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Journey Into Mystery #64

Jan 1961
Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby

Story Name:

I Dared to Battle...Rorgg, King of the Spider-Men!!


Synopsis

Journey Into Mystery #64 synopsis by Julio Molina-Muscara
Rating: 3 stars

An alien race of large spider-like beings called Spider Men intends to conquer our world and chose a small town in New Mexico to test human resilience to their attack.

Under the leadership of Rorgg, the aliens cover the town with a seemingly indestructible web to isolate it from the outside world. The town people try desperately to cut it or kill the spider men without success.

When all hope seems lost, a boy named Tim Johnson (an imaginative and smart avid reader of comics) sprays Rorgg with a large container of DDT he quickly put together at the local hardware store… and kills the chief alien! The rest of the Spider Men return to their world, calling off the invasion, in fear of such a potent weapon.

--  



Story #2

I Found The Lair of... The Lizard Men

Synopsis

Erik Kane is a clever, mean criminal serving a life sentence in an African prison. Tricking a guard, he escapes into the jungle and hides behind a waterfall to escape the hounds, finding a secret cave. But as he walked in it, hoping to find an exit, he stumbled upon a lizard-like man. Running for his life, he ended up in a chamber where many lizard men surrounded him. The only source of light was a gigantic diamond.

The lizard men were peaceful and spoke like humans. They welcomed Kane to their dark, hidden world. Allowing his criminal mind to control him, the ungrateful inmate took the diamond and ran away. Lizard men could not chase him; they cannot breathe the air near the surface. One warned Kane that holding the diamond for long was dangerous.

Kane almost reached the waterfall when he started having problems breathing and realized he had turned into a lizard man! The diamond caused the metamorphosis. Back in the chamber with the rest of the reptilian humanoids, he sat alone, an outcast for his evil doings, forever a prisoner, losing even his humanity.

--


Story #3

I Must Find Korumbu!

Synopsis

Hugo Barge was a rich, cruel businessman with an obesity problem. The doctor told him he should lose weight or he would die. Barge tried everything: diets, exercise, potions, pills, foreign gurus, but nothing worked. Word got to Barge that a gypsy man called Korumbu could make anyone lose weight yet continue eating at will.

Barge offered Korumbu vast amounts of money for his solution. But Korumbu replied his potion was not ready. Barge insisted, threatening to reveal the gypsy's location to the police if denied, causing his people getting arrested or deported. Barge drunk the potion and blacked out, but when he recovered, he learned he was losing weight. His happiness was short-lived, though. He kept losing weight! Worried for the exact opposite of getting fat, a slim Barge ate like never, having his men look for Korumbu, his only hope of a cure, at all costs.

--


Story #4

Who is the Ape Man?

Synopsis

Bruno Storme was the strongest man alive. He worked at a circus and was famous for his feats of strength. But he was cruel to animals. He often tormented a gorilla called Kazar with firecrackers, despite Pierre Duval’s complaints, the animal trainer.

Storme disregarded Duval, literally tossed him aside and continued tormenting the beast. Duval vowed for revenge.

One day, Storme asked the audience for a challenger. A large silent man responded and beat Storme in every feat. With his pride awfully hurt, Storme tried hitting the man, but he got knocked instead. The large man carried Storme away, placed him in a freight train wagon, and then left.

Suddenly, Duval appeared, and removed the strongman’s clothes, revealing he was Kazar, the gorilla, wearing a human mask! And Duval, happy for obtaining revenge from Storme, removed his own human mask, revealing he was a smart, talking chimpanzee.

--



 

Review / Commentaries


Journey Into Mystery #64 Review by (September 27, 2024)

The Rorgg story is a sci-fi horror tale with a “reading-comics-is-good” message. In those days, such was a common practice by publishers because many adults thought comic books were a bad influence on kids. The writer (either Stan Lee or his brother Larry Lieber, data is ambiguous) makes a father say the following about comics-aficionado youngsters: "Those science-fiction stories stimulate their imagination, their desire to know, to understand! And in a universe filled with countless unknown dangers, we need inquiring, imaginative minds! We may some day need them for our very survival!"



> Journey Into Mystery comic book info and issue index

Elektra

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Additional Credits
Plot: . Letterer: Art Simek.
Editor: Stan Lee.