"Melvin and the Martian!"
Melvin is caught cheating at cards, and is chased by his fellow players. While hiding, he meets a Martian who claims to have the secret of never losing. Melvin gambles a trip to Mars to learn the secret, only to learn that he has been captured as a specimen for a Martian 'zoo'. 5 pages.
"I, the Gargoyle!" (V-632) 5 pages.
Alan Swan is kind, talented, and unfortunately hideously ugly. In loneliness, he volunteers for a mission to explore the center of the Earth. There he meets a race of people who are blind, but 'see' with their hearts. To them, Alan is beautiful, and has finally found his home.
"Something Fantastig!" (V-636) 3 pages.
A seeminly common visitor sits outside the offices of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as they moan about their lack of ideas for their magazine. The visitor interrupts, claiming to have story ideas, but gets the bum's rush. As he leaves, we see that he was an inter-dimensional traveler.
"The Plague!" (V-633). 5 pages.
Corbo is the ruthless dictator of a South American country, who has broken diplomatic ties with the US. When a plague epidemic hits his country, he seeks to retribution against the US, and shoots down the first US plane in sight. Unfortunately, the plane was carrying a load of plague vaccine to save his country.
"The Living Statues!" (V-631). 5 pages.
A faster-than-light rocket has been developed, and they seek a test pilot. One candidate desperately seeks the glory, and even though he isn't qualified, manages to force his way into the pilot's seat. The test flight is beyond his capabilities, and he ejects back to Earth to find everybody like statues. He recognizes that time has accelerated for him, and that he will die of old age in less time that it takes for a second to pass.