A Nostalgic Journey

Fantasy Masterpieces #1 (Marvel, February 1966, 12 cents)
"Beware!! The Ghosts Surround Me!!" Plot: Stan Lee, Script: Larry Lieber, Pencils and inks: Don Heck, Letters: Artie Simek.

Originally published in Strange Tales #76, this six-page story tells the tale of an escaping thief in Transylvania who runs into aliens. They meet "at certain points along the dimensional barrier, [where] our would and yours meet!" The criminal takes cover in an old house and is captured by the police—or is he?



"I Found the Things from Nowhere" Plot: Stan Lee, Script Larry Lieber, Pencils and inks: Jack Kirby, Letters: Artie Simek.

This five-page piece originally appeared in Journey Into Mystery #60. A man watching baseball on TV experiences a technical glitch that accidentally tunes into not a science-fiction program but "something that's really happening!": some kind of alien battle. However, the scene he sees unfolding is not on another planet, but much closer to home than he realizes. Kirby's artwork is excellent, especially the first page and the first panel on p. 4.



"I Became a Human Robot!" Pencils and inks: Joe Sinnott.

A five pager that originally ran in Suspense #5, this story details the risks of implanting your alien brain in a robot's metallic frame. Sure, you'd enjoy the ability to "think and move and use its mechanical abilities" at first. But once you'd avoided "impending disaster," "saved the Earthling," and been deactivated for installation in a museum, what then?



"I Saw the Other World!" Script: Stan Lee, Pencils and inks: Dick Ayers, Letters: Dick Ayers.

Originally from Tales to Astonish #7, this four-page story—the shortest in the issue—focuses on a camera that seems to take pictures of "another dimension that exists side by side with ours!!" The photographer tries to make his case to passersby outside his home, but nobody believes him. Ayers artwork, while not depicting superheroes or action per se is still quite lively and dynamic. P. 3 is particularly strong.



"Those Who Change" Script: Stan Lee, Pencils and inks: Steve Ditko, Letters: Artie Simek.

This five-page story from Amazing Fantasy #10 is a compelling cautionary tale about the danger of time travel. To whit: Don't mess. Ditko's art is stellar, with too many highlights to list, and the punchline at the end is a laugh. A fun piece.

This is a beauty of a reprint book, "taking you on a nostalgic journey to yesterday's fantasy wonderland." The text-heavy introduction featuring Stan Lee on the inside front cover, while "cornball," draws straight lines between the older fantasy stories and then-current Marvel titles such as the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Dr. Strange.

Availability: "I Found the Things from Nowhere" was reprinted in Monsters Vol. 1: The Marvel Monsterbus. "I Became a Human Robot" appeared in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense Volume 1. "I Saw the Other World!" was collected in Atlas Era Tales To Astonish Masterworks Vol. 1. "Those Who Change" ended up in Amazing Fantasy Omnibus.