Mad Hate of Doctor Zart [alternate title: Revenge Can Be Fatal], STRANGE MYSTERIES No. 10 (March ’53); story & art: unknown; 7 pages; on sale circa early 1953.



STRANGE MYSTERIES No. 10 (March ’53); cover art unknown ⇒

also in this issue:

Inside front cover: For All Those Whose Hearts Are Young (b & w ad).

The Dimensional Knife; story & art: unknown; 6 pages.

Map of Death; story & art: unknown; 9 pages.

The Signor’s Circus; text story: John Martin; 2 pages.

[includes Statement of the Ownership]

Monsters of the Night; story & art: unknown; 8 pages.

Inside back cover: In All the Ways Acknowledge Him (b & w ad).

Back cover: The Best Love Story Books of all Time (ad).



about the publisher

STRANGE MYSTERIES was a horror anthology in the early ’50s, from William Zimmerman’s Superior Publications, based in Toronto.

Sources say that the Iger Studio packaged all the stories for Superior’s horror line.

For more background and other comics from Superior see WEIRD AND STRANGE.

The indicia for this issue appears on the inside front cover under an ad for Jolola Sales Ltd. [Note: Offer no longer valid, do not use the order coupon.]

On the text page, The Statement of Ownership indicates that Harry L. Cohen is the editor, based in Brooklyn.



other strange mysteries in this issue

[scroll down the page for the featured story: Mad Hate of Doctor Zart]

The Dimensional Knife: Gerald Cainer is bent on revenging himself against the men who ruined him, when out of the blue a knife arrives.

Not knowing anything about the knife, Cainer nevertheless knows that he should use it to kill his enemies.

It’s funny how Gerald seems to figure out everything based on very few facts.

He immediately understands what he ought to do with the knife and that it is a dimensional knife.

And when transported to the future, he instantly realizes that this is what must be the future.

In this far distant future, Gerald is devoured by a monstrous creature that feeds on all victims of the dimensional knife.

Map of Death: Two brothers, Lester and Wilson Simms, at their uncle’s deathbed are urged to destroy a treasure map.

Yet they keep the map and seek the treasure just the same and soon one brother has killed the other out of greed.

See how it all ends on the spoiler page.

The Signor’s Circus: Signor Alonso marries for wealth not love, in order to pay his gambling debts.

He then conspires to take over his wife’s circus of exotic beasts.

Needless to say there’s a strange twist ending.

Read all of The Signor’s Circus on the spoiler page.

Credited to John Martin, this may have been a house name and thus the text story could have been submitted by any unnamed writer.

Monsters of the Night: In the darkness, monsters invade the home of Martha Post and her father.

When Martha’s father is killed by the dark creatures, her boyfriend, Bill Clay, moves in with her in hopes of protecting her from the monsters.

Yet still the creatures return.

However, in the end, an expert on the supernatural, Dr. Sand, comes to the salvation of the charming, young couple.

This being the final yarn in the issue, its conclusion is in striking contrast to all of the other tales, offering an apparent happy ending for its protagonists. Which is just as disturbing in its own way.

Mad Hate of Doctor Zart



The scientist, Dr. Hugo Zart, is nearly murdered and suffers a horrifying disfigurement thanks to his assistant, George Warren, and Zart’s wife, Ellen.



Though George treats her cruelly, Ellen still prefers him to her husband.

After Ellen’s death, Dr. Zart is driven mad with hatred for George Warren and travels the world in search of the man who wronged him.



You’ll never guess what happens next! Go to the shocker spoiler page for the twist ending!!!

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