Believed to be the first Marvel annual. Jack Kirby cover. Contains 13 reprinted stories with art by Kirby, Dick Ayers, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Paul Reinman, and Bill Everett.
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COVER DETAILS
Title:
Grottu! King of the Insects / The Indescribable Diablo / The Miraculous Martian / The Shadow Thing / The Serpent Creature
Pencils:
Jack Kirby
Inks:
Jack Kirby
Colors:
Stan Goldberg
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Kirby inks per Nick Caputo, November 2008. Previous indexer credited Dick Ayers.
STORY DETAILS
Title:
I Unleashed Shagg upon the World!
Characters:
Shagg
Pages:
7.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Jack Kirby
Inks:
Dick Ayers
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
I Come from the Shadow World!
Characters:
shadow creature; Casey
Synopsis:
An invader from the shadow world is defeated by a room of lights rigged up by an electrician.
Pages:
5.000
Script:
Stan Lee ?
Pencils:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Inks:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Letters:
Artie Simek
Title:
He Waits For Us in the Glacier!
Characters:
Anuxa
Synopsis:
A nuclear submarine finds an alien hibernating in a glacier. He has been waiting thousands of years for humanity to wipe itself out so his race can claim the Earth, and now that nuclear weapons exist he thinks it won't be much longer.
Pages:
5.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Don Heck (signed)
Inks:
Don Heck (signed)
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
I Became a...Human Bomb!
Synopsis:
A criminal sneaks aboard an experimental nuclear missile planning to hijack it and sell it to the Soviets, but after the rocket launches he discovers that it lacks internal control.
Pages:
4.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Paul Reinman (signed)
Inks:
Paul Reinman (signed)
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
Grottu, King of the Insects!
Characters:
Frank [Ulysses Bloodstone] (earliest published appearance according to later continuity); Lynn Avery (only appearance); Kasenga (only appearance); Grottu (introduction, origin)
Synopsis:
A journalist and an archaeologist go to Africa and find an ant that has grown giant and gained super-intelligence due to an atomic test. The giant ant tries to lead an army of insects to world conquest, but is foiled when the humans use sugar to turn his ants against him.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Jack Kirby
Inks:
Bill Everett
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Grottu next appears in Marvel Monsters: Monsters on the Prowl (Marvel, 2005 series) #1 (December 2005). In later retcons it is established that Grottu's creation was planned by the Deviants. Inker credit of Dick Ayers removed based on information from Tom Lammers and the Timely/Atlas discussion list.
Title:
I Know the Secret of the Poltergeist!
Characters:
Larry Winters; Rita Winters; Poltergeist
Pages:
6.000
Pencils:
Steve Ditko
Inks:
Steve Ditko
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
I Saw the Serpent that Saved the World!
Synopsis:
A man dreams of a monster growing from an alien spore that is killed when it is eaten by a garter snake, a snake that he found in his yard as a boy.
Pages:
5.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Don Heck
Inks:
Don Heck
Letters:
Artie Simek
Title:
The Stranger in Space!
Pages:
4.000
Pencils:
John Forte (signed)
Inks:
John Forte (signed)
Letters:
Artie Simek
Title:
I Saw Diablo! The Demon from the Fifth Dimension!
Characters:
Diablo; Ulysses Bloodstone (unnamed, identified in later retcon)
Synopsis:
An extradimensional smoke monster invades the Earth. It could have destroyed humanity, but an adventurer tricks it by blowing out the smoke from a lighter, making it think humans can destroy it.
Pages:
7.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?: Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Jack Kirby
Inks:
Dick Ayers
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
I Found the Giant in the Sky!
Characters:
Prof. Dunn; giant; princess
Pages:
5.000
Pencils:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Inks:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Letters:
Ray Holloway ?; Artie Simek (splash)
Title:
Beware!! The Ghosts Surround Me!!
Characters:
Gustav; Hans (only appearance for both)
Synopsis:
A fleeing criminal in Transylvania hides in an abandoned house, but aliens from a parallel dimension appear to him. He is relieved to find they cannot hurt him, but instead they phase him into an invisible, immaterial state and leave him there forever.
Pages:
6.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
Pencils:
Don Heck
Inks:
Don Heck
Letters:
Artie Simek
Notes:
Narrated in the first person.
Title:
I Saw the Invasion of the Stone Men
Characters:
Prof. George Ailen
Synopsis:
Narrated in the first person.
Pages:
5.000
Pencils:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Inks:
Steve Ditko (signed)
Letters:
Artie Simek
Title:
A Martian Walks Among Us!
Synopsis:
A man happens upon a Martian spy in human form scouting Earth for an invasion but cannot get the authorities to believe him. He tracks down and kills the Martian, revealing that he himself is a Venusian agent in disguise working to protect Earth.
Pages:
7.000
Script:
Stan Lee (plot) ?; Larry Lieber (script) ?
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