Dates
- Cover date
- May 1962
- On sale
- February 1, 1962
- Pages
- 36
Editions and covers (2)
Copies of #12 are not all the same book. Here is how to tell each one apart.
- Original edition12¢ coverSource ↗
Creators
Stories
- Melvin and the Martian! · 5 pages
A gambling cheat encounters a Martian who offers to give him the secret of never losing if he helps the Martian locate a treasure. The crook accepts, and true to his word, the Martian puts the man under a machine that gives him the ability to know which horse will win the race and how the dice will roll. When he asks the Martian what treasure he is looking for, the Martian mocks him "Haven't you realized yet, brainless earthling? The treasure is you!" and deposits him into a Martian zoo exhibit.
- I, the Gargoyle! · 5 pages
A kind but ugly, and hence lonely, man pilots a digging machine on a one-way journey to the Earth's core where he discovers a civilization who "see with their hearts" and not their eyes in the dim light. They offer him acceptance and love.
- Something Fantastig? [sic] [Something Fantastic?] · 3 pages
Lee and Ditko are having a story conference stricken with writer's block when a man walks into their office and offers to discuss ideas with them. They tell him to scram and when he doesn't take the hint, Ditko boots him out the door. The man gets up in the hallway outside and dissolves into sparkles, resolving to return to the fifth dimension as no one seems to be interested in his tales. Meanwhile, as Lee and Ditko mourn the fact that nothing supernatural ever happens to them, they decide to knock off for lunch.
- The Plague! · 5 pages
A dictator comes down with the plague and resolves to take everyone with him by starting a war with a nation he hates, the United States. He shoots down an American plane that crosses his border and requests permission to land. He thinks this will trigger a war, but a messenger gives him a message that causes his heart to fail and he dies. The message said the plane was bearing serum to cure the plague.
- The Living Statues! · 5 pages
A man pilots a faster than light rocket and when he returns to Earth he finds that everyone appears to be almost motionless as he is still moving faster than light.
Reprinted in
Creepy Worlds (1962), Amazing Fantasy Omnibus (2007), Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus (2019), Sinister Tales (1964), Uncanny Tales (1963), Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko (2005), Marvel Visionaries: Steve Ditko (2019), The Marvel Comics Library: Spider-Man (2022)