Where Monsters Dwell #6
Published and © by Marvel, November 1970
Title: “I Challenged … Groot! The Monster From Planet X!”
Synopsis: Groot, the monarch of Planet X, comes to kidnap Earthlings for experimentation but is foiled by a local scientist.
Writer: Uncredited
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Dick Ayers
Review: When looking back at Silver Age stories (this one reprinted from 1960’s Tales to Astonish #13), it’s often easy to recognize the story DNA that would become the multi-billion dollar MCU. Not so with Groot, whose debut is a standard-issue monster tale from Jack Kirby. Still, it’s good fun!
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Title: “I Dared to Look Into the Beyond!”
Synopsis: An obstinate scientist is determined to break with conventional wisdom to time travel to the future.
Writer: Uncredited
Penciler: Jack Kirby
Inker: Steve Ditko
Review: Another Kirby monster reprint (from 1960’s Tales to Astonish #11), inked by Steve Ditko. Their styles don’t quite mesh.
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Title: “My Friend Is … Not Quite Human!”
Synopsis: A misogynistic woodcarver who is pressed into service by Napoleon falls in love with a carving and betrays a Gypsy.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Steve Ditko
Review: This reprint, also from Tales to Astonish #13, was drawn by Ditko at the height of his powers. Gorgeous cartooning.
•••
Title: “When the Saucer Strikes!”
Synopsis: A pilot encounters a UFO but everyone else on the plane was sleeping – except for one questionable passenger.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Paul Reinman
Review: This reprint from 1959’s Strange Tales #71 is the blandest offering, featuring a typical twist and serviceable art.
Grade (for the entire issue): B
Second opinion: “(The Groot story) is so tight, so succinct and perfect that it could easily have been made into a film.” – Mark Squirek, Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace #4, Spring 2014
Cool factor: Steve Ditko really did some amazing cartooning during the Silver Age.
Notable: Reprints the first appearance of Groot. … While uncredited, several sources suggest most Atlas-era horror tales were plotted by Stan Lee and scripted by Larry Lieber.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 1/- British variant of this issue.
Character quotable: “ I am Groot, overlord of all the timber in the galaxy!” – Groot, man … or, umm, tree of a few more words
Editor’s note: This review was written June 29, 2025.
