Best Place to Sell Strange Tales #71

Publisher: Marvel, 1959

About Strange Tales #71

Jack Davis cover. Steve Ditko and Don Heck art.

Why sell your comic books with Heritage Auctions?

COVER DETAILS

Title: I Defied the Black Magic!!

Characters: Merlin

Pencils: Jack Davis

Inks: Jack Davis

Colors: Stan Goldberg

Letters: Artie Simek

STORY DETAILS

(6 Stories)

Title: I Dared to Defy Merlin's... Black Magic!

Characters: Merlin

Synopsis: An American businessman scoffs at a shopowner's claim that one of his books was Merlin's diary, until a terrifying vision of Merlin turns his hair white. As he runs from the shop, the shopkeeper thinks that he must remember not to leave his diary out.

Pages: 5.000

Pencils: Steve Ditko (signed)

Inks: Steve Ditko (signed)

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Chamber of Darkness (Marvel, 1969 series) #6 (August 1970)

Notes: This story could conceivably be in Marvel continuity, in which case this might be any of the three Merlins. Job number unknown according to Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 3-7 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 5).

Title: The Disappearance

Characters: Jasper Milty; Tom Milty

Synopsis: An old man disgruntled with society becomes rich by discovering uranium.

Pages: 2.000

Letters: typeset

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

Title: I Am the Man Who Will... Destroy Your World!

Characters: Mool [Ralph Masters]; John; Anne

Synopsis: An alien emperor of an immortal race comes to Earth disguised as a human to decide whether or not to order an invasion. He is impressed with the humans' decency and falls in love with a human girl, calling off the invasion and giving up immortality to stay with her.

Pages: 5.000

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

Pencils: Don Heck

Inks: Don Heck

Letters: Ray Holloway ?

Reprints: Fear (Marvel, 1970 series) #1 (November 1970)

Notes: Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 10-14 of comic (first page of story not numbered, then pages numbered 2 to 5).

Title: When the Saucer Strikes!

Characters: Joe; Charlie

Synopsis: A airline pilot is nearly hit by a flying saucer and must bank suddenly to avoid it. The passengers where mostly asleep, and the one who was awake says that he saw nothing...because he's really a Martian tourist and the saucer came to pick him up.

Pages: 4.000

Script: Carl Wessler ?

Pencils: Paul Reinman (signed)

Inks: Paul Reinman (signed)

Letters: Ray Holloway ?

Reprints: Where Monsters Dwell (Marvel, 1970 series) #6 (November 1970)

Notes: Possible Wessler script per Nick Caputo from information in Robin Snyder's The Comics, Vol 26, No.4, April 2015. This may be a Wessler inventory story originally titled "Saucer Scare". Narrated. Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 16-18, 20 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 4).

Title: I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!

Characters: Duke Jordan

Synopsis: A criminal escapes from prison after 10 years and robs a warehouse. He is found by a police officer with superhuman powers, and is surprised to learn that the police now only recruit robots.

Pages: 4.000

Script: Carl Wessler ?

Pencils: Sol Brodsky

Inks: Sol Brodsky

Letters: Artie Simek

Reprints: Fear (Marvel, 1970 series) #1 (November 1970)

Notes: Possible Wessler script per Nick Caputo from information in Robin Snyder's The Comics, Vol 26, No.4, April 2015. A Wessler inventory story was originally titled "The Man That Couldn't Die" Set in 1969. Pencil credit, ink credit, and job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Story is pages 21-24 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 4).

Title: I Am the Man Without a Face!

Characters: Rufus Watkins

Synopsis: A bigot rounds up some thugs to don black hoods and drive some harmless gypsies out of town. One of the gypsies curses him, and he is never able to remove his hood for the rest of his life.

Pages: 5.000

Script: Stan Lee ?

Pencils: Joe Sinnott (signed)

Inks: Joe Sinnott (signed)

Letters: Ray Holloway ?

Reprints: Where Creatures Roam (Marvel, 1970 series) #2 (September 1970)

Notes: This story is a retelling of "Men in Black" by Stan Lee and John Romita, Sr. from Menace (Marvel, 1953 series) #3 (May 1953). The hoods are more clearly a reference to the Ku Klux Klan than in the original (they are not randomly chosen disguises, but something the bigot's "pappy left me when he died"). Job number from Dr. Michael J. Vassallo via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Lee is credited as writer on the basis of his authorship of the original and later retelling. Story is pages 28-32 of comic (pages of story numbered 1 to 4, last page not numbered).

Data Courtesy of Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license

GoCollect Price Guide Report for this comic

Exclusive to Heritage members: GoCollect price report for this certified comic.

CGC Census Report* (Sign-in or Join (free & quick) to See Values)

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	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Qualified	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Signature Series	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
CGCxJSA	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Restored	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Total	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

*All information listed is intended to be as accurate as possible, but errors are possible. No item may be returned or refused based on this information which is provided as a service to our customers. You should contact each pricing source directly to determine the accuracy of this information.

Disclaimer About Comic Book Data

Heritage Auctions provides this information as a service to our customers, and is not responsible for inaccurate data. Please refer to past sale prices, industry price guides, and our experts' auction estimates before you bid or buy.

Heritage Auctions, the world's largest collectibles auctioneer, is the best place to sell comics. Our experts help fans and collectors understand what makes comics valuable and as the best place to sell comics we help consignors realize the highest possible prices for their prized collections.