GYOR KOSICE

Real Name: Gyor Kosice

Identity/Class: Human (Roma) (1950s Era)

Occupation: Laborer

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Maria

Enemies: Gretchen

Known Relatives: Greta (adopted mother), Kosku (adopted father), unidentified father and mother

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Mobile in eastern Europe (Bosnia, Germany, Kazahkstan, Poland)

First Appearance: Strange Worlds I#3 (April, 1959)

Powers/Abilities: Gyor Kosice had no unusual abilities. He had a lifelong aversion to hard work and would only put in a token effort while being monitored.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'11" as an adult)
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 159 lbs. as an adult)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

History:
(Strange Worlds I#3/4) - Raised as a Gypsy (Roma) in the Bremena Forest of Germany, Gyor Kosice despised his lot in life from childhood. Gyor detested performing chores such as feeding horses and loading up firewood. At the same time, he also looked down on his fellow children who were studying, believing that he would find an easier way to live out his dreams. He likewise resented the ways in which his people were held in contempt and always moving from one place to another. In some places, they were welcomed but in others, mobs would form demanding that the Gypsies move on.

Gyor refused to read the books his father gave him to study and suggested that, instead, he should learn how to pick pockets and thieve his way into money. Gyor's father refused to let him become a criminal. His father observed that many in their clan had come from difficult childhoods yet succeeded in making something of themselves and so intended for Gyor to do likewise.

As a teenager, Gyor was once staying with his family just south of Kielce when he met Maria, who was spending the summer at her aunt's farm. Realizing that Maria was wealthy, Gyor wooed her, hoping that by marrying her, he could enjoy a carefree life of luxury. When he asked Maria to marry him, she accepted the proposal but her aunt Gretchen objected to the match, noting that Gyor had neither an education nor a trade. Furious at his parents for agreeing with Gretchen, Gyor left the clan to live on his own, declaring that he would find a means to get by without hard work.

In the years that followed, Gyor experienced additional difficulties as his lack of education limited the types of jobs he could apply for. He could only obtain work in the most menial sort of labor and still lacked the initiative to take his work seriously. He worked in janitorial services and caring for horses but many of his employers would fire him for his laziness. By the time he was middle-aged, Gyor still had no money and no future. Although he was proud to have made his way through life his own way, he wished he could be young again so that he could avoid his mistakes.

One day, Gyor received a letter from an unidentified friend who had found the location of the Fountain of Youth near Irgiz, Kazakhstan (Gyor evidently learned to read at some point). Gyor saw in this a chance to reclaim his youth. He journeyed to the swamp where the Fountain of Youth resided; the fumes which came from the waters formed into a mist which could make people young by simply breathing them in. Gyor planned to inhale enough to become 15 again but no younger. As he stood in the mist, he felt himself growing younger but as dizziness overtook him, he realized he had spent too much time in the mist and could not find his way out. Continuing to grow younger in his adult-sized clothes, he stumbled out of the swamp. Now an infant, he was found by Greta and Kosku, a Gypsy couple who decided to raise him as their son. Now Gyor truly did have a chance to relive his life -- but would he again disdain hard work and education?

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer (likely either Stan Lee or Larry Lieber) and John Buscema.

    Gyor's adopted parents likely gave him a new name but that's beyond the scope of his sole appearance.

    This profile was completed on 12/15/2022 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Prime Eternal.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Gyor Kosice should not be confused with:

Greta and Kosku

Greta and Kosku were a gypsy couple who lived in the area of Irgiz (Kazakhstan). They chanced to discover Gyor Kosice after he had been regressed into infancy by the vapors of the Fountain of Youth. Not realizing what had become of him, the couple decided to adopt him as their son and raise him as a gypsy.





--Strange Worlds I#3/4

Gretchen

Gretchen was Maria's aunt. She owned a valuable farm south of Kielce, Poland. When she learned that Gyor Kosice wished to marry Maria, she objected and refused to permit them to marry, as she had no regard for Gyor since he possessed neither an education nor a trade. She claimed there was a "bad streak" in Gyor.






--Strange Worlds I#3/4

Maria

Maria was a young woman who fell in love with Gyor Kosice while spending a summer on the farm owned by her aunt Gretchen south of Kielce, Poland. He was motivated to woo her primarily because she came from a wealthy family. When Gyor proposed marriage to Maria, she accepted but when her aunt Gretchen learned of their intentions, she objected because Gyor did not have an education or a trade. Despite Maria's protestations, Gretchen prevented the two from being married.






--Strange Worlds I#3/4

images: (without ads)
Strange Worlds I#3/4, page 1, panel 1 (main)
Strange Worlds I#3/4, page 4, panel 5 (older)
Strange Worlds I#3/4, page 5, panel 8 (Greta/Kosku)
Strange Worlds I#3/4, page 3, panel 5 (Gretchen)
Strange Worlds I#3/4, page 3, panel 1 (Maria)

Appearances:
Strange Worlds I#3/4 (April, 1959) - unidentified writer, John Buscema (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First posted: 09/09/2026
Last updated: 12/15/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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