The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #18

In "Inside Story!", a mysterious medical anomaly baffles authorities when a string of high-profile criminals die with no heart, lungs, or stomach—while patients with failing organs suddenly recover. When the enigmatic Smedley Throbbins is called in, he reveals a staggering truth: he used the fourth dimension to perform flawless, invisible surgery, transferring vital organs without a single incision. His methods are beyond comprehension, and when the truth is known, he vanishes—leaving behind only the impossible.

In "Ahead of the Game!", a string of seemingly random beheadings baffles the police until a detective uncovers a chilling pattern linking the victims to a controversial scientist. When the trail points to a professor who claims to have created a mechanical brain, the investigation takes a terrifying turn—revealing that the real danger may be far more advanced than anyone imagined.

In "Counter-Clockwise," a young man dreams of becoming a space pilot, but his life takes a strange turn when a mysterious alien arrives on Earth—only to be shot dead by his father. Years later, as a pilot, he’s sent to investigate the alien’s home world, a planet where everything turns backward, including time itself. As he studies the planet, his body begins to change in ways he can’t understand. When he returns to Earth, he finds himself facing the one person he never expected to meet again—his father—on the very day that ends in a shocking, irreversible moment.

In a tense sci-fi twist, Della finds herself questioning the identity of her husband on their wedding night—only to discover a chilling truth: the alien invaders look exactly like Martians, but they hatch from eggs, not born of flesh. When she notices his navel, a detail no alien could possess, she faces an impossible choice. With the fate of her planet hanging in the balance, she must decide what loyalty truly means.

In "...Two for the Show!", a man with a carefully planned murder finds his perfect crime unraveling when a sharp-eyed detective begins to suspect something’s off. As Harry races to cover his tracks at the train station, he swaps trunks in a desperate bid to escape justice—only to discover that the second trunk holds a corpse just as gruesome as his own.

In "King of the Grey Spaces!", two boys dream of space travel after watching a rocket launch, their imaginations igniting a lifelong wish to join the Interplanetary Patrol. Years later, as they await the results of their application at age twenty-one, Chris receives a sudden, life-altering surprise that pulls him into a world beyond the stars.

Old Pop Martin, a lonely hospital electrician, tries to steer his son Richie away from a life of crime, finding solace in the hum of the generators that seem to listen. When Richie is shot in a violent clash with a crook he’d double-crossed, Pop takes desperate action—recording a confession to protect his son, only to have the power cut out at the crucial moment, leaving the truth suspended in silence.

In "Strop! You're Killing Me!", a long-simmering feud between the aging Fire Chief Dan Harper and his younger replacement, Chief Miller, turns deadly when a fire breaks out at Dan’s home—only for Miller to deliberately delay the response. When Miller receives a chilling call that his own house is ablaze, he rushes to the scene, only to find the descent pole replaced with a razor-sharp steel strip, leaving him in a terrifying, life-or-death predicament.

In a tense interrogation, a scientist insists he’s from an alternate Earth where Abraham Lincoln lived on to unite the world in peace—until he built a time machine to meet the 1865 president, only to accidentally trigger the very assassination that shaped the present. Now trapped in the reality he altered, his story blurs the line between truth and consequence.

In "Last Laugh," a man whose humor is as heavy as his frame recounts a cruel prank that once sent children fleeing in terror—using old clothes and horse meat left on train tracks, all to provoke a scream and a laugh. But when the doctor he visits reveals his son was one of the victims, the tables turn in a chilling twist of vengeance. The man’s laughter, once a weapon, becomes his undoing as he’s strapped to a table and subjected to an unbearable, relentless tickling.

In "The Million Year Picnic," a father and his family settle into a forgotten Martian city after fleeing Earth’s war, their boat journey ending among silent ruins. As they make their new home in the desolate landscape, the father gently tells his children they are now the Martians—no longer refugees, but the next chapter of life on a dead world.

In "The Strange Couple!", a stranded traveler seeking shelter from a storm stumbles upon a remote farmhouse, where an old woman warns him of her husband’s vampiric nature. When he reveals his own wife is a ghoul, the eerie hospitality takes a darker turn — and the man soon realizes the night is far from over.

In "The Lady or the Tiger?", Melvin faces a deadly gamble after being imprisoned for courting the King's daughter. The next day, he’s led into an arena where he must choose between two doors—one hiding a ferocious tiger, the other a radiant lady—each fate sealed by the whims of a cruel monarch.

In "Li'l Melvin," a desperate Rosie enlists Beulah Witch’s help to brew a love potion after failing to win over the elusive Li'l Melvin. But when the spell backfires, the boy’s romantic ambitions take a shocking turn—he sets his sights on marrying the ugliest woman in the world.

In "Tick Dracy," a perpetually put-upon Mess is baffled by Tick’s obsession with his immaculate black suit and hair, especially when she sports a fresh gash on her face. When Tick investigates—first suspecting his rivals, then a mysterious assailant—he uncovers a series of increasingly bizarre incidents, all tied to a single, unsettling truth. The story unfolds with deadpan absurdity, blending surreal humor and sharp satire in a way only this anthology can deliver.

In "The Phansom," a hapless romantic finds himself perpetually thwarted—every time he nears a proposal to Dinah, she’s whisked away by some absurd mishap, leaving him trapped beneath the masthead’s logo. With each rescue, the Phansom must navigate increasingly bizarre twists, only to reveal a truth that upends everything.

In "Mel Padooka," a struggling fighter named Mel is pushed to his limits as his manager, Nobby, worries he’s not ready for his next bout against the fearsome Hungry Meatloaf. To turn things around, Nobby enlists Mel’s wife to oversee his training and find a way to rouse the fighter’s spirit—before it’s too late.

Dr. Migrane, fed up with the routine of his medical practice, takes his nurse June’s advice to make a splash—by poisoning himself. What follows is a wildly absurd escalation of his attempt to shock the world, turning his own body into a bizarre spectacle.

In "Captain Izzy and Washt Upps," a two-fisted soldier of fortune named Izzy grows restless crafting hairpins for J. P. McEee Industries, leading him and his partner Washt Upps to boldly petition their boss for a new mission. The story rolls out with a sharp, satirical edge, poking fun at corporate drudgery and the absurdity of wartime heroics in the most mundane of settings.

In "Mary Worthless!", a young woman with a mission moves into a boarding house full of eccentric tenants, determined to heal their fractured lives with unwavering faith and a steady hand. As she navigates the quirks and crises of her new neighbors, her well-intentioned efforts quickly spiral into absurd, heartfelt chaos.

In "Charlie Chinless," a weary detective with a penchant for the bizarre is summoned to a crumbling circus to uncover the truth behind the death of a sideshow midget—just one in a string of strange events threatening to bring the whole troupe down. With oddities thick in the air and secrets hidden behind painted smiles, Charlie must sift through lies, illusions, and the circus's own twisted logic to find what’s really going on.