Spellbound #58

In "I Found the Lair of...The Lizard Men," a fugitive seeking refuge in a hidden cavern stumbles upon a forgotten society of reptilian humanoids who thrive in darkness and cannot survive above ground. When he dares to steal the radiant diamond that sustains their world, his fate is sealed—he is transformed into one of them, forever exiled from the life he once knew.

In "I Am the Beast-Man!", a desperate criminal uses a strange transformation to become a dog and vanish from the scene of his crimes—only to find his escape route closing fast. Trapped in the pound after being caught by a dog catcher, he must find a way back to his human form before the transformation becomes permanent.

In "I Am the Changing Man!", a shape-shifting alien infiltrates Earth by taking on the forms of trusted individuals, sowing confusion and fear. When he assumes the guise of a dog from a poster, he’s trapped by a simple detail—the dog is scheduled for a space flight a year in the future.

In "Which Face Is Mine?", a desperate crook gains the power to shift his appearance, but when he uses it to mimic an escaped criminal after a heist, his new face becomes his undoing—caught in a deadly crossfire with the police. The story explores the peril of identity in a world where one's face can be anything, and every choice carries a deadly cost.

In Siam, American tourists Sam and Anne purchase a mysterious artifact—the hand of the god Sivak—only to find it moves on its own. After a deadly encounter with a vendor who tries to reclaim it, Anne sends the hand back to the U.S. by mail, unaware it’s still alive. On the voyage home, a shadowy stranger hunts for the hand, forcing Sam overboard when he learns it’s no longer in his possession. Back in America, Anne is greeted by a fellow passenger named Kavis, who claims to be Sivak—and now, with the hand returned, he’s ready to return home.

In "Escape from Hell!", Criminal Richard Benton finds himself condemned to eternal torment in the fiery depths of Hell, forced to drag a massive boulder up a treacherous mountain. As he battles demons and his own despair, every step forward feels like a step deeper into damnation—until he confronts the chilling truth that no escape is possible.

In "The Big Story!", a desperate newspaperman named Will Karp risks everything to chase the scoop of a lifetime, orchestrating a train wreck to fuel his next front-page headline—unaware that his own son is aboard the very train he’s set to destroy.