| Issue | #69 |
| Published | June 1959 |
| Frequency | bi-monthly |
| Cover Price | 0.10 USD |
| Pages | 36 |
| Editing | Stan Lee |
| Notes | Distributed to newstands in February 1959. This issue includes 10 pages of paid advertisements. Some information on this issue supplied by Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, Tom Lammers and the Atlas/Timely discussion list. Distribution date from Joseph Marek's Marvel Comics Group history website. |
| Characters | Phineas Stokes |
| Genre | science fiction |
| Pencils | Jack Kirby |
| Inks | Christopher Rule |
| Characters | Phineas Stokes |
| Synopsis | Certain that the world will soon descend into nuclear war, a brilliant scientist goes into cryogenic suspension for a million years, hoping to awaken in a more enlightened time. Instead the world quickly retreats from war and advances rapidly. By the time he awakens, most humans have left Earth, and the few remaining are being rounded up to serve as conscripted soldiers in an alien war. |
| Genre | science fiction |
| Script | Stan Lee ? |
| Pencils | Carl Burgos |
| Inks | Carl Burgos |
| Notes | This story is retold in Tales of Suspense (Marvel, 1959 series) #13 (January 1961) as "I Lived a Million Years!" drawn by Paul Reinman, and in Journey Into Mystery (Marvel, 1952 series) #96 (September 1963) as "Frederick Fenton's Future!" by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Pencil and ink credit of Bob Forgione changed based on information from Tom Lammers and the Atlas/Timely discussion list. Lee tentatively credited as writer on the basis of his authorship of one of the retellings. |
| Characters | Harry; Bobby; Oswald |
| Synopsis | A tramp comes to a farmhouse asking for a hot meal in exchange for chopping wood and impresses the family with his talking dog. |
| Genre | occult |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | The first page of this story is printed between "The Man in the Iron Box!" and "Rocket Ship X-200", while the second page is printed between "The World That Was Lost!" and "The Threat from the 5th Dimension!". The last page is split with the statement of ownership. |
| Reprinted | from Strange Tales of the Unusual (Marvel, 1955 series) #3 (April 1956) |
| Characters | Charlie Brewster |
| Synopsis | An aging space pilot is mocked for his slow ship, but when an invading armada approaches Earth his ship is the first to see it. His warning allows Earth to beat back the invasion, making him a hero and the commander of a new space patrol. |
| Genre | science fiction |
| Pencils | Don Heck |
| Inks | Don Heck |
| Reprinted | in Fear (Marvel, 1970 series) #5 (November 1971) |
| Characters | Walter Johnson; Thomas Blake |
| Synopsis | Two scientists try to travel to the future, but arrive in the stone age. They believe they have proved travel into the future impossible, not suspecting that they actually saw the world after the destruction of civilization by war. |
| Genre | science fiction |
| Pencils | Joe Sinnott |
| Inks | Joe Sinnott |
| Notes | Narrated in the second person. Retold in Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #11 (September 1960) as "I Dared to Look Beyond!" drawn by Steve Ditko. |
| Reprinted | in Fear (Marvel, 1970 series) #3 (March 1971) |
| Characters | Captain Jordan; Linus Vermeer |
| Synopsis | An old eccentric in a wheelchair hires a sea captain to take him to a spot where he believes that the lost continent of Atlantis lies. When they reach their destination he reveals himself to be a merman and thanks the sailors for bringing him home before diving overboard. |
| Genre | occult |
| Pencils | Jack Kirby |
| Inks | Christopher Rule |
| Notes | Narrated in the first person by Captain Jordan. |
| Reprinted | in Tower of Shadows (Marvel, 1969 series) #9 (January 1971) |
| Letters | typeset |
| Notes | This shares the last page of "The Talent". Average sales not printed. |
| Characters | 'Dr. Allen Brown' [actually a 5th dimensional invader] (only appearance for both) |
| Synopsis | The 5th dimension is the dream dimension. The creatures there are trying to pass into this dimension, but belief in their existence as opposed to surmising a mere dream experience disrupts the structure of the dream dimension and forces the creatures to withdraw from our world. The narrator sells his story to Strange Tales to encourage readers to believe in the creatures and frustrate their invasion aspirations. |
| Genre | occult |
| Script | Stan Lee ? (not signed) |
| Pencils | Steve Ditko |
| Inks | Steve Ditko |
| Notes | This story is narrated in the first person. |
| Reprinted | in Tower of Shadows (Marvel, 1969 series) #9 (January 1971) |