this comic would be beneficial!-Jack

Next Week...
Catwoman Finally Returns...
as a Hero?!