"What Was "X" - The Thing That Lived!"
Reprinted from Tales to Astonish (1959) #20.
Charles Bentley, A writer of monster comics no sooner creates a story, then it comes to pass in real life. He finally puts two and two together to realize that his typewriter, bought at an unusual curio shop, must be enchanted. When the monster from his latest story, X, can't be stopped, Bentley realizes what he must do to end the menace. 18 pages.
"Orrgo...the Unconquerable!"
Reprinted from Strange Tales (1951) #90.
The alien Orrgo has come to subjugate our planet. His powers are unstoppable, and he safeguards himself against mankind. In the turmoil, a distraught zoo ape instinctively seeks to end the crisis, and unwittingly rescues mankind. 7 pages.
"One-Way Journey!"
Reprinted from Tales to Astonish (1959) #20.
A rich industrialist pours his fortune into constructing a time machine, thinking that if he can only go 40 years into the future, he will reach a wonderful world that has conquered death. His decision robs him of most of his time remaining on this world. 5 pages.
"I Dared Enter the Forbidden World!"
Reprinted from Tales to Astonish (1959) #15.
An ivory hunter seeks the elusive elephant graveyard for the treasure trove of ivory it will contain, but finds something else altogether. 6 pages.
"The Inhuman!"
Reprinted from Strange Tales (1951) #90.
Mankind made its robots too well, and now they revolt against man. One of the robots, X-35, dons a human disguise to gather intelligence against the human. He brings back information that the robots use to attack the humans, but the robots find that X-35 was a double agent, and played them at their own game. 5 pages.
"I Learned the Dread Secret of the Blip!"
Reprinted from Tales to Astonish (1959) #15.
A radar operator sees an object enter the atmosphere at speeds greater than conventional aircraft, then disappears. Soon after, all nearby electrical devices fail, and the operator seeks the answer, and finds the Blip, an enormous creature comprised of electricity. He sought shelter on Earth when his charge got low, and now mankind attacks him out of fear. The operator, however, helps him recharge, and the Blip departs. 7 pages.
"I Defied the Curse of Tut-Ah-Anka!"
Reprinted from Tales to Astonish (1959) #15.
A career criminal is being chased by police in Egypt, and seeks a hide-out. When he tries to duck in one doorway, he is warned that it is the cursed tomb of Tut-Ah-Anka, but he enters anyway. The man goes on to enjoy years of remarkably good fortune, and he thinks that the curse was a hoax, but we see that this has all been a delusional state, and that the man is really in a hospital bed, where he has laid in a coma since entering the tomb. 5 pages.