EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1

In "Am I Man or Machine?", Diane is startled by a visit from Roger—her long-dead former suitor, now restored as a mechanical being with his preserved brain. The story unfolds as she confronts the haunting presence of a man she thought was gone, forced to reckon with the blurred line between memory and identity.

In "Only Time Will Tell," Steve, a brilliant but isolated scientist, is pulled from his lab by a visitor from the far future, thrust into a world where time itself is a machine. After returning to his own time with a fragment of the future’s design, he spends over a decade trying to build the device—only to discover, too late, that some truths are better left buried.

In "The Men of Tomorrow," a small expedition ventures into the unknown, drawn by legends of the fabled Kador Valley. What they find is a silent, alien city and a mysterious inhabitant who communicates not with words, but with thoughts—leaving the men to wonder what their arrival truly means.

In "Trip into the Unknown," a crew journeys to Planet X, only to find the ruins of a lost civilization. After uncovering a library and taking a book, they're ambushed by towering figures before fleeing back to Earth—only to realize, too late, that the book reveals the planet they visited was Earth all along.

In a lively moment at the EC offices, Editor Bill Gaines and artist Al Feldstein riff on wild sci-fi concepts, landing on the chilling idea of a Cosmic Ray Bomb—a weapon of unimaginable power that could reshape the world. The story unfolds as a playful yet tense brainstorm, setting the stage for a tale where science and dread collide.

In "The Black Arts," timid Luther finds himself hopelessly smitten with the unattainable Miss Dennis. When he stumbles upon a book of black magic in the library, he sees a chance to change his fate—until a misstep with a love potion turns his quiet obsession into something far more dangerous. As he prepares to try again, a clawed hand reaches from the shadows, cutting short his desperate plan.

In "Atom Bomb Thief!" from EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1, Paul Arnold’s dangerous double life as a secret informant unravels when his greed threatens to destroy everything he’s built—before he can even cash in. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this seven-page sci-fi thriller explores the cost of betrayal in a world where secrets are worth more than lives.

In "Martian Infiltration!" from EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1, the Secretary of State and his trusted aide Don uncover a chilling truth: Martians have been living among humans all along. As they race to expose the hidden Martian HQ and stop the invasion before it spreads, the real identity of the invaders shocks them both—though they’re ready with their own plan.

In "Henry and His...Goon-Child," a lonely man named Henry Short, weary of his quiet life, sets out to build a robot with free will—only to find his creation evolves beyond his control. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this eerie sci-fi tale from EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1 explores the unsettling consequences when a machine begins to think for itself.

In "I Died Tomorrow!", physicist Pavlonis confronts university President Davis with a radical claim: he’s built a time machine. When Davis dismisses him, Pavlonis proves it—only to find his invention twisted into a tool for gambling, as Davis plans to exploit it for profit. But as the machine’s power unfolds, Pavlonis begins to realize the cost of rewriting time, and his own fate may be closer than he thought.

Edgar Walden returns to Earth with a tale that defies belief: he and the crew of the *Columbia* were the first men on the Moon—but what they found there was not what anyone expected. As the truth of their journey begins to unravel, Walden’s account blurs the line between discovery and something far more unsettling.

In "The Last City," a desperate scientist builds a machine to shield Earth from atomic annihilation—only to find the device encases itself in an unyielding bubble, cutting off all hope of shutting it down. With the planet trapped beneath a dome of its own making, the consequences spiral beyond control.

In "The Mysterious Ray from Another Dimension!", Norman Network fights to save his dying radio station by claiming television broadcasts are siphoning viewers into another dimension—backed by Doctor Litmus’s startling evidence that those who watch TV vanish from Earth, only to exist elsewhere. The story unfolds as a chilling blend of paranoia and science fiction, probing the unseen consequences of a new technology.

In "Second Childhood," Dr. Clayton’s groundbreaking work with spleen-derived hormones promises eternal youth—until his assistant’s confession forces him to confront his own age. When he decides to test the treatment on himself, the results take a startling turn, leaving him transformed and clinging to his wife in a moment of bewildering vulnerability.

In "A Trip to a Star!" from EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1, Don and Jerry become the first humans to venture beyond the solar system, only to find themselves on a colossal, inhabited star after passing through a mysterious space-warp. What begins as a bold journey into the unknown takes a startling turn when they realize they’ve returned to Earth—now a world transformed, a million years ahead of their time.

In "Child of Tomorrow!", a mining engineer trapped deep underground emerges to find his world reduced to rubble after a devastating atomic war. As he struggles to comprehend the scale of destruction, he’s stunned to learn that radiation has begun transforming humanity—leaving him to face a terrifying truth about his own child.

In "The Time Machine and the Shmoe!", Professor Serutane’s experimental time-top machine draws the curious Donald into a reckless solo journey to the 9th Century—where his modern ways mark him as mad, and his only role is scrubbing floors. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, this quirky sci-fi tale spins a delightfully absurd yarn from a single, stubborn act of self-determination.

In "Deadlock!" from EC Archives: Weird Fantasy #1, a lone Earth crew drifts through space, their isolation fraying as a mysterious vessel closes in. With only an automated brain machine to bridge the gap, suspicion grows—each side convinced the other is a threat—until fear turns to action.

In "Prediction of Disaster!", Professor Horton races against time after discovering that a star's imminent explosion can be predicted by an unusual surge in infrared radiation. When his theory is confirmed, he's stunned to realize the same pattern is already showing in our own sun—and he must find a way to warn the world before it's too late.

In "Space-Warp!", Frank embarks on a two-year mission to Altair, relying on Professor Hartlow’s revolutionary Space-Warp Drive—a device that promises to shortcut interstellar travel by bending space through the fourth dimension. The journey begins with high hopes, but the true nature of the drive’s power may be far more mysterious than anyone anticipated.

In "The Dimension Translator," Willy’s experimental device turns photos into real, three-dimensional objects—just in time for him to bring his boss, Mr. Bankbuck, to life in a very literal sense. With a mix of scientific ambition and playful revenge, Willy tests his invention on the one person who’s been giving him grief, setting off a chain of consequences he never expected.

In "… And Then There Were Two!", American soldiers arrive on a remote atoll to clear out its native inhabitants for a hydrogen bomb test, only to stumble upon two mysterious, ancient robots—what the locals call iron gods. As the machines reveal fragments of their forgotten creator, the soldiers find themselves caught between duty and the eerie truth of what they’ve awakened.

In "Rescued!", a lone crew awakens to the eerie silence of a foreign world, only to find the wreckage of a mission that vanished two years prior—its fate now a chilling preview of their own. Written by a mysterious hand and illustrated with stark, haunting detail, the story unfolds in the quiet dread of a planet that remembers every lost soul.