The Marvel/Atlas
Horror Comics
Horror Comics
Part 167
November-December 1959
by Peter Enfantino
and Jack Seabrook
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule (?)
"I Found the Giant in the Sky!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★
(r: Strange Tales Annual #1)
"I Was a Prisoner of the... Ape Creatures!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2
"I Can Live Forever!" (a: John Forte) ★
"My Neighbor's Secret!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★
"I Saw the Serpent That Saved the World!" (a: Don Heck) ★★
(r: Strange Tales Annual #1)
Since he's quite homely, Professor Dunn has never had much luck with the girls, so all his life he's kept his nose deep in fairy tale books. One day, Dunn buys an incredible foreign first edition and, while reading the tome, a pair of beans fall out from between the pages. Could these be the fabled beans that grow the beanstalk that leads into the clouds and the giant's lair?
You guessed it! Dunn takes the beans to the legendary spot where Jack supposedly climbed the miles-high stalk and encountered a very big and mean giant and drops them into the fertile soil. Immediately, the stalk rises into the clouds with Dunn attached. Shortly, he's deposited onto a cloud and right in front of a huge castle. When he enters, he meets the giant, who turns out to be quite a gentleman. The big guy explains that he cannot let the professor return to Earth and spread the word about this cloud castle, but he does have a consolation prize for the scholar: the last person to find their way up the stalk, a gorgeous blonde! It's all quite silly but Ditko's art makes it almost tolerable.
They take Dunstan to a hospital populated by surgeons (you know they're surgeons because of the reflector-thingies they wear on their heads) and the poor guy realizes he's going to be dissected and studied. His fears are unrealized, though, as these monkey-men are so advanced that they've devised a laser beam that investigates the inner workings of a body without actually cutting through tissue. After a cursory exam, the doctors decide there's nothing to be learned and Dunstan Blake is put on the first rocket back to Earth. Overlooking the valley, Dunstan vows never to be selfish again and to dedicate his life to the advancement of mankind. Now, off to the lab where he's to work on a time machine to make him rich! The sequel that absolutely no one demanded! This whole five page sci-fi thriller could have been condensed into five panels. The hospital scene will bring to mind Planet of the Apes, which wouldn't drop for another decade but, otherwise, literally nothing happens.
Ignoring protests from moody Marge, Henry locks himself in his lab and dumps the sappy liquid down his gullet. He immediately feels stronger but a bit stiff. Surprise, the secret to long life is not moving! Luckily, Henry is within reaching distance of that potion. Moody Marge has called the police but Henry emerges from his lab without any branches growing and admits man probably shouldn't meddle with forces unknown. "I Became a Tree Man!" "I Can Live Forever!" follows the typical 1959 Atlas scientist prototype. Henry whips up a potion that no other scientist seems to have stumbled upon, gives it a shot and discovers its terrifying drawbacks, then comes safely back to the real world so he can remind us that humans should remain humble. We're not even given pleasing graphics to even things out.
The finale, "I Saw the Serpent That Saved the World!," is another simple script, but at least it's highlighted by some nice Don Heck visuals. A far-away world explodes and the microbes of the dinosaur-like inhabitants drift through space and land on Earth. Luckily, the microbes grow into very small creatures that are eaten by garter snakes. Well, wait, hold on, don't worry... it's all just a dream. Though I always had a problem with Don Heck's superhero work, I'm developing a new appreciation for his stylish post-code SF/F work.-Peter
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule
"I Hear It Howl in the Swamp!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2
"I Was Captured by the Cyclops!" (a: Don Heck) ★1/2
"The Mutants and Me!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2
"Who Hides Beneath My Mask?" (a: Dick Ayers) ★
"The Luna Lizards Had Me Trapped!" ★★1/2
(a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule)
Charley's a trapper in the swamp (we're never told if he's legit or a poacher) and one day, while he's trawlin' fer gators, a giant monster lifts its head out of the murky water and lets out an ear shattering howl. Scared for his life, Charley grabs his crawdad bucket and hightails it out of the bog to warn his neighbors of their impending doom.
The monster does indeed rise, but just before the military can carry out its mission, a spaceship lands and two aliens, hundreds of feet tall, scoop their baby alien up and fly away. Charley and the army boys are left to ponder the vast immenseness of space and the fact that their mosquito spray ain't worth a darn. "I Hear It Howl in the Swamp!" has a pretty good reveal (one that would become famous a couple years later in Gorgo) and some eye-pleasing giant monster visual effects courtesy of Steve Ditko. Though we've had several "big monster" stories already in the post-code Atlas era, this feels like a milestone and a forecast of what was to come.
One night, at a swanky party, Vincent Farnsworth poo-poos the theory of Henry Marsh that another strain of human, a "mutant," lives among us. The next day, while at work in his office, Farnsworth is accidentally locked in his brand new (evidently soundproof) safe and awaits his fate as the oxygen dwindles. Suddenly, the frazzled and sweaty businessman is transported outside the safe and decides that maybe there is something to Marsh's theory after all! Like the "Cyclops" drivel before it, the plot for "The Mutants and Me!" relies on a conversation between the lead protagonist and a theorist that then coincidentally becomes reality. The only thing going for either story is the art. Was this the first "mutant" story?
As the giant monsters close in, the astronaut begins receiving mental messages from them, informing him that they are friendly and have retrieved the oxygen tanks for their new neighbors. Once back to the dome, the colonist shares the new info with his colleagues and they laugh, having a cigar around the fireplace and wondering at the revelations of the universe. Don't ask me why this story stands out from the rest of the nonsense this issue has to offer, but I found "Luna Lizards" to be a fun adventure in a Jules Verne kind of way. Laughs were provided by the panels of the astronaut doing a four minute mile sprint despite a bulky suit and the moon's gravity. But, hey, dinosaurs on the moon were every kid's fantasy in 1959.-Peter
Cover by Jack Kirby & George Klein (?)
"I Saw the Invasion of the Stone Men" (a: Steve Ditko) ★1/2
(r: Strange Tales Annual #1)
"I Was the Man Under Glass!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★1/2
"I Laughed at the Great God, Pan!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★★
"I Became a... Human Bomb!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★
(r: Strange Tales Annual #1)
"I Was a Prisoner of the Living Statues!" (a: John Forte) ★★
"I Saw the Invasion of the Stone Men" cries a man in midtown Manhattan after giant creatures made of stone rise from below the streets of New York. The stone men lumber around, paying no attention to anyone or anything and generally making a mess. Citizens are quick to turn on Professor Ailen, America's top geologist, insisting that his prior opinions about creatures living below the city somehow caused the monsters to rise.
Nothing seems to affect the stone men, not even a direct hit from an Army bazooka. Suddenly, Prof. Ailen urges everyone to leave the creatures alone! He explains that they are used to walking through solid rock below ground, so humans must seem like shadowy creatures to them. Eventually, the stone men sink back into the Earth and disappear; Ailen surmises that they could no longer breathe above the surface and thus found it hostile and will never return.
Even Steve Ditko can't save this one. The creatures appear, wander around for a while, then disappear. Yawn. The reaction of the crowd to Prof. Ailing seems a little extreme--at one point they even accuse him of being a spy for the stone men!
Darius gets old and, one day, starts to have trouble breathing. He discovers that the air pump that supplies oxygen has broken and he can't fix it on his own. He begs the people outside to come and help him, but they've learned their lesson too well and refuse to enter. In the end, Darius sits alone, hoping for aid and lamenting his behavior.
Joe Sinnott's art is always at least decent, but this is another dumb story with characters who behave in extreme ways and a protagonist who learns his lesson and tells the reader about it in the wordy final panels. When I read that the planet was named Betelgeuse II, all I could think of was the movie where they say "Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!" and Michael Keaton appears. That was a lot more fun than this story.
A pompous phony named Norman takes a woman named Diane to an art museum and poses as an art critic to impress her. He criticizes painting after painting, but when he mocks a depiction of the Greek god, Pan, a museum guard rebukes him and launches into the story of Pan. Two weeks later, Diane sees that Norman's mustache has disappeared and he has a crew cut. Norman tells her that the changes in his appearance followed the time when "I Laughed at the Great God, Pan!" What he doesn't tell her is that, when they were leaving, he looked back and saw that the museum guard had goat hooves.
I liked the page and a half (out of four) that Kirby used to relate the legend of Pan. The Greek gods certainly look forward to the sort of characters he would soon draw in Thor comics.
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| Add some heavy black lines and this panel could be from a Mike Sekowsky story. |
"I Became A...Human Bomb!" is so bad it's almost funny. To think that this hood comes up with such a wacky plan, then studies up for a couple of weeks, gets past security, and rides a rocket into space is ridiculous. Paul Reinman's art isn't awful, but the story is so bad it merits but a single star. The title makes no sense, either--how exactly is he a human bomb? The final caption says that the rocket will either explode in space or return to Earth, where he'll be put on trial. The only bomb in sight is this issue.
Pay attention, now, because this is complicated. In a small village in Africa, the natives carve life-sized wooden statues to sell to a white exporter. One day, flying saucers land in the village and aliens emerge who look just like the statues. The aliens have been studying Earth and are bent on conquest. How, you may ask? Well, they will replace the wooden statues that are sold to the rich and powerful and, when the time is ripe, they will spring to life and take over. Not to worry, says Kisumu, the leader of the village, to his fellow natives.
The aliens pretending to be carved wooden statues are loaded on a truck and shipped off to be distributed around the globe. After a month, the aliens who remained in the village send out a signal to the others to make their move, but nothing happens. Discouraged, the aliens hop into their flying saucers and leave, their plan a flop. Kisumu explains to the other villagers that the exporter who buys the statues always puts two coats of varnish on them, making the aliens unable to move!
This is truly a tale to astonish, alright--it's astonishing how dumb it is. Once again, the title is misleading--who exactly could say that "I Was a Prisoner of the Living Statues!"? No one! The aliens are accomplished enough to fly to Earth and have ray guns that destroy villagers' spears in flight, so why do they need to go through all that hooey about being shipped to the homes of the rich and powerful? And if the exporter approached them with a paint brush and a can of varnish, why did they put up with it? How did these comics manage to survive cancellation? Was it entirely about distribution and nothing to do with quality?-Jack
Cover by Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule
"I Fought the Colossus!" (a: Jack Kirby & Christopher Rule) ★★
(r: Where Monsters Dwell #3)(r: Crypt of Shadows #19)
"I Was Trapped on the Ghost Ship! (a: Don Heck) ★★
(r: Chamber of Chills #25)
"I Am the Abominable Snowman!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★
"I Saw the Elephants' Graveyard!" (a: John Forte) ★★
(r: Uncanny Tales #11)
"I Entered the... Doorway to Doom!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2
(r: Giant-Size Man-Thing #4)
Professor Renolds finally finishes building a giant computer in 2020 and it begins giving predictions and advice that improve the lives of all mankind. What people don't know is that it is also building a giant robot! The robot begins to walk through the city, as all giant Atlas creatures do, causing widespread panic. Professor Renolds builds a device to divert the giant into the ocean, where it becomes useless. When he tells the computer that "I Fought the Colossus!" and asks why the machine would do such a thing, the electronic brain replies that the giant was built to help mankind when the super-computer reached the end of its life. Mankind has now destroyed its future benefactor!
While the start of this story cleverly predicts the ability of computers in the 2020s to make predictions and give advice, it gets one thing very wrong--the super-computer takes up an entire large room! Who could've predicted the incredible miniaturization that would occur with computer memory? The story is the usual thing, with Kirby's standard, blocky artwork and a message intended to teach readers a lesson.
Captain Storme rules his tramp steamship with an iron hand and treats his crew with cruelty, but he stays just within the law and the maritime commission can do nothing to stop him. During one voyage, his ship moves slowly through fog when he spots the Flying Dutchman and orders his crew to give chase.
It's a mediocre story with mediocre art by Don Heck. Though only five pages long, the first page is wasted on a full-page panel of Storme on the ghost ship and, the strangest thing of all is the fact that he and his crew all wear suits and ties. What tramp steamer crew dresses like that, even in 1959?
Just drop the darn ruby, Charles! You could always run for president and make lots more money by defrauding the American public. Then you won't be cold--you'll just have to dye your hair forever and wear lots of makeup.
A hunter named Dirk insists that he'll be the first man to say, "I Saw the Elephants' Graveyard!" He wants to collect lots of ivory tusks, sell them, and get rich quick. Hiring a team of native guides, Dirk follows elephants deep into the jungle, surviving a panther attack, a difficult river crossing, and an angry tribe of pygmy headhunters. He finally reaches his goal, only to discover that the graveyard is at the bottom of a pit of quicksand!
The unexpectedly ironic ending helps make this short tale fairly satisfying, but it's a low bar in an Atlas sci fi/fantasy comic in 1959. Like the rest of the stories in this issue, the art is fair at best.
A farmer returns to his land in Siberia after WWII, only to find no way to survive. He searches for gold in the mountains and finds it inside a cave but is soon set upon by aliens from the Dimension of "Z" who are determined to enslave mankind. The peasant scares them off with the flame from a match and escapes! He returns to the cave and installs an iron door surrounded by a ring of flaming oil. After years of mining gold, the farmer is set upon by Soviet officials who beat him until he gives them the key to the door. They are in for a big surprise!
Easily the best story in this issue, "I Entered the... Doorway to Doom!" once again demonstrates Steve Ditko's creative, original artwork and his ability to make even mundane events interesting. He does particularly nice work with the snow and the creatures from Dimension "Z," who resemble green bumblebees with pointy hats and malevolent smiles.-Jack
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