Mystery Tales #13

(July 1953)

The Invisible Woman! (Table of Contents: 1)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Carl Wessler

Pencils

Tony DiPreta

Inks

Tony DiPreta

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

C-632

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Frank Tupper; Lola Tupper; Claire Maynard

Synopsis

Frank Tupper takes advantage of a crime wave, committed by an invisible woman, in order to frame his wife Lola, so he can collect the insurance money and be with his secretary lover Claire. Fooled by his plan, a vicious mob kills Lola (off panel) and the scheming couple eventually wed and visit the Grand Canyon for a honeymoon. With his new bride "afraid of heights", Frank enjoys the view without her and suddenly falls to his death, pushed by Claire, who was the invisible woman all the while.

Keywords

Grand Canyon

Indexer Notes

Wessler script per biblio in Robin Snyder's The Comics Vol. 20, No. 9, September 2009. Previous indexer credited Stan Lee.

Mummies' Gold! (Table of Contents: 2)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (spot illustration)

Inks

? (spot illustration)

Letters

typeset

Job Number

9371

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Professor Wilkins (archeologist); Dr. Johnson (assistant); Denny Haldane (playboy); Makhe-Sof (the mummy)

Reprints

• from Marvel Tales (Marvel, 1949 series) #105 (February 1952)

Indexer Notes

Original title: "The Curse Of Makhe-Sof."

Booby Trap (Table of Contents: 3)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Stan Lee (signed)

Pencils

Joe Sinnott (signed)

Inks

Joe Sinnott (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

C-794

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Martian Warlord; Xxrth and Rrghhp and Ttyrpff (Martians); Ryerson (martyr)

Synopsis

"In the year 2958, the Martians conquered the Earth!". Merciless aliens imprison women and children in concentration camps while the men suffer in slave labor. The human resistance movement hatches a plan to set a giant trap on an asteroid for the invaders. The arrogant overconfidence of the Martians leads them to their defeat when it turns out that the entire asteroid is actually a bomb.

The Sure Thing! (Table of Contents: 4)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Ross Andru (signed)

Inks

Ross Andru (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

C-677

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Al Mortell; the man in black; ship's purser

Synopsis

A crooked gambler on the run mugs and kills a scar-faced man, netting only thirty dollars and a steamship ticket. He takes the victim's place on the ship and enters a contest. Whoever guesses closest to the time it takes to cross the ocean, wins $5000. The killer concocts a plan to win by slowing the ship down... by jumping overboard. He yells at a man in black and jumps, but the witness does nothing. The killer drowns and we see that the man is the ghost of the scar-faced man.

The Death of a Miser! (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Chuck Winter

Inks

Chuck Winter

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

C-501

Genre

crime

Characters

Mr. Krause (hermit); the killer

Synopsis

A burglar breaks into a hermit's house, looking for money. The old man is a hoarder, with newspapers filling every nook and cranny. The burglar kills the hermit and steals his money, and tries to escape. Incredulously, the police stop the killer on the street immediately. Trying to act nonchalantly by reading a newspaper, the killer was holding a newspaper from 1865. The headline: "Abe Lincoln Assassinated".

Indexer Notes

Told in first person narrative by the killer. Cover story bears no relation to the cover image.

The Lucky Stiff! (Table of Contents: 6)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Carl Wessler

Pencils

George Olesen

Inks

George Olesen

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

C-578

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Burt Logan; Jasper Humphreys (undertaker); Lisa Humphreys (Jasper's daughter); Dave (police officer); Otto (coroner)

Synopsis

Boy meets girl. Boy meets girl's undertaker father. Boy learns family business. Boy attacked by dead bodies at behest of girl and her father. All three die by defenestration.

Indexer Notes

Wessler script per biblio in Robin Snyder's The Comics Vol. 20, No. 9, September 2009. Olesen credit per Jim Vadeboncoeur via atlastales.com. Previous indexers credited Sam Kweskin or Mort Lawrence.