The Big List of Time Travel Adventures

 1962

   “Where the Cluetts Are”
by Jack Finney
First publication: McCall

Ellie and Sam Cluett build a house that duplicates every fine detail of a house from Victorian times, and over time, the house gradually takes them back to that time.

 We’re looking at a vanished sight. This is a commonplace sight of a world long gone and we’ve reached back and brought it to life again. Maybe we should have let it alone. 




   Clyde Crashcup
created by Ross Bagdasarian
First time travel: 31 Jan 1962

As a separate feature in The Alvin Show, Quirky Clyde Crashcup (with his assistant Leonardo) invented everything from babies to a time machine that reverses all time.

 I should like to remind you that all of you who witnessed this demonstration are five minutes younger than you were when we started. 




   The Three Stooges Meet Hercules
by Norman Maurer and Elwood Ullman (Edward Bernds, director)
First release: 15 Feb 1962

I’m a disgrace to my gender, as I coitainly never received the Three Stooges gene.

 I’ll smash the first guy who says it’s all Greek to him. 








   Times Without Numbers Stories
by John Brunner
First story: Science Fiction Adventure, 25, Mar 1962

In an alternate Spanish-dominated 20th century, Don Miguel Navarro is a time traveller in the western world’s Society of Time who are locked in a time-travel cold war with the Confederacy of the East, not to mention their task of tracking down various time crimes.

I try to avoid major spoilers (stop reading now, if you wish), but the reason that Don Miguel ends up in a world without time travel is one that I thought of (long after Brunner) based on fixed-points in mathematics. That idea alone gives the story an extra star.

The original three stories appeared in three consecutive issues of Science Fiction Adventure, and they were later fixed up into a short novel that was subsequently expanded. It’s the expanded version that I read from the CU library.
  1. Spoil of Yesterday (Mar 1962) Science Fiction Adventure
  2. The Word Not Written (May 1962) Science Fiction Adventure
  3. The Fullness of Time (Jul 1962) Science Fiction Adventure
  4. Times Without Numbers (1962) fix-up novel
  5. Times Without Numbers (1969) expanded

 It wasn’t only the embarrassing experience of being shown off around the hall by her—as it were, a real live time-traveller, exclamation point, in the same tone of voice as one would say, “A real live tiger!” That happened too often for members of the Society of Time not to have grown used to it; there were, after all, fewer than a thousand of them in the whole of the Empire. 




   “Brown Robert”
by Terry Carr
First publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jul 1962

Arthur Leacock has his eye on his boss, young Robert Ernsohn, who has invented a time machine and is about to try it out on himself. Young professors, such as Robert, are not to be trusted with the young girls on campus.

I found the story to be quite a scary character sketch of Arthur, but was disapponted that the time travel aspect dealt with that worn-out aspect of the Earth moving away from the time traveler.

 The machine, the time machine, was ready for operation. It was clean and had been checked over for a week; all the parts which were doubtful had been replaced, and on a trial run yesterday it had performed perfectly. Robert’s sweater—obert’s, of course, not Arthur’s—had been sent two days into the future and had come back. It had been sent six months and then five years into the future, and it had still come back. But of course Arthur had never doubted that it would. 












   Marvel Comics (Superheroes)
fearlessly led by Stan Lee
First time travel: Fantastic Four 5, Jul 1962

The Marvel Brand began as early as 1939 with the first edition of Marvel Comics. Throughout the ’40s and ’50s, some of the Timely and Atlas comics had the slogan “A Marvel Magazine,” ”Marvel Comic,” or a small “MC” on the cover (such as Tiny Tessie 24, which I found in my dad’s stash).

As for me, I was hooked when Marvel started publishing the Fantastic Four in 1961. During the sixties, I devoured all 830 Marvel superhero comics as they arrived at the local Rexall Drug Store, not to mention 13 issues of Marvel’s zany Not Brand Echh. By my count, 39 of those 843 issues in the ’60s involved superhero time travel, starting with Fantastic Four 5 in July 1962. After 1969, there was no time travel in comic books, not ever (or, if you prefer, you may count everything as time travel, but never mind). Are you suprised that Spider-man never took off in time during the ’60s? He did come close in Avengers 11, but in any case, here are those occurrences:
  1. Fantastic Four 5 (Jul 1962) FF to time of Blackbeard
  2. Journey into Mystery 86 (Nov 1962) Thor vs Zarkko, the Tomorrow Man
  3. Strange Tales 111 (Aug 1963) Doc Strange & Mordo thru time (1 panel)
  4. Tales of Suspense 44 (Aug 1963) Iron Man to time of Cleopatra
  5. Fantastic Four 19 (Oct 1963) FF to ancient Egypt
  6. Fantastic Four 23 (Feb 1964) Dinosaur to Baxter Building
  7. Journey into Mystery 101 (Feb 1964) Thor travels to future to be Zarkko slave
  8. Journey into Mystery 102 (Mar 1964) Thor returns to the present, a free god!
  9. Strange Tales 123 (Aug 1964) Doc Strange sends Thor’s hammer back
  10. Avengers 8 (Sep 1964) Kang the Conqueror from the future
  11. Fantastic Four Annual 2 (Sep 1964) FF vs Rama-Tut [reprint and new]
  12. Strange Tales 124 (Sep 1964) Doc Strange to time of Cleopatra
  13. Avengers 10 (Nov 1964) Immortus (aka Kang) from the future
  14. Avengers 11 (Dec 1964) Kang (again) and Spider-Man (sort of)
  15. Fantastic Four 34 (Jan 1965) Gideon uses Doom’s machine
  16. Strange Tales 129 (Feb 1965) Doc Strange travels back an hour or so
  17. Strange Tales 134 (Jul 1965) FF vs Kang
  18. Fantastic Four Annual 3 (Sep 1965) Cadre of villains sent to the past
  19. Avengers 23 (Dec 1965) Avengers defeated by Kang in the future
  20. Journey into Mystery 122 (Nov 1965) Thor moves Hobbs through time
  21. Avengers 24 (Jan 1966) Avengers defeat Kang in the future!
  22. Tales to Astonish 75 (Jan 1966) Hulk to post-apocalyptic future
  23. Tales to Astonish 76 (Feb 1966) Hulk vs King Arrkam in the future
  24. Tales to Astonish 77 (Mar 1966) Hulk vs the Executioner in the future
  25. Tales to Astonish 78 (Apr 1966) Hulk returns from post-apocalyptic future
  26. Avengers 28 (May 1966) Collector/Beetle in time machine
  27. Strange Tales 148 (Sep 1966) Book of Vishanti to ancient times
  28. Strange Tales 150 (Nov 1966) Doc Strange to ancient Babylon
  29. Thor 140 (May 1967) Thor vs Growing Man (Kang’s minion)
  30. Not Brand Echh 2 (Sep 1967) Ironed Man vs Magnut, Robot Biter
  31. Avengers 56 (Sep 1968) To World War II
  32. Avengers Annual 2 (Sep 1968) The Scarlett Centurion (aka Kang)
  33. Iron Man 5 (Sep 1968) Warriors from 24th century
  34. Marvel Super-Heroes 18 (Jan 1969) Guardians of the Galaxy from the Future
  35. Marvel Super-Heroes 20 (May 1969) Diablo uses Doom’s time platform
  36. Silver Surfer 6 (Jun 1969) To the future and back by traveling fast
  37. Avengers 69 (Oct 1969) Avengers vs Kang in 41st century
  38. Avengers 70 (Nov 1969) Avengers vs Squadron Sinister
  39. Avengers 71 (Dec 1969) Avengers to 1941 vs Invaders

 And now I shall send you back . . . hundreds of years into the past! You will have forty-eight hours to bring me Blackbeard’s treasure chest! Do not fail! 

—Dr. Doom in Fantastic Four 5






   Dell/Gold Key Comics (Spin-Offs)
First time travel: Dell Movie Classics 208, Aug 1962

In addition to the well-known comic book adaptation of The Time Machine, Dell and Gold Key comics had numerous movie and tv spin-offs in the 60s, some of which had time travel. Some were just one-shots (such as The Three Stooges Meet Hercules in Dell Movie Classics 208; and Hector Heathcote in 1964) while others were series (such as the short-lived two issues of The Time Tunnel in 1967). The second issue of The Outer Limits had a cover story, “The Boy with the Incredible Time Machine Saved the World,” which was reprinted in The Outer Limits 18. They were big on boys saving the world, usually from aliens. Tooter Turtle appeared in seven issues of King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, some of which were before Aug 1962, but their time travel pedigre is dubious because the issues I saw could have occured in the present day.

As I find other time travel stories, I’ll add them to my time travel comic book page.

 Two scientists are hurled helpless into the lost world of time! 

—from the cover of The Time Tunnel 1.


   “Le notaire et la conspiration”
English title: “The Notary and the Conspiracy” (translated from French)
by Henri Damonti
First publication: Fiction, Sep 1962
Reprinted in: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Dec 1962

Mssr. Duplessis, a notary, joins a secret club that allows him to lead a parallel life in fifteenth century Florence, which with plagues and conspiracies against the prince turns out to be a more dangerous second life than he’d anticipated.

 I GUARANTEE UNUSUAL DIVERSIONS—NO ENTRANCE FEE—ONE TRIAL WILL CONVINCE YOU—APPLY NOW—BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR SOCIETY—DISCRETION ASSURED—ADDRESS BOX 322628 




   “The Winds of Time”
by James H. Schmitz
First publication: Analog, Sep 1962

Schmitz wrote a popular series of novels and stories about a galactic federation called the Hub. This is the only one of the stories that I’ve read—about Gefty Rammer, the captain of a space freighter that is commissioned by a secretive man named Maulbow who claims to be from a race of future time travelers.

 Also, according to Maulbow, there was a race of the future, human in appearance, with machines to sail the current of time through the universe—to run and tack with the winds of time, dipping in and out of the normspace of distant periods and galaxies as they chose. 




   Harvey Comics
published by Alfred Harvey
First time travel: Richie Rich 13, Oct 1962

Richie Rich 13 was the first Harvey Comic that I ever bought (the same month as Fantastic Four 7). On the cover, the poor little rich boy was watching his big-screen tv with a master control that also indicated movies, hi-fi, phono-vision, short wave and satellites. And inside he time traveled to visit his ancestor Midas Rich. What more could a six-year-old want?

Other Harvey time-travel comics are listed on my time travel comics page.

 Away we go, Mawster Richie! 

—Alas, I no longer have that original Richie Rich comic, so I don’t know whether Cadbury said this or not, but he should have!




  Tales of Magic #7
Seven-Day Magic
by Edward Eager
First publication: Oct 1962

After two books with no time travel and possibly no magic, the series’ final book returns to both realms with the immediate appearance a magical book that brings forth dragons and 19th century Little House on the Prairie. Admitedly, it‘'s not clear whether any of the locales of the past are more than places out of fiction for Barnaby, John, Susan, Abbie, and Fredericka—but never mind.

 “I knew it was a book!” whispered Susan excitedly. “It’s the girl in the Half Magic picture! It’s the little girl in the last chapter who finds the charm after Jane and Mark and Katharine and Martha pass it on!” 


   “The Unfortunate Mr. Morky”
by Vance Aandahl
First publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Oct 1962

When Mr. Morky runs into the carny-man, the result is a plethora of funhouse mirrors, time travel, and a possible explanation for why people nowadays are so much alike.

For many years, Vance Aandahl was an English professor at nearby Metro State College in Denver, and among his students was another favorite Colorado writer, James Van Pelt.

 On the way, he met the other Mr. Morky, who was still struggling to get back, and there was a collision. He fused with himself. Unfortunately, it was an abnormal fusion, quite cancerous; all that custard pie started dividing and re-dividing and re-re-dividing into an infinite multiple division. 




   “Time Has No Boundaries”
aka “The Face in the Photo”
by Jack Finney
First publication: The Saturday Evening Post, 13 Oct 1962

Young physics Professor Weygand is questioned by Instructor Martin O. Ihren about the disappearance of several recent criminals who have shown up in very old photos.

 I did, and saw what he meant; a face in the old picture almost identical with the one in the Wanted poster. It had the same astonishing length, the broad chin seeming nearly as wide as the cheekbones, and I looked up at Ihren. “ Who is it? His father? His grandfather?” 



No Time Travel. Move along.
  Worlds of the Imperium by Keith Laumer [alternate timelines ]

  The Wrinkle in Time Series by Madeleine L’Engle, 1962 [despite title, no time travel ]

  Time Traders #3: The Defiant Agents by Andre Norton, Feb 1962 [no time travel ]

  “The Heart on the Other Side” by George Gamow, The Expert Dreamers, Oct 1962 [4D spacial topology ]

 

17 items are in the time-travel list for these search settings.
Thanks for visiting my time-travel page, and thanks to the many sources that provided stories and more (see the Links and Credits in the menu at the top). —Michael (main@colorado.edu)