Atomic Mouse #23

When Atomic Mouse wows a charity crowd with his superhuman stunts, the villainous Count Gatto and Shadow seize the moment to steal the Fresh Air Fund donations—and frame the hero by leaving footprints leading straight to them. Atomic Mouse pursues the criminals into an ingenious trap: a special jail designed to hold him without his precious U-235 pills, which he's lost during his aerial performance. Desperate to free their hero, Atomic Mouse's friends devise a clever scheme involving a specially rigged bottle that just might turn the tables on the crooks.

Atomic Mouse investigates a supposedly haunted house to prove to a frightened friend that ghosts aren't real—only to discover that the "hauntings" are an elaborate disguise covering up something far more sinister. When the truth about who's behind the ghostly tricks comes to light, our hero must outwit the culprits and teach them a lesson about their hideout's real purpose.

Timmy the Timid Ghost sets out to haunt a corner house for what should be a quick job, but his evening takes an unexpectedly long turn—and the results are far more dramatic than anyone anticipated. This lighthearted 1957 tale plays with what happens when a ghost's haunting doesn't go quite according to plan.

A well-meaning woman tries to convince the Warden that Count Gatto can reform, but when she asks the imprisoned rogue about his plans for life after prison, his answer proves her optimistic theory spectacularly wrong. This 1957 tale shows that some criminals have their priorities firmly set, no matter how many chances they get.

Timmy the Timid Ghost desperately wants a haircut just like the real boys, but his caretaker keeps explaining why that's impossible—and decides the best way to teach him is to show him firsthand. A charming little lesson about accepting what makes you different, delivered with the gentle humor that makes this 1957 children's tale a delight.

Atomic Mouse is called away from holding back a dike in Holland when trouble strikes back home—the wicked Count Gatto and Shadow are robbing the bank in Mouseville. But when Atomic Mouse arrives to stop them, he's ambushed by an unexpected ally: the Count's sister Gertie, who's become a witch and casts a spell to turn our hero to stone. With Atomic Mouse frozen and powerless, the Count and Shadow seize their chance to run wild with crime—until a bit of misdirected magic gives our hero exactly what he needs to break the hex and turn the tables.

Atomic Mouse takes on a baby-sitting job and promises to keep the little one happy, but when the child's unclear speech leads to a hilarious misunderstanding about the Man in the Moon, our hero goes to extraordinary lengths to prove the truth. It's a charming tale of good intentions gone wonderfully sideways, captured in Al Fago's playful style.

A customer storms into the complaint department with a defective watch, insisting the salesman promised it would tell the time—but when the clerk examines it, the timepiece works perfectly. In "The Complaint," a one-page tale from Atomic Mouse #23, a simple miscommunication spirals into a battle of wits over what "telling time" really means.

When Ollie runs into his perpetually glum pals Gloom and Doom, he's determined to lift their spirits before vacation arrives. Armed with enthusiasm and a bright idea, Ollie tries to cheer up the pair—but their track record of misery might be harder to overcome than he bargained for.

Tom Cat tests a young caddy's math skills on the golf course, quickly discovering whether the kid has what it takes to be his perfect partner for the game.

When Professor Invento gets caught in a revolving door, his absent-minded nature turns a simple entrance into an unexpected predicament that has Atomic Mouse scratching his head. Trapped in the spinning glass, the forgetful professor finds himself unable to recall whether he was heading in or out—leaving him to keep turning until his memory catches up.