Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #80
Published January 1961
Frequency monthly
Cover Price 0.10 USD
Pages 36
Editing Stan Lee
Notes Distributed to newstands in August 1960. This issue includes 10 pages of paid advertisements. Some information on this issue supplied by Tom Lammers, Dr. Michael J. Vassallo, and others via the Atlas/Timely discussion group. Distribution date from Joseph Marek's Marvel Comics Group history website.

Cover Details - "Gargantus!"

Characters Gargantus (sea monster)
Genre monsters
Pencils Jack Kirby
Inks Steve Ditko
Notes New logo this issue.

7 page story "What? What? What Was Gargantus!"

Characters Dan; Billy; Gargantus (sea monster, introduction)
Synopsis A deep sea explorer encounters a giant reptile that follows him back to the surface. The creature explores the surface, causing panic until it faints due to its inability to breathe air and is dumped back into the sea.
Genre monsters
Pencils Jack Kirby
Inks Steve Ditko
Notes Narrated in the first person. Gargantus next appears in issue #85 (June 1961).
Reprinted in Creatures on the Loose (Marvel, 1971 series) #17 (May 1972)

2 page text story "Time Machine"

Synopsis A man's fascination with history leads him to build a time machine and travel to the past, but when he sees the dangers of time travel he destroys the machine and blueprints.
Genre science fiction
Letters typeset
Notes Text story with illustration. Narrated in the first person.
Reprinted from Mystic (Marvel, 1951 series) #57 (March 1957)

6 page story "The Things from Dimension X!"

Characters Lynwood; Koaa
Synopsis A scientist successfully creates a link to the dimension Electra only to find the inhabitants bent on conquest. They pour through the portal but are stopped when the carved presidents on Mt. Rushmore come to life and drive them back.
Genre science fiction
Pencils Don Heck
Inks Don Heck
Notes Narrated in the first person.
Reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces (Marvel, 1966 series) #5 (October 1966); in Creatures on the Loose (Marvel, 1971 series) #17 (May 1972)

5 page story "The Door They Dare Not Open!"

Characters Bruno Zuknik
Synopsis A prison warden treats inmates with kindness, and relies on an honor system to prevent them from opening the one closed door. A new prisoner defies the code and opens the door, but is taken to the warden's alien world to do hard labor.
Genre science fiction
Pencils Paul Reinman
Inks Paul Reinman

5 page story "Trapped in the Room of Shadows"

Characters Sanford Kindwell; Kroger
Synopsis A millionaire looks for magical wishing stones with which he hopes to help all humanity. His greedy guide tries to steal the first stone, but only succeeds in using up its power and trapping himself.
Genre occult
Pencils Steve Ditko
Inks Steve Ditko
Reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl (Marvel, 1971 series) #22 (April 1973)