Strange Tales [comic]
Entry updated 14 September 2026. Tagged: Comics, Publication.
US Comic (1951-1968; 1973-1976). Marvel Comics. 168 issues (1951-1968), 20 issues (1973-1976). Editor Stan Lee (1951-1968). Artists include Dan Adkins, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett, Don Heck, Jack Kirby, Joe Maneely, Paul Reinman and Jim Steranko; Gray Morrow and Reed Crandall also provided artwork for a few strips. Script writers include Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jim Steranko and Carl Wessler (there were also several scripts by Roy Thomas). 36 pages, with the 1951-1968 era having 4-5 strips until #113, subsequently 2 (plus a text story or, later, a letters page); the 1973-1976 revival had 1-2 strips and a letters page.
Throughout #1-#100 Strange Tales was a solid anthology of standalone genre tales. Though focused on Horror plus Supernatural Creatures, Magic and other dark Fantasy elements, issues commonly had one or two sf stories; sometimes three or four. From #70-#99 giant Monster tales dominated, being cover stars on all but four issues and often given double-length stories: many are impressive looking (though there is some decline towards the end), with Fin Fang Foom (#89) the most striking; oddly, his cover image is nowhere near as formidable as his appearance in the strip itself.
From #101 a format change was marked by the start of a regular Human Torch (Fantastic Four version) strip. Doctor Strange was introduced in #110, appearing in every subsequent issue except #112 and #113. From #114 there are just two strips: Doctor Strange and the Human Torch, the latter replaced by Nick Fury, Agent of Shield from #135. Though the Torch stories were moderately entertaining, it is the Doctor Strange and Nick Fury strips that stay in the mind, their artwork by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko often being outstanding. The two characters went on to have their own comics, Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of Shield. Strange Tales was revived 1973-1976 (see 3 below).
1. #1-#100 (June 1951-September 1962). "The Strange Men" (#1) has a pilot forced to land on a Pacific island, only to be kidnapped by humanoid Aliens from Saturn (see Outer Planets) who take him to their Underground City and reveal their plan to conquer the whole Solar System beginning with Earth. They set him to working in the mines, but he escapes and notifies a US General, only to be declared mad; the General is a Saturnian. "The Beast" (#1) has a serum that will speedily evolve (see Evolution) apes into humans, but a man who admires the alleged evil nature of apes wants it used to revert him into an ape. The Scientist believes it will do so only mentally, not physically; this proves to be wrong and the subject becomes a gorilla, ending up in the Zoo.
#3's "The Invisible Death" has Invisible aliens bombing the USA and Russia, hoping to start a nuclear conflict (see World War Three), but a blind scientist realizes what is happening and though unable to see he becomes a saboteur on the aliens' planet using his heightened other senses. In "The Monster's Son" (#10) a man discovers that the Frankenstein Monster built a son, but does not realize it is himself. "The Last Flying Saucer" (#21) is set two years in the future (1955) with the world suffering Disaster and on the brink of War; a flying saucer lands and a grotesque alien gets out. Believing it holds a weapon the military (supported by an equally paranoid public) destroys the alien and ship, only to learn the latter had contained the secrets of Immortality and ending war forever, intended as gifts to humanity (a not dissimilar plot features in #43). "The Monkey Glands" (#21) finds a man reading of Serge Voronoff's work on Rejuvenation and injecting himself with a secretion of monkey glands; he grows younger, but also becomes monkey-like, a likely influence being the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" (March 1923 Strand). "The Last Man on Earth" (#25) hears a knock on the door;; it is the last woman on Earth. In "Time Crime" (#38) a con man builds a Time Machine to commit crimes, but finds the Time Adjusters (see Time Police) undo all his acts. "A Stranger on Earth" (#40) is an alien who – because of humanity's savagery – should wipe out all life on our planet, but is befriended by a Dog and cannot bear the thought of wiping out that species. "The Great Experiment" (#46) has scientists send three Robots to develop a barren planet, following some time later to see the result: the world has become a robot Utopia with no time for them, and they are returned to Earth (this story benefits from some good Ditko artwork). "Trapped Between Two Worlds" (#67) finds a scientist building the transmitting half of a Matter Transmission device; this is accidentally turned on and he finds himself on the planet where an alien scientist has built an inefficient but compatible receiver. The world's ruler realizes the Earth scientist's far more powerful transporter would enable him to "rule the Universe!": but the other escapes, returns home and destroys his device (again, there is strong Ditko artwork). The scientist in "I Was the Invisible Man" (#67) is Invisible because his invention makes him move at "the speed of light": he plans to make himself famous, but after 40 days discovers his speed has aged him that many years (see Time Distortion). A scientist in "I Found the Mad Universe" (#76) builds a microscope and finds a world in the atoms but is disheartened by its warlike inhabitants, the twist being that this is Earth (more good Ditko art here). "They Met on Mars" (#84) has two monsters meeting and fighting on Mars, each thinking the other is an alien: in fact they are men in large space suits, one from the USA, the other from Russia (see Cold War).
Other stories include a scientist inventing a salve that enables him to walk through solid objects (#15) (see Matter Penetration). Another constructs a Robot with an "exact copy of a human brain" (#18). Yet another builds a robot with all the strengths of a human, but none of the frailties; it decides to conquer humanity (#22). An arrogant, imperialist Earth provokes a vast gelatinous creature that wipes out its war fleet, then all of humanity, leaving only the "lowly, despised slaves of man ... the robots" (#25). The peaceful universe is overcrowded (see Overpopulation) so friendly delegates from the civilized planets meet (see Politics) to reach a solution, and sociably agree on a "universal war" (see Satire). Two men journey to the core of the Earth; one discovers there are not enough supplies for two, so kills the other, only to learn they were an Android necessary for his safe return (#29). Scientists think Time Travel is only possible into the past is possible, believing their attempt to reach the future failed when they see primitive hunter/gatherers; in fact they are viewing a Post-Holocaust scene (#69). The only thing preventing an invasion of vaguely humanoid geometric shapes from the fifth Dimension is one man's knowledge of their existence: they find his thinking about them painful (#69). An invasion of overconfident, powerful aliens fails because they are susceptible to our germs – H G Wells's War of the Worlds (April-December 1897 Pearson's; 1898) was doubtless an influence (#70). A scientist travels so far into the future that he ends up in the era he left, since time is cyclic (#73). Aliens send their criminals to serve their sentence on a "nightmare planet called Earth!" where they are suitably chastened by their experiences (#88).
2. #101-#168 (October 1962-May 1968). #101's opening strip begins the adventures of teenager Johnny Storm, better known as the Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. The other members of the team often appear – with The Thing becoming a regular – whilst there are frequent appearances by other Marvel characters. The Beatles also turn up (#130). Though there are some good stories (such as #103's "Prisoner of the Fifth Dimension"), the sequence on the whole is fairly light.
#111 introduces Doctor Strange "Master of the Mystic Arts" (created by Ditko); his origin story follows in #115, where the successful but arrogant surgeon Steven Strange suffers nerve damage after an accident and can no longer operate; in desperation he travels to the Himalayas to ask "the Ancient One" for help, with circumstances (the actions of a treacherous pupil, Mordo) leading to Strange becoming the Ancient One's disciple. There is a long tradition of magicians in comics, including Mandrake the Magician, Sargon the Sorcerer (see All-American Comics), Zardi, the Eternal Man (see Amazing Man Comics), Hale the Magician (see Dynamic Comics), Zanzibar the Magician (see Mystery Men Comics, The Flame, The Green Mask), Kardak, the Mystic Magician (see Top-Notch Comics), Zambini the Miracle Man (see Zip Comics), and Yarko the Great (see Wonderworld Comics). However, Doctor Strange is comfortably the best of them, with strong stories, a deeper mythology and some wonderful, surreal artwork by Ditko. Ditko was penciller/inker until #146, and often provided the plots (or co-plotted with Lee), and during this era the strip is one of the classics. Though Doctor Strange's core premise is fantasy, there are occasional sf elements: Dimensions play a major role and in #116 the inhabitants of another use technology to attempt an invasion of Earth's dimension. #164 introduces "Yandroth – scientist supreme" who boasts that "with the key of scientific knowledge, I have unlocked the inner-most secrets of the cosmos!". So, as Strange himself observes, this is "the cold, relentless power of science versus the occult force of the magic arts!". In #165 and #166 he faces the scientist's invention, the giant robot Voltorr "who wields the fateful lightning of the universe that binds – or destroys – all matter!". After Ditko left the art lost some of the weird, otherworldly style that made it so memorable, though Dan Adkins (#161-#168) did some very good work.
Nick Fury, Agent of Shield (created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee) replaces the Human Torch from #135. Nick Fury had debuted in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 (May 1963), where he leads a US Army unit in World War Two. His older self first appeared in Fantastic Four #21 (December 1963) as a CIA agent, but in Strange Tales he is appointed leader of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division). The first strip opens in with him bemusedly surrounded by Technology and scientists: "Don't move Fury! Don't even breathe! The slightest error can cause your death!" Nonetheless he still has a cigar in his mouth. This is so robot copies can be made of him, which he subsequently sees murdered by assassins. Fury is taken by flying car to SHIELD's mobile command headquarters – a "gigantic heli-carrier" – where he meets Tony Stark (see Iron Man) designer of SHIELD's weaponry – and is told he is to become the leader of that international organization whose mission is to destroy HYDRA, a body desiring to rule the world (the assassination attempts being their response to this). Though James Bond (see Ian Fleming) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. were influences, SHIELD and HYDRA's immense resources and considerable advanced technology take the strip deep into science fiction territory. HYDRA is (temporarily) defeated in #141 when the Imperial Hydra, in civilian clothes, is shot by his own personal guards, not believing despite his insistence that such an uncharismatic individual could be their leader. Jim Steranko started working on the strip from #151 and from #155 was providing both the script and the artwork, the latter showing an increasingly psychedelic influence (for example, #167 has some breathtaking imagery).
#101-#113 have at least two standalone stories each issue (the Human Torch tales being double-length) – such as "The Impossible Spaceship" (#101), where Earth tries to contact the crew of a UFO, but fails by not realizing the spaceship is the alien. "Earth is Off-Limits" (#109) has astronauts inform Earth they have discovered life on another world; owing to horror at the prospect of alien germs wiping out humanity (see Pandemic) the astronauts are told they can never return to Earth, and contact is broken before they can reveal their discovery of a Utopian civilization. "Beware the Machine" (#111) reworks Fredric Brown's "Answer" (in Angels and Spaceships, coll 1954); here humanity is saved by an organ-grinder's monkey who pulls the evil Computer's plug.
3. #169-#188 (September 1973-November 1976). #169-#171 only had one strip: Jericho Drumm "author, scholar, noted psychologist", returns to Haiti and, after witnessing his brother's murder by a curse, meets Papa Jambo who teaches him how to practice voodoo, to become the black Superhero (see Race in SF) Brother Voodoo, later Doctor Voodoo. He also dominates #172-#173, each also having a single reprint. #174, #176 and #177 feature a long strip featuring The Golem, plus a reprint. The Golem is the Golem of Prague, now containing the spirit of the dying professor who revived him. #178-#181 each consist of a single strip starring the Warlock, who first appeared in Marvel Premiere #1 (1972), then had his own comic, but appeared here (and in Marvel's Planet of the Apes comic) during a hiatus. Four men planned to create "the perfect man of the future" with the intention of conquering the Earth with him, but "with the power of the atomic bomb" that man – Adam Warlock – could look into people's souls; looking into theirs, he did not like what he saw, and destroyed them and their laboratory; he then wandered space and had a long learning curve, and adventures. Strange Tales #175 and #182-#188 were all reprints. [SP]
links
- Grand Comics Database (1951-1968)
- Grand Comics Database (1973-1976)
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