For sheer psychological potency Forbidden Worlds was the supreme fantasy comic title. What dark revelations were promised in those two words? What grim wisdom could be gained by the laying down of a dime? The American Comics Group gave some pretty good answers in a run of 145 issues over 16 years. The focus here will be on three early issues from the exemplary pre-Code era when fantasy/horror comics were a major force during the largest-selling years for four-color literature.

     Forbidden Worlds #5 (March/April 1952) is, as the cover proclaims, a "giant 52-page" extravaganza with an effective sea-serpent cover that quickly and clearly establishes the genre. Inside, the fun begins with "The Tomb of Terror," a yarn drawn by a good artist who didn't do much work for ACG, Lou Cameron. It's the usual ACG "young couple caught up in ancient supernatural evil" affair, replete with ghosts and demons and a sorcery-haunted castle...

     Two of the other four stories are memorable. "Land of the Living Dead" is a less than compelling drama about a man who becomes a ghost while still alive, but the Al Williamson and Roy Krenkel illustration is incredibly intricate and beautiful. And "The Day the World Died" is a pretty fair science fiction tale where an atomic reaction at a nuclear lab opens a dimensional doorway to a world of fiends who have waited for such a moment to attack... Art is by George Carl Wilhelms, who did a fair amount of outstanding work for ACG in a distinctive, richly-textured style.

     The other two yarns aren't bad; there's just a little more of a "been there, done that" feel to them. All in all, it's a lot of fantasy for ten cents.

     Forbidden Worlds #11 (November 1952) features a classic mummy cover by Ken Bald, who drew most of the ACG covers. And "The Mummy's Treasure" is the lead story - a most amusing effort. The "cop and schoolteacher help kid who has unwittingly unleashed magical menace" plot is enlivened by a witty ending and lurid rendering by a mystery artist that even "super style detective" Jim Vadeboncoeur couldn't identify (although he did help peg a few others)...

     "The Clutching Curse" is about a big black cloud that floats around killing people, and a young couple trapped in an old dark house who confront the nebulous engulfing terror. Art is by Charles Quinlan, one of the great "grade B" artists of the Golden Age, who laid claim to such characters as Cat-Man and Captain Fearless - the superhero in the coonskin cap.

     Rounding things out (although a three story format is unusual for ACG) is a nine-page nightmare, "The Wax Demons," wherein the spirits of four of history's worst villains are sorcerously placed into wax replicas of the evildoers in a little amusement park museum. Thus Attila the Hun, Jack the Ripper, Mussolini, and ringleader Adolf Hitler band together to "destroy civilization." It's not a great story, but it's bold, and Harry Lazarus adds intense art. The result is entertaining - a solid finish to a solid issue.

     "Forbidden Worlds #29 (May 1954) is a winner all the way. Bald's cover is clear and creepy; "The Frog-Man" is the lead story inside-looking a lot like the creature on the cover but drawn by old pro Lin Streeter. The plot finale on this one uses the same trick as "The Day the World Died" in issue #5, which makes this a good time to mention ACG's editor and main writer, Richard Hughes. It would be easy enough to believe that he wrote most of the ACG material: the tone and style are consistent and characters and situations occur and reoccur with a wealth of variations on themes...

     "Terror in the Sky" is a absorbing weirdie about the owner of a small aircraft company who talks his "old war buddies" into taking their newly-designed plane for a test flight before all the bugs are worked out. They agree to do it if he'll fly with them. Once airborne the boss spots trouble and parachutes rather than warning the others who crash and die. To say that this yarn ends with payback, in kind, does not require any "spoiler warnings"... but the suspense builds nicely to the ghostly vengeance, and horror maestro Shelly Moldoff puts graphic punch into every panel.

     "Tour of Horror" details the downfall of a three-time wife murderer which comes when, the slain spirits band together while he is courting his next victim-to-be. It's a familiar story, but it's told well and features vivid art by another unknown artist. In "The Firewalker's Revenge" two Yankee crooks rob and kill a gold merchant in India. But the old man's son is a fakir with mystic powers, and he summons a fire spirit and commands it to pursue the guilty parties and turn them to toast. The demon appears in the lighter's wink for the last cigarette, in the burning brandy of a crepe suzette; so they try to live flame-free, but... This is a good yarn and combined with awesome art by Kenneth Landau they equal excellent four-color fantasy.

     The book ends with an unusual three-pager, "Rivals Unto Death," about two women in love with the same man and how one of them goes to a witch to buy her rival's death by black magic. It's a predictable plot, but the short-short doesn't need much suspense, and the art by Bob Forgione packs several stunning scenes into the small package. It should be noted that when a five-story fantasy anthology comic hits the spot five times 'tis a rare and wondrous thing.

     ACG started Forbidden Worlds in 1951 as a companion mag to their successful Adventures into the Unknown, which was the first continuously published fantasy/horror title, and both ran together until 1967 when ACG... well... gave up the ghost.

Pat Calhoun has been collecting, researching and appreciating comic books since the early 1960s, and is a nationally recognized comic book historian. Pat resides in Santa Rosa, California.