Twilight Zone Anthology Comic

You’re about to meet a screenwriter, Age thirty-five. He’s a man who’s spends most of his life writing stories, but never making time for his own. this is a tale of surreality run wild-- a glimpse into the bizzare world that exists just beneath the surface of our mundane existence. observe, viewers-- for tonight, this man is going to find that the greatest story of his life is waiting just outside his office door...

Sandy, I’ll be right back. Hold my calls.

hmm, she must have gone on her break...

What the--?

Get out of here, Finchley.

Who’s Finchley??

GET OUT OF HERE FINCHLEY

[fFp!] oW! Ow!

Who is this??

Sandy, something really weird is going on with the--

The first typewriter was actually produced in 1874 by American gunmakers E. Remington & Sons in Ilion, NY! It was initially concieved as a way of automatically numbering the pages of a book, when the idea was extended to include the entire alphabet. It functions by striking a small metal slab, set with a type character, against a piece of stationary with a strip of carbon paper in between. The original prototype is currently locked away in the vault of the Smithsonian.

...huh?

The Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (E.N.I.A.C.) was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was built by the US military 1946 to calculate artillery firing tables. It was not until the late 1960’s that the term “word processing” was coined by IBM. It vaguely referred to their idea of writing and print text without the need of a typewriter. But it was actually Micropro International in 1979 who sold the first commercially successful word processing software program, called Wordstar.

What the Heck’s going on here??

I-- I’m so scared...

I’m sorry, Ms. Tyler. I’m afraid you’re still... hideous.

Miss Tyler is undergoing a cosmetic operation in order to correct her, ahem, horrible disfigurement.

This is a mistake. I think I got a bit lost back there. There was this door...

Let’s see if the operation was successful...

Are you kidding? she’s a knockout! How can you-[GASP]

You-- You’re all... What is this place???

I’m getting out of here!

EYAGH!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Somehow our plane has travelled back in time-- to the mesozoic era!!

Also, there’s gremlins!

You’re going to have to

Cosmetic surgery techniques were being carried out in India by as early as 2000 BC. In the first century BC., the Romans were also capable of rudimentary reconstructive procedures, but were restrained by religious and ethical doctrines. The invention of antibiotics and anesthesia both contributed immeasurably to the spread of elective surgery. The first American plastic surgeon was Dr. John Peter Mettauer, who performed the first cleft palate correction operation in 1827.

A “gremlin” is a mythical creature from English folklore, commonly associated with mechanical mischief, often in airplanes. The concept of gremlins was popularized during WWII by Royal Air Force pilots to explain aircraft malfunctions. Author Roal Dahl, having been an RAF pilot, took interest in the myth and pursued it further, publishing a children’s novel in 1943 called The Gremlins, in partnership with Walt Disney. Different iterations of this legend have since appeared in comics, movies, and TV.

Wait.



What have we here?

<What should I do, Commander?>

This place is utterly insane. Now where am I?

If you figure it out, be sure to let us know.

Hello.

Sir.

‘ello, laddie.



hwryh.

How can you all just stand around and accept this? well I don’t know about you-- but I have a life to get back to!

There must be a way out. Maybe a hidden door?

None of us can even remember who we are, or how we got here. We’re just stuck here in this Room. I think it’s limbo.

I think if we all stand on each other’s shoulders, and make a human ladder, we just might be able to reach the edge.

We’ve searched. the only opening is that hole up there, but it’s at least thirty feet high.

The Mesozoic Era is a geological timeperiod occurring between 248 and 65 million years in Earth’s History. It is divided up into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods, the latter of which ended with the extinction of the dinosaurs. Most famous of the dinosaurs is the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Standing at 43 feet tall and weighing up to 7.5 tons, this ferocious carnivore is thought to have been both a fierce hunter and a cunning scavenger.

· · · · ·

FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT FIVE CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN EXIT: If a clown joins Clowns Internation in England, he may register his individual makeup. Ballet emerged in Italy in the late 1400’s as a dance interpretation of fencing. A Private First Class in the US Army will make roughly $16,794 in his first year enlisted. In Celtic tradition, a “true” Scotsman never wears anything under his kilt. 2/3 of the population drinks alcohol. 10% of drinkers drink half of all alcohol consumed.

Hey. Almost... There...

Hey. Unh!

I’m sorry to bother you, but I seem to be a little lost. Do you know the way out, Mr... Giant?

Oh, uh... Hello!

’m not a Giant. M’ name’s Grady. Ya never hearda me? I’m a boxer.

Used

to be a Boxer.

Used to be a boxer. I wished to be a big man, now I’m too big for the room. it’s a whole thing.

Anyway, there’s a door right next’a my leg.

How’s that wish thing working out for you?

What now?

Shut up.

Oh, thank goodness you’re here! I’m serving a life sentence-- and I’m immortal! It’s silly, I know, I made this deal with the devil... It’s a whole thing. Bottom line-- you gotta let me out, man!

Oh, yeah, I see it. Thanks a lot.

No no no, man, you can’t open THAT door-- That’s where they trapped him!

Who?

Hey there.

YAAAGH! The Devil.

Fist-fighting has been around since the dawn of man. As a non-lethal sport, boxing (or “pugilism”) has its roots in the ancient Greek Olympics-- in fact, an account of a fist-fighting match appears in Homer’s Iliad. There are four basic punches: the jab, the cross, the hook, and the uppercut. There are seven maneuvers a boxer can use to evade or block punches: slipping, bobbing, blocking, cover-up, clinching, footwork, and pulling away.

The Devil is a title given to a supernatural being who represents the source of Evil in many religious traditions. In Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and Zoastrian tradition he may be given the names Abbadon, Angra Mainyu, Satan, Asmodai, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Belial, and Iblis. In Buddhism, he is called Mara. In Egyptian culture the god of the underworldd is Set; in Greek and Roman culture had Hades and Pluto, respectively. In comic book literature, DC has Neron and Marvel has Mephisto.

My name is Talky Tina. And I’m going to kill you.

Come play with us! We’re Lonely!

Okay. Okay. I can do this. I’ll Just open the door, And deal with whatever’s inside.

When I get back I’m going to need serious therapy.

Brainsss...?

No thanks.

Oh, you have no idea. I think I took a wrong turn at Albaquerque, heh. First my computer went nuts, then there were these mutants, and this giant fella, and a clown, and then zombies, and aliens...

Excuse me, Can I trouble you for a glass of water?

Finally! This seems fairly non-threatening.

No aliens here, no sir.

Aliens, Eh?

Of course, sir.

You lost, friend?

To Serve Man! It’s a cookbook! a COOKBOOK!

Oh, don’t mind him. Martians can be so theatrical. Not like us Venusians.

[GULP]

YAHH!

Humans have long been captivated by the prospect of extraterrestrial life in the universe. Though presently there is no proof, it is speculated that both Venus and Mars could have once posessed the essential elements of life: primarily oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon. The first UFO sighting was actually described in the Bible by the prophet Ezekiel. Polls have shown that 4 million Americans believe they have been abducted by aliens. Statistically, a UFO sighting occurs somewhere on our planet every 3 minutes.

The modern American diner may be a descendant of the “lunch wagon”, created by Walter Scott in 1872. Scott sold home-made sandwiches to his co-workers in Providence, RI. This idea evolved so successfully that an American businessman, Jerry Mahoney, opened over 2,000 diners between 1917 and 1952. They were quick to build and easy to maintain due to the use of pre-assembled constructs and equipment. Despite their success, by the 1970’s most diners were being replaced by fast food chains, but many establishments still thrive in NJ, NY, PA, DE, and New England.

T-that was a real good thing you did, Anthony.

Who’s this doofus? Dad, he’s ruining my party!

Now now, A-Anthony. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. N-no need to do anything rash...

There you are, Mr. Serling. You were gone awhile, I was ready to come and check on you. Where did you go??

I wish you into the CORNFIELD!

I don’t know. It was like… I was in another dimension, beyond anything known to man. It was a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. A middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. It was like...

...a real good thing.

Wait, I-i Just--

--need directions.

A man, just like any other man, until he came face to face with his own destiny. The story of a lifetime, that would go on to inspire a television series. A story which could only happen... in the Twilight Zone.

A Twilight Zone.

THE END

Rod Serling was born in Syracuse, NY on Christmas of 1924. He grew up in Binghamton, and attended Antioch College in Ohio. In 1943, he served as a paratrooper in the US Army. His service ended in 1945 with a serious injury for which he recieved a Purple Heart medal. During the war he watched his best friend get crushed by a supply crate, which deeply affected his psyche, and impacted much of his writing. He was also highly influenced by his idol, radio playwright Norman Corwin. In 1959, his screenwriting led to the creation of the hugely successful Twilight Zone series. Serling wanted to created use science fiction to tell stories with strong, yet veiled social messages. By using the sci-fi format, he was also able to sidestep many censorship issues that he faced with his earlier ventures. The Twlight Zone was on the air for 5 seasons, was cancelled and revived twice before finally ending in 1964, at which point he sold the rights to CBS. Serling died of a heart attack in 1975. This comic includes excerpts and elements from these Twilight Zone Episodes: “A Thing About Machines”, “Eye of the Beholder”, “The Odyssey of Flight 33”, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”, “The Fear”, “Five Characters in Search of an Exit”, “Last Night of A Jockey”, “Escape Clause”, “The Howling Man”, “The Lonely”, “The Lateness of the Hour”, “The Living Doll”, “Mr. Garrity and the Graves”, “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”, “To Serve Man”, and “It’s a Good Life”. Thanks for reading.