Strange Tales #81

In "The Scarecrow Walks!" from Strange Tales #81, a greedy landlord’s scheme to profit from nuclear testing backfires when radiation breathes life into a farmer’s discarded scarecrow. Now animated by the very force he exploited, the scarecrow sets out to reclaim justice—chasing the man who betrayed the land and its people.

In "A Giant There Was!" from Strange Tales #81, a desperate criminal steals magical beans that sprout into a towering beanstalk, leading him to a realm of giants. Once there, he’s captured and imprisoned alongside other thieves, all lured by the same beans and forced into servitude under the giants’ rule.

In "I Went Too Far Back!" from Strange Tales #81, Jo, a scientist's assistant, grabs a time-traveling gun and leaps into the past, dreaming of ruling a primitive world. But when he pushes too far, he discovers time isn't a straight line—it's a loop—and ends up stranded a thousand years in the future, facing the terrifying psychic might of humanity's evolved descendants.

In "The Thing in the Cell!" from Strange Tales #81, a corrupt police chief builds a massive prison not to uphold justice, but to boost his own power and reputation. When he imprisons a random passerby on a whim, he's stunned to discover the man is an alien leader—whose followers, unable to free him, unleash a chain reaction that leaves the chief exposed and humiliated.