Race for the Moon #2

In "Island in the Sky," Bill Fenner—once a man haunted by Jupiter’s Red Spot—awakens inexplicably alive after a fatal accident in space, his body preserved and returned in a mysterious transparent cylinder. When he stirs again, his mind is unharmed, but a strange organism in his brain shields him from death, granting him a body that’s stronger than new and a life far beyond the ordinary.

In "The Thing on Sputnik 4," a mysterious triangular meteor captured by a space station sets off a chain of eerie events when Captain Kelly discovers a walnut-shaped object inside. As lab technicians probe the strange find, a series of beeping sounds and explosions shake the station—until Kelly spots a space creature clinging to an old Sputnik satellite, its walnut companion flying back to it in a triangular meteor.

In "The Golden Rocket," a mysterious spacecraft drifts near a space station, its origin unknown. When the commander hesitates to board it, the crew discovers the vessel is filled with strange, unidentifiable materials—and a radio picking up signals from Pluto, a place thought to be lifeless.

In "Lunar Trap," pilot Ward Stratton finds himself trapped in the depths of Lunar Crater Tycho, falsely accused by Colonel Alexandrovna of sabotage. As tensions rise and the moon’s surface turns deadly, Stratton and his captor must flee a sudden attack by a mysterious lunar creature—only to find themselves united against a threat neither expected.

In "The Face on Mars," four explorers scale a colossal Martian statue, only for Fisher to stumble through an eye socket and into a hidden, verdant city teeming with giant Martians. As alien ships descend in a fiery assault, the survivors gather around a star map pointing to a mysterious planet between Mars and Jupiter—then launch a missile toward it. Moments later, Fisher gasps for air and awakens on the barren surface of modern-day Mars, the crew now adrift among the ruins of a shattered world in the asteroid belt.

In "Blue Fire!" from Race for the Moon #2 (1959), Bart Wallace’s casual sightseeing in Camerillo, Mexico, takes a bizarre turn when a blue light snatches up Pedro, prompting Wallace to grab on and barely survive the fall after a USAF plane disrupts the phenomenon. Drawn back to the strange light weeks later, he fires at it—only to see the sky ignite as the source, revealed not as a craft but a living space creature, vanishes into the distance. Left alone in the scorched town, Wallace remains fixated on the truth, the only man still searching for proof.

In "The Has-Been," a young captain—just 19 years old—grapples with the weight of his title as he pilots a starship through a final, perilous landing. Though his reflexes are sharp, the crew’s growing unease and his own quiet resignation hint at a life measured not in years, but in the fleeting glory of flight.

In "Rope Trick," a reluctant detective named Eric Burnside follows a cryptic clue from a fakir—pointing to a vertical rope in the sky—leading him on a surreal chase through a dreamlike realm. When the rope vanishes, Eric must navigate a strange, shifting landscape to track down the fugitive Panama Pete, only to find the man aged beyond recognition by the time he’s caught.

In "The Man Who Never Smiled," Phil, a delivery boy with a quiet demeanor, finds himself caught in a haunting moment when a routine flower run leads him down a shadowed alley. There, he witnesses a desperate confrontation between Gladys Lloyd and her father, menaces from a past that no longer exists—only to be left with a single, impossible truth. The story unfolds with a quiet dread, where every step forward feels like a memory returning, and the final smile is more than a gesture—it’s a reckoning.

In "Last Man on Earth," a stranded trio—Claire, Kevin, and Edmond—find themselves in a surreal jungle after an experimental truck device alters their surroundings. As they navigate prehistoric creatures and shifting realities, emotions run as deep as the unknown terrain, with Claire’s shifting feelings toward Kevin mirroring the world’s strange transformation. The story unfolds with quiet wonder, blending sci-fi mystery and unexpected intimacy.

In "The Last Enemy!" from *Race for the Moon* #2 (1959), pilot Drake is hurled into the year 2514, where he discovers a world overrun by animals after an atomic war wiped out humanity. Stranded among creatures who now rule the Earth, Drake is captured by a rat-led resistance demanding the secret of atomic bombs—only to wake in a strange sanctuary, surrounded by a dog, fox, and bear, as a general reveals that peace is the true desire of most.

In "Secret Weapon," a tense standoff unfolds when a visiting alien fleet, confident in their conquests, lands on Earth—only to be met by a defiant farmer’s wife named Mary, who isn’t afraid of their presence and knows exactly what they’re after. As the invaders retreat, the truth behind the quiet farm begins to unravel, leaving behind a quiet mystery that hints at something far more unexpected than war.