Youthful Comics published Beware #11 (August 1952) with “The Murderous Mimics”, a strange Northern. The story was written by an unknown author and drawn by Paul Cooper. This tale, perhaps inspired by The Thing From Another World (1951), has shape-changing monsters in the far north.
Bill and Teresa go to Alaska to homestead, choosing an adventurous life. Bill notices that no animals ever seem to come close to their cabin.
A local tells the couple that nobody, man or animal, will come near their valley. The couple disregard the warning, happy in their new life. When Brutus, a dog, shows up, he becomes part of the family. When Brutus howls all night, Bill and Teresa investigate. There are strange, circular tracks outside their cabin.
The next night a stranger collapses in their doorway. He tells a weird tale of creatures that attacked him near the Kaimute River. Captured, he was taken to the ice caves under the glacier where he thought he saw his wife, Ann. The creature that looked like Ann tells him she only adopted the form to ease his panic. She wants to milk his brain of all knowledge. The creatures can mimic any form. 
In their arrogance, she tells him that only heat can dispel their disguises. Crushed, then left for dead, he managed to get to the cabin. He must warn the world about these fiends. He dies.
Teresa is upset by the dead man’s tale. Bill thinks it all delusion. Still, Teresa want to leave. They can’t because of an approaching snowstorm. Brutus the dog wants out. When he returns he goes too close to the roaring fireplace. He loses his form. The dog is a Kaimute mimic. Bill kills it by throwing it into the fire. Now they know the truth…
The couple realize the Kaimute know they know. Bill wants to escape and warn the world. Teresa steps outside to get the axe, since bullets do no good. Bill presses her close to kiss her good bye when he notices that her lips are ice cold. With the axe, he kills the Kaimute pretending to be his wife. But will anyone believe his story…
The author doesn’t explain what kind of creatures the mimics are. They look a bit like totem pole characters so they may be native to Earth. They could be aliens– we just don’t know.
This story has many of the best features of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers but that novel was still three years away and the film four. That’s why I think maybe John W. Campbell’s film version of “Who Goes There?” may have been the inspiration. The comic is no John Carpenter film but still highly effective for its medium.
You can read it for free at DCM.
