626 – Bug Invaders

A panel from World of Mystery #3, July 1956
A panel from World of Mystery #3, July 1956

In Marvel’s World of Mystery #3 (July 1956), a young boy and his farmer father encounter what appears to be a small space ship and some “bugs” in their barn. The father dismisses it all as “junk” and tosses it away, but the big reveal comes in the last couple panels: The “junk” is really Earth’s first attempt at an interstellar rocket and the bugs are actually humans – the farm dwellers are giants.

Another panel from "The Bugs" in World of Mystery #3, July 1956
Another panel from “The Bugs” in World of Mystery #3, July 1956

This is almost exactly the same plot as the 1961 Twilight Zone episode “The Invaders“.