Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 140: Atlas/Marvel Horror & Science Fiction Comics!

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 125

November 1956 Part I

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Adventure Into Mystery #4

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Hex!" (a: Don Heck) ★★1/2

(r: Chamber of Chills #13)

"The Voice in the Shell!" (a: George Roussos) ★★

"The Invaders" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

"The Menace of the Little Men!" (a: Chuck Miller) ★

"None Are So Blind!" (a: Al Williamson) ★★

"Those in a Trance" (a: Bob Powell) ★★1/2

Frank Hubbard agrees to move with his new wife to her hometown in Pennsylvania but is peeved by "The Hex!" painted on their barn. Julia explains to Frank that the hex wards off evil and bad luck and that everyone in the area has one.

Frank refuses to become one of "the savages" and paints over the hex, much to the dismay of gorgeous Julia. It's not long before bad luck befalls the couple. Frank falls ill with a mystery malady, the crops burn in a freak lightning storm, and the entire farm floods during a once-in-a-lifetime storm. Still, Frank refuses to give in to his wife's wishes to repaint a hex on the barn.

Then, one morning, as if by magic, Frank feels wonderful and there's a knock at the door. It's the mailman, bringing Frank the news that he won a $25,000 sweepstakes. With glee, he races out of the house into the garden where Julia... is finishing repainting the hex! A cute little cautionary fable (I still refuse to remove the labels on my pillows for just such a reason) with some fabulous Donn Heck art. If Don's 1960s work had half the charisma and vivaciousness of "The Hex!," critics would have been quite a bit more positive when assessing the man's art.

Deep-sea diver Ken Bayard is searching for unusual seashells for his "cute as a button" eight-year-old niece and he latches onto what looks like the perfect specimen. When he gets back up above the water and puts the shell to his ear, he can hear "The Voice in the Shell!" Actually, voices! Intrigued, he dives further down the next day and is sucked into an underground world. Ken has found Atlantis (he knows it's Atlantis because there's a big ATLANTIS sign over what appears to be an ancient road). 

Suddenly, men rise from the city with weapons and evil etched upon their faces. Ken knows it's time to grab a hunk of highway so he blasts up to the surface in record time, with the seamen staying behind. Ken gets a bad case of the bends but it's better than being skewered by Namor's trident. Silly but harmless stuff, forgotten five minutes after being consumed, with by-the-numbers graphics by George Roussos.

Earth seems on the verge of World War III when "The Invaders" from space appear in the sky. Suddenly, the world's military forces must join together for the survival of humanity. This one has been done a time or two as has the really silly twist at the climax. In "The Menace of the Little Men!," a group of vacationers are stranded at a hunting lodge, held hostage by a trio of little green men. The Martians are looking for the perfect specimen as a blueprint for their fleet of robots. Another dopey twist climax, but at least this one only wastes three pages.

Explorers Guy and Clark are searching for the magical "valley of giants," a land where giants wander the tundra freely. The expedition is grueling, but finally they come to the fabled valley and are disappointed when the natives are all normal-sized. They say their goodbyes to the friendly villagers after a brief stay, unaware that they drank a potion that made them just as large as the natives, who don't want their wonderland publicized! "None are So Blind!" is very silly (I think our heroes probably would have felt their bodies going through some kind of change), but the Al Williamson art makes it worth a read.

Composer Serge Mazerik is working on his latest symphony, surely a masterpiece, when he notices that the piece is putting his dog to sleep. Later, he invites his friend Armand over for a listen and, again, the sound of snoring fills the air. At first outraged, the musical genius then begins to ponder a future where the rich come to listen to his music and fall asleep, leaving their wallets and purses to be pinched. All goes haywire though at the first concert, where everyone falls asleep... except the cop who arrests Serge. The detective came to the concert with his wife and, not being a fan of classical music, turned his hearing aid off! Thumbs up to "Those in a Trance" for its cute and clever twist and Bob Powell's best art in quite a while.-Peter

Astonishing #55

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Creature in the Cave" 

(a: George Roussos & John Giunta) ★1/2

"The Way He Died!" (a: Reed Crandall) ★★1/2

"Where Prowls the Beast!" (a: Angelo Torres) ★★★1/2

"Ravalo the Mysterious!" (a: Dick Ayers) ★1/2

"The Man Who Was Taken!" (a: Joe Maneely) ★1/2

"His Brother's Keeper" (a: John Forte) ★★1/2

A big game hunter is after the biggest game of his career... the legendary creature, the Evil One! The thing lives in a foreign country in a hidden valley filled with monks. When Ellis seeks permission to shoot the thing, he is denied. No one, and I mean no one, tells Ellis no! That night, he sneaks out of the village and heads for "The Creature in the Cave." When he finds it, the thing looms above him but makes no move to assault him.

Just then, the monks arrive and explain that the thing is their way of keeping villagers from committing crimes. The monster removes his head, revealing a man in a costume. The monks then tell Ellis that he will stay in the valley as the new Evil One. Predictable script with art that very much resembles 1960s Gold Key; it does the trick without much work involved.

Paul was born a mutant, with powers of suggestion that can alter a man's mind. Now, the US government wants Paul to fly to "a foreign country" (hmmmm...) and force his will on a dictator who's about to declare war on the free world. Paul accepts his assignment and arrives just outside the evil man's residence. As the commie unknown country's leader gets a breath of fresh air on his balcony, Paul gives him a "push" with his mental powers and the Russkie despot drops dead. 

But then Paul remembers that if he uses his entire power at once, he'll drop dead as well. He does. It's only then, in the epilogue, we discover that the government official who's been narrating was Paul's father. Yep, it's pretty hokey and convoluted, but "The Way He Died!" is also pretty effective. I'm not sure how Paul knew that turning his "energy" level to 11 would kill him (I assume from past mutant experiences), but the fact that he forgot it would deep-six him is pretty silly. This is not prime Reed Crandall, by the way; the figures are stiff and need a better inker.

Daniel Morey receives a bundle of correspondence from his old friend Mark Trask, whom he hasn't seen in years. Daniel reads the letter and becomes engrossed in what became of Mark Trask, who always insisted that mental power won out over physical. Trask had stumbled upon a lost world populated by dinosaurs and, through an unfortunate encounter with a T. Rex, was trapped in the deep valley with no way out. He had grabbed the nearest giant bird available and hoped the map and letter would reach his old friend. Intrigued, Morey packs up and heads to the Lost Valley.

Wow! Angelo Torres delivers art so far above his comrades-in-Atlas at the time that you'd (again) mistake it for work left over when EC's science fiction/fantasy line collapsed. Lump Torres in with Frazetta and Williamson as the best artists of jungle peril stories. The script is exciting and comes equipped with an effective twist ending. "Where Prowls the Beast!" might be the best story I've run across so far in the post-code era.

"Ravalo the Mysterious!" is a silly "what if" story about a woman who meets a handsome man on a station platform who informs her he works for the great Ravalo the Magician and they're looking for a female assistant. But who is the handsome man and should she accept his invitation? No.

Good-natured Ollie takes all the pranks and jokes thrown at him by the mean folk of Hooterville and still emerges smiling, unscathed. When aliens arrive on Earth looking for one single human being without malice, they select Ollie, of course. It's only when he's on the ship and doffs his mask that we discover Ollie was an alien. "The Man Who Was Taken!" has three pages of Joe Maneely's art and that's about it.

In the finale, "His Brother's Keeper," astronaut Larry Collins has lost his nerve while on the planet Mars. He doesn't have the guts to get on the ship back to Earth and that's that. But his brother, the famous pilot Dave Collins, is living nearby and Larry's C.O. explains the situation to the space vet. Dave finds Larry in a pub, nursing his sorrow, and insists that the next spaceship to Earth will definitely have a Collins on board. 

Larry disagrees and his brother cold cocks him, carries him to the spaceport, and dumps his unconscious body on the tarmac. Larry awakens, tells his brother he's seen the light, and climbs aboard the rocket. As Dave leaves the base, two soldiers discuss the fact that Dave Collins lives on Mars because he lost his nerve to make a return trip! Somehow, I never saw that ironic twist coming! The script for "His Brother's Keeper" was written by EC vet (and future DC mystery line powerhouse), Jack Oleck.-Peter

Journey Into Mystery #40

Cover by Bill Everett

"I Saw a Demon!" (a: John Giunta) ★★

"The Silence!" (a: Gene Colan) ★★

"How Harry Escaped" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★1/2

"The Strange Secret of Henry Hill!" (a: Bill Draut) ★★

"The Victim!" (a: Vic Carrabotta) ★1/2

"The Question That Can't Be Answered!" (a: John Forte) ★★

A scientist named Morgan has a theory that a machine could be used to read sound waves etched on ancient surfaces and he builds a machine to test it. Using an ancient rock unearthed in Egypt, he hears a chant and suddenly a demon appears, explaining that he will use his powers to rule the world. There's only one problem: the demon has to grant one wish to the person who summoned him. Morgan wishes him back to where he came from and destroys the machine.

Extra points to "I Saw a Demon!" for the unintentionally hilarious speech where the demon explains that he's really a mutant created by ancient radiation and ancient people called him "the man." Over time, that was garbled into "de man" and, finally, "demon." The demon also resembles Sub Mariner in a red cape that drags on the ground. You'd think a demon would be smart enough not to announce his plans to the person who could wish him away.

In 2076, the first men reach Mars and find that it has a breathable atmosphere. On exploring the planet, they find a town that looks just like one on Earth! However, there are no inhabitants. Befuddled by "The Silence!," the astronauts leave a signpost that reads, "We came, we saw, we found nothing!" and then take off back to Earth. An hour later, apelike Martians emerge from hiding, puzzled that the humans left so soon after the Martians built them a town just like one on Earth.

Gene Colan's art is the highlight of this pointless three-pager. It's interesting how his style remained so consistent for decades.

A banker named Harry Thomas flees the U.S. after embezzling millions. He discovers a portrait that causes the person looking at it to grow younger as long as the portrait is hung in moonlight. After paying crooks to steal the portrait, Harry finds himself growing younger until the police enter the house and arrest him, insisting that he's too young to be who he says he is. The portrait remains in moonlight and Harry keeps growing younger until he disappears. The portrait is now blank!

Once again, Jack Oleck gives Carl Wessler a run for his money in the bad script department. "How Harry Escaped" is a story we've all read before and the art by Ed Winiarski doesn't do it any favors.

Abner Ferris wonders what is "The Strange Secret of Henry Hill!" that allows the rich, handsome young man to succeed at everything. Discovering that Professor Seth Blye put Henry through school, Abner pays a nocturnal visit to the abandoned house where the Prof lived and worked. He finds a mysterious machine that is still running and a diary that explains that the Prof transported Henry as a baby from another dimension to our own. The jealous man discovers that he can eliminate Hill by turning a dial on the machine so, like any good villain, he attempts to blackmail Henry for $100K. Too bad Abner doesn't realize that he, not Henry, was the baby from another dimension; when he destroys the machine, Abner fades away, having returned to the dimension from whence he came.

This story is more enjoyable than it has a right to be, mainly because of the odd plot and the twists and turns it takes along the way. The best thing Bill Draut (or whoever colored the story) does is to give the baby blond hair, so we think it grows up to be blond Henry rather than dark-haired Abner.

A con man named Adam Stokes targets an old inventor named Charles Perkins and convinces "The Victim!" that he is a promoter, interested in developing his gizmos. Perkins shows off his new rainmaking machine and gives Stokes a check for $5000 to start a publicity campaign. Stokes is living it up! Soon, he spies a machine that Perkins calls a Space Diminisher. The inventor throws a switch and both men find themselves on the planet Pluto! Turns out Perkins is a purple Plutonian who was intent on proving that his machine worked by bringing an Earthling to Pluto! Stokes played along perfectly.

Another Atlas story ends with a development out of left field where one of the characters turns out to be an alien from outer space. Carrabotta's art here is not bad and reminds me in spots of Ayers or Sekowsky.

Ned Parker is a cynical reporter determined to expose Prof. Jiminez, a hypnotist whose act involves bringing back to life a woman who has been dead for 200 years. During a performance where Jiminez puts his assistant, Cara, to sleep, Parker is in the audience and also nods off, hypnotized. He travels 500 years into the future, where he accuses another hypnotist of fraud and is hypnotized into going 500 years into the past. On stage, Cara accuses Jiminez of fraud and he thinks he's ruined, but Parker confronts him backstage and tells him he's for real. Parker poses "The Question That Can't Be Answered!," asking the hypnotist "'Who am I'"?

The puzzle that ends this story is intriguing: is the Ned Parker of 1956 the real one, or is the man 500 years in the future the real Ned? The writer provides no answers. John Forte's art is serviceable but hardly exciting.-Jack

Journey Into Unknown Worlds #51

Cover by Carl Burgos

"Who is Nokki?" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

"He Was Nobody!" (a: Wally Wood) ★★

"I'm Afraid to Shut My Eyes!" (a: Bob McCarthy) ★

"The Faceless Man!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"Inside the Dark Cave" (a: John Severin) ★★★

"Our Strange Neighbors" (a: John Forte) ★★

High in the Tibetan mountains, a greedy explorer named Grover Clayton learns of a large vein of gold and offers to reward any native who will guide him to it. One man agrees and, after an arduous journey, they reach the gold. Grover turns on his guide and shoots him, but the guide reveals that he is a spiritual being known as Nokki, and he leaves Grover alone to die on the remote, snowy mountain.

I must be losing my faculties, since I did not guess the twist ending of "Who Is Nokki?" in advance. I figured Nokki would be an abominable snowman or an alien from outer space, or perhaps an abominable Martian snowman. Joe Sinnott's art is decent, especially in a panel with Grover blasting away at Nokki that looks like an illustration from a Western pulp.

The only thing keeping the town of Valley Ridge from being destroyed is a dam, and it's been raining so long and so hard that the dam can't hold back the water for much longer! An old man called Preston the Magician offers to help, but his advice to have faith and pray seems to yield little benefit. The dam watchman warns everyone to clear out, but suddenly a young stranger appears and leads the townsfolk up to the dam, where they try to avoid destruction. It's too late--the dam bursts and the town is destroyed. The people rebuild the town and the state builds a new dam; the people look for the silent stranger who led them in their hour of need, but it turns out that "He Was Nobody!" The old magician denies being the source of salvation and, when he's alone, takes off his fake beard and reveals himself to be the young stranger, who used the faith of the people to accomplish a miracle.

I give the writing of this story one star, but I give the art by Wally Wood a rating of four stars. The graphics are as good as anything he did for EC, even though his hard work was in service of a worthless tale.

After renting a house in France that was once owned by a famous painter named Rambeau, John Martin returned to the States, where he tells his psychiatrist that "I'm Afraid to Shut My Eyes!" Rambeau was known for his primitive paintings of jungles, but one day he vanished. While staying in the house, Martin had a dream that he walked into one of the jungle paintings and heard a voice calling him to stay. Now he fears that if he snoozes, he'll be trapped forever on the other side of a canvas. John reluctantly accepts a sleeping pill from the shrink, has another dream of the jungle, and barely escapes.

Aside from the terrible scribbling by Bob McCarthy, this story made little sense. In the first caption, it says that John is back in America. Yet his shrink tells him "'Good night, monsieur,'" and at the end of the story he is seen fleeing the house, which suggests that he's in France. I'm confused.

Earl Tenley is happily married, but he keeps thinking there's something he should recall but cannot. While out for a walk one evening, he encounters three men whose faces are shadowy and who wear spandex suits and flowing capes. He suddenly recalls that he was sent from the planet Daneb to scout Earth and see if it's ready to benefit from the other planet's advances. The aliens invite Earl to return to his home planet and its cold, mechanized civilization, but Earl declines, having gotten used to Earth and this crazy little thing called love.

A sappy story is improved by very nice art from Steve Ditko, who clearly labored over each page. It may only by 1956, but his style is already evident in the four pages of "The Faceless Man!," including a panel I've reproduced here that features one of Ditko's trademarked silhouetted figures.

"Inside the Dark Cave" on a hill in Ireland live a group of leprechauns, imprisoned by a boulder that blocks the cave's entrance. One of the group produces a musical instrument that, when played, will send a thought to a mortal, who will come and move the rock, thus freeing the wee folk. They think hard and come up with the name of a man who will be bound to succeed. They play the instrument, which will work its magic only one time, but the man who responds can't budge the boulder. Who would think that such a puny lad would be named Samson Muldoon?

I have to hand it to the editor of this issue--Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, and now John Severin! Quite a lineup! I am particularly fond of Severin's art, and this three-pager gives him the opportunity to draw some spiffy leprechauns. The twist ending is cute, too.

 A real estate man named Henry Daniels is surprised when a trio of green-skinned aliens from the planet Zeraphon show up at his office, wanting to buy a piece of land to settle on. He sells them a patch of crummy land on the outskirts of town and they pay him in gold nuggets. Soon, the local bigots start to talk about "Our Strange Neighbors" and grab their torches and baseball bats in order to drive the immigrants back to where they came from. The aliens fight back and the bigots run off. Days later, they vamoose, having left a lovely neighborhood in place of what was a wasteland. The local bigots kick themselves for chasing off the aliens, realizing that they could have done some good.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? A story from 1956 looks an awful lot like the U.S. in 2025, where people are all too ready to chase off immigrants. Shameful.-Jack

Next Week...
The Rogues Join Forces!