Weird Fantasy, #16
Published: November-December 1950
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Issue Contents:
"No...no...don't leave me floating out here in space!"
Storyline
An astronaut is abandoned in space by his crew.
Credits
- Pencils: Al Feldstein
- Inks: Al Feldstein
- Letters: Magica Quartet
Story Notes
Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Look for this Seal...
Story Notes
inside front cover
The Last City
"Strange! The city is perfectly preserved... but all the people are dead!"
Storyline
Concerned with possible annihilation by the Atomic Bomb, a scientist invents a machine capable of creating a protective shell around the Earth, making it impervious to atomic destruction. However, when the machine also creates a protective bubble around itself, the machine cannot be turned off, with devastating results.
Characters
- Professor Farley
- unnamed U.S. government secretary
- unnamed U.S. Army General
- unnamed Mayor of New York City
- alien invaders [Cugo
- Ivat] (villains)
Credits
- Script: Bill Gaines
- Script: Al Feldstein
- Pencils: Al Feldstein
- Inks: Al Feldstein
- Letters: Magica Quartet
Story Notes
Story inspired by "The Lanson Screen" by Arthur L. Zagat. Script addition of Gaines by Craig Delich. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin, but it is unlikely that Severin had begun coloring at EC when this issue was colored (Cassell 2012, 33–34 and 171). \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Reference: Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. *Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. *Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.
The Mysterious Ray from Another Dimension!
"Ladies and gentlemen... and all you television fans..."
Storyline
Norman Network refuses to allow television to run his (and the last) radio station in America out of business, and has devised a plan to win the battle: by convincing people that the rays from television sets are harmful to the viewer. And Doctor Litmus provides the proof: that television viewers disappear from their existence in the Earthly plane, then travel and exist in another dimension.
Characters
- Father Time
- Norman Network (radio station magnate)
- Dr. Litmus
- Sheldon Frebish
Credits
- Script: Harvey Kurtzman
- Pencils: Harvey Kurtzman
- Inks: Harvey Kurtzman
- Letters: Ben Oda
- Colors: Harvey Kurtzman (uncertain)
Story Notes
Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion. Thommy Burns, in Fantagraphic's "Man and Superman and Other Stories" (2020), states: ".....Kurtzman's offering in this 4th issue of Weird Fantasy is significant because it is his first EC story to feature hand lettering rather than EC's standard mechanical Leroy Lettering. ......this shows that Kurtzman is becoming an independent creator for EC and a force to be reckoned with." Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers...†(1995) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ References: Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. “The Artists of EC Comics†(reprinting Severin 1995). In *Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. *46–47. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing. Severin, Marie ([John Province], transcriber). 1995. “Mostly about Color.†In *CFA-APA *36, January.
SuspenStory Fans!
Featuring Crime SuspenStories
Credits
- Pencils: Johnny Craig
- Inks: Johnny Craig
- Letters: Magica Quartet
Story Notes
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “The Last City,†above).
Success
"The following notes, obviously sheets torn from a scientific diary..."
Storyline
Yacov Dmitrino documents the efforts of two scientists working on the perfection of the Atomic Bomb. However, the success they achieve is offset by the fact that a chain reaction ensues, destroying them all.
Characters
- Yacov Dmitrino (death)
- Brabov (scientist, death)
- Omolchenko (scientist, death)
Credits
- Pencils: Don Cameron
- Inks: Don Cameron
Credits
- Script: Bill Gaines (uncertain)
- Script: Al Feldstein (uncertain)
Story Notes
Letters from Addison McGarrity Jr., Paul Kast and fictional letter from Mr. Goon-Child. Voting results: 1. Henry and his Goon-Child, 2. Martian Infiltration 3. Dark Side of the Moon 4. I Died Tomorrow 5. The Bomb
Second Childhood
"This is the incredible story of a scientist who entered his..."
Storyline
Dr. Clayton has discovered how to halt the aging process through injections of hormones manufactured from the spleen. When his assistant tells the scientist of her love for him, he balks because he is twice her age. Then he gets the idea of treating himself with the hormone and all seems well until... he becomes a child in his wife's arms.
Characters
- Dr. John Clayton (scientist)
- Betty Drake Clayton (Clayton's lab assistant, later wife)
Credits
- Script: Bill Gaines
- Script: Al Feldstein
- Pencils: Jack Kamen
- Inks: Jack Kamen
- Letters: Magica Quartet
Story Notes
Script addition of Gaines by Craig Delich. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “The Last City,†above).
A Trip to a Star!
"Come now on a fantastic adventure..."
Storyline
Don and Jerry blast into space as they become the first men to try and conquer interstellar space. The two leave the solar system, pass they believe through a space-warp, and discover an inhabited gigantic star, which they land on. Surprise follows surprise as they discover that they were quick-frozen in space and have returned to Earth... one million years later!
Characters
- unnamed Senator
- Don (rocketship pilot)
- Jerry (rocketship pilot)
- Dr. Farnsworth (astro-physics instructor at Farnsworth University, mention only)
Credits
- Script: Bill Gaines
- Script: Al Feldstein
- Pencils: Wally Wood
- Inks: Wally Wood
- Letters: Magica Quartet
Story Notes
Plot additions, correction and letterer credit by Craig Delich. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “The Last City,†above).