—Rufus WatkinsSittin' here day after day thinkin' has made me realize how wrong I was -- what a bigot I've been! If I ever get free of these hoods, I swear I'll never be intolerant of anyone again!
Appearing in "I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!"
Featured Characters:
- Unnamed American
Supporting Characters:
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Merlin's Diary
Synopsis for "I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!"
An American businessman enters a curio shop in the Balkans to browse and notices a book on a shelf titled "Merlin's Diary". The owner tells him it's not for sale and implores him not to open the book, but the man claims that occult mysticism is all nonsense and does so anyway. A spell is released that transports the man back in time to meet briefly with the historical Merlin until the spell wears off and he returns to his own time, but not before Merlin tells him that when he sees the sign, he will believe in the power of the occult. The man regains his senses back in the curio shop and thinks he must have imagined his experience, but when he sees in a mirror that his hair has turned white, he changes his mind and accepts that the world may contain more than he had previously expected. After he leaves the shop, the owner is revealed as Merlin himself and he berates himself for carelessly leaving his diary out in the open.
Appearing in "The Disappearance"
Featured Characters:
- Tom Milty (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Jasper Milty (First appearance)
- Mr. Milty (Tom's father) (First appearance)
- Mrs. Milty (Tom's Mother) (First appearance)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Disappearance"
Appearing in "I Am The Man Who Will... Destroy your World!"
Featured Characters:
- Mool/Ralph Masters
Supporting Characters:
- John
- Anne
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Alien Army
- Unnamed General
- Numerous unnamed soldiers
- Mrs. Carter
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Unnamed Galaxy
- Unnamed Planet
- Milky Way
Items:
- Astro-Energizer
Vehicles:
- Alien Mothership
- Alien Space Lifeboat
Synopsis for "I Am The Man Who Will... Destroy your World!"
An alien comes to Earth with the purpose of invading but after scouting out the planet for 24 hours he finds that the kindness, compassion, and love he witnesses changes his heart. Changed, Mool instead chooses to destroy the Astro-Energizer that would have acted as the signal to invade, without that signal his people would hopefully never attempt to conquer Earth.
Appearing in "When the Saucer Strikes!"
Featured Characters:
- Joe (Pilot) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Co-Pilot (Referenced)
- Unnamed Stewardess
- Numerous unnamed passengers
- Charlie
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Center City
- Center City International Airport
- Center City
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Mars (Referenced)
Vehicles:
- Flying Saucer (Main story and flashback)
Synopsis for "When the Saucer Strikes!"
While out flying a plane full of passengers to Center City they only active airline pilot at the time is nearly hit by a flying saucer and must maneuver suddenly to avoid it. The passengers were mostly asleep the sole conscious passenger denies seeing anything. It is then revealed that he's actually a Martian tourist and the saucer came to pick him up.
Appearing in "I Fought the Man who Couldn't Be Killed!"
Featured Characters:
- Duke Jordan
Antagonists:
- SPD
- Unnamed Robot Police Officer
Other Characters:
- Numerous unnamed prison guards
- Unnamed Warden (Mentioned)
- Unnamed Motorist
Races and Species:
Locations:
Synopsis for "I Fought the Man who Couldn't Be Killed!"
Duke Jordan escapes from prison after 10 years of his 30 year sentence. As he's attempting to flee he is pursued by a cop who performs greater than human feats. After grabbing the cop's gun and shooting him Duke learns that all police have been replaced by robots and that the bullets did nothing to harm the officer.
Appearing in "I am the Man without a Face!"
Featured Characters:
- Rufus Watkins
Supporting Characters:
- Rufus' Gang
- Luke
- Numerous unnamed members
Antagonists:
- Romani
- Numerous unnamed Romani
Other Characters:
- Unnamed Mayor
- Rufus Watkins' Father (Mentioned)
- Numerous unnamed citizens of Goosepan
- GPD
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- Goosepan
- United States of America
Items:
- Black Hood
Synopsis for "I am the Man without a Face!"
A group of traveling Romany come into a small city where a man by the of Rufus Watkins takes issue with their presence for nothing more than bigotry and stereotypes. Rufus decides to put a gang together and run them out of town but after doing so the leader places a curse on Rufus. A few days later the police begin searching for the people responsible for running out them out of town and while they found the rest of Rufus' gang they never gave him up, however Rufus couldn't leave his house as he was cursed to always be wearing a black hood even after removing the previous one, another would form. We leave Rufus as he regrets his actions as his house is slowly filling up with black hoods.
Notes
- "I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!" is reprinted in Chamber of Darkness #6.
- "I Am The Man Who Will... Destroy your World!" is reprinted in Fear #1.
- "When the Saucer Strikes!" is reprinted in Where Monsters Dwell #6.
- "I Fought the Man who Couldn't Be Killed!" is reprinted in Fear #1.
- "I am the Man without a Face!" is reprinted in Where Creatures Roam #2.