Number 2230: Fobidden Worlds: Earthworm digs to danger

Jeff is a young scientist. In a comic book that means he can do anything scientific. He is first shown working as an assistant in a chemistry lab, but for his new job he is helping put together a machine to go to the center of the Earth.

This is a story from 1956, so we will look at a situation: Jeff meets his boss’s daughter, Gloria, who is a beautiful (of course) blonde. At some point Jeff cannot control the beast within and grabs her in an unwanted embrace. Gloria speaks to us in our time. She lets Jeff know she is not to be sexually harassed. Good for Gloria, and take heed, men.

Moving on, Professor Myatt has invented the Earthworm, the earth-boring vehicle that will take them to the planet’s core (being a professor in a comic book is the same as being a scientist: they can do anything). He is warned that the island where they are working is soon to have a hydrogen bomb dropped on it! Yow! That means getting out the wrenches and getting Earthworm ready even without any testing. Jeff shows during the descent he is not only a grabby guy, but a coward. Luckily for him and for the sake of romance he later shows some spine and Gloria forgives him his other flaws.

[SPOILER ALERT] The problems for our heroes are solved with an H-bomb. How many fifties science fiction films have you seen that echo that same thinking? [END SPOILER]

The “The Land that Time Forgot” was written by editor Richard E. Hughes, and drawn by Ogden Whitney. It was published in Forbidden Worlds #48 (1956).

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