Appearing in "Gruto! The Creature from Nowhere! / Gruto! Part 2"
Featured Characters:
- Dan Mitchell
Supporting Characters:
- Gruto (First appearance)
- Laura
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Editor-in-Chief
- Unidentified Police Department
- United States Air Force
- Numerous unnamed aliens from Pacion Rex (Only in flashback)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Milky Way
- Unnamed Galaxy (Only in flashback)
- Pacion Rex (Only in flashback)
Vehicles:
- Gruto's Spacecraft
Events:
Synopsis for "Gruto! The Creature from Nowhere! / Gruto! Part 2"
A contributor to a magazine is told by his editor that if he doesn't turn in a sensationalistic story he will be fired. He comes across a spaceship that has crashed causing the alien inside to bump his head and forget his mission. The man offers him a place to stay inside a barn until he remembers why he came to Earth. He takes photos of the alien and turns in a sensationalist pack of lies that the alien is an advance scout for a planned invasion. His girlfriend is bothered by guilt but she knows that he's doing it for the sake of his job. When the authorities confront the alien they believe that he is no immediate threat because he merely asks to be left alone until his memory returns. Not wanting the attention to fade, the man spreads more lies of hostile intent until the people are whipped up into a mob. His girlfriend goes out to warn Gruto to flee before the mob arrives as she is wracked with guilt to being an accomplice to the deception. Gruto does as she bids and takes up orbit around Earth in his spaceship. The humans try various attacks against him but Gruto easily nullifies them. As their last ditch strike, the humans launch a missile with a hydrogen warhead against the craft, which fails to damage it but does succeed in making Gruto bump his head once more restoring his memory. Gruto lands and proclaims that he recalls his mission was to impart great technical knowledge to Earth but since they have acted like barbarians and attempted to kill him, they deserve nothing and he departs. The man's girlfriend dumps him and all of Earth treats him as a pariah.
Appearing in "The Party"
Mystical Tales #2
Featured Characters:
- Mr. Braggle
Races and Species:
Synopsis for "The Party"
Mystical Tales #2
A salesman trying to unload some oil stocks thinks that he’s found a rich mark, but instead walks into a party of talking dogs.
Appearing in "The Black Clock!"
Featured Characters:
- Mr. Jordan
Supporting Characters:
- Unnamed Old Man
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Unnamed Boarding House
- United States of America
Items:
- Black Clock (First appearance)
Synopsis for "The Black Clock!"
A criminal steals a strange clock from an old man, but finds that it is cursed. He cannot put it down without pain, but he ages rapidly as he holds it. He believes that returning the clock will cure him, leaving him to choose between rapid death, pain or jail.
Appearing in "The Last Voyage of Captain Kragg"
Featured Characters:
- Captain Kragg
Supporting Characters:
- Kumbus
Other Characters:
- Space Patrol
- Columbus (Referenced)
- Numerous unnamed members of Kumbus' crew
Races and Species:
Locations:
Vehicles:
- Captain Kragg's Spaceship (Destroyed)
- Kumbus' Ship
Synopsis for "The Last Voyage of Captain Kragg"
A cowardly space pilot flees a battle until his spaceship runs out of power and he crashes into a bog on an Earth-like planet. He finds himself among humanoids in an era similar to Earth's 1492 Spain as a sailor is attempting to prove the planet round with a voyage around the globe. The space pilot thinks this is a sure bet to gain fame and fortune so he arranges to exchange places with the sailor and head out to sea. Unfortunately for him, the planet he has crash landed upon does indeed turn out to be flat.
Notes
- "Gruto! The Creature from Nowhere! / Gruto! Part 2" is reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell #11.
- "The Black Clock!" is reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell #12.
- "The Last Voyage of Captain Kragg" is reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell #12.