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Series
Tales to Astonish 21
Atlas Tales
- Cover Date
- July 1961
- Indicia Frequency
- monthly
- Indicia Publisher
- Vista Publications, Inc.
- Cover Titles
- It's Trull ... the Inhuman!!
- Cover Credits
-
Jack Kirby pencils attributed
Dick Ayers inks attributed
- Contributions
-
Alan Deutsch: Cover Image
Current market pricing for Tales to Astonish #21 shows a latest graded sale of CGC 7.0 sold for $439.20 on June 23rd, 2026.
Graded price ranges include CGC 4.5 $78-$126 (2 comps); CGC 5.0 $288 (1 comp).
Pricing data last updated July 17th, 2026.
Stories
Trull! The Inhuman!
Pieter Bell: Story Scan
Time Machine
Pieter Bell: Creator Credit
Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr.: Creator Credit
It Happened on "The Silent Screen"
the stikman: Creator Credit
Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr.: Creator Credit
the stikman: Story Scans (5)
The coloring, which appears to be from Ditko color guides, expressionistically depicts a "modern" (1961) audience watching a "modern-black-and-white-monster-movie". We have a variety of blues, and some violet, and even a red; but no "flesh-color" symbolizing pink dots on the faces or hands a for skin tone.
A rare script by Stan Lee left unaccredited (Until the intro blurb In Tales to Astonish 26 V-380 Dream World!)
This story ends with the hand of the monster reaching out through the panel border to grab the reader followed by the boldface caption:
"...WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT IS FANTASY??" Followed by Stan Lee's first post-Atlas invitation to conversation with the readers: "Like to see more stories like this? Write to Stan Lee, Editor, 655 Madison Ave., N.Y." In Tales to Astonish 26 V-380 Dream World! This conversation is continued. - the stikman.
Open Wider, Please
Pieter Bell: Creator Credit
Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr.: Creator Credit
Pieter Bell: Story Scan
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Looking for the full run? Browse the Tales to Astonish checklist to see every indexed issue in one place.
Issue Overview
Tales to Astonish #21 was published by Vista Publications, Inc. in July 1961. It is part of the Tales to Astonish series, which ran from January 1959 to August 1962.
Cover credits include Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
Atlas Tales indexes 4 stories for this issue, including "Trull! The Inhuman!." Indexed story credits include Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers, among others.