Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 190: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Fantasy Comics!

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 175

November 1960

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Journey Into Mystery #62

Cover by Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko

"I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★★

(r: Monsters on the Prowl #11)

"There is a Brain Behind the Fangs!" (a: Don Heck) ★★ 1/2

(r: Fear #6)

"I Can't Escape from the Creeping Things!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Fear #8)

Joe Harper is busy minding his own business when his buddy Fred calls him up to tell him that his "machine" is on the fritz. Joe tells his wife he has to go out and help Fred but, of course, the old ball and chain doesn't believe him. Sigh. On his way to Fred's place, he passes by Old Blacktree Swamp and notices a giant silver something floating in the water. Joe hops out of his truck and investigates.

What he finds is a really big huge mammoth Hulk, a creature obviously from another world (the nearby smoldering wreckage of its spaceship is the first clue), on the cusp of death. Knowing that every living being (even a Hulk from another world) is precious, Joe drags the multi-ton beast to his pick-up and heads back to his workshop, where he hooks the thing up to his Electrofitastic Voltage Regulator™. A surge of electrical power enters the Hulk's body and the creature begins to stir.

Joe asks the visitor who he is and what he came to Earth for and the monster explains his name is Xemnu and that he escaped from a prison planet and crash-landed here en route to another galaxy. Too late, Joe realizes he probably shouldn't have resuscitated the Hulk without getting a few facts first. The Hulk guffaws and continues his plan for complete domination of the solar system and beyond. The monster has the power to hypnotize and intends to make the entire population a slave to his demands. With a full workforce at his beckon, Xemnu will soon have a replacement spaceship powerful enough to take him to Star System LOL of the Fifth Galaxy on the Left. The mad beast also admits to Joe that the ship will blast off with such force that the Earth will be destroyed.

The Hulk becomes a Titan!

Xemnu is grateful to Joe for bringing him back to life so he doesn't hypnotize him. That's where he makes his fatal blunder. His spaceship construction goes perfectly right up until the time he is about to blast off but Joe uses a little small town ingenuity to screw up the Hulk's plot and the creature is sent into space to circle the sun forever. The entire world becomes unhypnotized but Joe wisely avoids bragging. That is, until he sees his shrew of a wife again and can't help himself. This guy never learns!

The first of the multi-part epics that would become a foundation of the Atlas science fiction/fantasy titles, "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!" (an ironic title since Joe was the only free man on Earth under Hulk's reign) is a fun and completely dopey yarn. The extra pages do give a little more room for Stan to breathe but you can see at times that he really doesn't know what to do in those bonus pages. There's a whole lot of padding and information spread over multiple panels that usually would be dispensed in one single frame. As rote as these things can become (and they do), I still have a soft spot in my brain (some would say several such soft spots) for these "Marvel Monster Epics," having devoured Dwell, Prowl, and Roam as a wee lad. Xemnu's exile doesn't last the promised "forever" and we'll get a sequel in JIM #66. 

Speaking of which, when the time came to reprint "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!" in MOTP #11, there was another character in the Marvel Universe who had gained a bit of fame and, to avoid confusion for the Zombies, Xemnu was re-christened a "Titan" rather than a "Hulk." Rascally Roy Thomas, ever the comic book scholar, remembered the beast's JIM tales and wrote a sequel (acknowledging Xemnu's previous adventures!) featuring the Defenders for Marvel Feature #3. Yes, the New Hulk vs. the Old Hulk!

Frank Miller (no, not that Frank Miller) becomes convinced that dogs have evolved in intelligence just as much as man but they're putting on a show so that they can surprise their masters and rule the world someday. Frank brings his theory to his best friend, psychiatrist John Redfield, who scoffs at his buddy's exclamations and insists he can prove him wrong. John has Frank bring Fido, Frank's dog, to his office and proceeds to hypnotize him, asking the canine some very pointed questions. When the dog does nothing but roll over and play dead and bay at the moon, Frank is convinced that he was a little hasty in his proclamations. Nearby, Pharaoh, the shrink's pet cat, laughs at the two morons and gets back to its plan for world domination. "There is a Brain Behind The Fangs!" spotlights some really nice work by Don Heck (almost Colan-esque in spots) and sports a fun twist in its tail.

Silas Bleede makes his millions off the misfortunes of others (one might say he "bleedes" them dry) and, once retirement comes, he moves to a small European village where he buys a huge estate. The only blemish is a tall tree that blocks his view of the mountains so, despite protestations and warnings from his neighbors, Silas chops the damn thing down. That night, branches crawl through Silas's bedroom window and chase him all through his mansion. With nowhere to run, trapped in the basement, the befuddled gazillionaire exclaims "I Can't Escape from the Creeping Things!" and promises he will let the tree grow back and not interfere. The branches retreat and Silas admits defeat, returning to America. As usual, there's not much to the script but Steve Ditko manages to ramp up the chills, making the CCA-approved strip as close to creepy as he possibly can. All in all, a pretty decent issue.-Peter

Strange Tales #78

Cover by Jack Kirby & George Klein

"A Martian Walks Among Us!" 

(a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(Strange Tales Annual #1)(r: Where Monsters Dwell #3)

"The Fantastic Menace of Mento the Mighty" (a: Don Heck) ★

"The Gargoyle!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #3)

"Dear Reader: What Would You Have Done If You 

Were the... Worm Man?" (a: Steve Ditko) ★1/2

(r: Tower of Shadows #6)

A scientist comes across a spaceship on a lone stretch of road and witnesses the occupant exit the UFO. Before he can escape, the man is captured by the alien and the thing takes the form of the scientist, explaining that he is from Mars and is scouting Earth for an invasion. He can take on the form of any human and intends to set the world up for the upcoming Armageddon. For some reason, the dim-witted Martian also reveals the only way to distinguish him from a human being is by using infrared rays.

Once the Martian's hold on the scientist has diminished, he tries to warn the authorities but is met with derision and pelted with tomatoes. Knowing he is the only man who can save the Earth from the Martian onslaught, he very quickly invents an infra-red device that can sniff out the chameleon and confronts him. After a terrible hand-to-hand battle, the Martian is killed and our protagonist drops his disguise, revealing that he is a Venusian protector of Earth. As long as there are commies, Stan will use Martians to subtly get his views across. That's the message of "A Martian Walks Among Us!" Seems a bit short-sighted of the Martian not to kill our unnamed hero when he has the chance. That twist, where we discover that the alien has been defeated by another race of aliens, is about used up, no? Laughably, once he disrobes, his body is completely different than his human disguise. Dig those scrawny legs!

In "The Fantastic Menace of Mento the Mighty," a well-meaning scientist becomes obsessed with the power of his brain, using it to move objects and create fearsome monsters. In the end, his creations prove his downfall. Here's an exception to the Atlas rule that anyone who stumbles upon a dominating skill will use that power to attain great wealth. Mento is a rich, bored, brilliant genius who becomes convinced he can do anything with a mere thought (when he looks at a woman in a cafe and she looks back at him!) and then launches his plan to rule the world for no particular reason.

The world's homeliest man sees a want ad for a local carnival requesting ugly men. With no other jobs available, our unattractive schlub answers the ad and discovers too late that the tent he enters is actually a spaceship that blasts off for parts unknown. Waking up at the end of the journey, he's taken to the queen, a real babe, who explains that she's bored with the attractive men on her planet and wants something different. Yep, the climax of "The Gargoyle!" is another variation on the old "beauty is only skin deep" twist. In "... (yadda yadda yadda) The Worm Man," a spy takes a pill and becomes very small in order to steal super-secret documents from a brilliant scientist. The agent's espionage is upended by the actions of a rat and he's faced with an impossible decision: call out for help or remain teensy weensy forever. Ditko but rushed Ditko.-Peter

Tales of Suspense #12

Cover by Jack Kirby & George Klein

"I Alone Know the Dread Secret of Gor-Kill, the Lurking Demon!" (a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #1)

"I Must Find 'Those Who Lurk Below'" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★

(r: Fantasy Masterpieces #2)

"The Monster in My Cellar!" (a: Reed Crandall) ★★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #4)

"I Met the Thing on Midnight Island!" (a: Don Heck) ★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #4)

A blob of gas from outer space lands in a body of water held back by the Krakow Dam and absorbs the water, becoming a fearsome water creature. The monster menaces a nearby town, crushing houses and flooding streets, but when the townsfolk follow it back to the dam it disappears. After this happens a few times, the town layabout, Hans Grubnik, figures out that the monster is composed of water. He steals some dynamite and blows up the monster before it can reach the ocean and become unstoppable; for his efforts, Hans is jailed for stealing explosives.

"I Alone Know the Dread Secret of Gor-Kill, the Lurking Demon!" is all wet. It's full of the usual Kirbyisms, like groups of people looking upward in horror with someone pointing. The inhabitants of the town are pretty dumb not to realize that the monster is made of water. I fail to understand how dynamiting water would do anything. Maybe Gor-Kill will return.

On a 19th-century penal colony on an island, a prisoner named Pierre is given a special task by the cruel guard, Kragok, who tells Pierre to clean up ancient ruins under the prison. Pierre discovers a book and begins to read "The Legend of the Earth Dwellers," about an ancient alien race that came to Earth but found it too hot. They built powerful machines to dig below the surface and built a city far below to live in peace.

Convinced the story is true, Pierre digs and digs until he finds one of the machines. Kragok laughs at Pierre, since he planted the book for the prisoner to find, but the jailer is shocked when the machine begins to work and Pierre disappears below the Earth! The prisoner is welcomed by the underground alien race and Kragok spends years digging in vain, searching for the land of peace and contentment.

Ditko's art is even better than usual on "I Must Find 'Those Who Lurk Below!'" In some panels it looks like Frazeztta's work. The story is okay and the end is unsatisfying, but the art is the real draw.

A writer of sci fi tales promises his editor a great monster tale, so he goes home, sits down at the typewriter, and begins to write a story as if it's really happening to him right now. Imagining a tall, reptilian, one-eyed creature in his basement, the writer is startled to hear a noise from below! He explores and finds the monster he created in his own basement! A locked door doesn't stop it, but when the writer realizes that the thing is a creation of his own mind, he thinks it back out of existence and vows never to write another monster saga.

It seems like it's been awhile since we've seen anything from Reed Crandall and I say welcome back! "The Monster in my Cellar!" breaks no ground and is predictable, but the great EC veteran's panels are always welcome.

A sailor named Rick Jordan finds a message in a bottle that reads, "Help--I'm stranded on Midnight Island"! Rick rushes to said island and explores it but finds only a big, apelike monster with fangs. Rick manages to escape back to his boat. The next day he tries again but finds only the monster on the island. At night, he sees a spaceship land on the island to take the monster away. Finally, dopey Rick realizes that the beast wrote the note.

Forget the story and enjoy Don Heck's sharp artwork, which looks like it could fit well onto the old Sunday adventure pages in a newspaper. Heck may not have possessed Kirby's natural comic book talent, but his draftsmanship was certainly more accomplished.-Jack

Tales to Astonish #13

Cover by Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko

"I Challenged... Groot! The Monster from Planet X!"

(a: Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers) ★★

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #6)(Weird Wonder Tales  #19)

"I Found the Abominable Snowman!" (a: Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko) ★1/2

(r: Chamber of Darkness #7)

"My Friend Is... Not Quite Human!" (a: Steve Ditko) ★★1/2

(r: Where Monsters Dwell #6)

"I Found the Hidden World!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

(r: Tower of Shadows #8)

A guy named Leslie and his whiny wife Alice are driving home from a party one night when they see something come out of the sky and land in the forest. A few days later, Alice reports that two of their trees are missing and a friend's wooden fence has disappeared! Leslie heads to the forest to investigate and finds a giant tree monster that attracts wooden objects to its body. Soon, the monster is heading for town; it announces that its name is Groot and it wants to take the town back to Planet X for experiments.

"I Challenged... Groot! The Monster From Planet X!" says Leslie, who tells the creature that he'll come up with a way to destroy it. Fire doesn't work--Groot is too tough to burn. As Groot wreaks havoc, Leslie is bent over a microscope in his lab, soon announcing "Eureka!" He sneaks up to Groot, lets out a bunch of termites, and before you know it, the monster from Planet X is finished.

Alice is a complete jerk! On the way back from the party she tells her husband that she wishes he were more manly and rugged like someone named George. When they see the spaceship crash, she's too tired to go take a look. When Leslie says he's going to the forest, she remarks that the walk will toughen up his muscles! When he's working in his lab to find a way to defeat Groot, she complains that he's weak and spineless. Only when he defeats the monster does she have a change of heart: "Oh, darling, forgive me! I've been such a fool! I'll never complain about you again! Never!" Yeah, right. Leslie should sprint back to the lab and invent something to get rid of Alice.

In a Calcutta dive, Big Carl Hanson overhears a man bragging about the rare and valuable photo of the Abominable Snowman that he got. Too bad the picture is said to be cursed! Big Carl basically mugs the guy in an alley after dark and takes the photo but then decides he'll cash in big time if he goes to the Himalayas and finds the real Snowman. Big Carl takes a train to the mountains, where every native to whom he shows the photo says it's cursed.

Not the brightest bulb, Big Carl hires a camel and a guide and goes up into the snowy mountains, searching for Bumble. Even the locals tell him to quit due to the curse. Does Big Carl listen? Nope. Eventually, it snows so much and his hair and beard grow so long that he himself becomes the Abominable Snowman pictured in the photo.

Even I remember the earlier version of this dumb story, from Strange Worlds #1 in December 1958, not even two years before. That version was drawn by Ditko and he inks this one. They should have left it alone.

A lonely sculptor named Gustav carves gargoyles to serve as figureheads on ships in France in the year 1799. One day, Napoleon and his men knock at the door; the general demands that the sculptor carve a wooden figure of Josephine, so Napoleon can be reminded of her when sailing. After some vociferous resistance, the sculptor agrees and carves a wooden figure of a beautiful woman. The statue comes to life at midnight on the eve of a full moon and Gustav is smitten. He delays giving the figure to Napoleon and visits a gypsy who gives him a potion that will turn him into wood so he can stand forever next to his beautiful statue. He stiffs the gypsy, which is never a good idea. At midnight, Gustav turns to wood and the female statue becomes flesh and blood, victim of a spell by the angry gypsy.

We all saw that one coming, didn't we? Still, Ditko's art is terrific in the ineptly titled "My Friend Is... Not Quite Human!" He's ready to start drawing Spider-Man very soon.

A scientist named Linus Whitehead posits that another world lives inside every TV set but dies before he can prove it. An ex-con named Joe who learned to repair TV sets while in prison decides to test the theory. After six months of experiments, he's visited by Frankie, another ex-con, who blames Joe for spoiling his plans to escape. Frankie turns on the experimental TV set to make noise to cover the gunshot when he blows Joe away, but before he can pull the trigger, Frankie is grabbed by a monster and pulled into the TV set! Joe is almost dragged in too but turns the box off just in time. Ever since that day, he wonders if he dreamed it.

I like Don Heck's art but he's not great at drawing weird dimensions or scary monsters, which is a problem when those are keys to the story's climax. The monsters in "I Found the Hidden World!" have pink fur and fangs and appear to be wearing shorts with suspenders. Not exactly the stuff of nightmares.-Jack

This Thursday...
Return With Us To An Ancient Time
When Mel Was Still Relevant!

And Next Thursday...
Shriek in Apathy at the
Sheer Inanity of Krang!