"The Face Of Fear!"
December, 1969
Story By: Stan Lee
Script By: Archie Goodwin
Art By: Syd Shores
Lettering By: Jean Izzo
Freddy Garricks' father has had enough. His son will enter the bathroom
for a shave... or he will not be going out of the apartment tonight. The
old man has had enough of the long hair look and the strange outfits his
son has worn. Freddy wonders why he can't have a beard if it's his own
face?!
His mother and father don't want to look at it, and want their son's
appearance to change for the better. With his friends waiting for him,
Freddy isn't in a hurry to change his looks. The only thing his father
wants to hear is the sound of a razor removing some stubble. Inside the
bathroom, Freddy wonders about the price of keeping up appearances. His
parents know that shaving can be a drag, but they won't ever admit it.
As hot water fills the basin, the youth slaps some lather on his face,
and sees that there's something wrong with the mirror. The steam must
have caused it to fog.
The fog does not rub off the mirror so easily, and Freddy Garricks soon
sees a face appear in the mirror... the face belonging to someone else.
Staring into the mirror, the youth shudders with dread, and the elderly
face continues to smile at the frightened Freddy.
For a moment, he wonders if his father is pulling a trick, but there's no
one behind him in the bathroom. Freddy wants to know what the face in
the mirror wants, but it's not talking. Only when the thrown razor
shatters the glass into many pieces, does the teenager have a chance to
flee.
Once out of the apartment, and past his puzzled parents, Freddy Garricks
covers his eyes, and heads for the elevator. The elderly face continues
to smile within his own mind, and the youth is frantically pressing the
button for the doors to open. Once the doors have parted, Freddy sees
that the cadaverous figure has been expecting him.
As the transparent figure steps towards him, the teenager makes for the
fire stairs, and is chased by a trio of elderly images in his mind's eye.
Now in the lobby, Freddy Garricks pauses to think about the smiling
face, and the unerring eyes. He sees that some of the neighbors have
come to see what's left of the elevator.
It had fallen some eighteen floors, but thankfully no one was injured.
The startled youth can only gape at the sight of the smashed elevator
car. It had been a warning, not a threat to his life. Its appearance
had fooled him, just as he had been discussing with his parents. Perhaps
there's not so much difference between them after all. The face is gone,
but is the danger over? Will Freddy Garricks be spending the rest of his
life afraid to look in the mirror, and see something other than himself
there?
The elder Garricks wears glasses, has a striped orange tie, white shirt,
and grey pants.
Freddy Garricks is wearing a serape, some love beads, brown bell-bottoms,
and sandals.
Freddy is a dreamer, but he looks like Paul McCartney with five o'clock
shadow.
I wonder how a thrown teeny-tiny razor is able to shatter a mirror?
The face in the mirror resembles one of the Guardians of the Universe.
If I were going for a No-Prize, I'd say that the elderly man in the
mirror is none other than Freddy Garricks himself, in his later years.
The invalid has been given a chance to change his past and prevent the
accident that cost him his mobility from happening.
If this is so, the elderly Freddy Garricks would be able to tap into the
mind of his younger self, and persuade him not to take the elevator.
In the Marvel Bullpen Bulletins, the untimely death of George Klein was
announced. The artist had been associated with the Marvel Bullpen for
more than twenty years, as both penciller and inker. George Klein was
also a talented painter, as well as a friend and gentleman for those at
Marvel.
Steve Chung
"The Face Of Review!"
