Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 176: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 161

March 1959

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Journey Into Mystery #51

Cover by Russ Heath

"The Ghost Ship of Space" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

"The Creatures in the Volcano" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Wally Wood)

(r: Crazy #65) ★★1/2

"The Prison Planet!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★★1/2

"Alien on Earth!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★★

"Robot on the Rampage!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★★★

"The Ghost Ship of Space" is wreaking havoc throughout the universe, causing the disappearance of three space vessels in just a month! When the military sends yet another ship (the Saturn 934) out to find what's going on, Daily Cosmos reporter Frank Brandon is sent along to get the skinny for his millions of readers.

It isn't long before Frank's rocket spots the Ghost Ship and gives chase. In a matter of seconds, the craft does a 180 and heads right for the good guys, but the Ghost Ship flies right through them. It really is a ghost ship! The Saturn follows the specter to a nearby planet, where the crew is taken prisoner by an army of BEMs. 

The Saturn crew meets up with the missing men they'd been sent to rescue and they learn that the BEMs are trying to build their own spaceship in order to conquer the galaxy, but they just don't have the brain power. Frank fools the creatures with a fake bomb and the boys are soon heading back to Earth with a crazy story to tell. Standard space opera with a silly twist at the end, but some sharp Sinnott graphics.

Tubuai is the leader of a tribe living on a volcanic island. When the volcano gets set to blow, he urges his people to move to the neighboring island of Ono-I-Lau until it's safe to return home. Time passes, the lava cools, and the people head back. But Tubuai is suspicious; he does not believe the eruption was organic. He climbs the high mountain and descends into the volcano, where he is assaulted by a trio of aliens, who explain that they are a scouting party from the planet Igneous Rex and they plan to wipe out mankind and claim Earth as their own.

Thinking fast, Tubuai contacts the United States Government, which had made him an offer to buy the island years ago, and offers to sell his home dirt cheap. The tribe moves to another island and the US begins its atom bomb testing on the volcanic island. A pretty good story with a great ending, but it's pretty lame that Tubuai claims he can't tell his people the truth about "The Creatures in the Volcano" until he's "won back their respect." We're moving into classic Kirby Atlas-era sci-fi comics, with lots of faces looking into "the camera" and finger pointing. I'm not sure Wally Wood made a good inker on the King's material; Rule was a safer bet. The three aliens could have fit well in a Fantastic Four strip.

Two million years ago, criminals were sent on a rocket ship to colonize "The Prison Planet!" It took centuries, but the pilgrims in the new world managed to make a go of it; now and then, new "inmates" were dropped off and forced to acclimate. Meanwhile, back on the home planet, the population had gone soft since crime had been all but eradicated; this left them weak and open to attack by enemies from other planets. Civilization is wiped out and the planet is left a barren landscape. Back on the prison planet, over the centuries, the marooned have gotten a lot smarter and they've built their rocket ships. They intend to return home--to Mars. Good surprise there in the final panel, but I'm afraid Carl Burgos's art is getting rougher.

"Alien on Earth!" is another take on The Day the Earth Stood Still, wherein an alien exits his parked spaceship and causes panic all around the world. After the US government drops an A-bomb on the creature, it turns and leaves. Mankind is safe once more. In the final panel, we discover the alien was on a mission to see if the human race was still bloodthirsty and he reports back to his C.O. that in no way can Earth people be allowed to roam freely through the galaxy. Yep, the climax is exactly what we expected it would be and there are plenty of stinkin' commie digs to go around, but the art is pretty darn good.

One hundred years in the future, man has perfected the robot and now has very little to do. But then the mechanical servants begin breaking down and a "Supreme Calculator," a robot to watch over all robots, is created to restore order. But then the SC begins thinking on its own and before you can say Terminator 2: Judgment Day, humans are slaving for the gizmos. Thank goodness for the human spirit, though, as one particularly clever worker notices the SC's plug is dirty and disconnects it from the wall. As Earth breathes a sigh of relief, the scientists go back to the drawing board to make the perfect robot. Wonderful little SF classic, a heck of a lot smarter than most of the scripts being passed around the Atlas lunchroom (could it have been written by the artist himself?), and some dazzling work by Steve Ditko.-Peter

Tales of Suspense #2

Cover by Steve Ditko

"Invasion from Space" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★1/2

"Trapped in Yesterday!" (a: Carl Burgos(?)) ★★1/2

"The Planet That Wasn't There!" (a: Russ Heath) ★★

"The Secret of Planet 'X'!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

"A Robot in Hiding!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★

An armada of massive ships appears over the skies of New York; could it be an "Invasion from Outer Space"? The heads of each nation gather and decide the best action to take would be to blow the strangers out of the sky. One man, a really smart and brilliant Einstein look-alike, offers a different strategy: disarm the world's super powers and show the visitors they want peace.

"Nyet!" "Nein!" and "Nuts!" are the leaders' answers and before you can say "Armageddon," a host of the East and West's "mightiest missiles" are fired off at the spaceships. After the smoke clears, a stunned audience realizes this enemy is a whole lot stronger than assumed. In a panic, the leaders agree to Option B and immediately destroy their bombs, missiles, submarines, guns, slingshots, espresso machines, anything that could be construed as a weapon. The ships then leave the airways and the world breathes a sigh of relief. Elsewhere, in the "private observatory" of the peaceful professor who suggested Option B, a sigh and a chuckle are emitted as the scientist admits to his wife he wasn't sure his ruse would work. You see, confident that the Earth was ruled by men who weren't the brightest bulbs in the box, the scholar had projected a really convincing picture of spaceships onto the New York skies to nudge the world into peace. 

You can tell that The Day the Earth Stood Still left its mark on Stan, Jack, and the boys, since every possible variation on the plot would be squeezed out like a lemon from here until the Fantastic Four appeared (even popping up in the superhero comics as well). The reveal, that no one would notice that the vessels were really a projected image, is a hoot. I guess our hero, the scientist, was sure that all the combined firepower wouldn't accidentally start some apocalyptic chain reaction in our atmosphere. The 1950s Atlas world was clearly one that could be swayed by parlor tricks, in stark contrast to the real world we live in now. Hmmm.

While the ingenious and smart Professor Wilkes puts the final touches on his... wait for it... time machine, buck-toothed simpleton Jason Grubb, a mild-mannered mop-pusher, watches from the shadows in envy. Once Wilkes attaches all the little signs to each knob and button (so that he won't forget which lever to pull to go back in time and which one is the brake), Jason's diseased brain concocts a brilliant but evil plan: he will steal the Professor's new invention, go back in time to Camelot, convince King Arthur he's a genius, and live like... well, a king, I guess.

Jason runs home, grabs his TV set, a portable radio, and a camera, and heads back to the lab. Evidently not as dumb as he looks, he sets the way-back machine for August 20, 500 and something, the exact moment when King Arthur is hanging out in his castle, sets a timed explosive device to destroy the time machine so that Professor Wilkes won't find him, and settles back in for the ride. Sure enough, moments later, he is being escorted into the castle with his three forms of magic tucked under his arm (a full-size TV set weighed a lot less in 1959) for an audience with King Arthur. In short order, he's reminded that: there is no electrical outlet for the TV set, radio stations have not been invented yet (No rap music? Camelot, here I come!), and there's no technology to develop pictures. Pissed that his time has been wasted, Arthur orders Jason to be his new royal mop boy. All that our hapless moron can do is hope Professor Wilkes can build a new gizmo and rescue him.

"Trapped in Yesterday!" is about as dopey as they come, but you have to admit it's entertaining as well. Each successive failure on Jason's part is one part cringe-inducing and one part chuckle-worthy, as is the fact that this janitor would form an elaborate plan involving Camelot instead of going back a week or two and making a killing on the stock market or the horse races. 

In 2026, the president of the free world looks on as a rocket ship is launched and falls back to Earth, exploding in a massive fireball. This was the 17th such trial to perfect a rocket ship that can search the galaxy for another inhabitable world, one he is convinced exists. You see, this world is overpopulated and time is running out; there are only so many Swanson Frozen TV dinners to go around. Anyway, after the 17th failure, the president goes home and discusses the future with his daughter, Elizabeth. Surely the launches must stop, laments his gorgeous daughter. "No, we must forge on," the man grimly reminds her, "and don't call me Shirley."

Soon after, the 18th ship is launched, breaks the planet's ozone layer, and then explodes. As he sighs the sigh of a man with the world on his shoulders, the president is approached by one of his aides and informed that Elizabeth snuck aboard the doomed flight. Finally convinced that the project is for naught, the president hangs his head and laments that the world he's been searching for, one he calls "Earth," probably doesn't exist. I've always wondered how it is that far off worlds know that our planet is called "Earth." Could they be listening in to Alan Freed's Saturday night rock 'n' roll show? Is there a giant sign that can be seen only from space that identifies our big rock (and perhaps outer space signposts that notify our weary travelers that there are only 64,000,000 miles left in their journey?)? Alas, "The Planet That Wasn't There!" answers none of those questions but does allow us a rare (for 1959) look at Russ Heath's majesty. 

In the far-flung future, the tyrant Kluge becomes bored of ruling over his tiny world and wishes to expand his power base. He commands his underlings to build a rocket ship and he and the crew set off to find a conquerable world. They land on Planet X and the locals seem very amenable to slavery; Kluge has found his new kingdom. Or so he thinks. There's a very good twist in the tail and some nice Ditko art to slobber over; the number one lesson to learn from "The Secret of Planet 'X'!" is that communism is not the answer to happiness.

After Roderic Zante, the supreme ruler of the entire world, declares that all robots must be rounded up and deactivated, a mild-mannered android leaves his family of humans and becomes "A Robot in Hiding!" Our robotic protagonist sets out on a journey to change Zante's mind and restore "freedom" to his android brethren. Once he gets to the ruler's palace and breaks in, he discovers that Zante is a robot himself, programmed to lust for power rather than serve. Our hero pushes Zante's button and shuts the ruler's power down once and for all. Peace is restored to the galaxy and robots are reactivated, biding their time until they can overthrow their human captors. That last part was just me trying to inject some razzle-dazzle into a very boring and oft-told tale.-Peter

Tales to Astonish #2

Cover by Steve Ditko

"When Aliens Meet!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

"I Fell to the Center of the Earth!" (a: Matt Baker & Vince Colletta) ★

"I Was a Man in Hiding!" (a: John Buscema) ★1/2

"I Spent Eternity in a Deep Freeze!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★

"My Job: Capture a Martian" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2

Dunstan Craig is the most ruthless hunter of alien creatures in the year 2058, traveling from planet to planet and bringing back specimens for zoos on Earth without a shred of pity for those he captures. When the spaceship he's riding on has an emergency, Dunstan hops into an emergency space boat and zips off to the nearest planet, but "When Aliens Meet!" the hunter gets a taste of his own medicine and is put on display in a zoo.

Don Heck's art is muscular and exciting, but any reader who didn't see that ending coming should turn in his comic book badge here and now.

An archaeologist named Henry Burke jumps at the chance to head to Asia and dig deep down into the Earth with the latest atomic-powered equipment. He investigates an obstruction and soon remarks that "I Fell to the Center of the Earth!," where he encounters cavemen and a dinosaur. After he is pulled back to the surface and convinced he imagined it all, one of his crew digs up a rusted, moldy cigarette lighter engraved with Burke's name.

Matt Baker may have done some great work in the Golden Age, and I respect him for being one of the early Black comic book artists, but this story is a dud. There's no rational basis for anything that happens and the concluding twist has been done to death.

In the year 2087, everyone wears a wristband that allows the police to locate people at a moment's notice. This cuts down on crime, but when Harry Grant reads about the discovery of a new planet, he realizes his long held ambition and robs his company's payroll. Harry rents a rocket ship and takes off for the new planet, figuring that he won't be traced, since the wristbands won't work away from Earth. Sadly, Harry's hope that "I Was a Man in Hiding!" would be a successful plan is thwarted when he arrives at the new planet and discovers that he towers over everyone else there.

The GCD suggests that this is a Wessler script, and it reads like one, since the main character's biggest concern is committing robbery. The art by John Buscema is adequate but looks nothing like the work we'd see ten or fifteen years later, when his characters always seemed to have muscles like bowling balls.

"I Spent Eternity in a Deep Freeze!" is another story penned by Wessler, with another character robbing a payroll. This time it's Joe Sykes, who pilfers cash from a self-service refuel center on a satellite. He volunteers to be frozen for a long space voyage, thinking he'll be famous when he gets back. Somehow he awakens in another dimension, where no one on Earth can see or hear him.

This story is truly awful, with sub-par art by Carl Burgos and a script by Carl W. that ends in a fashion that makes absolutely no sense.

Garner is a private eye who is surprised to learn that "My Job: Capture a Martian" is his latest assignment. A professor bursts in with a wild story about seeing a flying saucer land; when he investigated the craft, he found it empty, but soon an explosion left no trace of it. Garner takes the case and begins to search. Eventually, he gives up and tells the professor he's had enough. What the professor doesn't know is that Garner is the Martian and he has just eliminated the last shred of suspicion!

Thank goodness Joe Sinnott turns in a decent job on the artwork here, because this story is just about as bad as the rest in this dreadful issue. If this is the big Atlas revival, we're in trouble.-Jack

Next Week...
More Kirby
Giant Monster Madness

The Hitchcock Project — Book Now Available!

We are excited to announce a new title now available from Cimarron Street Books — Sources of Suspense:  Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Stories That Shaped It!

Drawn from the 14-year series of blog posts in the Hitchcock Project, the book has been fully edited and updated. Now you can have all of the details about the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV series at your fingertips in one handy volume. No need to go searching online and clicking back and forth among endless links to find your favorite episodes!

You can order the book directly from Cimarron Street Books here and from Amazon here. It's available in both an oversize trade paperback and hardcover!

The companion volume, covering The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, will be published by Cimarron Street Books later this year.

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 175: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 160

February 1959

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Strange Tales #67

Cover by Joe Sinnott

"Trapped Between Two Worlds!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"I Seek the Sea Serpent" (a: Don Heck) ★★★

"I Was the Invisible Man!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule)

(r: Strange Tales Annual #2)

(r: Giant-Size Man-Thing #1) ★★1/2

"The Man Who Never Was!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★1/2

Brilliantly smart egghead scientist Jeff Raye is working on a matter transporter when his *%$#ing cat gets nosy and pushes the wrong button. Jeff is instantly transported to another planet, in another galaxy, one ruled by war-hungry tyrants. These mad warriors see Jeff's machine as a way for them to conquer the universe, but Jeff has an ace up his sleeve and returns to Earth to destroy his dangerous invention.

I won't even attempt to figure out what most of "Trapped Between Two Worlds!" is about; there's just too much science fictiony mumbo-jumbo for my small brain to work out. I'll quickly say, though, that Ditko's emergence as one of the go-to Atlas artists is an immediate game changer. This doesn't look anything like the strips that were running only a few months before and the extra page count (six as opposed to three or four) will help the stories breathe. 

Efrem becomes obsessed with the legend of a sea serpent that supposedly rears its head now and then in the waters of South America. With the help of a small crew, Efrem explores the aforementioned sea waters and, sure enough, the sea serpent makes an appearance, but a panicked captain fires a harpoon and kills the beast. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean and, when Efrem dives down to recover the really big corpse, the truth is unveiled. The thing was an alien from the water planet Aqua-Centurious, and it was merely trying to reach its damaged ship at the bottom. Now, all its secrets are lost, thanks to the foolishness of man. 

Big monsters were all the rage at the local cinema in 1958, so it's no wonder Atlas would dip its toes in the sub-genre (very soon the company would simply take its shoes off and dive right in). I enjoyed "I Seek the Sea Serpent" very much and must once more cast a positive vote for the art of Don Heck. Now, I agree he was no Al Williamson when it came to dinosaurs and big monsters, but he got the job done and his human characters are more than stick figures. I'm all in on this new era (for now).

Decades before playing drums for U2, Adam Clayton was just another brilliantly smart egghead working on his big invention, the Vibra-Light™, a groundbreaking gizmo that changes sound into light and other really cool, useful tricks. Setting the machine on stun, Adam receives a dose of fabricated ray beams and finds he can travel at the speed of light. This makes him virtually invisible. While out running through the streets doing silly tricks (pinching girls on the rump, etc.), Adam happens upon a gang of bank robbers and steals their booty.

Though he contemplates keeping the dough and entering a life of crime, Adam has a better idea. He returns the cash to the cops and lets them know there's a new boss in town: the Invisible Man! Evidently, one of the benefits of the Vibra-Light™ is that it enables Adam to do things he never could do before, so he builds houses and KOs boxing champs for fun and profit. But, alas, Adam discovers that his new power is also draining his energy and aging him at an alarming clip, so he puts his Invisible Man identity out to pasture and retires to live out what few years he has left.

What a downer of a climax! I love it! I'm glad the writer (Kirby?) opted not to push Adam into the cliched life of crime and instead chose helping his fellow man (well, except when he takes the tires off the car belonging to a couple of hot rodders while they're speeding down the highway). The National Enquirer-esque confessional titles ("I Was the Invisible Man!") are in full swing already, as is the dawn of Jack Kirby's utter dominance of Atlas/Marvel science fiction. Hard to believe that this was only the fifth appearance by Kirby in the Atlas sf titles; from now until November 1962 (when the sf/f stories would dry up altogether), Kirby would work on a further 186 stories and miss work only two months in that time. 

The spinning wheel inside the Atlas break room gets spun one more time and lands on... the time machine (I believe the wheel actually had only three options); therefore, we get the mundane and oft-told tale of Eric Bohn, the greedy assistant to smart, genius scientist, Professor Atherton, who's just put the last touches (blue paint job) on his time machine. Eric urges the prof to go back in time and make lots of money, but the egghead warns that if anything in the past gets changed, yadda yadda yadda. Do I have to tell you that Eric isn't listening to his mentor's speech and decides he's going back to find where Captain Kidd stashed his gold? Of course, he accidentally shoots and kills one of his ancestors (Holy Coincidence!) and thus disappears. I would love to report that "The Man Who Never Was!" is the last time travel tale we'll have to read for a while, but I'm sure the next one is right around the corner.-Peter

Strange Worlds #2

Cover by Steve Ditko

"I Was a Prisoner on the Planet of Plunder!" (a: Don Heck) 

(r: Strange Tales Annual #2) ★★

"I Was the Miracle Man" 

(a: Al Williamson & Marvin Stein?) ★1/2

"I Saw the Day the World Ended!" (a: Bob Bean?) ★

"The Little Lost Planet" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

"I Am the Scourge of Atlantis!" (a: Dick Ayers) ★

Rick Dugan, agent of IGSSD (Inter-Galactic Spaceways Security Division) tackles his toughest case yet: six cargo ships have been hijacked on Route 34 (just west of the Kessel Run) and his boss wants Rick to disguise himself as a cargo ship captain and see what's what. Since none of the captains of the hijacked cargo ships have been able to provide intel, Dugan is convinced the perps are using hypnotism to pull off their heists.

Dugan visits many planets and all seems calm and serene until he hits Promixa the Second and suddenly the veil is lifted. The aliens on Proxima have been stealing the cargo by using a sinister form of hypnotism--hyper-sonic frequencies! Instead of hypnotizing with their eyes, these guys hum you to sleep and then commit their foul deeds. Lucky for Dugan he's deaf! Oh yeah, you read that right. Evidently, far into the future, special agents don't need their hearing to do the job. The twist of "I Was a Prisoner on the Planet of Plunder!" is a cheat, fer sure, but Don Heck doesn't seem to have read the script and just goes about his business of producing pleasant panels. 

"I Was the Miracle Man" is the story of Bruno Storme, the world's most intelligent guy, who becomes bored being the best at everything, so he builds himself a rocket ship and flies to another galaxy to conquer some unknown planet. Unfortunately for Bruno, this planet is populated by really smart geniuses who put Bruno on exhibit in a zoo. We've seen that last panel a thousand times before and it's no better this time. The usual dazzling graphics of Al Williamson are watered down by an awful inking job; it's tough to see Al through the muck.

Speaking of muck, I dare anyone to wade through the slop passed off as art on "I Saw the Day the World Ended!" Literally the world's smartest man, Professor Garth is working on a machine that can see the future (and telecast it without commercial interruption), but the poor guy has a heart attack just before he plugs the darn thing in. The military, deciding it's in the best interest of mankind to find out what's around the corner, orders the machine hooked up and the view screen spits out a video of the sun exploding and Earth facing an ice age. 

The smart thing to do would be to hide the extinction of mankind from the extinguishees, but the military has never been accused of making astute decisions, so word gets leaked. Prof. Garth awakens from his long sleep and is told what's happened. The egghead, lying in his hospital bed, chuckles and admits his machine has a few kinks to be worked out. It's showing a video of the past rather than the future! A final panel explains that once mankind was given hope, we began loving our neighbor and inviting the commies over for dinner. 

A small planet continually pops up in the skies when a calamity occurs. A falling statue in India threatens to crush hundreds until the little ball rescues them. An ocean liner strikes an iceberg and, before it can sink, it is teleported to a safe shore by the beaming little planet. Several more accidents are halted thanks to this visitor from space. But why is it here? Because, as we're told in the finale, it's "The Little Lost Planet"! Like "Trapped Between Two Worlds!," the script is a bit wonky and at times makes little to no sense, but I really dig what Ditko is doing with his layouts. Large panels are invaded by smaller ones, which can be crowded out by other small ones. Like Bernie Krigstein, Ditko was throwing the formula right out the break room window and doing whatever the hell he wanted, inspiring future artists such as Jim Steranko in the process. 

Last and definitely least this issue is "I Am the Scourge of Atlantis!," wherein the population of the sunken city decide it's high time to invade the surface world, but when they get there they see something so horrible they tuck tail and run. The awful sight? A toddler on the beach. You see, Atlantis was a really tiny nation when it sunk. This clunker signals the return of Dick Ayers, who'd been on sabbatical since 1957 and who will see lots of work between now and the sunset of Atlas.-Peter

World of Fantasy #16

Cover by Carl Burgos and Bob Forgione (?)

"Nightmare Planet" (a: Joe Sinnott)

(r: Strange Tales Annual #2) ★★

"Arise, Oh Geni..." (a: Steve Ditko)

(r: Vault of Evil #15) ★★

"Worlds Within Worlds!" (a: Carl Burgos)

(r: Strange Tales Annual #2) ★1/2

"Beware the Future!" (a: Al Williamson) ★1/2

"Prison 2000 A.D." (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule)

(r: Strange Tales Annual #2) ★★

Through his telescope, a scientist observes a "Nightmare Planet" hurtling toward Earth! It's 2000 times bigger than the sun and populated by giant soldiers. Colonel Ken Travers is sent into space with a dozen men in order to find out what the aliens' intentions are. He arrives on the huge planet, sees that everything and everyone seems to be standing still, and realizes that time passes more slowly there. Ken returns to Earth to share the good news that the aliens won't even notice our planet, since it's so small and they'll pass by it before they're even aware it's there.

We've seen this twist before. The only novel thing about the latest version is that Joe Sinnott's art is smooth and competent, though it's nothing special.

A history teacher named Claude Hicks, who has terrible hay fever, finds the famous lamp among ancient ruins and releases the genie, who announces that he is all-powerful and has no intention of being Claude's slave. The genie quickly catches Claude's hay fever and is made so miserable by his own sneezing and coughing that he begs Claude to return him to the lamp. Claude throws it down a deep water hole so the genie will never again be freed. The story is terrible, but "Arise, Oh Geni..." features gorgeous art by Steve Ditko, so at least it's nice to look at.

In 2590, scientist Paul Stratton is certain that there are "Worlds Within Worlds!" and that a universe can exist in a drop of water. Despite his efforts to magnify tiny things, no one believes him. Unbeknownst to Paul, in the drop of water is a tiny world, where another scientist is ridiculed for his theory that there could be a bigger world out there somewhere. Every last thing in this story is predictable, right down to the snoozer of a finish. Carl Burgos's art is adequate.

Luther Zorn invents a time machine in 1965 but tells his wife it must be kept a secret, since knowledge of the future would cause mankind's downfall. Emma nags him until he goes public and soon he sends government officials into the future, where all of the world's problems have been solved. This news causes people of Luther's time to stop trying, since they think the golden future is guaranteed. Luther sends himself and Emma fifty years into the future, leaving the machine set to be destroyed after they leave. What do they find in the altered future? Who knows? I really have no idea what the end of this story means. It seems like Luther decided that mankind would just have to find out about the future when it arrives. At least Al Williamson's art is decent, though nowhere near his best.

In the year 2000, crimes are rare, so when John Fox commits one he is captured and sent to "Prison 2000 A.D." Quickly escaping, he hops on a rocket ship and flies to Vestas 203 in the asteroid belt, where he uses his wits to survive. One day a group of miners arrive and establish a colony. John is unmoved when they tell him that a ten year old boy wandered off, but when he encounters the boy in danger and helps him, John is welcomed into the colony, where he becomes happy and productive. In reality, John has been in prison the whole time and his adventures were put into his mind; he'll serve his six-year sentence in this way and emerge a better man.

I prefer Ditko's art to Kirby's, but this is a satisfying story with an ending I didn't expect.-Jack

Next Week...
More Giant Monster Madness
From "The King"

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 174: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 159

January 1959

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Journey Into Mystery #50

Cover by Joe Sinnott

"Worlds at War!" (a: Jack Davis) ★★

"Three Who Vanished" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

"Uneasy Lies the Head!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★1/2

"Adrift in Space!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

"The Green Fog!" (a: Matt Baker & Vince Colletta) ★1/2

In the year 1983, Martians land in a rural area and touch off a panic. The visitors request a meeting with the heads of government of the two factions on Earth, the Democrats and the Stinkin' Commies, and they are granted their wish, pronto. At the gathering, the Martian leader explains that the rest of outer space is plum tired of Earthling wars and violent antics; at some point, it is feared, humans will bring their aggression to other planets. That's a no-no.

So, informs the leader, Earth has one month to prepare for total annihilation at the hands of an even greater menace: Mars! The news startles all of Earth and the U.N. convenes a meeting, at which every nation agrees to put its differences aside and build a spacecraft to visit Mars and plead our case. In record time, that ship is built and an international crew is assembled. Blast off! When the boys land on Mars, they are in for a big surprise. Rather than armed forces, they are greeted with open arms and a wink and a nod; hey, that war stuff was just talk in order to get Earth to give up their hatreds and unite. C'mon people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together... and all that. Our crew heads back to Earth to give out the good news and peace becomes as common as mediocre Atlas funny books.

If this had been a few years before, in the paradise known as Pre-Code, that corny last panel would have been followed by an Army General excitedly predicting that, since Mars has no weapons, they'll be a pushover if we invade. Alas, no twist ending for "Worlds at War!" Just Hallmark Movie schmaltz and a heaping helping from The Day the Earth Stood Still. It's good to see Jack Davis's classic style around these parts again, even though it's short-lived. He'll have two stories published this month and then disappear again for four years. Jack does some interesting experimenting with the panel borders, enlarging some of the scenes to one-third page. 

Three men vanish at the same time under very odd circumstances. What's up? I'll tell you. Turns out these three men were casing Earth for an invasion from the "Supreme World" and they're back to give their reports to the Supreme Leader. After receiving the intel, the Leader informs the trio that they've done a heck of a job and now it's time to invade. Problem is, one of the men has become quite fond of Earth and doesn't want to see it become a slave planet, so he sabotages the Central Power and zaps himself back on Earth, confident that his new neighbors are safe. The script is nothing to get excited about (though certainly better than the opener), but Steve Ditko's art is dazzling, a teaser for what's to come in the 1960s. As with Jack Davis and "Worlds at War!," there are some detours from the usual panel framework; nothing as startling as Krigstein, but still much more freedom than was the norm. 

In the lifeless "Uneasy Lies the Head!," an assassin attempts to kill the "Leader", the all-knowing, supremely intelligent being who's ruled over Earth since the eradication of such trivial positions as the President of the United States. The thwarted attempt nevertheless raises several questions about the Leader and the "renowned" Dr. Zena aims to get to the bottom of who or what the Leader actually is. Spoiler Alert (for those who've never read an Atlas comic strip): he's a robot!

Billy is the most enthusiastic cadet on the Space Patrol, but Sgt. Devlin can't understand why the kid keeps reading those silly science fiction books. One day, the Sarge grabs Billy and throws him in a space jet and they go to investigate a strange SOS deep in space. It's during that mission that Devlin is glad the kid reads those dopey space opera stories. Don Heck's pencils at this point were still pretty darn good (this was way before he had to pick up the pace and turn in some sloppy superhero work) and the script for "Adrift in Space!" is at least readable, but the final panel, which explains everything that just happened in the previous page's panels, is pure Stan. Gotta make sure these kids don't scratch their heads in confusion and give up on Atlas science fiction.

Last up is "The Green Fog!," which chronicles the return of Dag Thale from the first solo flight in space. The festivities come to a grinding halt when a nasty green fog follows Dag out of his spaceship. The fog drifts and covers the globe, causing mass panic and calls for the head of Dag Thale. A few days later, the mist rises and Earth is much greener. It was a miracle brought to the dying soils of our world. Sigh.-Peter

Tales of Suspense #1

Cover by Don Heck

"The Strangers from Space!" ★★1/2

(a: Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, & Gray Morrow) 

"I Dared Explore the Unknown Emptiness!" 

(a: Don Heck) ★★1/2

"The Day I Left My Body!" (a: John Buscema) ★

"He Fled in the Night" (a: Uncredited) ★

(r: Kull the Destroyer #13)

"Prisoner of the Satellites!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

By the year 2000, Earth will have posts on the moon and Mars and the solar system seems to be Earth's play toy. Then a strange ship is spotted near Mars and by the time it lands on Earth, panic has set in. Fearful that the visitors are here to conquer our world, the military readies its mightiest weapons. The door to the ship opens and what appears to be a typical earthling emerges and explains it is here to begin trade negotiations. A heavy sigh is let out and, by the time the ship has rocketed into space, Earth knows it has found a new friend. Inside the ship, an ugly BEM turns off the machine that enabled it to look human and hopes that when it returns in 300 years, earthlings will be less suspicious creatures. 

"The Strangers from Space!" is yet another variation on the "we have to open our arms and welcome even the ones with tentacles and six eyes" morality tale that had become a staple of the Atlas sf story of the late 1950s. The difference here, obviously, is the detailed graphic work of  Williamson, Krenkel, and Morrow (the latter two  are name-checked in a couple of winks at the readers), which elevates (at least art-wise) this above most of the other pap being shoveled at the reader. It definitely feels like we've transitioned into a new era for Atlas genre titles. Like Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales, and Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense would continue pumping out sf yarns until the superhero craze hit in the early 1960s and then ToS would become the home of Iron Man and Captain America until those two got their own titles.

"I Dared Explore the Unknown Emptiness!" adds to my hunch that something has changed. The story, about an Earth space crew searching the galaxy for another livable planet due to our foolish overpopulation, while simple, is definitely aimed a little higher than the usual eight-year-old mentality. In the end, the tale is way too preachy and silly (the ship's captain decides, after visiting several hostile planets, that the people of Earth will "somehow correct" the errors made in the past without positing a way in which to head down that course), but I appreciate the effort and Don Heck's visuals are snazzy.

Wells is serving a long sentence for second-degree murder when he decides he ain't cut out for life in a cell, so he tries to escape (armed with a butter knife) and is shot in the head for his troubles. Well, this is Atlas after all, so the bullet only "creases" him, but the upside is that his spirit leaves his body and is free to roam. So, what should Wells do with this sudden spiritual freedom? Rob another candy store? Get revenge on the jurists who convicted him? No, this convict is a little bit smarter. 

When Wells spies big-shot lawyer Martin Shaw in one of his fellow inmates' cells, he uses his mind to push Shaw into reopening his case and freeing him. Wells's spirit finally reunites with his wounded body and Shaw visits his cell, agreeing to represent him in a new case. Wells finds he still has the power to influence other minds so rather than, say, influence the warden to open the gate for him, he continues to push and push harder for Shaw to win the case in court. But the joke's on Wells; he pushes so hard that Shaw becomes exhausted and muffs the trial. Wells is found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. Finally, a happy ending to one of these things! 

In the early 18th century, a simple clerk at a banking firm has daydreams about being so much more. Maybe a caveman fighting a Wooly Mammoth or a knight fighting a dragon. Something more than just these dadburned ledgers. In a fit, our protagonist quits his job and joins the crew of a sailing vessel, still dreaming of a life of adventure. In the end, we discover his name is Robinson Crusoe. Meh. "He Fled in the Night" sinks under its lifeless script and bland artwork.

Mark Coren finds himself a "Prisoner of the Satellites!" when his body is trapped in a constantly moving vortex of meteor fragments. What Mark doesn't know is that his conundrum is the work of outer space villains, preparing an invasion of Earth. Coren begins shrinking fast but, thanks to the brainwork of Earth's scientists, his shrinkage and the alien attack are thwarted at precisely the same time. Earth is safe... for now. Be careful what you wish for, Atlas science fiction fans. Here's a script that might be a little too complicated for a young audience since I had to read it twice to get the gist of what was happening. The text is definitely hard sf (The action of the orbiting fragments has set up a force which moulds the matter of Mark's body into a more solid compact unit!) and Ditko's art gives the piece the cosmic vibe the artist would become famous for during his Doctor Strange run. Mark doesn't use his sudden little person status to rob liquor stores so why should I complain?-Peter

Tales to Astonish #1

Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule

"We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World!" ★★

(a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule)

(r: Weird Wonder Tales #4)

"I Know the Secret of the Poltergeist!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

(r: Strange Tales Annual #1, Uncanny Tales #6)

"I Was the First Man to Set Foot on... the Mystery Planet!" ★

(a: Carl Burgos)

(r: Weird Wonder Tales #4)

"I Foiled an Enemy Invasion!" (a: Jack Davis) ★1/2

Dr. Parker disappeared in a hidden corner of the world a decade ago and now Professor Briggs and the crew of Captain Kane's ship are out on the waters looking for him. They catch a four foot starfish and a twelve foot lobster and know they're onto something. A giant moving object the size of an island rams their ship and the crew takes to the lifeboats while Briggs and Kane survive by lashing together two oil barrels and floating to a nearby island.

On the island they find that natives have built an enormous wall and tied Parker to a post in front of it. Briggs and Kane soon join Parker, who admits that his serum causes creatures to experience uncontrolled growth. A turtle the size of a building bursts through the wall and the trio manage to free themselves and leave the island by means of a convenient motor boat that Parker kept handy for just such an occasion. On the water, they observe Experiment XYZ, Parker's first subject, which is a turtle the size of a mountain. The men realize that "We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World!"

It's good to see Kirby's pencils, but this story is a mashup of King Kong and Wild Kingdom. There's no real suspense and little point to the conclusion, where the men see a really big turtle. The closest thing to a sense of danger occurs in Kane's mind when he imagines bringing the big turtle back to civilization but realizes it would wreak havoc in a large city.

A young couple buy a house, not worrying about rumors that it's haunted. Objects start to jump around and they contact an investigator of the supernatural who tells them, "I Know the Secret of the Poltergeist!" He does a thorough check of the house and assures them that everything has a rational explanation, but he buys it from the young couple for further study. After they leave, he removes his mask and reveals that he is a poltergeist!

Ditko is at his peak here and the investigator looks a lot like Dr. Strange, with grey hair at the temples. As is often the case with Atlas stories, not a lot happens and the artist has to try to make things interesting with kooky events in the panels. The final. large panel, where the poltergeist pulls off his mask and is joined by the others who have been haunting the house, is great.

In the year 2095, two men are using robot labor to build an underground city when a mysterious, electric-ridden planet approaches the Earth and causes all the robots to malfunction. Tom, one of the duo, hates robots but is excited to see that the new planet has caused radioactive oil to pour down on Earth. He sets off in a spaceship to visit the new planet and secure the oil rights; when he lands, he can say that "I Was the First Man to Set Foot on... The Mystery Planet!"

He meets kind, tall, bald people who tell him that oil is their staff of life. Insisting on making a deal, Tom excitedly jumps into a pool of oil and oily arms envelop him; one of the creatures rescues him and is consumed by the pool. Another reveals that they're all telepathic robots who know he hates them and they banish him from their planet, sending him back to Earth.

I know Carl Burgos is one of the pioneers of comics, but his art here is nearly as bad as the incoherent story. Tom goes on and on about how much he hates robots, so any reader paying attention and not asleep knows that the folks on the mystery planet have to be robots.

A reporter named Mark Briton is driving around in 2008 when he begins to see billboards popping up everywhere that feature a photo of what appears to be an alien soldier holding a gun and a strange message: "The Ten Uous Are coming!" He soon realizes that they are harbingers of an alien attack and he is able to say, "I Foiled an Enemy Invasion!" after all the billboards are rounded up and the tenuous, two-dimensional soldiers step out of the pictures and surrender.

I can only assume that the page rates were so low that Jack Davis did not put a lot of effort into this story, which is as weak as the rest of the tales in this issue. The first appearance of Tales to Astonish is certainly different from the sludge we've been seeing from Atlas for quite a while now, but it still suffers from poor scripts and hasty art. The Ditko pages are the highlight.-Jack

Next Week...
Despite what Harlan Said, We Discover
This Guy Was a Heck of an Artist!