Mystery Tales #2

(May 1952)

What You Can Do About Pimples (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

This Corpse Is Mine (Table of Contents: 2)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Dick Ayers

Inks

Ernie Bache

Colors

?

Letters

Dick Ayers

Job Number

9917

First Line of Dialogue or Text

You can come inside and watch me while I embalm the dead...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Mr. Kovak

Synopsis

Kovak is a heartless mortician. One night, he finds a vampire and werewolf arguing over a body in his mortuary. Thinking them fakes, Kovak tells the creatures to divide their victim evenly, the blood for the vampire, the flesh for the werewolf. They agree and reveal Kovak is the intended victim they've been arguing over.

Reprints

• in Voodoo (L. Miller & Son, 1961 series) #4 ([no date])
• in Mystic (L. Miller & Son, 1960 series) #27 (1962)

Keywords

vampire; werewolf

Indexer Notes

This is one of the first five stories Ayers penciled for Timely per his record books. Info per Ger Apeldoorn and Michael J. Vassallo via atlastales.com

The Cigar (Table of Contents: 3)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Job Number

9937

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Miss Purcell, please get those letters out tonight.

Reprints

• in Adventures into Weird Worlds (Marvel, 1952 series) #25 (January 1954) [as "A Man's Past"]

Skinny Girls Don't Have Oomph! (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

The Crawling Horror (Table of Contents: 5)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Ogden Whitney (signed as Ogden Whitney (cursive))

Inks

Ogden Whitney (signed as Ogden Whitney (cursive))

Colors

?

Letters

Sam Rosen ?

Job Number

9890

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A man stood alone beside a grave....!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Dr. Frank Carson; Ben

Synopsis

Grief-stricken after his wife's death, Frank resolves to increase the size of germs to better study them. However, the germs grow into giant monsters who terrorize Frank. Frank burns down his house to destroy the creatures, but one survives, growing ever larger.

Reprints

• in Spellbound (L. Miller & Son, 1960 ? series) #27 (1962)
• in Mystic (L. Miller & Son, 1960 series) #56 (1965)

Keywords

germs

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

An Amazing New Health Supporter Belt (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

Ronnie Sales, Inc. / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

He Went for a Train-Ride (Table of Contents: 8)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Carl Wessler

Pencils

Bernie Krigstein (signed)

Inks

Bernie Krigstein (signed)

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

9912

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Uhhh! Don't come near me! I-I don't belong on this train...

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Philip Radly; Lorna Radly; Ed Greller

Synopsis

Philip's train takes him to the year 1981. He finally uses the train to return to his own time but Lorna remains her self from 1981.

Reprints

• in Creepy Worlds (Alan Class, 1962 series) #79
• in Amazing Stories of Suspense (Alan Class, 1963 series) #16 (1964 ?)
• in Astounding Stories (Alan Class, 1966 series) #109 ([circa 1975 - 1976]), #174 ([circa 1984 - 1985])

Keywords

time travel

Indexer Notes

Wessler credit per biblio in Robin Snyder's The Comics Vol. 18, No. 7, July 2007.

The Gold Gorilla! (Table of Contents: 9)

comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Carl Wessler

Pencils

Sol Brodsky ?

Inks

Sol Brodsky ?

Colors

?

Letters

?

Job Number

9910

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It's the mother gorilla, Paul!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Paul Cameron; Kip Murdok; Murnah

Synopsis

Kip steals a young golden gorilla and kills Paul to have it to himself. Meeting Murnah on his plane home Kip romances her but once on the ground she changes into the gorilla's mother and kills Kip.

Reprints

• in Mystic (L. Miller & Son, 1960 series) #26 (1962)

Keywords

Dakar; Miami; Muwamba River; Senegal

Indexer Notes

Wessler credit per biblio in Robin Snyder's The Comics Vol. 18, No. 7, July 2007.

The Rat Race (Table of Contents: 10)

comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Everett ?

Pencils

Bill Everett (signed as Everett)

Inks

Bill Everett (signed as Everett)

Colors

?

Letters

Bill Everett (signed as Everett)

Job Number

A-13

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Everything' ready, Mr. Tompson...enough food to last six months, and everything you requested for those...er...ah...things!

Genre

horror-suspense

Characters

Mr. Tompson

Synopsis

Testing rats in his laboratory, Tompson is amazed at one large rat whose intelligence is greater than the others and keeps avoiding Tompson's traps. Tompson finally decides to lock the rat in a room with poisoned food to see if it will eat the food from hunger but the rat escapes the lab and locks Tompson inside, leaving him to face the dilemma for himself.

Reprints

• in Amazing Stories of Suspense (Alan Class, 1963 series) #14 (1964 ?)
• in Secrets of the Unknown (Alan Class, 1962 series) #76 ([no date])
• in Crypt of Horror (AC, 2005 series) #4 (2007)

Reducing Weight Specialist Says: Lose Weight Where it Shows Most (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Draw the First Day (Table of Contents: 12) (Expand) /

advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Hey Skinny!... Yer Ribs are Showing! (Table of Contents: 13) (Expand) /

Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension System / comics-form advertising / 1 page (report information)

Jim and Betty Solve the "Mystery" of Pete's Fortune! (Table of Contents: 14) (Expand) /

Wilson Chem. Co. / comics-form advertising / 1 page (report information)