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

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 125

November 1956 Part I

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Adventure Into Mystery #4

Cover by Carl Burgos

"The Hex!" (a: Don Heck) ★★1/2

(r: Chamber of Chills #13)

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

"The Invaders" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Astonishing #55

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Creature in the Cave" 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Journey Into Mystery #40

Cover by Bill Everett

"I Saw a Demon!" (a: John Giunta) ★★

"The Silence!" (a: Gene Colan) ★★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Journey Into Unknown Worlds #51

Cover by Carl Burgos

"Who is Nokki?" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

"He Was Nobody!" (a: Wally Wood) ★★

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Week...
The Rogues Join Forces!

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 137: Atlas/Marvel Science Fiction & Horror Comics!

 

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 122

October 1956 Part II

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Mystery Tales #46

Cover by Bill Everett

"Forbidden!" (a: John Forte) ★

"Crisis!" (a: Don Heck) ★★

"Where is Lola Drake?" 

(a: Dick Giordano [?] & Vince Colletta) ★

"The Fake" (a: Al Williamson & Roy Krenkel) ★★

"The Strange Man!" (a: Sol Brodsky) ★

"The Empty Room!" (a: Robert Q. Sale) ★

Mobster Howard Burch has an irrational desire (some might say too irrational) to see what awaits him in the closet of his childhood home. Ma always told him that when she opened the door once she saw little Howie's future. From then on, the closet was "Forbidden!" But once Howard is through serving a five year sentence on Rykers, he heads right back to the old house, hoping to get answers to decades-old questions. Will he receive the knowledge he desires when he turns that knob? To make a long story short: No! Not that many of these stories make sense, but why would a criminal, on the run from the cops, stall his getaway to look into a closet? Especially since he's already in the future his mother would have seen.

A Martian armada is heading swiftly for Earth. "Crisis!" The military want to act fast and blast the ships into atoms, but the scientists argue that the intentions may be friendly. Eventually, a compromise is reached; Major Cabot will commandeer a fleet of fighter jets into outer space and await the aliens. If the visitors make any threatening move, Cabot is to take action. When a door opens in the lead craft and a sphere drops towards Earth, Talbot assumes the Martians have thrown out the first pitch in a galaxy war. He unleashes hell and the Martians turn tail.

Later, down on Earth, the sphere dropped by the spaceship is examined and a recording plays, notifying all that the Martians had come in peace and to prove it they were prepared to hand over a solution to all of Earth's troubles... war, famine, disease, Yoko Ono... the works. Boy, are we fools! Klaatu Barada Nikto! But at least the tired script is embellished by some nifty graphics by Harlan Ellison's whipping-boy, Don Heck 

Ed Gifford knows a good thing when he spots it, so he badgers millionairess Lola Drake into marrying him. Lola has other ideas; she's not in love with Ed. But Ed can be a determined dude and he hires a hypnotist to convince Lola that marrying Ed is the best thing in the world. While Ed is discussing the mesmerist's fee with him, Lola slips out the window and jumps into a nearby bomber jet (!), taking to the blue skies.

Ed hires a pilot to follow Lola and they crash land in a field. Ed has to write the pilot a check for  damage. He catches up to Lola and convinces her to head back with him. He has to buy a car from a nearby farmer and writes the man a check. Long story short: the hypnotist was in love with Lola and actually put Ed under a spell. The dope spends his entire life savings and loses his chance at a million bucks! "Where is Lola Drake?" is dumb with a capital "D." The Giordano/Colletta art is competent but looks more suited to a romance funny book.

In "The Fake," a sailor stumbles across Atlantis and discovers the legendary city's secret: it was founded by visitors from the planet Xyli! Slapdash sci-fi/fantasy script is heightened by Krenkel/Williamson graphics but, as usual, the boys aren't given much to work with other than talking heads. More's the pity. Fantastic adventures on the high seas continue with "The Strange Man!" Captain Mark Trent wrecks his ship and loses his nerve until a weird stranger tells him to quit whining and grow a set. Trent then overcomes wild obstacles, including giant birds and a rock storm from the heavens, to rediscover his love of the sailing life. Turns out, Trent was sailing in a youngster's toy boat. Groan.

In the truly awful final story this issue, "The Empty Room!," Lord Ainsley stops speaking after his son goes missing in the war. Ainsley blames himself for talking the kid into enlisting in the first place but... and here's the good news... Ainsley and his son are actually visitors from a parallel universe and Ainsley Jr. has been recalled to Earth-II to mend from the injuries he sustained in a fierce battle. More tedious and safe fluff delivered by a writing staff clearly drained of any original ideas.-Peter

Mystic #52

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Effigy!" (a: Wally Wood) ★★

"Iron Face!" (a: Bob Powell) ★1/2

"The Secret of the Iron Needle!" (a: John Forte) ★★

"The Last Laugh!" (a: Pete Morisi) ★

"They Wait in the Caves!" (a: Mort Drucker) ★★1/2

(r: Vault of Evil #10)

"The Land of Missing Persons" (a: Jim Infantino) ★

On the run from the cops, Vincent Durand ducks into the headquarters of the voodoo cult he used to belong to, headed up by Papa Genoux. The old man agrees to hide Durand, but when the cops come, they arrest the whole lot of them on suspicion of harboring a fugitive. Papa confesses to the police that he knows nothing of Durand's crimes and that the crook is no longer a member of their loony band of cultists.

Later, after the police release Papa and his followers, Durand makes a repeat appearance. Papa Geroux pleads with the wanted man to give himself up, but to no avail. Durand leaves, pledging he'll never surrender. So it's time for Papa and the voodoo cult to craft "The Effigy!," a small doll resembling Durand that supposedly has supernatural powers. Sure enough, the doll puts Durand through all kinds of obstacles and he narrowly escapes capture several times. Late that night, he busts into the cult HQ and steals his effigy, but the cops are waiting for him. He and Little Vince tear off into the night. Durand tosses the doll out the window high atop a cliff road, hoping the spell will be broken, but ultimately slams the brakes and heads back to search for the little rascal.

Oh, how far Atlas has fallen in a couple years. In 1954, Durand would have been torn to pieces by a badger who happens upon the doll and starts chewing but, here in 1956, the guy has an onrush of nerves and changes his mind. There is no suspense to speak of because we know, thanks to the CCA, voodoo is toothless. I do think it's a nice touch that the voodoo worshippers wear yellow robes and appear to be respectable businessmen rather than salivating zombies. Aside from that peculiarity, the Wally Wood art is the only drawing point. That splash looks like it was pulled straight from an EC comic.

In the future world of 1985, the West and the East fight a long, bitter war but the East holds the upper hand when they invent a gizmo they dub "Iron Face!" that can project the innermost thoughts of POWs. Now the West's secrets are out! But the West has its sly dogs as well... they come up with a foolproof plan: send the stupidest man in the Army to be captured and reveal false war plans. What a great idea! And it works. The stinkin' commies never knew what hit them!

In "The Secret of the Iron Needle!," space explorers, searching for a planet just like Earth, land on what they consider to be a prime candidate. There is foliage, animals, and oxygen. What else could you ask for? There's just that pesky giant silver tube that concerns our intrepid voyagers. In the end, it turns out to be a key to a child's wind-up toy. Time to amscray! Yep, it's an idea that's been done to death, but I thought it was moderately entertaining anyway. The final few panels, where the recognition hits these astronauts, is pretty funny stuff.

In the three-page "The Last Laugh!," a heartless businessman wishes he lived in "the dark ages" and gets his wish. Panyard and Nolan sail the seas in search of pearls but, on their latest voyage, they come up short and Panyard decides to get rid of his partner. In a bizarre accident, Nolan takes a dive overboard and is lost at sea. A year later, since his money earned from the paltry pearl expedition is almost gone, Panyard runs across Nolan on a Singapore street. When pushed, Nolan reveals he swam to a nearby island and was rescued by natives, who revealed to him their large cache of pearls! 

Panyard begs Nolan for the coordinates of the island and his ex-partner agrees. A few weeks later, Panyard steps ashore onto the magical island and meets the friendly natives, who happily lead him to the good stuff. There's only one hitch... I have a fond spot for this one as I can vividly recall reading it as an impressionable pre-teen in Vault of Evil #10. It's got some great Mort Drucker art and, yeah, the ending is a bit limp and unthreatening, but what post-code strip wasn't?

In the dreary and unimaginatively drawn "The Land of Missing Persons," a nutty scientist uses a magnetic beam to divert airplanes and their passengers into a desolate hideout, where they are forced to build the egghead's perfect city within a huge mountain. As usual, the evil genius's motives don't add up (he was unrecognized in our world for his brilliance, so he's gone on a dangerous pout). There's one decent twist in the final panel but even that doesn't make much sense.-Peter

Mystical Tales #3

Cover by Bill Everett

"Morton's Machine!" (a: Bob Forgione & Jack Abel) ★★

"Someone Behind Me!" (a: Reed Crandall) ★★★

"Four Doors To...?" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★1/2

"Bedtime Story" (a: ? and Jack Abel (?)) ★1/2

"Someone Stopped the Bus!" (a: Tony Mortellaro) ★1/2

"Trapped in the Phantom Lighthouse!" (a: Mac Pakula) ★

Walt Morton is a practical joker who has convinced his co-worker, an electronics expert named Harris, that he's working on a real time machine. One night, a short in the power system causes a fire and Harris risks his life to save the machine. Months pass and Harris announces that, despite a few kinks, the machine is ready. The next evening, Morton gathers his colleagues to see the machine fail but, when Harris pulls the switch, Morton disappears! Harris explains that one of the kinks is that "Morton's Machine!" sends people into the past but can't return them to the present!

I have to give Bob Forgione and Jack Abel credit for going above and beyond the call of duty to illustrate a mundane story. The splash page, which I've reproduced here, is striking, and the art throughout the story is sharp and more visually interesting than your run of the mill Atlas four-pager.

While prospecting for uranium in the Rocky Mountains, Harry and Fred have an accident when the brakes fail on their jeep. Harry's leg is broken and Fred discovers that the spot where they are stuck is loaded with the valuable mineral, but they have nothing to eat and no prospects for being saved. Fred abandons Harry and walks off alone, thinking that it's every man for himself, but he soon realizes that there is "Someone Behind Me!" A shadowy figure follows Fred, who soon does the right thing and returns to Harry, just in time to shoot and kill a mountain lion. A rescue plane flies over and the duo are saved; Fred sees the shadowy figure and it reveals that it is his conscience, which will now disappear.

Despite the corny ending, this is a solid story for a post-code Atlas comic, with art by another one of the EC greats, Reed Crandall. Of course, since the company was probably paying very little, it's not the best four pages I've ever seen from him, but it's better than most of what we read and he creates a haunting atmosphere.

Small-time crook Blackie Morgan robs a jewelry store and runs from the cops, hiding in the cellar of a deserted tenement. He meets a mysterious old man who offers "Four Doors To...??" and suggests that they'll lead to freedom if Blackie survives. The crook passes through the doors and enters the dimensions of guilt, conscience, remorse, and servitude, after which he realizes that he should turn himself in. Emerging from the final dimension, Blackie discovers that he has aged twenty years and the jewels were fakes to begin with!

These four doors should have been left closed. At least the editor didn't waste one of his better artists on this hokey morality play.

Little Tad asks Grandpa for a "Bedtime Story" and is treated to the tale of the first voyage from the Earth to the moon on a rocket ship called the Thunderer that was damaged halfway to its destination. There weren't enough space boats for everyone to exit, so the captains and their wives stayed aboard to wait for another ship to rescue them. Time passed and they had children and grandchildren who grew up thinking the spaceship was home and not knowing they were in space. Guess which grandpa and grandson are excited at the end to see a rescue ship approaching?

Groan! The GCD speculates that Jack Abel did the inks, but the bland pencils go uncredited, as does the lifeless story.

A bus carrying a traveling vaudeville troupe nearly drives off a cliff in the snowstorm but doom is averted when a ventriloquist's dummy is catapulted out of his carrying case and lands on the brake! "Someone Stopped the Bus!" is that rare Atlas post-code story where the writing is a hair better than the art--how many traveling vaudeville troupes were still going in 1956? The idea is so goofy that it manages to hold up for three entire pages.

Ed and his pal are a pair of writers whose small boat is tossed in a storm. Fortunately, they end up right where they wanted to go, at the lighthouse they were just hired to man. That night, the bright light illuminates a fleet of jets and the pair assume they're a foreign attack force. In order to save the country, they knock over the lighthouse with the butts of a couple of rifles, and the ships disappear. They are fired the next day but, on searching the area, they can't find any sign of the lighthouse, just part of one of the ships, floating in the water. It seems they were "Trapped in the Phantom Lighthouse!" though I can't exactly say they were ever trapped or what the heck was going on.-Jack

Spellbound #30

Cover by Bill Everett

"He Must Be Destroyed" (a: Doug Wildey) ★

"Homecoming" (a: Paul Reinman) ★

"We're Going to Drown" (a: Bill Walton) ★

"Beware... the Giants" (a: Vic Carrabotta) ★1/2

"What Lurks in the Fog?" (a: Marvin Stein) ★

"The Tyrant!" (a: unknown) ★1/2

Carl Terrell's frequent headaches led him to a doctor, who ran tests and concluded that he was not normal. Carl fled town and now mopes about how he's different from everyone else. He can will objects to come to him, he can read minds, he can make people do things...your typical X-Man. Suddenly, a voice in his head calls to him and he's so excited to learn that there's another mutant that he drops everything and drives an hour to Boonetown to meet Justin Ford.

A newspaper reports on a crime wave in Boonetown and Carl realizes that Ford is using his powers for no good. Carl tells Justin, through brain messages, that he's not that kind of mutant and, when they meet, they have a mental battle that ends in both of them losing their mutant powers. Carl walks off, happy to be normal.

"He Must Be Destroyed" is terrible, from Doug Wildey's sub-par artwork to the bizarre story that ends with a standoff described this way: "Never was there such a duel upon the Earth before! Mind against mind, strange power against strange power!" You'd think that might generate some excitement in the artist, but no--we see the back of Carl's head and Justin in shadow, with a lightning bolt between them to represent this epic battle. In the next panel, Justin collapses, still in shadow. It's hardly Professor X vs. Magneto.

As boys, Phil and Jay liked to pretend to go to Mars; Phil wanted to help mankind, while Jay wanted to help himself. Fourteen years later, the brothers are in space, on a rocket ship coming back from the Red Planet. Their "Homecoming" is clouded by the fact that both contracted an alien virus! When they land on Earth, Jay cares not for others and leaps into a jeep, which he soon crashes. In an isolation ward, Phil learns that Jay has died, but the optimist is certain that a cure will be found and mankind will conquer Mars.

I can't believe I'm giving a one star rating to a story drawn by Paul Reinman, but this is terrible. There's little rationale for them having a virus or for Phil's concluding optimism.

Three men go down to the ocean floor in a giant diving bell; one is a professor, who has a theory that man might have evolved under the sea had he not come onto land. The cable lowering the bell snaps and it falls to the bottom, where the men fear that "We're Going to Drown" without oxygen or a means to get back to the surface. After a few hours, an air hammer from outside pierces a hole and air is fed into the bell by a hose, providing enough air pressure to cause the bell to float to the surface, where the men are rescued. The professor thinks his experiment failed until the captain of the ship that rescued them explains that no one was sent down to rescue the men, they must have somehow developed while they were down there and saved themselves.

I read this story twice, despite the terrible art, just so I could try to figure out what happened. As best I can figure it, the trio were subject to incredibly rapid evolution that somehow allowed them to introduce an air hose from outside the bell without going outside or having an air hose. Crazy, I know, but that's the best I can do.

A trio of white explorers lurk in the brush outside a native camp in the jungle, listening to the locals talk about giants! The men head off into the jungle and are followed by the natives, who do their level best to kill them with darts. The men escape and return to safety, where they are told that the tribe they observed are pygmies and the giants are the normal-sized white men!

I gave "Beware... the Giants" a mercy extra half star because Vic Carrabotta's art was not as bad as what I saw in the first three stories this issue. The story itself was a waste of four pages.

"What Lurks in the Fog?" you may ask? Another godforsaken Atlas story. In this one, a poor young man named Ricky thinks he's unworthy of the love of a rich young woman he met on the docks until he has a supernatural encounter with an old Spanish galleon in the fog that identified the amulet he wears around his neck as belonging to Spanish nobility. Now he can marry the rich blonde! Marvin Stein's scratchings are about on par with the rest of the pages in this train wreck of a comic.

Finally, "The Tyrant!" tells of Luther Gordwin, a scientist who invents a machine called the Futureviser that shows future events like a TV show. Leading scientists gather, without popcorn, and watch the world in 2011, where a tyrant named Mr. Supreme keeps everyone in a state of anger and hatred. Of course, he turns out to be Luther's great-grandson, so Luther destroys the machine, but Mr. Supreme still rules in the future.

Thank goodness the final panel tells us that "people will always rise against such dictators, for the people cannot be kept down for long." That's comforting in 2025 America. I knew reading this comic would be beneficial!-Jack

Next Week...
Catwoman Finally Returns...
as a Hero?!

Journey Into Strange Tales Issue 136: Marvel/Atlas Horror & Science Fiction Comics!

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 121

October 1956 Part I

by Peter Enfantino

and Jack Seabrook

Astonishing #54

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Old Man's Secret!" (a: John Giunta) ★★★

(r: Journey Into Mystery #16)

"Nightmare at Noon!" (a: Angelo Torres) ★★

(r: Worlds Unknown #1)

"Man with Wings!" (a: Bob Forgione & Jack Abel) ★

"No Trespassing!" (a: Hy Fleishman) ★1/2

"The World of Flame!" (a: Chuck Miller) ★

(r: Amazing Adventures #26)

"When the Walls Close In!" (a: Bob Brown) ★★1/2

(r: Uncanny Tales #9)

Larner travels to the peaks of Tibet and into a hidden valley to find an old man who supposedly knows the secret to eternal youth. He discovers the old-timer is being cared for by his son, a man who warns Larner to turn around and go back to civilization; he'll not learn anything from an old man who is too feeble to even talk. 

Larner manages to talk the younger man into letting him take the old man back to his world, where he can be cared for and studied by scientists. Realizing that what Larner says is true, the caregiver grants his wish and waves at the pair as they head back into the snow. Larner overcomes avalanches, freezing cold, and starvation but manages to make it back to the real world, only to discover that he'll never learn "The Old Man's Secret!" A literate script with decent art and an honest-to-gosh surprise ending make this one a cut above the rest. 

The striking work of Angelo Torres is all that keeps "Nightmare at Noon!" afloat. It's the simple tale of a man who owns an island and discovers pirates have landed ashore. They're keeping a beautiful maiden as hostage. Could this be the woman of his dreams?

A fighter pilot is plagued by dreams of an imperiled man with wings. Only our hero can save the man, but he must continually drop out of formation. We discover in the cliched ending that the pilot is actually Leonardo Da Vinci, dreaming up ways to take to the sky. The Forgione/Abel art is uninspired and drab, while the script (naturally, by Wessler) is a tuna sandwich left out of the fridge for three weeks.

An unusual beam of light appears on the estate of wealthy Luther Kane, drawing the locals to his land despite the "No Trespassing!" sign. When the people of the town bathe themselves in the light, their maladies disappear! With dreams of a gold mine dancing in his greedy brain, Kane puts up a barbed wire fence around his property and charges five grand a pop. The poor souls of Hooville cannot afford the ransom and Kane's property remains untouched. At that point, the Martians who have beamed the light on a small patch of Earth widen the scope and Kane's land becomes uninhabitable. The millionaire is reduced to begging for dimes on the city streets. Why did the small ray giveth miracles and the larger one taketh away? Search me. 

In the three-page "The World of Flame!" the crew of a sea-going vessel are transported to the sun, where they meet aliens who explain that a freak storm caused the ship to be sucked into their transport beam. The sailors all beg for a return to Earth, citing wives and bottles of beer, and are granted a return. There, they discuss the amazing dream they all shared, when the brightest bulb in the cabinet notes the entire crew is sun-burned despite the wintery climate. "This warn't no dream!" 

In the closer, veterinarian Whitney Chase is working on a new hormone theory with the help of elderly, brilliant scientist, Dr. Bardo, a shady guy with a very acute case of claustrophobia. Chase is certain he's stumbled across a hormone serum that will revolutionize the industry thanks to its... well, I have no idea what the thing does and neither does our unknown scripter, so let's just say it does something magical and leave it at that. Anyway, to complicate things further, Dr. Bardo is, in reality, a Nazi egghead named Franz Heinrich Hessler, who has been hiding from the Feds since his Nazi experiment days ended years before.

Hessler/Bardo tests Chase's formula on a boa constrictor and, sure enough, the snake... does something. Hessler is sure he can sell this formula to the highest bidder, buy his own island, and clone Hitler for future generations. The plan goes awry when Chase discovers his mentor's deception and tosses a serum at the old man. Suddenly, Hessler's claustrophobia grows to insane proportions. Why, I don't know. But it gives Chase a chance to call the authorities and listen in amazement as Bardo confesses he's actually Hessler and begs the cops to take him away from the closing walls. You see, a man's guilt always catches up with him in the end. "When the Walls Close In!" is over-plotted nonsense from the get-go but it sure is entertaining in its own stumbling way.-Peter

Journey Into Mystery #39

Cover by Bill Everett

"Behind the Mask" (a: Paul Reinman) ★★

"The Forbidden Room!" (a: Dick Ayers) ★

"I Lived Four Times!" (a: Bob Forgione & Jack Abel) ★

"At the Edge of Nowhere!" (a: Al Hartley) ★

"He Can't Resist" (a: George Roussos) ★1/2

"The Executioner!" (a: Wally Wood) ★★★

A master mask-maker lets his pride get the best of him when confronted by an alien from another world who asks the man to make him the perfect disguise. Later, after the alien leaves with his new identity, the artist has a case of the guilts and heads out to stop the alien's plan... whatever it might be. There are the nice Paul Reinman graphics to look at while you're making your way through "Behind the Mask," but not much else. The reveal at the climax, that the mask-maker is living on Pluto and the alien is from Earth, is forecast from page one. The real twist here is that humans can breathe on Pluto without oxygen masks.

Separated from his cave tour companions, Ralph Gornov travels deep into a mountainside and discovers the lost city of Cavernia, a city banished from the surface world two centuries before. Leader Drombru explains to Gornov that, if the surface world were to learn of his hidden city, there would be war waged. Gornov eventually escapes and Drombru readies his population to invade the surface world with their tanks and other modern weapons. "The Forbidden Room!" is filled with unexplained mysteries. How was an entire city (skyscrapers and all) moved into the inside of a mountain? How do these outcasts have rocket launchers and missiles? But, most of all, why does Drombru dress and act like Napoleon? Carl Wessler was obviously too beat from trying to work the damned toaster in the Atlas break room to work out these puzzlers. Dick Ayers contributes his usual stiff, unremarkable work.

Stefan Orjanski is a Hungarian deserter who just wants to live a peaceful life and marry a woman like the lovely Nadja. The gorgeous gal admits she might know of a sorcerer who can help with Stefan's escape and, sure enough, the wizard helps the "coward" to assimilate himself into society with a new body. However, his cowardice eats him alive inside and, eventually, Stef gives himself up to the authorities. He is lined up before a firing squad and... just before he's ventilated, Stef is transported into another body. 

This magical occurrence happens several times before our hero finally approaches the wizard, swears he'll be a good soldier, and is granted his original body back. Turns out this is a service provided for the Hungarian army by the wizard and (his daughter) Nadja, a trick they've pulled twenty times before. Carl Wessler's political views seep into "I Lived Four Times!" Any man averse to picking up a gun and wading into combat is worthless and must be dealt with in the McCarthy era.

In the three-page "At the Edge of Nowhere!" an alien lands on Earth and is amazed at how belligerent and infantile our people can be. Just wait until he turns on the evening news!

Eric Lund invents a "thought communicator" gizmo but can't get anyone interested in marketing the breakthrough. When one banker insults Lund, "He Can't Resist" planting a criminal act into the man's mind. The banker will be compelled to rob a house of its valuables. Should be a no-brainer, right? Well... I continue to be entertained by the vast number of brilliant Atlas eggheads who turn to petty crime rather than big-scale thievery when the urge overtakes them.

Brilliant scientist Dr. Morey, a/k/a "The Executioner" for his crass attitude toward the men harmed during his spaceship tests, has created man's first satellite, ready to be launched and roam the galaxy. Major Cannon, tasked with overseeing the project, believes that Morey is a cold fish who cares not a whit for the pain and suffering his gizmos create. The pilot assigned to man the satellite, Fred Burton, promises his fiance that he'll be back in six months and they can be married, but space debris creates a structural problem with the satellite and the vessel explodes, killing young Burton. Morey opines that it's back to the drawing board and heads to his lab, while Cannon is left in disgust, directing oaths at the back of the dejected scientist. It's then that Cannon is informed that Fred Burton was actually Morey's son.

The twist is one that's been used many a time before so no one will be surprised by the reveal. Another thing that doesn't surprise is that Wally Wood rescues this issue from the birdcage single-handedly. If only Wood had more to work with than talking heads for much of the story's four pages. Still, it's a fabulous four pages of art and, if you didn't know better, you could mistake this for a story pulled from the pages of Weird Science. Wally's stay with us will be short (only five appearances total in the post-code Atlas titles), but I'm pretty sure he'll make a big impression.-Peter

Journey Into Unknown Worlds #50

Cover by Bill Everett

"The Fog!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2

"I Entered the Forbidden Land!" (a: Herb Familton) ★1/2

"When the City Trembled" (a: Reed Crandall) ★★1/2

"Stranger Than Fiction!" (a: John Forte) ★1/2

"Quarantine" (a: Werner Roth) ★1/2

"Cyclops" (a: Jack Davis) ★★1/2

(r: Monsters Unleashed #3)

Wandering through "The Fog!" in present-day London, Halliday walks through an old-fashioned door and into the past, where he is arrested as a lunatic and imprisoned in Bedlam, the notorious asylum, by its master, Will Morrow. Halliday bides his time until he can escape. Morrow follows him and, soon enough, Halliday finds himself back in the present, where policemen arrest Morrow as a lunatic.

"When the City Trembled"

Paul Reinman's art is looking more and more creaky with each issue, as if he's getting tired of making an effort in service of poor scripts like this one.

Jeff believes in the legend of Shangri-La and Tom agrees to finance his expedition to look for it. In the Tibetan mountains, Jeff finds the fabled land and is welcomed, admitting to the head lama that he thinks the secret to eternal youth must be in the water. Jeff fills a jug and heads home to analyze it. He drinks a glassful right before reporters arrive to hear his announcement. "I Entered the Forbidden Land!" says Jeff, but the reporters are aghast at the aged face of the man before them--it turns out that drinking water from Shangri-La outside the borders of the land has the reverse effect.

I knew what was happening right away when we were presented only with views from behind as soon as Jeff drank the water. Familton's art is wooden, along the lines of John Forte, and the story goes nowhere.

"When the City Trembled"

When Lou Nevins, a traveling book salesman, shows up at the door of McGinty's Boarding House, where Doug Lenox resides, Mrs. McGinty is polite and attentive, but Doug tells the man to beat it, remarking that, "'in this world, it's every man for himself.'" Soon, an earthquake hits and, when Doug falls into a crevasse, Mrs. McGinty and Lou Nevins tell him to fend for himself. A tidal wave follows, with the same results. Finally, Doug changes his mind and rescues Nevins from the flood waters. Suddenly, they are all back at the boarding house and there is no evidence of an earthquake or a tidal wave. Mrs. McGinty buys a book and Nevins moves on to the house next door, where he continues trying to peddle his book on hypnotism.

In the hands of a lesser artist, "When the City Trembled" would be another flop, but this story is illustrated by the great Reed Crandall, who is only a few years out from his triumphs at EC. His work here is excellent and even includes a few panels with no or few words to get in the way. It's a treat for the eyes!

"Cyclops"

TV writer Chris Tully's scripts for the weekly show, Mobs and Mobsters, are eerily accurate. So accurate, in fact, that the real Red Benton and his mob of motorcycle-riding hoodlums want to know how Tully knows their every move. As Tully struggles to complete the script for the final episode, Benton and his gang find the writer and give chase; the writer leads the crooks to the stage of the TV studio, where Benton unknowingly confesses in front of a TV audience of fifty million people!

How does Tully know what Benton's gang is up to? "Stranger Than Fiction!" doesn't tell us, it just plods along to its uninspiring finale like many another tale by Carl Wessler.

In the future, no one gets sick, so when Carmichael is found to be ill, the leaders propose putting him under "Quarantine." He escapes and walks through the city streets, where everyone sees him and flees. Soon he is alone in the city and lonely, so he goes to the edge of town and surrenders to the authorities. They search him and find the source of his infection--a handgun that he stole from the museum. It seems he's infected with the deadly disease called violence.

"Cyclops"

We've seen this twist ending before and Werner Roth does nothing worthwhile with the premise in the three pages he's allotted.

The sailors on the S.S. Marshal, a destroyer that was hit by a torpedo and sank during WWII, wonder about the middle initial in the name of their captain, Miles U. Barret. Suggesting wryly that it stands for "Useful," they admit he's a good skipper. A submarine torpedoes the ship and it sinks; everyone aboard is rescued except for one lifeboat filled with sailors and the captain, which disappears. That boat ends up on an island, where the men find themselves trapped in the cave of the "Cyclops"! Reenacting the events of The Odyssey, they escape and agree that their official report will say it was all a mass hallucination brought on by shock. Just then, the captain reveals that his middle name is Ulysses!

Reed Crandall and Jack Davis both in an issue of an Atlas comic? Be still my heart! Davis turns in four pages of fun artwork and makes the most of a cliched story that ends with a surprise. If Atlas is destined to become the home of castoff artists from EC, count me in!-Jack

Marvel Tales #151

Cover by Bill Everett

"Barely Human" (a: Joe Orlando) ★1/2

"Secret Weapon!" (a: Paul Reinman) ★1/2

"A Phantom in the Sky!" (a: Jay Scott Pike) ★1/2

"Who Walks in the Ruins" (a: Ed Winiarski) ★

"It's Alive" (a: Bill Everett) ★1/2

"The Parasite!" (a: Werner Roth) ★1/2

Frequent stories about mountain climbers in the Himalayas encountering the abominable snowman lead anthropologist Alvin Murray to believe that the snowman is seeking his face when it gazes into the eyes of hikers. Murray recalls an expedition years ago when he uncovered a wooly mammoth and a primitive man encased in ice; he brought the man back to the U.S., thawed him out, and kept him in a cage to study. After taking the man back to the Himalayas, he escaped and Murray barely got away from the "Barely Human" creature. He vows to return to the snowy mountains to look for the prehistoric man, uncertain who will be hunting whom.

"A Phantom in the Sky!"

What is it with Atlas and the abominable snowman lately? Was it in the news around 1956? Joe Orlando is a decent artist, but so little happens in this story that it's hard to work up much interest.

People around the world were afraid of the armada of alien ships that was slowly heading toward Earth from outer space. Their fears were eased when a young scientist named Anthony Ludlow created a "Secret Weapon!" that made the invaders use their great strength to complete projects beneficial to earthlings and then leave with a message to spread throughout the galaxy that Earth should never again be invaded. Ludlow finishes the job by destroying the weapon so that it will never fall into the hands of a tyrant.

Is there anything as dull as a science fiction story where the invading aliens from outer space turn into good guys? Probably not, and we're seeing a slew of them. Paul Reinman's art continues to deteriorate slowly from its earlier peak.

"Who Walks in the Ruins"

A Nazi pilot named Lt. Vohlar sees a blimp flying in the sky and decides that capturing it would be his ticket to promotion. He follows it through a dimensional barrier and lands in a world where everyone is happy and no one grows old. He falls in love with pretty Johanna Ritter, who teaches him to fly the blimp; he leaves her and takes off alone in it, flying back through the dimensional barrier and landing in Nazi Germany. He is told that the blimp is an antique and, when he looks in a mirror, he sees that he has aged and is now an old man.

Good Lord, Carl Wessler can sure write a bad story, can't he? From the start, "A Phantom in the Sky!" makes no sense. Why would a Nazi pilot be excited to see a blimp during WWII? Not to mention the nonsense about the other dimension and the dopey finale where he discovers that inter-dimensional travel sure can age a guy.

"It's Alive"

Ken Murdock is a stamp collector who is obsessed with the Midas Stamp, convinced that if he finds it, he'll be rich. He travels to Cairo and steals the stamp from a sheik; escaping into the desert, he finds that all he touches turns to gold. The stamp blows away and is left lying on the ground by the members of a passing caravan, who conclude that Ken has lost his mind.

It's not easy to rate these stories since they are all so poor. I gave "Who Walks in the Ruins" a single star instead of a star and a half because the art is almost as bad as the writing.

Why did Captain Linden flee from a strange planet before completing his exploration? He explains that his mission was to find life on another world, but after two years and over fifty planets, he and his crew landed on one similar to Earth. They made their way through curious, bamboo-like growth and noted strange lines on the ground, but they found no sign of life until they began to hear loud thumps coming from below the surface. When they determined that a large crater had moved closer to their rocket ship, they blasted off into space and returned to Earth. Captain Linden later realized that, regarding the planet Vita, "It's Alive"--the bamboo stalks were hair, the odd lines were pores, and the crater was a mouth.

"The Parasite!"

Even Bill Everett can't save the latest iteration of the old "the planet was really a living being" story. At least it's only three pages long.

Ben is a clever young scientist who invents an unbreakable plastic, but his uncle, who owns the company, wants to take all of the credit. When Ben invents a metal that resists heat, his uncle insists that it belongs to him and announces to the world that he'll control the rights and that it can be used for space travel. Soon, "The Parasite!" disappears without a trace. Ben is not aware that aliens from outer space witnessed his uncle's announcement and whisked him away to their planet in order to protect the Earth and other worlds from the results of his greed.

At least Werner Roth manages to draw a cool, green alien, so this story isn't a complete waste of time. If the goal of this exercise is to find the gold among the dross, this issue of Marvel Tales yielded no gems.-Jack

Next Week...
Robin Saves the Day!