Friday, August 1, 2008

Weekly Dose Of Weird!

Also, that has got to be the worst wrapped mummy in the history of time.  JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY v.2:no.16
Journey Into Mystery v.2:no.16 -- Okay, I am willing to look past the leisure suit, and even the girl evidently wearing a cvoat as long as her skirt, but heels? Heels?

I. "The Man Who Said 'No'" -- Bascombe is very rich and very cruel, enjoying sending ants tumbling down hills after they struggle up. When an old friend asks for funding to finish his cellular formula, Bascombe tells him "no." Going to his friend's house to gloat, Bascombe accidently activates the formula when it is struck by lightning, and he is shrunk -- to the size of an ant, and subjected to his own brand of torture by a young child.

II. "The Rag Doll!" -- Fred and his family have to move away after his father dies suddenly, leaving them penniless. His daughter wants to keep her precious ragdoll, a guft from her grandfather, but Fred refuses. The doll, naturally, shows up at their new house, and seems unwilling to go to the trash heap. Fed up, Fred rips the doll apart, finding all of his father's hidden money.

III. "The Old Man's Secret!" -- An American travels to Tibet to find a man who knows the secret of immortality, who lives in the mountains with his son. Tricking the younger man into letting him take his eldery charge, the American thinks he has stolen the secret -- only to discover after an arduous trek back to civilization that the young man was the father and the old man his son.

IV. "The Thing In The Jungle!" -- Adventurer Cliff Morgan travels to Africa to find a mysterious temple -- but when he finds it, he sees that three other men have also found it! The temple, it seems, is not a temple, but actually a spaceship sending out subliminal messages to rescue the crew of another ship which crashed on Earth years ago! But Cliff knows he is not an alien -- so what is he to do? Beg off and risk getting attacked, or board the ship and kiss Mother Earth goodbye?

V. "Inside The Mummy Case" -- Museum guard Joe is spellbound by the thought-projections emanating from a sarcophogus, telling him that if he comes at midnight and presses a button on the tomb, he will recieved a priceless jewel. The curator tries to stop Joe, saying the mummy inside was a hypnotist and a magician. The men struggle, and in the fight the button is pressed, revealing not a gem but a deadly booby trap instead.

Overall Weird Factor: 1 (out of 5).

This is another Marvel Weird comic with a mummy on the cover which just doesn't live up to it's hype. Makes me wonder if I would have bought these with any consistancy if I was alive back in the 70s. Anyway, the real standout this issue is the fourth feature, which is just strange, and the fifth, which has some really nice Joe Orlando artwork.

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