Atom the Cat #10

Tom Cat gets a pep talk before what looks like his big fight, with friends insisting that pure confidence and self-affirmation can turn the tables in his favor. But our feline hero knows himself too well—he's not convinced the mind-over-matter approach will make any real difference.

When Boston Bulldozer tears through town looking for the legendary Atom the Cat to prove he's the strongest around, he dismisses a scrawny stranger who claims to be the hero himself. Atom the Cat has to show the skeptical bully exactly where his name comes from—and why challenging him was a mistake.

Atom the Cat dreams of medieval glory while napping under a tree—but his fantasy of dragon-slaying becomes unexpectedly real when Dr. Test Tube's experimental Expando Ray accidentally transforms a lizard into a genuine, city-destroying beast. Now the super-powered feline must face the dragon he's been fantasizing about, only to discover that dream and reality might be harder to tell apart than he thought.

Atomic Mouse considers taking on a helper and puts Mimi Mouse—a pint-sized powerhouse with incredible strength—through her paces to see if she's got the quick thinking required for the job. When a test scenario about rescuing a drowning swimmer goes hilariously sideways, Atomic Mouse learns that brute strength alone won't cut it in the hero business. A fun 1957 romp about what it really takes to be a good helper.

Atom the Cat answers a pair of young kids' pleas for help with a supposedly haunted house—complete with ghost sightings and clanking chains—and sets out to prove that ghosts don't exist by investigating the old place himself. What Atom discovers (or doesn't) during his search leads to an outcome that solves the kids' problem in the most direct way possible, though not everyone ends up happy about it.

When Li'l Mouse promises Mr. Mouse he'll behave all day, the young mouse has other ideas—and his mischief quickly catches up with him come nightfall. Facing the consequences of a broken pledge, Li'l Mouse tries some quick logic to talk his way out of the punishment that was promised, leading to a clever moment of turn-about in this 1957 tale from Atom the Cat.

When Boston Bulldozer dismisses warnings that Atom the Cat must never be disturbed during his naps, he decides to test the theory himself—with predictably explosive results. This 1957 tale from Atom the Cat #10 proves that waking a sleeping hero without thinking is a lesson best learned the hard way, as our stubborn friend discovers what happens when instinct overrides reason.

Professor Invento has cooked up a contraption to cure his chronic absentmindedness—a helmet that bonks him on the noggin whenever he forgets something, jogging his memory back into place. When Atomic Mouse checks in a week later, the professor's recall is sharp as a tack, but the cure has come with an unexpected side effect that's left him anything but steady on his feet.

When Lazy Cat's wife calls on Atom the Cat for help, she's desperate—her husband won't lift a paw around the house, leaving their yard to grow wild and chores piling up. Atom tries to shame the lazy feline into action, but Lazy Cat's response proves that getting him motivated might be a taller order than anyone expected.

Atomic Mouse visits a doctor about a painful foot, only to be told it's simply a matter of old age—but the resourceful rodent isn't buying that explanation. With his characteristic wit, he challenges the diagnosis with perfectly sound logic in this quick-witted comedy from 1957.

Goofy volunteers to solve Roberta Rabbit's hair troubles when she can't get her bangs to cooperate, and he's convinced he has just the solution. This one-page romp from 1957 captures the well-meaning chaos that made these funny-animal tales so much fun.