The Marvel/Atlas
Horror Comics
Horror Comics
Part 166
September-October 1959
by Peter Enfantino
and Jack Seabrook
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule
"I Unleashed Monstro on the World!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2
"I Dared to Defy... the Idol's Curse!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2
"My Other Face!" (a: Al Williamson) ★1/2
"I Know the Gargoyle's Secret!" (a: John Severin) ★★
"I Am the Menace from the Purple Planet!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★
Sam "Spell" Binder is the greatest showman on Earth, able to tame a fierce gorilla named Moko and make him do parlor tricks for sold-out audiences. But then Moko has a bad fall and suffers a concussion, rendering him unusable in the act. Binder hears a rumor of the world's largest gorilla living in a jungle on an island off the African coast and hops a plane.
"I Unleashed Monstro on the World!" is goofy fun; obviously, the plot was lifted from King Kong, but then so will be half of the giant monster tales penned by Stan Lee and brother Larry Leiber in the months to come. The variations here are that Monstro is an albino and that he's allowed to survive after his rampage; he's shipped back home to his African village where "he's happy again..."
Jason Gibbs has been plagued by his ugly face all his life; people won't treat him like a real man once they get a gander at his sour puss. But now Jason has gotten news that Dr. Rectumus on Mars has created a potion for good looks and he barges into the Professor's lab. As he grabs the beaker holding the potion, the egghead warns him it's not been tested. Shoulda listened! With "My Other Face!," we get a really nice graphics display from Al Williamson and that's about all. One of only two stories (of twenty) this time out that doesn't start with an "I." I guess Stan thought "I Was Trapped By My Other Face!" didn't roll off the tongue.
Gargoyles have always creeped me out, but the problem with "I Know the Gargoyle's Secret!" is that any sense of dread has been eliminated by the CCA. In the pre-code Atlas strips, the critters would have torn the soldiers to pieces, whereas here, in the Gilded Age, the Nazis turn tail and run before any harm can befall them. The other problem is that the monsters are only spotlighted in a couple of panels; the human monsters get most of the attention. Nice Severin art, but I think the best gargoyle story is still the ultra-creepy "House of Gargoyles" by Jack Sparling (from House of Mystery #175). Last up is "I Am the Menace from the Purple Planet!," wherein an alien from outer space and his super robot land in New York to deliver an ultimatum to the human race: show Gxenu the latest war weapons or face the wrath of the planet Orion Major. I'm pretty sure I don't have to break it down much further. Shameless Stan mining the rich ore Hollywood had delivered.-Peter
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule
"I Became a Human Robot!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★
(r: Fantasy Masterpieces #1)
"I Fought the Tyrannosaurus" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★★
"I Walk Thru Walls!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2
"I Travelled Thru Time!!" (a: Carl Burgos) ★
"I Was Trapped in the Tunnel to Nowhere!" (a: John Forte) ★★
On a planet a billion light years from Earth, a nasty plot is hatched: Gammus will travel to our world and use plan X322K (masquerade as a robot) to gain the trust of earthlings, the better to spy on our military status. Gammus saves lots of lives and becomes a hero of the people, but our government wants to cut him open and see how it is that he can operate as if he has a human brain. Once the professors decide they'll get no information from the tin can, Gammus is deactivated and put on display at the Atlas Museum for Used-Up Cliches. "I Became a Human Robot!" is the umpteenth reworking of the "distant planet invasion" plot. For the umpteenth time, I ask why a planet sixty-two katrillion miles away would have the slightest interest in a civilization that is obviously more primitive.
But he doesn't stay a wee lad for long, growing ten times his size in a matter of minutes, and he naturally does what dinosaurs do: they stomp things. Feeling responsible for the wreckage caused by the critter (because... well... he is responsible!), Rod won't rest until the thunder lizard is eliminated. Dinosaurs + Ditko? Sign me up. Who cares if the script makes no sense (no explanation is given for why this egg never hatched a million years ago or why it's still hatchable or why the T-Rex grows so big so fast), the ride is a fun one.
Brilliant but arrogant construction engineer Eric Lansing, tired of hearing that so many other CEs are more brillianter than he, proclaims he will dig a tunnel under the sea from the US of A to Europe. A 3,000 mile tunnel! Why? Because he can. Unfortunately, halfway to his destination, Lansing and his crew encounter an undersea race of man-like fish who live in a big bubble at the bottom of the ocean. These critters are not happy about the off-ramp leading through their Atlantis and set some explosive charges to halt the construction. Lansing and his boys barely make it out of the tunnel before the ceiling caves in.
There are all sorts of scientific questions that even my uneducated brain had to ask: At no time is it mentioned what sort of transport would run through the tunnel, be it trains or personal vehicles. Was Lansing intending on build gas stations and restaurants every few miles through his massive hole? The hole has to be miles below the waves, yet the diggers wear no protective uniforms to save them from the pressure. Is the title meant to infer that Europe is "Nowhere"? The best is saved for last when the creatures blow their TNT and the roof caves in, 1500 miles from safety. Our heroes simply hop in a mine car and ride back to the States, confident there will be no structural damage or leaks ahead of them. I'm of two minds (even though, as I've admitted, I'm not sure I have one brain) about "I Was Trapped in the Tunnel to Nowhere!"; it's dumber than a $250 bill but induces more laughs than... well, a $250 bill.-Peter
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule
"I Was Trapped by the Things on Easter Island!"
(a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★1/2
(r: Where Monsters Dwell #24)
"I Am the Menace from Outer Space!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★
"I Can See Tomorrow!" (a: Don Heck) ★
"I Found the Nightmare Note" (a: Al Williamson) ★1/2
"I Landed on the Forbidden Planet!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★
"I Was Trapped By the Things on Easter Island!" cries a pilot to anyone who'll listen. After crash-landing on the famous, remote spot, he had witnessed the stone heads emerge from the ground, bodies and all. They stood around chatting about how they were waiting for orders from their home planet to attack and conquer Earth. The man escaped in a boat and thought people would believe his story and bomb the heck out of the island, but everyone thought he was hallucinating. The stone statues decide to leave the poor guy alone, since no one believes him, and wait for orders as long as it takes.
It's a miracle that the main character survives a pretty severe crash landing in his plane, but what's even more amazing is the sudden appearance of an abandoned native boat, just as the guy is about to be caught by the statues. Big stone objects fit in perfectly with Kirby's art style and the panel on page five, where one of the things is looking in the window as the main character sleeps, recalls a similar shot in King Kong. How did we survive the '50s with so many aliens bent on taking over?
On a faraway planet, the people decide to send Krag to Earth to gather intelligence in preparation for an invasion. Krag takes off into space, but soon sees a big, beautiful space cruiser and decides to capture it to bring it home after his visit to Earth. Krag boards the ship, finds it empty, and discovers that it's actually a living organism that swallows him up!
"I Am the Menace from Outer Space!" is a pretty good story, with more going on than there was room for in the rigid, five-page slot. Joe Sinnott's art is smooth, as always, and he draws the aliens in a lizard-like way, with circles all over their yellow skin and webbed fingers. On page two, the aliens give Krag the ability to transform into the spitting image of an Earthman, in a neat, four-panel sequence where his alien skin and outfit melt away and are replaced with a man in a suit and tie; the man looks just like Thor's alter-ego, Dr. Don Blake. Of course, this is an example of misdirection, because poor Krag never makes it to Earth. I was expecting him to fall in love with an Earth woman and never return home, but the conclusion surprised me.
It's bad enough that Don Heck's art on "I Can See Tomorrow!" looks like it was dashed off during a subway ride to pick up his check at the publisher's office, but the story is trite and the ending a letdown. Willy is sitting in the chair when he snaps a picture, and the picture that comes out shows the chair empty the next day. Willy concludes that, for him, "there might be no tomorrow." Isn't it more likely that the chair will be empty because he'll be at the racetrack collecting his winnings?
Joe Baxter works as an assistant in a record store. After hours, he experiments with sonics, searching for a note that can render a person unconscious. "I Found the Nightmare Note," he thinks, when the store's pussycat passes out. He sells a record to Spencer Worthington, the richest man in town, and waits outside his window, watching for the moment when the old guy collapses, but to no avail. Joe slinks home, thinking that his plan failed, unaware that Spencer is deaf and bought the record for his wife.
I know we've seen that twist ending before, and not long ago. I think Al Williamson was on the same subway train as Don Heck, judging by the quality of the artwork. It looks like someone else must have inked this.
Tim Korey is dying to know why one particular planet is considered off limits, so he hops into his spaceship and heads right for it! "I Landed on the Forbidden Planet!" he exclaims and soon discovers it's a dangerous place. He barely avoids being crushed by a gigantic wheel, he manages to escape huge stone blocks falling from above, and he sees one giant insect after another. Tim races to his ship and takes off, glad to get away from a planet that we readers see, in the final panel, is called Earth.
At least Steve Ditko puts some effort into the art, even if the story is a rehash of one we've read over and over. From the start, I suspected that the mysterious planet was Earth, and I wasn't disappointed. Actually, I WAS disappointed by the lack of originality.-Jack
Cover by Jack Davis
"I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★★
(r: Chamber of Darkness #5)
"I Am the Man Who Will... Destroy Your World!" (a: Don Heck) ★★1/2
(r: Fear #1)
"When the Saucer Strikes!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★
(r: Where Monsters Dwell #6)
"I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!" (a: Sol Brodsky) ★
(r: Fear #1)
"I Am the Man Without a Face!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★
(r: Where Creatures Roam #2)
While on a business trip in the Balkans, a man wanders into an old curio shop, where he picks up a beautiful old copy of Merlin's Diary. The shopkeeper insists that he put it down, but the man opens it and is cast back in time. He meets Merlin the Magician but remains skeptical. Merlin informs that man that he will believe when he sees a sign. The man returns to the present and looks in a mirror, where he is shocked to see that his hair has turned white. He leaves the curio shop and the owner, who turns out to be Merlin, vows to do a better job of hiding his diary.
"I Dared to Defy Merlin's...Black Magic!" is a strong story with evocative art by Ditko. Both theme and design look forward to the Dr. Strange comics. There are mentions of the mystic arts and, when the man is cast back in time, he is surrounded by multi-colored lines and finally slides down a rainbow slide into Merlin's presence. The story is a welcome break from tales about aliens invading Earth or people going to planets where the ants and spiders are giant-sized.
Mool is the emperor of a race on a planet far from Earth where they bathe once a year in rejuvenating waters that grant them eternal life. This warlike race travels to the vicinity of Earth, where Mool goes down to the surface to observe humans to decide if an invasion is a good idea. He promises to report back after 24 hours.
After landing on Earth, Mool breaks into a clothing store; he steals a suit and dons it, only to be caught by John, the proprietor, who runs the establishment with his sister, Anne. Mool tells John that he's Ralph Masters and that he's been down on his luck and was stealing a suit to wear in his job search. John feels pity for the man and hires him. Ralph meets Anne and it's pretty much love at first sight. The alien visitor, who arrived thinking that "I Am the Man Who Will... Destroy Your World!," initially thinks the Earthlings weak, but quickly responds to their kindness and love. In the end, he destroys the gadget that would send a report back to the invading force; Ralph gives up his immortality for the affection of a good woman.
I can't believe I'm typing these words, but that's two decent stories in a row! Heck's art is solid but nothing special, yet I was intrigued by Ralph's transformation from cruel, alien ruler to kind, loving Earthman--all in the space of 24 hours!
A jet pilot is flying along at night when he suddenly sees a flying saucer heading straight toward the plane! The pilot manages to avoid a collision and, when he lands, he reports what happened. All of the other passengers were asleep, except one man who says he didn't see anything. The pilot decides he needs to get some rest. The passenger who said he didn't see anything drives off, meets up with the Martian ship in a remote spot, removes his human mask, and tells the pilot to be more careful next time.
Dull art by Paul Reinman accompanies a predictable tale in "When the Saucer Strikes!" The title is misleading since the whole point of the story is that the saucer did not strike.
In prison for armed robbery, Duke Jordan escapes after serving ten years of a thirty-year term and heads straight for the warehouse where he used to work. Duke breaks in and robs the safe but is quickly discovered by a policeman who can run super-fast, shrug off a large crate that Duke pushes over onto him, and remain unharmed by gunfire. It seems a lot has changed in ten years, since the police are now robots!
I shuddered when I saw that this story was drawn by Sol Brodsky and I was right to have that reaction, since the art in "I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!" is pure dreck. The story is awful as well. Paul Reinman, come home--all is forgiven.
There's almost a decent story here and it's helped immeasurably by the art by Joe Sinnott, who has quickly become one of the stalwarts at Atlas. Like many a story by Carl Wessler (I don't know who wrote this one), things chug along reasonably well until they come to a screeching halt with a concluding twist that makes me scratch my head. The last panel has Rufus sitting alone in a room with innumerable black hoods piling up around him as he swears that he has learned his lesson about intolerance.-Jack
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| Coming This Thursday... The Most Controversial... The Most Daring... The Most Fun... What Is It???? |
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| And Next Week... More Proof That Heck Was No Hack |
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