Showcase Presents: Tales of the Unexpected #1

In "The Man Nobody Could See!", a man who invents a formula for invisibility uses it to amass wealth in secret—until he loses the antidote. Now trapped in plain sight only to himself, he faces a desperate choice: remain unseen or surrender to the law.

In "I Lost My Past," Paul Martin returns to his hometown only to find that everyone he once knew has no memory of him—except for the quiet, persistent mystery of why his past has vanished. Written by a master of suspense, this six-page tale unfolds like a forgotten dream, where identity and history blur in a shadowed game of remembrance.

In "Seven Steps to the Unknown," Zara finds herself caught in a chilling game where she senses the next victim of a mysterious killer—yet the pattern behind the attacks isn’t supernatural, but rooted in a hidden logic waiting to be uncovered. The story unfolds with tense precision, blending psychological suspense and sharp deduction as the truth behind the madness begins to reveal itself.

Jo tries a legendary elixir to push beyond limits, achieving feats that defy belief—but wonders if the power came from within, or from the drink. The line between myth and reality blurs as the athlete questions what truly changed.

In "The Flowers of Sorcery," painter Anton is drawn into a twisted game of deception when the police manipulate him into believing he’s killed his lover Maria—only to offer a sorcerer’s promise of resurrection. As guilt and fear take hold, the line between truth and illusion blurs in this chilling tale of obsession and psychological torment.

In "The House Where Dreams Came True," Jo and her fellow boarders find their deepest wishes fulfilled—only to realize that each dream comes at a quiet, unsettling cost. Written by an unnamed scribe and illustrated by an unknown artist, this eerie six-page tale from *Showcase Presents: Tales of the Unexpected #1* unfolds like a whispered secret from a house that remembers every promise it’s made.

Jo, a skeptical man with a mundane life, finds himself caught in a bizarre twist when a mysterious little man appears and seemingly grants his wish to change everything—only to discover the whole experience was a carefully staged prank orchestrated by his wife and a hidden camera TV show.

Jo, a mysterious performer with a flair for the impossible, seeks admission to the exclusive Magicians' Guild—but when he refuses to disclose his one greatest trick, the club denies him. The twist? The man in question is none other than Merlin himself, and the real test may not be about magic at all.

In "The Girl in the Bottle," a mysterious figure washes up in a glass container, drawing the attention of a sharp-eyed detective who begins to unravel a quiet, unsettling pattern: bottles drifting ashore aren’t just oddities—they’re vessels for hidden lives. The story unfolds with a grounded, suspenseful pulse, blending the surreal with the real as secrets float to the surface.

Jo, a young woman with a quiet life, finds herself drawn to Johnny Carter, a man haunted by the relentless voices in his head. When their paths cross, the line between thought and reality begins to blur—especially when Jo starts to wonder if she’s the only one who can hear him… or if he’s already inside her mind.

In "The Man Who Stole a Genie," Roger Hackett’s reckless grab for a curious trinket from his companion Martin unleashes a genie whose power quickly reshapes Hackett’s plans. As he prepares to escape with his newfound fortune, a single careless moment from his assistant shatters the very object that granted him his dreams.

In "The Secret of the Elephant's Tusk," a ruthless man named Noonan preys on grieving families, demanding money to kill a sacred elephant whose ivory left them paralyzed. When a shaman witnesses his greed, he places a deadly curse upon Noonan—fated to die by the very ivory he sought to profit from.

In "The Four Seeds of Destiny!" from Showcase Presents: Tales of the Unexpected #1, Ted Hall ventures into an Egyptian tomb seeking fortune and returns with four mysterious seeds said to grant wealth, talent, beauty, and death. At first, the first three seem to deliver on their promises—wealth, skill, and charm—but Hall’s confidence is misplaced, and the true cost of his choices begins to unfold in ways he never anticipated.

In "The Camera That Could Rob," a scientist’s invention—a device that captures three-dimensional replicas from photographs—draws the dangerous attention of his neighbor, Adam Hale. When Hale steals the camera and uses it to vanish into the film, he soon learns the horrifying truth: each stolen image pulls something real from the subject, and the police are closing in. As the line between reality and the photograph begins to blur, Hale’s escape hinges on a single, fragile film—until fate intervenes in the form of a curious cat and a ruined reel.

In "The Amazing Cube!", Harvey Hacker stumbles upon a mysterious gambler whose self-made dice—crafted from a meteor—always win. When the man crashes his car near an atomic station, Hacker steals one of the dice, only to find it growing uncontrollably through the night. As the cube swells and his world shrinks, Hacker must confront the strange effects of radiation and cosmic material before the situation spirals beyond control.

In "The Day Nobody Died," Dr. Jim Morgan faces his first surgery with growing anxiety—until an odd, unsettling man appears, seemingly able to prevent death itself. When the man vanishes just as suddenly as he arrived, Jim becomes desperate to find him again, unaware that the man’s absence means Death has returned to claim his due.

In "The Man Who Ate Fire," Jo, a young boy with a knack for noticing the unusual, stumbles upon a secret that upends everything he thought he knew—Edward Hermes isn’t just a reclusive inventor, but an alien from Mercury sent to Earth to pave the way for an invasion. As Tommy Briggs and his father race to expose the truth, they find an unexpected ally in the Statue of Liberty, whose silent presence holds a power far beyond legend.

In "The Strangest Show on Earth," a struggling circus reinvents itself with a lineup of outlandish performers claiming to be from Mars—acts that seem too real to be mere tricks. Written by a noted sci-fi storyteller and illustrated with vivid, otherworldly flair, the story follows the troupe as their bizarre performances mask a secret mission to expose a rogue Martian hiding among them.

In "The Phantom Mariner," Jo, a skeptical sailor, finds himself drawn into a haunting mystery after witnessing three shipwrecks with eerie similarities. When he sees one of the doomed captains breathing underwater and notices their shared initials, the truth begins to surface—leading him to confront a legend far older than the sea itself.

In "The Duplicate Man," Orry Conn uses a mysterious duplicating machine to frame his creator for murder—only to discover too late that the two versions of himself share a fate. As the duplicate faces execution, Orry must confront the terrifying truth that his own life is now inextricably tied to the one he betrayed.

In "I Was Slave to the Wizard's Lamp," Emmet Mason becomes obsessed with keeping a mysterious lamp lit for ten years, bound by a chilling legend that failure means death. When the lamp is destroyed in a fire, he discovers a blue ruby inside—proof, to everyone else, that the curse was just a ruse to hide a stolen gem. But Mason isn’t so sure, haunted by the lingering weight of the promise he kept.

In "Who Am I?", a man with no memory finds himself trapped in a body he doesn’t understand, compelled to steal by a voice that isn’t his—just a disembodied head claiming to be his creator. As police close in and the truth begins to unravel, the line between machine and man blurs in a desperate, haunting chase.

In "I Was a Man From the Future," Blake stumbles upon a mysterious crevice in a mountain side that pulls him back in time, where he befriends a noble man and meets a striking woman. Determined to protect them, he returns to the present to retrieve a weapon—but when he tries to go back, the crevice has vanished, leaving him stranded in his own time.

In "The Ghost of Hollywood," Miles Turner strikes a bargain with a spectral collaborator to bring impossible special effects to life on screen—until a twist of fate forces him to break the pact, unleashing chaos on the set. Written by an unnamed scribe and illustrated by an unknown artist, this eerie six-page tale blends filmmaking magic with the unseen forces that haunt the industry.

In "The Man Who Hated Green," detective Hector Abbott unravels a chilling mystery tied to a series of paintings that send their viewers into comas—each one missing the color green. With a sharp eye for detail, Abbott zeroes in on the absence of green as the key to exposing the imposter behind the haunting works.

In "The Four Threads of Doom," four convicts fleeing death row find their escape abruptly halted by forces beyond their control—fate itself, woven by the ancient Fates. As the threads that bind their destinies tighten, their final moments take on a mythic weight far heavier than the law.

In "The Witch's Statues," Wygand Cornish spins a clever scheme, crafting lifelike statues of missing animals to deceive their grieving owners—only to replace them with the real creatures and collect rewards. But when one statue falls just short of perfection, a single flawed detail threatens to unravel his entire deception.

In "The All-Seeing Eye," a newspaperman gains a mysterious artifact that grants him unparalleled insight, turning his career into a series of groundbreaking scoops. When his newfound power draws the attention of criminals, he must decide how far he’s willing to go to protect the truth—before the eye’s power becomes more than he can handle.

In "The Indestructible Man," a man believes himself untouchable—protected by a magical glove that shields his one weak spot, allowing him to act with impunity. But when he dips his hand into what he thinks is ink, the truth of his vulnerability is revealed in a moment that changes everything.

In "Weapons of Destiny," a man with no memory finds himself drawn to steal three mysterious weapons, each more enigmatic than the last. When he sees Professor Desmond on television, a flicker of recognition sparks—a clue that might unlock his past. The truth, it turns out, lies not in the weapons themselves, but in the hands of the artist who once knew them all.

In "The Thing from the Skies," Rupert Corbin stumbles upon a mysterious spacecraft, only to be told by its inventor it’s just a prop—until greed takes over. When Corbin kills Professor Lucas to cover his tracks and profit from the alien craft, he unknowingly triggers a far greater consequence, as small extraterrestrial visitors arrive to claim him for justice.

In "The Face Behind the Mask," Jay Hamilton finds himself drawn to Zoe Ann, a mysterious actress whose face is always hidden beneath bandages. She claims to be centuries old and dependent on a magical potion to maintain her youth—until she admits the truth, leading Jay and his father on a surprising journey to expose the man behind the myth.

In "The Forbidden Game," Alex Denton is granted immense power by a sorcerer—on one condition: never ride in a vehicle of a certain color. When Denton tricks the sorcerer into revealing the forbidden shade, a sudden accident leaves him color blind, and he unknowingly climbs into a car of that very color. Written by a noted fantasy scribe and illustrated with striking detail, this six-page tale spins a tense, clever game of fate and consequence, where the rules are simple, but the stakes are anything but.

In "Cry, Clown, Cry," Tom Grayson steps into his father’s worn red shoes, joining a circus tradition shadowed by an old curse. As he navigates the spotlight and the weight of expectation, he discovers that true freedom lies not in perfection, but in letting go—with laughter.

In "The Man Who Owned King Arthur's Sword," a desperate criminal desperate to escape his past dives into the ocean after losing a forged artifact, only to stumble upon the real King Arthur’s sword—its ancient power claiming him before he can surface. The story, written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, unfolds with quiet dread as myth and greed collide beneath the waves.

In "The Green Gorilla," a man haunted by a relentless, invisible pursuer finds himself trapped in a nightmare fueled by guilt and a cursed Tibetan statue he stole. The story unfolds as the blackmailer's only witness—his own mind—paints a terrifying picture of a green gorilla that only he can see, stalking him through the shadows.

In the dim glow of a prison cell, two inmates—Ram Crowder and Silky Martin—stumble upon a mysterious lamp that grants them three wishes, including freedom. Ram’s cautious optimism clashes with Silky’s quiet calculation as the promise of escape sets something deeper in motion.

In "The Sinister Cannon," a mysterious moon-dweller demands that men build a massive cannon to return him to the moon, but the truth is far more unsettling—this being is actually a mole-man, and the cannon is his means of escape back into the Earth's depths. Written by an unknown hand and illustrated by an unknown artist, the story unfolds with quiet dread as the men’s labor becomes a desperate act of sealing away something ancient and hidden.

In "The Rainbow Man," Dr. Hargate unlocks the secret behind chameleons' color-shifting powers and uses them to vanish into plain sight—only to find his greatest challenge isn’t evading capture, but a neighbor who sees through his disguise. The story unfolds with a quiet tension between science and perception, where a man who thinks he’s invisible is suddenly not so sure.

In "The City of Three Dooms," a Nazi submarine drifts through time, encountering three pivotal moments in history—each a potential turning point for the Third Reich. Faced with the weight of what they’ve done, the crew ultimately chooses a different path: surrendering in the present, not to escape justice, but to confront it.

In "The Magic Hammer," a humble man named Gerald Bard stumbles upon Thor’s legendary hammer and discovers its power to summon rain—until the god himself arrives to reclaim it. With the hammer’s true origin tied to a theft by Loki, Gerald’s unexpected role in the divine dispute sets a tale of myth and consequence in motion.

In "I Was a Spy for Them," a scientist secretly works for alien invaders, feeding them data on Earth’s defenses—until he reveals a hidden countermeasure he’s been preparing all along. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this six-page science fiction tale unfolds with quiet tension as loyalty is tested and the true nature of the mission begins to shift.

In "The Exile from Earth," Kirk Randall wields an ancient Egyptian ring that grants him invulnerability—so long as he never touches the ground—using it to pull off a series of daring robberies. When his plan unravels during a desperate escape onto a roof garden, his invincibility proves no match for the consequences of his choices.

In "The Interplantary Line-Up," a weary detective navigates the glittering chaos of a sci-fi writers' masquerade, hunting an alien disguised among the crowd. With each misstep and clever disguise, he edges closer to a single, unmistakable clue that could unravel the mystery—only time will tell if he’s one step ahead or just one more illusion away.

When Johnny Manton takes a mysterious cap from a museum, he thinks he’s found a shortcut to genius—unaware the artifact only answers to those with pure intentions. Written by a team known for clever twists, the story unfolds in just six pages, turning a simple theft into a test of character.

In "The Bullet Man," inmate Chick Durant finds himself with a strange, fleeting power—25 minutes of freedom each time he reshapes the metal in his ID tag, a fusion of meteorite fragments and lab scrap. But when the tag’s composition shifts during a desperate escape, he’s stranded on an uncharted island with no way back.

In "The Man Without a World," Howard Chase leaves Earth for a chance at a new life among alien beings, but soon finds himself longing for home. Trapped between two worlds, he must uphold his promise to save one of his hosts—though the cost of that choice may be more than he ever expected.

In "The Riddle of the Glass Bubble," Earth faces annihilation in twelve days when a bomb meant for another world threatens to detonate here, baffling even the brightest minds. When all else fails, it’s a boy’s dog whistle—unassuming and unexpected—that might just hold the key to stopping the countdown.

In "The Amazing Swap Shop," Jo stumbles upon a curious little store where strange scientific wonders are traded—just for a short while. The shop’s enigmatic owner is gathering Earth’s most unusual items for a cosmic fair, and every exchange comes with a ticking clock.

In "The Man Who Collected Planets," astronomer Bradley Wells finds himself whisked away by the alien Sardor, a being who has been shrinking planets to siphon their elemental essence. When Wells discovers the true cost of Sardor’s cosmic hoarding, he must use his wits to turn the tables in a high-stakes game of survival and scale.

In "The Man From Two Worlds," a man is convinced by mysterious aliens that he’s one of them—only to uncover the truth and outwit them in a clever bid to protect Earth’s radium. Written by an unknown author and illustrated by an unknown artist, this six-page sci-fi tale spins a tense, twisty story of identity and deception.

In "D-Day on Planet Vulcan," Earth is called upon to help devise a military strategy for the planet Vulcan, as a rogue faction within their own government threatens to plunge the world into chaos. With tensions high and the stakes planetary, the story unfolds as a tense collaboration between Earth's strategists and Vulcan's leaders, testing alliances and the limits of diplomacy under pressure.

Jo, a man whose face shifts color when near a liar, helps the police track down criminals—until a gang learns of his gift and takes him hostage. After a tense escape, he accidentally touches high-voltage wires and loses his extraordinary ability.

In "The Menace of the Fireball," a scientist faces a terrifying cosmic threat when an errant experiment pulls a fiery orb toward Earth—only to find himself out of options until his eccentric inventor father steps in with a wildly improbable solution. This fast-paced sci-fi tale blends suspense and humor in a classic Showcase Presents-style story.

In "The Earth Gladiator," John Trent faces an alien champion in a deadly game of survival to save Earth from conquest. Outmatched and outgunned, Trent relies on cunning and courage to hold the line.

In "The Remarkable Mr. Multiplier," Thad Merkel’s invention—a device that can replicate objects with startling precision—takes on a mind of its own, proving both a playful ally and an unpredictable force. When the machine’s quirky intelligence helps foil a gang of thieves, Merkel realizes its self-awareness is too risky to keep.

In a quiet lab where radiation lingers in the air, two scientists are deep in their work when alien visitors arrive—accusing humanity of stealing their planet. As the truth unfolds, the line between invaders and the displaced blurs, forcing a tense decision. The story, written by an unnamed author and illustrated by an unnamed artist, explores isolation, perspective, and the fragile boundaries between worlds.