Number 2513: “Hup! Toop! Thrip! Four!” Soldier ants are marching!

It’s April, and time for the appearance of insects, without whom I would not know it was spring (I don’t get out much), when ants begin their annual invasion. I am not fond of ants making my home a residence, so I have my ways of getting rid of them. What if, though, the ants were as big as a human, and could think. Not only think, but say things like, “O antmen! It is time for your first test! Go forth this night and try your new power! Kill the hated mortals! KILL!”

My usual ant traps would not work with man-sized soldier ants. What I may have to depend on is the solution to get rid of those giant ants in the story. Personally, I had not heard of an enemy of soldier ants, but it is right here.

The artists who soldiered on by drawing this tale, are listed as Ken Bald ? (which means the Grand Comics Database is guessing) for the cover. Dick Beck and George Klein are credited for the artwork on “The Ant Master!” It is from ACG’s Forbidden Worlds #21 (1953).

Number 1806: Hooray for Halloween Horror: Dying for love, and a head for murder

Here is the second of our Halloween Week offerings, two tales from consecutive issues of Forbidden Worlds. “Love Me Forever” is from issue #24 (1953), and “Hannahan’s Head” is from #25 (1954).

The look on the face of the guy from the splash panel of the first story is familiar to me.

It is the look I present when puzzling over what to say about stories like these.

Here goes. What I can say about “Love Me Forever” is found in the old adage: “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.” The second story is about greed, and revenge from beyond death. Oh, and a head swimming in the ocean, no less. In their pre-Comics Code days, ACG published horror comics that were a bit lighter in tone than most horror comics. In a good percentage of them the main characters would be a young couple in love who are threatened by some supernatural menace. The guy fights it off, and the couple walks off arm-in-arm in a Hollywood ending. At a later point, as other comic book companies started going more for gore and visceral thrills, ACG tried for an edgier approach. I believe that was the intent here with both of these offerings. Did they succeed? At best I give them credit for effort.

Both stories were drawn by Kenneth Landau. I have shown some ACG stories from Landau before. Just check out the link below for an example. Covers are credited by the Grand Comics Database to Ken Bald.

One topsy-turvy story by Landau, published pre-Code, then Comics Code approved a few years later. Just click on the thumbnail:

Number 1275: Time Travelers in Camelot

 This is the third of four “silly science” postings this week.

“Time Travelers” was a feature in ACG's Operation: Peril for the first twelve issues. The comic, which co-featured Danny Danger and Typhoon Tyler, then became a war comic. “Time Travelers” was a fun strip, even if its version of history was a bit screwy. For instance, in this episode from Operation: Peril #3 (1951), they go to the sixth century to find King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, so a college donor will make a $10 million donation. I know a little bit about history, and there's always been a disagreement about whether there was such a king as Arthur, and when he lived. Not to mention someone called Merlin.

But this is science fiction and comic book SF at that, so we don't want to think too much about it. Like when hero Tom Redfield says they're going to the sixth century to find King Arthur, he doesn't say exactly when in the sixth century. Like every other century, unless you've got an exact date, 100 years is a big span of time in which to look. Lucky Tom and girlfriend Peggy found King Arthur right off!

I have shown other stories from this entertaining series in the past (you'll excuse the expression). The first two Time Travelers' stories are from Operation: Peril  issues #1 and #2, in Pappy's #836 and Pappy's #840. The adventure from issue #4 is found in Pappy's #1001. In Pappy's #399 I featured the story from issue #11.

Grand Comics Database gives Ken Bald artist credit. Thanks to reader Scott Pell, who says the GCD is in error, that the art is actually that of Lin Streeter. After a second look I'm in agreement with Scott.

Number 840

Tom and Peggy go to Venus

You've been on tenterhooks waiting for the conclusion to this Time Travelers opus after reading part one last week, haven't you? Operation: Peril #2, from 1951, picks up the story, crazy as it is.

Speaking of crazy stories, if you haven't had your fill, you can read another Time Travelers story from Operation: Peril #11 that I posted just over two years ago in Pappy's #399. In that posting I also answered a reader's query as to why I call some stories screwball. That story certainly qualified as screwball, as this does.