Number 1919: The Phantom Fountain

For a six-page story, “The Phantom Fountain" packs the craziness of much longer ACG supernatural fare. I am amazed by the audacity of the people who put this together. It has to do with the legendary fountain of youth, sought in the Florida Everglades. What is found instead is a fountain of radioactive mutation, which causes humans to become monsters, albeit with a purpose. One wonders what mutants need of money or jewelry (it’s not like they could go on a spending spree without attracting a lot of attention). They even break convicts out of prison to become monsters to help with their nefarious supernatural schemes.

[SPOILER]In this story someone is able to request an atom bomb be dropped on a specific location. Fortunately for us we live in the real world, not comic books. Admittedly, there are some desperate despots around the world we cannot trust to keep an itchy finger off a nuclear trigger.[END SPOILER]

If you can accept any of this, then I have some radioactive swampland in the Florida Everglades I’d like to sell you.

From Forbidden Worlds #9 (1952). Grand Comics Database guesses Al Camy and Dick Beck drew it.

Posted in: Pappy Comics