A patient who has escaped from a lunatic asylum enters the office of a comic book publisher and complains about the horror comics he is responsible for.
same plot as the third story in EC's Crime SuspenStories #1 but in this version the protagonist dies from his own fear and the killer never bothers to complete the job because he's been paid in advance.
A scientist uses a Phantom Zone-like projector to banish people he doesn't like to another world, but a light indicates where the beam connects both worlds, and one of the men returns. He shoves the scientist through the aperture where he is attacked and killed by the natives. Other victims rush forward hoping to escape, but the man switches off the device. The story ends with the man indecisive about turning the beam back on and rescuing the other victims and possibly allowing native attackers to pour through, or leaving it off and condemning them to die. He addresses the reader directly and asks "What would you do?"
Venus and Whitney Hammond have come to see a medium who claims to be able to summon the spirits of the dead, intending to expose him as a fraud. They are shocked when the medium summons two spirits who begin fighting each other right before their eyes, proving to both Venus and Whit that he is the genuine article. The medium invites them to stay and witness as he summons spirits for his next customer.
Soon they are visited by a man named Andreas, who wishes to find his long lost love, Mara. He explains that during the war he and his platoon met Mara while stationed in France. They all fell in love with her and proposed to her, but Mara could not make up her mind. She then decided that she would only marry the man who would outlive the others. He finishes his tale explaining that he is the last survivor of his troop and that he has lost Mara. He tells the medium that he wishes to summon the spirits of his dead friends to see if they know what happened to Mara. The medium agrees and draws a circle of protection around everyone.
When the spirits of Andreas friends appear he asks what became of Mara. The spirits tell him that Mara is dead as well and so Andreas wants to see her spirit. The medium calls her fourth and a she too is a skeletal spirit like the others. When she calls out to Andreas to come out and kiss her, he steps out of the circle despite everyone's warning that it will cost him his life. However, Venus and the others are shocked when Andreas pulls off his face -- actually a mask -- revealing a skeleton underneath. They soon realize that Andreas was dead the entire time as well.
Solicit Synopsis
The ultimate Marvel team-up! Fantagraphics' new Atlas Library collaboration with Marvel, presenting classic comics from the pre-Marvel Atlas era, began in the Fall of 2023 and continues in 2024, as evidenced in this 32-page showcase of primo pre-Code gems from the House of Ideas. Included stories represent a range of genres from the series, including Adventures Into Terror and Venus. Included are Stan Lee and Joe Maneely's satire on anti-comics crusader Fredric Wertham, "The Raving Maniac"; Gene Colan's horror story "The Clock Strikes"; Basil Wolverton's horror story "Where Monsters Dwell"; Maneely's gritty war story "Rain"; Maneely's Hank Ketcham parody, "Pascal the Rascal"; and Bill Everett's romantic horror story "The Kiss of Death," starring Atlas heroine Venus.
