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Weird Fantasy, #17

Published: January-February 1951

Cover

Weird Fantasy #17

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Issue Contents:
1 page fantasy; science fiction
Credits
Story Notes

Letterer credit by Craig Delich. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes in this index’s Issue Data section).

Featuring Vault of Horror

Story 1 1 page horror-suspense
Credits
Child of Tomorrow!
Story 2 8 pages science fiction

"This is the way it began..."

Storyline

A mining engineer, 750 feet underground in a mine, feels the ground shaking and eventually emerges from it to discover massive destruction caused by a series of atom bombs dropped on the area. He learns in coming days that the nation had responded with hydrogen bombs, destroying the enemy in just four days. What he soon learned to his horror that all other people were being mutated by the radiation from the war... including his own child.

Characters
  • Jerry Gordon (mining engineer)
  • Linda Gordon (Jerry's wife, death, in flashback)
  • Tim (mining engineer, death, in flashback)
  • Bill (mining engineer, death, in flashback)
  • Jerry and Linda's murant son (death)
Credits
Story Notes

Some of the story occurs in flashback. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes in this index’s Issue Data section).

The Time Machine and the Shmoe!
Story 3 7 pages science fiction

"And now we bring you the story of Donald Yubyutch..."

Storyline

Professor Serutane creates a time-top machine and Donald volunteers to go along with the professor, who promptly turns him down. But, filled with heroic-like tendencies, Donald goes back in time in the machine all by himself into the 9th Century, where he is pronounced mad and assigned cleaning duties.

Characters
  • Donald Yubyutch [aka a shmoe] (lab cleaning man)
  • Professor Serutane
  • unnamed King
Credits
Story Notes

Script credit from Tales of Terror: The EC Companion. 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

Story 4 1 page crime
Credits
Story Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes in this index’s Issue Data section).

To---?
Story 5 1 page fantasy; science fiction
Storyline

A ship heading for Jupiter experiences gyro problems, passes by Jupiter and is marooned in space with no contact in the entire solar system.

Characters
  • Markson
  • unnamed Flight Engineer
Story 6 1 page
Credits
Story 7 1 page
Credits
Story Notes

Letters from Nancy Peterson, Eddie Killeen, and Louis Coale.

Deadlock!
Story 8 6 pages science fiction

"This was a chance encounter in space.."

Storyline

Two years in outer space and the Earth crew spots a strange-looking craft leerily approaching it. They communicate via an automatic brain machine and their mistrust of one another's intentions becomes clear, so they end up destroying each other.

Characters
  • unnamed ship's Captain (death)
  • unnamed ship's Sergeant (death)
  • ship's crew (all die)
  • alien ship creatures [Hvah
  • Zkoh
  • Broh] (all die)
Credits
Story Notes

Source for plot credit is “Against the Grain” (Stewart 2003, 40). Story inspired by "First Contact" by Murray Leinster. Script revision from Al Feldstein to Wood by Craig Delich. Source for the Wood script credit "Spawn of Mars and Other Stories" (2015). Cover story. Letterer credit by Craig Delich. Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes in this index’s Issue Data section). \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Reference: Stewart, Bhob. 2003. Against the Grain. In *Against the Grain: MAD Artist Wallace Wood, *ed. Bhob Stewart, 6–51. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.

Prediction of Disaster!
Story 9 7 pages science fiction

"The world laughed at the Professor's..."

Storyline

Professor Horton discovers that the Beta Orion is going nova and about to explode... and does. Then he makes a startling discovery: One can determine when a star is about to explode by noting an excess of infra-red rays. He successfully proves that theory, then accidentally discovers that the Earth's sun is about to go nova and seeks to warn the world.

Characters
  • Professor Henley Horton
  • unnamed Coogen (Dean of State University)
  • unnamed Secretary of State University
  • John D. Pentport III
  • Ken (newspaper reporter)
Credits
Story Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes in this index’s Issue Data section).