Out of This World #7

A wealthy sportsman named John Corley seeks shelter at the remote African plantation of a reclusive former doctor, who shares an unsettling tale about his friend Basil Forbes—a man who fell mysteriously ill in London, only to recover as a completely different person, possessed of talents and knowledge he never had before. As the tom-toms throb in the African night, the doctor reveals a chilling theory about what truly happened to Basil Forbes, drawing a parallel between houses and bodies that will leave Corley—and readers—questioning the nature of identity itself.

In "Journey to Paradise," a skeptical scientist named Adam Marsh—dismissive of myths like Adam and Eve—accidentally activates a time machine and awakens in a lush, untouched world, alone and awaiting a figure he can't yet understand. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this 1958 sci-fi tale blends wonder and isolation in a story where myth and science collide.

A young man lies in a hospital bed, grappling with a devastating secret his parents have hidden from him his entire life—one that has just cost him the woman he loves. Set a thousand years in the future where synthetic beings called robots saved humanity from atomic war, this story explores what it means to be an outcast in a world where you don't belong, and the unbearable weight of a truth that changes everything. Steve Ditko's art captures the raw anguish of discovering you're something no one expected—and something society can never accept.

Radio ham Phil Bell has built a remarkable receiver that can pick up voices from any era—past and future alike—but when he tunes into tomorrow's news and hears his own name mentioned in a report of a catastrophic accident, he's forced to confront whether the future is truly written in stone. As his ambitions spiral and desperation mounts, Phil discovers that some knowledge comes at a terrible price.

Marty is a timid London clerk by day—but in his mind, he's a swashbuckling hero, daring pilot, jungle adventurer, and more, living out grand dreams that feel utterly real to him. When a street accident lands him in a doctor's office that matches his recurring fantasy perfectly, Marty begins to wonder if his dream world might finally become real. As the line between his imagined life and waking reality starts to blur, he discovers something unexpected about what he actually wants.

Paul Corrida sits in a prison cell awaiting execution for a murder he didn't commit—framed by the criminal Manuel Rico, whose alibi kept him beyond the law's reach. In his desperation, Corrida experiences a vivid dream in which he becomes a spectral being, able to walk through the prison walls as an invisible spirit to confront Rico and demand the truth. What unfolds next blurs the line between dream and reality in ways that will leave you questioning what truly happened.

Dr. van Poel brings his revolutionary medical machine to the small town of Zeydam, a device that can diagnose and cure any human ailment with inhuman precision—but young Dr. Pieter Remmens grows troubled as he notices a grim pattern among the town's dead. As the machine's reputation spreads and patients flock to the clinic, Pieter uncovers a sinister truth that compels him to rally the townspeople against the device before it claims more victims.

Tang Lee, a cunning Shanghai reporter, cons his way into the confidence of Dr. Chan Yu, a country doctor who claims to have discovered a serum that grants immortality—only to steal it for himself in hopes of becoming the most powerful man on Earth. What Lee doesn't know is far more damning than the serum itself.

Old Michael thought his days of nurturing plants were behind him when his son convinced him to leave his cherished garden and move to the city—until he meets a young girl struggling to grow flowers for a garden club competition. As Michael shares his gift for coaxing life from the earth, a genuine friendship blooms between them, and her garden transforms into something truly special. But when a long-buried secret comes to light on the eve of the judging, Michael must confront what it means to help someone succeed for all the right reasons.

A theatrical agent jaded by con artists brushes off a mysterious caller claiming to be over three hundred years old—until a final twist reveals there's far more to this hopeful performer than anyone bargained for. "Too Many Have Tried" delivers the kind of clever sci-fi reversal that made the 1950s pulps so satisfying: a setup that feels predictable, right up until it isn't.

Igor Marlin, a power-obsessed schemer imprisoned for attempting to assassinate Premier Vertos, discovers a scientist's time-travel device and seizes it by force, determined to travel back to the night his assassination plot failed—when a snapped twig gave him away. He sets the machine to return him to that pivotal moment, believing that this time, with foreknowledge, nothing can stop him from claiming the power that has consumed his every waking thought for two decades.