"Immortal Remains"
*Origin story of Madame Tarantula.
Maria Velez, aka Madame Tarantula, revisits the homestead when, as a young girl, she lived with her Father and Aunt. The Apache natives killed her guardians and took Maria to raise; naming her, "The Tarantula."
Reprinted from Mike Hoffman's Tigress Tales (2001) #1
10 pages, b&w.
"A Town Called Hades"
*Three radiumite prospectors come to town to celebrate their recent find of a mother-lode. They come upon a health elixir saleman, who guarantees a cure for a long list of ailments. Madame Tarantula comes to town as well, and finds that her mixed heritage earns her no welcome. As the locals become increasing hostile to our hero, a weird phenomenon takes place. The prospectors, exposed to radiumite, alcohol and herbs from the elixir, go on a killing spree. Madame Tarantula has seen this before and escapes in the confusion, leaving the townspeople ignorant to what has taken place.
10 pages, b&w.
"Ghosts of the Second Empire"
*Madame Tarantula explores the desert waste in the dystopian future. While it looks like the old West, the year is 7011, and the remains of broken rocket ships litter the desert from a 2nd westward expansion after the cities of the East become too poisoned. She finds the remains of a galleon, whose captain, Don Marquez, ended his ill-fated search of radiumite for the Spanish empire.
10 pages, b&w.
Note: The inside front cover notes that this issue contains reprints of stories from Tigress Tales in anticipation of new stories to be told in a new series which was never published.
Front and back cover painting by Mike Hoffman.
*Source: Warlock