Tales to Astonish #22
In "I Dared to Battle the Crawling Creature! [, Part 1]," a jealous band drummer seeks supernatural help from a local gypsy to outshine his rival, only to find his newfound talent comes at a terrible price. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko, with colors by Stan Goldberg and letters by Artie Simek, this eerie tale from 1961 unfolds with a creeping dread as fame turns into a relentless curse. The cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers captures the story’s unsettling tone, setting the stage for a chilling descent.
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A second-string drummer is envious of another member of the band, and so when he hears about a local gypsy, he goes to see her about improving his playing ability. At first, she refuses to help him because she can tell he is asking out of impure motives, but he threatens her with violence and so she casts her spell. At first, he is happy with his new fame as an excellent drummer, until he realizes...that he can never stop.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).