Strange Tales #68

In "Last Warning—Evacuate Earth!" from Strange Tales #68 (1959), a gaseous alien arrives on Earth with a desperate plea: evacuate before an impending invasion. Though it tries to warn humanity through telepathy, people dismiss it as delusion or deception. The story, written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, hinges on the quiet tragedy of a being unable to be heard—its final decision to turn back, not in anger, but in sorrow.

In "The Creatures from the Bottomless Pit!", a man ventures into a seemingly endless chasm in a bathysphere, only to discover a hidden cavern beneath—home to ancient elves exiled by a wizard for stealing the magic orb that once protected Atlantis. Offered rule over humanity in exchange for freeing them, he hesitates, torn between their promise and the danger they might bring, ultimately choosing to stay below, sealing their fate—and his own—beneath the earth.

In "Next Stop—Mars!", a boy ridiculed for his height finds solace in his friend’s dreams and a lifelong fascination with flight. When his friend invents a rocket designed for someone small, the boy—rejected by the Air Force—gets the chance to pilot it into the unknown.