Strange Tales #78 Values

Publisher: Marvel, 1960

About Strange Tales #78

Ant-Man prototype issue. Jack Kirby cover. Kirby, Joe Maneely, and Steve Ditko art.

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COVER DETAILS

Title: A Martian Prowls Among Us!

Pencils: Jack Kirby

Inks: George Klein

Colors: Stan Goldberg

Letters: Artie Simek

Notes: Inks credit from Nick Caputo via the GCD Error List (29 August 2006); the original indexer credited Dick Ayers.

STORY DETAILS

(5 Stories)

Title: A Martian Walks Among Us!

Synopsis: A man spots upon a Martian in human form scouting for an invasion. The police won’t believe him, so he finds and kills the spy himself, revealing that he is a Venusian in disguise working to protect Earth.

Pages: 7.000

Script: Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?

Pencils: Jack Kirby [as Kirby] (signed)

Inks: Dick Ayers [as Ayers] (signed)

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Where Monsters Dwell (Marvel, 1970 series) #3 (May 1970), | Strange Tales Annual (Marvel, 1962 series) #1 (1962)

Notes: Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 3-7, 10-11 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 7).

Title: Trouble Bubble

Characters: Jonathan Jr.; Nora; Jonathan Sr.; Mr. Bigger

Synopsis: A boy discovers a formula to blow unbreakable bubbles and accidentally entraps his father's boss.

Pages: 2.000

Pencils: Joe Maneely

Inks: Joe Maneely

Letters: typeset

Notes: Text story with illustration. Text story is pages 8, 26 of comic (pages of story not numbered).

Title: The Fantastic Menace of Mento the Mighty

Characters: Mento [Mr. Krupp]; Gorosaur

Synopsis: A scientist discovers his own innate psychic power and builds a machine to slowly enhance it. He is nearly omnipotent after more than a decade, but when his assistant betrays him he finds his muscles too atrophied to repair the device and his powers vanish.

Pages: 6.000

Script: Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?

Pencils: Don Heck

Inks: Don Heck

Letters: Ray Holloway ?

Notes: Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 12-14, 16-18 of comic (first page of story not numbered, then pages numbered 2 to 6).

Title: The Gargoyle!

Synopsis: An ugly man rejected by society applies for a job at a circus. It turns out to be a ruse by aliens who are uniformly gorgeous, and so want a man with an ugly face they find fascinating to marry their queen.

Pages: 5.000

Script: Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?

Pencils: Paul Reinman (signed)

Inks: Paul Reinman (signed)

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Where Monsters Dwell (Marvel, 1970 series) #3 (May 1970)

Notes: Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 20-24 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 5).

Title: Dear Reader: What Would You Have Done if You Were the… Worm Man

Characters: Worm Man; Prof. Serak

Synopsis: A spy calling himself 'Worm Man' uses shrinking pills to easily discover military secrets. On a crucial mission, he is attacked by a rat and loses his growth pills, trapping him forever in his tiny form.

Pages: 5.000

Script: Stan Lee ?

Pencils: Steve Ditko (signed)

Inks: Steve Ditko (signed)

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Tower of Shadows (Marvel, 1969 series) #6 (July 1970)

Notes: Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Possible Lee script per Nick Caputo's examination at his blog: http://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2011/11/who-authored-ditko.html Story is pages 28-32 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 5).

Data Courtesy of Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license

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CGC Census Report*

Grade	NG	PG	CVR	0.5	1.0	1.5	1.8	2.0	2.5	3.0	3.5	4.0	4.5	5.0	5.5	6.0	6.5	7.0	7.5	8.0	8.5	9.0	9.2	9.4	9.6	9.8	9.9	10.0	Total
Universal	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	6	8	4	7	9	17	12	3	5	8	3	7	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	102
Qualified	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Signature Series	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
CGCxJSA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Restored	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Total	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	5	8	8	4	7	12	18	12	3	5	8	4	7	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	109

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