Tales of the Unexpected #83 is an issue of the series Tales of the Unexpected (Volume 1) with a cover date of June, 1964.
Synopsis for "The Anti-Hex Merchant"
A strange man arrives in the small town of Midvale. He claims that there are evil spirits about everywhere but buying his insurance policy will protect the people from any harm. The townspeople are skeptical until a monstrous form appears in the sky. The monster approaches the strange man but then recoils and retreats. Once the townspeople see that the man is protected, they begin to buy insurance policies as quickly as possible. A second monster appears, this time it is made out of water and begins to flood the town. This causes any remaining skeptics to buy the remaining insurance policies from the strange man. Sometime later, the scene changes to a cottage in which the strange man explains to his brother how he conjured up the evil spirits himself using an ancient sorcerers device. His invalid brother pleads with him to stop taking advantage of people and stealing their money. The man reveals that he needs the money to pay for doctors to help his brother walk once more. The man resumes selling his insurance policies to locals in the community while conjuring up evil monsters with his device. On this occasion his invalid brother shows up on the scene but he has no policy to protect him. The strange man tosses his brother his remaining insurance policy as he retreats into a house with a monster in tow. The house explodes and it appears that the strange man has perished but he emerges from the rubble unharmed. During the excitement the invalid brother was able to jump out of his chair and regains his ability to walk. They surmise that they were both acting out of love and that is why one of them was able to regain the power to walk once more. The strange man then announces that he will return all the money he had made from insurance policies and turn himself in to authorities.
Appearing in "The Anti-Hex Merchant"
- Appearances not yet listed
Synopsis for "Doom Was My Treasure!"
A pair of men land in the jungle in search of diamond studded mask belonging to an idol. a local native tries to stop the theft but the thief by the name of Dawson shoots him down with a gun. The other man is shocked, he thought he was acting as a guide and did not want to get involved in murder. Dawson escapes but the guide whose name is Rick is captured. He is sprayed with a black powder as the head native places a curse on him. He declares that the treasure will find him but it will contain seeds of destruction. The guide is released with a curse hanging over him. He makes his way towards his airplane. At one point bricks of gold fall from a tree and almost hit Rick but he escapes unharmed. Rick continues on his way when he is almost crushed by a giant boulder. The boulder misses Rick but it opens a hidden cave that is full of valuable gems. He is urged to take the gems for himself but he knows better and does not wish to be trapped. He continues to the airplane where he spots the other man Dawson. The airplane is at the top of a cliff. Rick uses a rope to snag a tree to pull himself up but he inadvertently brings the tree down along with Dawson. Dawson is killed but Rick remains safe. The head native determines that Rick is innocent otherwise he would already be dead. Before leaving on his plane, Rick checks the spot where the tree had uprooted. He discovers that it exposed a batch of platinum worth millions. He scoops it up and takes off with his hard earned treasure.
Appearing in "Doom Was My Treasure!"
- Appearances not yet listed
Synopsis for "The King of Nightmare Jungle"
A green cloud travels through space and enters Earths atmosphere. It approaches a city and settles into a clock in a local shop waiting for a host to enter. In the meantime Afred Meeks gets pushed around by a bully named Bragan. Meeks is late for his date with his girlfriend but Bragan moves in and snatches the girl away to a party. Meeks is left standing by himself cursing the fact that he was late. He decides to visit a shop to buy a reliable clock and purchases that clock containing the green glob. The Glob transports Meeks to another dimension where he faces a dinosaur like creature that is attacking a group of small aliens. Meeks distracts the creature and saves the aliens from disaster. The aliens introduce themselves as beings of Tubos. They were on their way to capture a wizard named Katung who has the ability to control the giant creatures. The wizard is using them to plunder cities and insists that the aliens pay tribute to them. Meeks investigates and locates the wizards lair. He enters a cave where he observes Katung standing over a pile of glowing ore. Meeks surmises that the Ore might be the source of the wizards power. He is spotted by the wizard and sends out the beasts to run him down. The beasts are then surrounded by flying hawks with glowing beaks. The glowing beaks interfere with the wizards ability to communicate with the beasts. The interference buys Meeks enough time to subdue and capture the wizard. The aliens are grateful and are about to reward Meeks when he suddenly vanishes and returns back to earth. Meeks finds himself with renewed confidence. He heads out to the party to retrieve his girlfriend from Bragan. He girl Bonnie is pleased to find Meeks so confident. As the couple talks, the green glob leaves the clock and heads out into the sky in search of its next host.
Appearing in "The King of Nightmare Jungle"
Featured Characters:
- Green Glob (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also
Links and References
