Lars of Mars #11

In "The Terror Weapon!", interplanetary crusader Lars of Mars is summoned from Earth by a urgent call from Mars to stop a terrifying new weapon developed by the ruthless scientist Dr. Raskov—a device capable of freezing anything to absolute zero. As Lars prepares to leave, his human companion June Conway, unaware of his true origins, confronts him, leading to a tense moment where she insists he stay for a TV rehearsal, forcing Lars into a clever ruse to keep her from interfering with his mission.

In "The Crucial Game!" from Lars of Mars #11, a sick boy named Billy Crane clings to hope that his baseball hero, Jim Daly, will return to pitch, even as Daly tries to flee the city in despair. When Lars of Mars learns of the boy’s plight, he uses his telepathic powers to track down the disgraced pitcher and convince him to face his fears and return to the field.

Jo and a group of friends embark on a weekend trip to the Moon aboard a futuristic spaceship, excited by the novelty of space travel and the comfort of advanced, motion-sparing seats. As the rocket ascends, they marvel at the speed and ease of the journey, while one passenger jokes about growing tired of Moon trips and longing for destinations like Venus or Mars.

Ken Brady, a rocket pilot on a routine test flight, takes a young boy named Danny Martin aboard for a joyride, unaware that Danny is an illusion created by a mad scientist’s projector. When the boy vanishes mid-flight, Ken realizes the truth: Danny was never real, and the entire encounter was part of a sinister plan to steal the rocket ship.

In a 1951 non-fiction piece titled "This Weird World," strange real-life phenomena are explored through brief, eerie accounts: two RAF flyers vanish during a flight over Mesopotamia only to be found with their plane intact and footprints leading into thin air, houses in England and the U.S. mysteriously shake themselves apart while neighboring buildings remain untouched, and isolated communities experience miraculous showers of edible grain or rain that falls only on a single tree. The story presents these unexplained events with a tone of wonder and mild unease, inviting readers to ponder the impossible.

In "The Earthshaker!", Lars of Mars is called to stop a madman who threatens to destroy New York City with an earthquake, using a powerful machine hidden in a Kentucky cave. As Lars infiltrates the underground lair, he must outwit the villain’s henchmen and prevent the device from being activated—before it’s too late.