MARTIAN BUSINESSMAN

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (Martian) (presumably, see comments) (1950s era)

Occupation: Businessman, travel agency owner

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: His clients (including Fred Cutter, and an unidentified man)

Enemies: Sam Shore

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Small Fares Inc., Room 1203, Worth Building, New York City; originally from Canal 14, planet Mars (see comments)

First Appearance: Astonishing#46/3 (February, 1956)

Powers/Abilities: Although claiming to be from Mars, he appeared to be quite human and displayed no paranormal physical abilities.

He was equipped with Reducto Gas, which shrank people down to a height of 5 inches and proportionally reduced their weight; he also had Enlargo Gas, which restored the shrunken humans to their normal size (see comments).

Height: Unrevealed (5'10"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Black

History:
(Astonishing#46/3 (fb) - BTS) - Supposedly, this Martian was exposed to Reducto Gas, which shrank him down to the height of 5 inches; then he was placed inside a package and mailed to Earth. When the package was opened, Enlargo Gas returned him to his normal height (see comments).

   Seeing an opportunity to compete in the price war between the rail and airplane transportation industries, the entrepreneurial Martian started his own business: Small Fares Inc., a "back-alley" travel agency that transported shrunken humans through the U.S. Postal System. By using the size-altering gases, he could put miniaturized people into packages and mail them to their chosen destinations, and he charged fees that were greatly reduced from other conventional travel services.

(Astonishing#46/3) - Mailman Sam Shore was collecting the mail deposited in a public mailbox when he accidentally dropped a package, and he heard a moan come from it. Figuring the package contained a small animal--maybe a turtle or a baby alligator--Shore was startled when he picked it up and noticed the labeling: CONTENTS: ONE HUMAN.

   Shore took the strange package to his supervisor, who figured it was some kind of gag; but when they opened it, a puff of gas poured out, and they were shocked to find a doll-sized man inside. Then suddenly, the tiny man began to grow with amazing speed until he reached life-size. But the man was displeased to learn that he was still in New York rather than his intended destination of Walla Walla, Washington, and he walked away in a huff before the two dumbfounded postal employees could even ask him how he got into a six-inch container.

   After they gathered their wits, Shore's supervisor told him to keep a lookout for more of the small packages marked CONTENTS: ONE HUMAN. Within the next week, Sam Shore found more of the strange boxes which all had one thing in common -- their destination was almost always clear across the country. Wanting to learn what was behind the mysterious packages, Shore's chief had him travel across the country to personally deliver one of the boxes to an address in San Francisco, to see who received it and who got out of the package.

   After arriving in San Francisco, Shore delivered the package to the Cutter household, then peeked through a side window as Mrs. Cutter opened it -- a puff of gas poured out, and she welcomed her shrunken husband Fred back home after he returned to his normal size. Shore returned to the front door and rang the doorbell, then asked Fred Cutter how he got so small that he was able to get back home in a six-inch package, but Cutter refused to answer any questions.

   Shore returned to New York and through his continuing investigation, he discovered that all the mysterious packages were deposited in the same mailbox. Changing from his postal uniform to civilian clothes, Shore watched that particular mailbox; four days later, Shore's vigil was rewarded when he saw a man (the Martian) drop one of the baffling packages into that mailbox. Shore followed the businessman back to his one room office--Small Fares Inc.--and pretended to be a customer who wanted to go to Los Angeles. The businessman ushered Shore to a scale and weighed him, then figured at Shore's reduced weight, the postage to get him to Los Angeles would be 22 cents, plus five dollars for his usual service charge (...a bargain when compared to traveling there by plane or train).

   When the puzzled Shore asked him how he could get him to Los Angeles so cheaply, the businessman explained how he used Reducto Gas and Enlargo Gas to mail his clients to their destinations -- he further explained that on his home-world, this method of transportation was found to be even cheaper than traveling on a non-scheduled flying saucer, and showed Shore the box that he himself had used to come to Earth (see comments).

   However, the impatient Shore doubted the businessman's whole story and demanded to be told the truth; but by then it was too late, for the businessman had already sprayed a canister of Reducto Gas that shrank Shore to the size of a doll...

Comments: Created by Paul S. Newman and Bob McCarthy.

This 5-page story--Contents: One Human!--was reprinted in Vault of Evil#13 (September, 1974), from which these images were actually taken.

   Although some Martians have appeared to be quite human (e.g. Martians of Reality-61250), it's also possible that this Martian businessman was using shape-shifting or illusion to impersonate an Earthman.

   Sam Shore was the protagonist in the story, so very little was revealed about the Martian businessman, who didn't even appear until the last panel of page 4; in fact, the only reference that he was a Martian was implied by the return address on the package in which he supposedly arrived (see red circle) -- since someone had to open that box when it got to Earth, that could imply his fellow Martians were already infiltrating human society.

   Of course, it's also possible that he was actually just a crackpot human scientist who had discovered size-altering Pym Particles years earlier, and he was just delusional about his planet of origin.

   I'm guessing that the Reducto Gas also placed the human subjects in a state of suspended animation, so they slept during their journeys and would have no need for food or "rest stops," and the Enlargo Gas had a stimulant to revive them after they reached their destinations.

It remains to be explained how so many different races/beings allegedly originated from Mars.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.








CLARIFICATIONS:
The Martian businessman has no known connections to:

Sam Shore has no known connections to:

Sam Shore

A mail-carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in New York City, he discovered that shrunken humans were being mailed across the country.

During the course of his investigation, he traced the source of the miniaturized people to a "back-alley" travel agency: Small Fares, Inc.

When he went to the business, Shore pretended to be a customer who wanted to use the service to go to Los Angeles.

Shore eventually learned that the owner of the business was a Martian (see comments) who used Reducto Gas and Enlargo Gas on the people that he mailed; but by then, Shore had been reduced to the size of a doll.

The ultimate fate of the shrunken Sam Shore was unrevealed.

--Astonishing#46/3

unidentified man

A client of Small Fares Inc. in New York City, he was shrunken down to a height of 5 inches with Reducto Gas, then mailed in a package to Walla Walla, Washington.

When mailman Sam Shore collected mail deposited in a public mailbox, he noticed the package was marked CONTENTS: ONE HUMAN, so he took it to his supervisor; they opened the package, and a puff of Enlargo Gas restored the tiny man to his normal height.

But after he learned he was still in New York rather than Walla Walla, the upset man walked away in a huff, while the two postal employees were too dumbstruck by what had occurred to follow him.

(Comment: I noticed an editorial error -- although he apparently wanted to go to Walla Walla, Washington, the package he was in was actually addressed to Los Angeles, California.)

--Astonishing#46/3

Fred Cutter

A married man, he and his wife lived in a house at 131 San Rafael Drive, San Francisco, California.

Fred had gone on a trip to New York City, and when he wanted to return home, he became a client of Small Fares Inc. He was shrunken down to the height of 5 inches with Reducto Gas and placed in a package addressed to his wife, then mailed back to his home.

After his wife received the package and opened it, Enlargo Gas restored Fred to his regular height -- he and his wife were unaware that mailman Sam Shore was watching as he returned to his normal size.

Afterward, Shore asked him how he had gotten so small that he could fit into the package; but Fred refused to divulge any information about Small Fares Inc. because he didn't want to spoil things for anyone else who might use the business.

(Comment: The name of Fred Cutter's wife was unrevealed, but her first initial--as seen on the box's mailing address--was "R".)

--Astonishing#46/3

images: (without ads)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p5, pan7 (Martian businessman kneeling by shrunken Sam Shore)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p5, pan3 (Martian businessman explains his business methods of using Reduco Gas and Enlargo Gas)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p5, pan2 (Martian businessman; Sam Shore [background])
Vault of Evil#13/4, p5, pan5 (Martian businessman holding package in which he was mailed to Earth)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p1, pan1 (Sam Shore [wearing postal uniform] drops package while collecting from mailbox)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p5, pan6 (Sam Shore [wearing civilian clothes] speaking to Small Fares Inc. owner)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p1, pan3 (package containing shrunken unidentified man, Sam Shore [right])
Vault of Evil#13/4, p2, pan3 (shrunken unidentified man inside package)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p2, pan4 (shrunken unidentified man begins to grow as Enlargo Gas is released; supervisor, Sam Shore [background])
Vault of Evil#13/4, p2, pan6 (unidentified man restored to normal height; supervisor, Sam Shore [background])
Vault of Evil#13/4, p3, pan3 (supervisor hands package containing shrunken Fred Cutter to Sam Shore)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p3, pan4 (Sam Shore delivers package to Mrs. Cutter)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p3, pan6 (when package is opened, shrunken Fred Cutter begins to grow as Enlargo Gas is released; Mrs. Cutter's hand)
Vault of Evil#13/4, p3, pan7 (Mrs. Cutter welcome enlarged Fred Cutter back home)

Appearances:
Astonishing#46/3 (February, 1956) - Paul S. Newman (writer), Bob McCarthy (pencils/inks), Morrie Kuramoto (letters), Stan Lee (editor)
Vault of Evil#13/4 (September, 1974) - reprint

First posted: 10/15/2026
Last updated: 10/15/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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