Expert: Chris Brown - 7/21/2003

Question
There are two quite old comic-book tales, [the short story type ones that used to appear in titles like TALES TO ASTONISH or CREEPY TALES and the such-like] that have stuck in my mind forever, and I'm betting that no-one around here can 'help' me with info, or help me acquire them ....BUT as they say "Don't ask....don't get!!"
SOOooo..............One of the stories is about two youngsters, one good looking and a nice chap, the other a not so good looking, richish lad who's a bit nasty, who both fancy the same girl.
The nastier one tries to buy her everything but doesn't get a date, wheras the poorer, nicer chap just gives her an appple or something, and she falls for him.
They grow up, and I think they eventually marry, but the the richer lad has festered a positive hatred and jealousy for the poorer lad, and he becomes a scientist or some thing and eventually invents a machine that can swap bodies and minds.
He fires up the machine and swaps his mind into the poorer blokes body.
Unfortunately for him though, the poorer lad is a soldier in Korea or Vietnam, and is just about to be executed.
His [the soldier's] brain/mind miraculously appear back home in the rich scientists body, and he still gets the girl in the end.AAAhhh
The scientist's mind/brain ,  switches to 'our hero's  body seconds before the execution  AAHH.

The other story I remember was basically about a disc jockey, on a lonely late night shift, playing his music, but slowly becoming aware of an alien hoard [in his mind or 'really'] descending upon Earth near his studio [or wherever he's broacasting from] and his subsequent fearful 'live' description of the events , right up to the point where they eventually get to him and 'consume' him.
I haven't seen these since I was kid, but the images have stayed with me and I would love to see them again.

I would absolutely love any info, [source, writers , artist, publishers] ?


I would be magnificently chuffed to find out owt.
Peace to you.  

Answer
Hi Pete

Sorry to not get back to you sooner.  I have had a busy week and didn't check this email account for a few days.

The search for specific stories in unknown past comics is indeed a difficult one.  Both the stories you mentioned sound like they would be in the pre-code years, which would mean prior to 1955.  Those tend to be quite a bit more violent and graphic.  (That would also rule out Tales to Astonish, which debuted in 1959.)

The first one is a common theme in horror comics.  Unfortunately, this story does not ring any bells with me.  I can think of several similar stories revolving around competition over a woman.  And I know of a few other stories where the characters switch "psyches" so to speak.  Can't remember seeing one with both in a war-time setting though.  Sadly, identifying a story is really a hit or miss proposition.  It just depends on finding somebody that the plot rings a bell for (unless you can come up with a lot more detail about around when the comic was published, likely publishers, length of story, art style, etc.)

Your second story, however, sounded a little more familiar.  I looked through my notes and my collection and came up with what might be the same story (or if not, a quite similar one).  It is from Black Cat Mystery 46, a comic published by Harvey in October of 1953.  The story I am referring is named "Disc Jockey" and is by one of the all time great horror artists of the 50s, Bob Powell.

The story begins with the program manager telling the dj the listeners don't like him.  The dj ominously replies, "Nobody can chase me off this station...Nobody in the world!"  As Sam, the dj, does his show, he witnesses a flying saucer land outside his window.  He incorporates it into his show, describing it landing and later the door coming open.  He gets somewhat hysterical.  On the closing page, the aliens (whose whole bodies are never shown) take Sam away.  In the last panel, an alien announces over the microphone, "Sam Webb won't be broadcasting any more, Earthmen!  We've been getting his broadcasts on Mars, and if nobody in your world will take Sam off the air...someone in our world will!  Signing off!"

So were you reading comics in 1953?  Let me know if this sounds like the story you are referring to.  There was lots of "borrowing" of ideas so it's possible you read another story based on this one or vice versa.  

Chris