“They Saw the Light” takes us back to the Arctic for riches! Yesterday’s story revolved around uranium in the far north. Here’s another: Mister Mystery #8 (November 1952) gave us another strange Northern. The author is not known but the art was provided by Frank Frollo.
Some men down south hear reports of large deposits of uranium. It’s important to get there first before certain other countries. In hours, they are off to the Arctic to dig it up.
When they arrive at the spot, they encounter strange mutant creatures that try to drive them away. They shoot them down. The monster’s bodies disintegrate into ash. (Page two has some lovely typos!) With the monsters destroyed, a party leaves in search of the uranium. They discover a plane but nobody is around. The plane is completely deserted.
The men follow a glow in the air and find a solid mountain of pure uranium. This is what is generating the light that the prospectors see. It is the discovery of the century! They remain for an hour mining the ore.
They leave when they begin to feel ill. As they return to their plane, they start to change. They turn into monsters. When their companions see them, they shoot then down. The remaining men go in search of their companions, unaware they have just killed them… The terrible cycle of mutation is about to happen again, and nobody can stop it.
This short cautionary tale is typical of the 1950s obsession and misinformation about radioactivity. Where EC’s “Comes the Dawn” doesn’t really use the uranium in story except as a source of wealth, “They Saw the Light” could not work without it. The radioactive mutants look like vampires but aren’t really. Remember kids: radiation is bad. It will turn you into a monster….
