Mystery in Space #8

([circa 1959])

The Curse of the Fire God (Table of Contents: 1)

comic story / 5.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Howard Purcell

Inks

Howard Purcell

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Pete Marek thought he had it made!

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Pete Marek

Synopsis

Pete Marek has stolen a million dollars and escapes to Peru where he is pursued by detectives. He plunges into the jungle but his path is blocked by a festival to the Fire God. Told that the alternative route is 5 miles away he pushes through despite warnings the Fire God will seek him out. Further along a bolt of lightning sets fire to the track forcing him to change course. He then tries to cross a rope bridge which catches fire. He decides to go further up into the snow. The detectives see smoke coming from a hut and find Marek. His glasses have focused the sun's rays causing a fire.

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #14 (November 1958)

Keywords

Fire God; glasses

Look to the Stars! (Table of Contents: 2)

public service announcement / 1 page (report information)

Script

Jack Schiff

Pencils

Lou Cameron

Inks

Lou Cameron

Letters

Ira Schnapp

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Gosh Bob, we're lost! What do we do now?

Genre

advocacy; maths & science

Characters

Bob; Ted

Synopsis

Bob and his friends are saved from being lost in the woods because Bob knows how to find Polaris, the North Star.

Indexer Notes

Appeared across a range of US DC comics in November/December 1958.

[Well, this is our camping site...] (Table of Contents: 3)

Professor Eureka / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Letters

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Genre

humour

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #14 (November 1958)

The Swami of Broadway (Table of Contents: 4)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bill Ely

Inks

Bill Ely

Letters

Pat Gordon

First Line of Dialogue or Text

From the mysterious jungles of Bengal to the glittering lights of an American city came the Swami--bringing with him a magic emerald possessing the power to unlock the forbidden secrets of the future!

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Dean Hall; Orry Kane; swami [Jones]

Synopsis

Dean Hall and Orry Kane are on a trip in Bengal. Kane tries again to persuade Hall to sell him his theater, Hall again refuses. They enter a village and see a swami who predicts an elephant stampede. The square is emptied just in time. A month later Hall auditions acts for his theater when the swami appears on stage. He makes two predictions which comes true. Later the swami is asked to appear at the theater and he says he will not enter as it will be struck by a meteor. Hall sells the theatre to Kane and leaves. The swami is then revealed to be a fake. Then a meteor hits the theatre.

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #14 (November 1958)

Keywords

swami

The Fantastic Wishing Well (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 5.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Mort Meskin (signed as Meskin)

Inks

George Roussos; Mort Meskin ?

Letters

Artie Simek

First Line of Dialogue or Text

If you'd have told me some time ago I'd find a wishing well that actually worked, I'd have laughed at you.

Genre

crime; fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Brad Horton

Synopsis

Brad Horton has stolen $150,000 in marked money. He jumps from a train into some woods looking for a place to bury the money until it is safe to spend. He trips and falls into an old well. He wishes he never left the train and suddenly finds himself back there. Leaving the train again he finds his way back to the well where a stone tells him that wishes cost a nickel. He wishes for a million dollars and uses this to buy up the well and surrounding land. Officials visit and want to know the source of his wealth. He makes a wish to escape but the nickel is fake and he is arrested.

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #14 (November 1958)

Keywords

marked money; nickel; wishing well

Indexer Notes

Signature (Meskin) on lower edge of splash panel.

Following discussion on GCD Main, inker changed from Mort Meskin to George Roussos with a query on Meskin as inker. Meskin and Roussos had a collaborative relationship from the 1940s onwards (information from Lambiek).

I Haunted Corby Castle (Table of Contents: 6)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

The Man Who Stole Air (Table of Contents: 7)

comic story / 7.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Nick Cardy (signed as NC)

Inks

Nick Cardy (signed as NC)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

What strange things did Eric Fowler see in the air around us.. which no one else saw?

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Eric Fowler; Harry (G.S.A. Agent - voice on radio only); George Croft (G.S.A. Agent)

Synopsis

Former scientist Eric Fowler is seen collecting samples of air. George Croft is assigned and tails him back to his house. Inside he sees Fowler talking to tiny aliens. Suddenly the tiny aliens are giants and they head towards the nearby army base. Fowler recovers from being stunned and tells Croft that he tried to trick the aliens into giving him their secrets by promising them helium which they need for fuel. The aliens have a magnifying device which created the giant images. Croft disables the device and the giants disappear. The aliens are given helium and leave Earth.

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #14 (November 1958)

Keywords

giant aliens; helium; spaceship; tiny aliens

Indexer Notes

Nick Cardy NC monogram in the lower right splash panel.

I Was Earth's First Exile (Table of Contents: 8)

comic story / 7.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Lee Elias

Inks

Lee Elias

Letters

Stan Starkman ?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

In one moment, I was the first man to pilot a rocket into orbit--and soon after I found myself engaged in a strange battle on an alien world!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Captain "Ferg" Ferguson; Dzuga (dictator)

Synopsis

An astronaut on a test flight is transported to a distant planet where he gains super-powers and helps defeat a dictator.

Reprints

• from My Greatest Adventure (DC, 1955 series) #27 (January 1959)

Keywords

dictator; spaceship; superpowers

[We must choose between...] (Table of Contents: 9)

Peter Puptent, Explorer / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Letters

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Genre

humour

Reprints

• from My Greatest Adventure (DC, 1955 series) #27 (January 1959)

We Hunted the Forbidden Treasure (Table of Contents: 10)

comic story / 8.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Jim Mooney (signed)

Inks

Jim Mooney (signed)

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

We had probed the murky depths of the seven seas--trekked across the scorching deserts--and invaded the frigid Arctic in the quest of buried fortunes...

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Clyde King; Andy; Boswell (curio dealer); Antib; Parker

Synopsis

An ancient Aztec curse seems to follow an expedition that seeks to find a lost treasure.

Reprints

• from My Greatest Adventure (DC, 1955 series) #27 (January 1959)

Keywords

Aztec; Mexico

Indexer Notes

Jim Mooney signature on left hand side of splash panel, two thirds of the way down.

My World of Giants (Table of Contents: 11)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Jack Miller

Letters

typeset

Genre

science fiction

Reprints

• from My Greatest Adventure (DC, 1955 series) #27 (January 1959)

We Were 20th Century Cavemen (Table of Contents: 12)

comic story / 7.67 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Ruben Moreira

Inks

Ruben Moreira

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

There on that deserted island, we were ready to pull back the dark veil surrounding one of the greatest mysteries of life --the secret of eternal youth!

Genre

science fiction

Characters

Dr. Cooper; Nora; Jim

Synopsis

A scientific experiment gone wrong revives the prehistoric world in the present.

Reprints

• from My Greatest Adventure (DC, 1955 series) #27 (January 1959)

Keywords

dinosaurs; pterodactyl; rejuva-ray

The Atom Servant of Man (Table of Contents: 13)

comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Jack Schiff

Pencils

Morris Waldinger

Inks

Tom Nicolosi

Letters

Ira Schnapp

Genre

maths & science

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #27 (December 1959)

[Moolah, the high-wire artist suddenly took sick.] (Table of Contents: 14)

Moolah the Mystic / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Pencils

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Inks

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Letters

Henry Boltinoff (signed)

Genre

humour

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #13 (October 1958)

Museum of Worthless Inventions (Table of Contents: 15)

comic story / 5.67 pages (report information)

Script

Otto Binder

Pencils

Bernard Baily

Inks

Bernard Baily

Letters

?

First Line of Dialogue or Text

All these crazy contraptions are scientifically impossible! Could this be... witchcraft?

Genre

fantasy-supernatural

Characters

Professor Amos Todd

Synopsis

Amos Todd sells tickets to his Museum of Worthless Inventions when he sees a flash of light come through the rain clouds. He shows a gold making machine and then a power pill which converts water to gasoline. He is surprised when the water suddenly bursts into flame. In the storm he helps a doctor's car with a power pill and water. He finds all inventions now work and fixes the hospital generator with a perpetual motion machine. Back at the museum criminals steal the gold making machine. Todd follows using mechanical wings which stop working as he lands. All machines return to uselessness.

Reprints

• from House of Secrets (DC, 1956 series) #13 (October 1958)

Keywords

perpetual motion; power pill