Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2

Jo and her family stumble upon a strange creature in the Black Swamp, sparking fear and panic among the locals. When the townspeople rally with torches to drive it back, Jo begins to wonder if the "monster" might just be lost—and alone.

In "I Was Face-to-Face with the Forbidden Robot!", a man’s desperate bid to gain fame by exposing a forbidden robot backfires when he confronts the machine he reactivated—only to realize too late that it was never a threat. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, the story unfolds in just six pages, capturing a moment of moral reckoning in a world where machines are feared, not understood.

In "I Wore...The Mask of Drothor!", a gifted artist crafts a haunting mask inspired by the face of an ancient sorcerer, only to find himself trapped in its sinister likeness after a daring robbery. As the line between creator and creation blurs, his transformation begins—leaving him locked in a nightmare he never intended to wear.

In the dense jungles of Borneo, an expedition stumbles upon a creature that defies explanation—neither fully ape nor human, but something older, something hidden. When it turns from wary predator to unexpected protector, defending its kin from a prehistoric threat, the line between monster and miracle blurs.

In "My Nightmare Has No End!", a man trapped in a recurring dream encounters an otherworldly visitor who promises escape from a dull reality into a paradise beyond imagination. When he agrees to the exchange, he awakens to a horrifying realization: he’s not in a new world, but inside the nightmare of a prisoner. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this chilling six-page tale from *Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2* turns the dreamer’s escape into a prison of his own making.

In "Save Me! Save Me!" from Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2, a desperate scientist uses his invention to walk on water and steal military secrets from a ship—only to discover too late that his breakthrough has trapped him in a terrifying new reality, where the land now pulls him under. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, this five-page sci-fi tale spins a tense, surreal mystery from a single, impossible twist.

In "A Monster Waits Outside!!," an astronaut aboard a solitary orbital sphere fights a growing dread as he watches something unseen claw at his capsule from the void. When he screams for rescue, ground control dismisses his terror—until they find a shattered claw embedded in the craft’s hull.

In "I Challenged... Groot! The Monster from Planet X!", a cosmic monarch descends on Earth with a bizarre plan to relocate a town to his distant world. When the alien menace threatens the planet, one unlikely hero steps forward—only to face the giant, plant-like Groot in a battle that takes a very unexpected turn.

In "I Found the Abominable Snowman!", a desperate thug braves the frozen peaks of the Himalayas, chasing a prize he believes will make him rich—armed only with a photograph of the legendary creature. As the locals warn him the image is cursed and his search drags on through endless snow and silence, his grip on reality begins to slip. The story unfolds with quiet dread, where the line between hunter and hunted blurs in the vast, indifferent wilderness.

In "My Friend is...Not Quite Human!", a wood-carver obsessed with his sculpture finds his obsession twisted when a gypsy mystic turns his creation to flesh—out of spite after he refuses to pay her. Now trapped in a body of wood, he must confront the strange new life he’s given to the figure he once shaped.

Jo, a former convict with a past he’s trying to outrun, stumbles into a strange mystery when he investigates a reclusive professor’s wild claims about a hidden world within television sets. When a malfunctioning set suddenly opens a rift, Jo is forced to face not only the bizarre reality of the discovery but also an enemy from his own past who’s crawled through from the other side.

In "Behold! I Am the Master of Time!", a thief stumbles upon a black magic book that promises a time machine powered by electricity—only to find himself stranded in the 18th century when he realizes the past lacks the very current he needs to return. The story unfolds as he grapples with the consequences of his invention in a world unprepared for such a marvel.

In "The Thing in Human Form!" from Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2, a Martian infiltrates Earth with a deadly mission—abducting a human scientist rumored to have created a weapon of immense power. But when the alien confronts the scientist, the tables turn in a tense standoff that reveals a shocking truth: the scientist is no ordinary human, and the trap was set long before the Martian arrived.

In "I Learned the Dread Secret of the Blip!", a mysterious electrical entity hides in a cave, baffling scientists with a power drain and radar glitch. When fear turns to violence, the creature flees—leaving behind a secret that could change everything.

In "I Dared Enter the Forbidden World!", a white game hunter stumbles upon the fabled elephant's graveyard, drawn by dreams of fortune in ivory. What he finds is far stranger than treasure—elephants were brought to Earth by Martians, and the graveyard is a secret nexus where they gather the precious material, trapping him in a world he never meant to enter.

In "I Am the Invisible!", a desperate man takes a dangerous gamble, seizing two mysterious lenses from a witch in exchange for his freedom. With the power to vanish from sight, he soon discovers the true cost of invisibility—when the world fades from his view, he’s left utterly alone in a reality that no longer sees him.

In "I Defied the Curse of Tut-Ah-Anka!", a fugitive takes refuge in an ancient Egyptian tomb, brushing off its ominous warning—only to emerge with sudden fortune and a life of ease. But as his luck turns too perfect, the truth begins to unravel in a haunting twist, leaving him trapped in a delusion no one else can see.

In "Here Comes...Thorr the Unbelievable," Professor Linus finds himself in over his head when a scientific experiment goes awry, inadvertently awakening the ancient and powerful Thorr the Unbelievable. Now, with Thorr stirring and his dormant warriors on the brink of awakening, Linus must race against time to prevent a global catastrophe—before the world is overrun by forces beyond imagination.

In "My Touch Means... Doom!", a desperate man plans to rob his bank to save his wife’s life—only to be haunted by a terrifying vision of himself turning deadly to the touch during the escape. The twist? The new guard, a psychiatrist hypnotist, may have planted the hallucination to stop the crime. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, this six-page tale blends suspense and psychological intrigue in a classic Atlas-era science fiction setup.

In "Save Me from the Mole Men!", a brutish fighter discovers that even the toughest among men aren't the real monsters—beneath the surface, something far more terrifying stirs. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, this five-page tale from *Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2* pits raw strength against unseen horrors in a story that turns the tables on a man who thought he was the predator.

In "I Am the Victim of the Sorcerer!", a haunted man drifts through a fog-laden night, his mind fractured and his past a blur. Trapped for years within the confines of a cursed painting, he is now forced to confront the terrible truth of his betrayal—and the sorcerer’s wrath that still binds him.

In "Vandoom, the Man Who Made a Creature!," the eccentric owner of a Transylvanian wax museum, Vandoom, attempts to revive his fading attraction by crafting a new monster—only for a lightning strike to bring it to life. Though the villagers fear the creature, it shows no aggression, remaining eerily passive despite their panic. When a Martian invasion threatens the region, Vandoom must convince his creation to defend the town, leading to a desperate stand that tests the limits of both man and machine.

In "Beware! Of the Ghastly Glass," a man’s desperate quest for power leads him to a cursed crystal that grants four wishes—each one twisting his intentions in horrifying ways. As his carefully chosen words spiral out of control, he finds himself trapped on the Moon, far from Earth and utterly alone.

In "I Dared to Enter the Haunted Room!", a desperate scientist traps himself in a room said to be haunted, sealing away the ultimate bomb he built to control the world—only to find that when he returns to deliver his ultimatum, he’s no longer alive. The story unfolds with chilling precision, as the line between science and the supernatural blurs in a tense, atmospheric tale of ambition and consequence.

In "Gorgilla Strikes Again! [, Part 1]," the giant ape Gorgilla makes his way to America, seeking to connect with humanity—only to be met with panic and gunfire in the streets of New York. When he intervenes to stop a plot by communist spies, his actions only deepen the fear he was trying to overcome, leading to a tragic end.

In "Monsteroso," a tiny creature hatches from an egg and dreams of dominion over a vast world—only to be instantly overwhelmed by a single drop of liquid, revealing its true scale in a scientist’s petri dish. The story, written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, turns a grand fantasy into a quiet, startling revelation of perspective.

In "Robot on the Rampage!" from Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2, a lighthouse-keeping man finds his trusted robot suddenly turned hostile, forcing him to outwit the mechanical menace by sealing it outside—only to discover that the salty sea air is its undoing. The story unfolds with tense, quiet dread as man and machine face off in a battle of wills, all set against the isolated backdrop of a coastal lighthouse.

In "Rommbu! [, Part One]," a geologist on the run from Earth’s justice system finds himself caught between a desperate escape and an impossible choice—leading an alien invader to a volatile volcano, not to flee, but to confront a threat that could end the world. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this six-page science fiction tale unfolds with tense urgency, blending survival, sacrifice, and the raw power of nature.

In "The Thing With the Red Eyes," a paranoid gangster becomes obsessed with a pincushion doll that eerily resembles his rival, each pin he sticks in it mirroring his growing dread—until the doll’s fate takes a chilling turn. The story’s unsettling tension builds from a simple act of spite, turning a mundane object into a vessel of unease.

In this chilling tale from *Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales to Astonish #2*, a comic writer’s imagination spirals out of control as his creations begin to manifest in the real world. When he crafts a monster he can’t defeat, he faces a terrifying choice—confronting the thing he’s made, or willing it to vanish.