But seeing his opportunity for riches slipping away caused Gene to violently snap--he grabbed Markham and recklessly pushed him into a lab table, causing the scientist's elbow to knock over the rack of test-tubes containing MOLD-GROWTH X. As the falling test-tubes shattered on the floor, a green gas was released that flooded the lab. Suddenly, the entire structure and everything within began to expand, while Markham and Gene were unaffected--although Markham understood what was actually happening, Gene was under the mistaken impression that the two of them were shrinking (see comments).

   Irrationally blaming Markham for making them both "midgets," the insanely enraged Gene began to chase after him, and the scientist had no choice but to flee. The two "doll-sized" men began to climb a giant staircase, but then the pursuing Gene fell from a step and struck his head, knocking himself unconscious as he landed.

   Realizing the danger they faced, Markham dragged the insensate Gene out the enlarged house's giant front door--fortunately, the door was ajar, otherwise he never would have been able to get it open. Just in time, the scientist and his unconscious assistant reached the safety of the outdoors, for behind them, the enlarged house blew up, bursting like an over-inflated balloon.

   Shortly afterward, Dr. Markham saw a fellow scientist in the crowd that gathered, and he explained to him what had happened--the gas from the mold only reacted upon inanimate material, causing the tremendous expansion of his house and everything inside, while he and Gene had remained at their normal sizes.

   Meanwhile, the unconscious Gene had revived, still under the delusion that he had shrunken.

Comments: Created by an unidentified writer and Bob Powell.

This 4-page story--The Shrinking Man!--was done with a surprise-ending--it wasn't until the final panel that the reader learned Dr. Markham and Gene had retained their normal sizes all along, while it was the house (and everything within) which had actually grown.

Maybe MOLD-GROWTH X contained "Growth Pollen" from Kosmos.

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Dr. Markham has no known connections to:

• Markham Moros, extradimensional being who preached a message of "cosmic harmony" @ World of Mystery#3/3
  
• Markham, Chess Master agent, Night Raven foe @ Savage Action#3/2
  
• Markham, female corrections officer on Ryker's Island, Mister Fear (Larry Cranston) ally @ Daredevil II#105
  
• Christine Markham, associate of Shang-Chi @ Master of Kung-Fu I#98
• Cylla Markham, alias Scylla of the Reavers @ Uncanny X-Men I#260
  
• Maxwell Markham, alias of the Grizzly @ Amazing Spider-Man I#139
  
• Robert Markham, alias Morpheus, human mutate @ Moon Knight I#12
  
• any other characters with similar names

Gene has no known connections to:

• Gene, art director for Woman magazine @ Ms. Marvel I#19
  
• Gene Omega-20, of Earth-700's 22nd century, human cyborg @ Marvel: The Lost Generation#7
  
• any other characters with similar names

MOLD-GROWTH X has no known connections to:

• Virus X, altered terrestrial virus created by AIM, further mutated Thing (Ben Grimm) @ Marvel Two-in-One#81
  
• any other characters or substances with similar names

Gene Gene (last name unrevealed) was employed by Dr. Markham as a lab technician--although Gene was inefficient, his job was easy and well-paying for one of his limited talents. When Markham announced that he had discovered MOLD-GROWTH X, the avaricious Gene thought that he was entitled to half the money that the scientist would get for selling it. But when Markham explained to Gene that he planned to give his discovery to the world rather than sell it, Gene became angry--he recklessly pushed Markham into a lab table, causing the scientist to knock over a test-tube rack containing MOLD-GROWTH X.

When the falling test-tubes shattered on the floor, a green gas was released that flooded the lab. Suddenly, the entire structure and everything within began to expand, but Gene was under the mistaken impression that both he and Markham were shrinking. Irrationally blaming Markham for their "tiny" condition ("You've made us midgets!"), the insanely enraged Gene began to chase after the scientist. But while climbing some enlarged stairs, Gene fell and struck his head, knocking himself unconscious. Markham dragged Gene outside to safety, just as the enlarged house burst like an over-inflated balloon. Later, when the stunned Gene revived, he was still under the delusion that he was shrunken.  (Comment: That guy in the foreground of the fourth panel is Dr. Markham's fellow scientist--despite his having a similar taste in outerwear, he's probably not Dick Tracy.) --Marvel Tales I#150/3

MOLD-GROWTH X It was a new form of mold discovered by Dr. Markham while he was trying to produce an antibiotic, he dubbed it MOLD-GROWTH X. This mold had an unusual property--when disturbed, it emitted a green gas that caused the size of inanimate material to increase, while organic matter was unaffected. During a scuffle between Markham and his lab assistant Gene, a rack of test-tubes containing the mold was knocked to the floor, and the gas was released from the shattered containers. The gas flooded Markham's home/laboratory, causing it to grow, until the structure got so large that it burst like an over-inflated balloon. --Marvel Tales I#150/3

Dr. Markham's house/laboratory Located somewhere in America, it was where Markham lived and conducted his research. When a green gas produced by MOLD-GROWTH X saturated the structure, the house's size increased until it eventually blew up like a bursting balloon. (Comment: There was the only panel in the story which depicted the exterior of the building. Since there didn't seem to be damage to any other houses, my guess is that Markham's house was on a lot that was some distance away from his nearest neighbors.) --Marvel Tales I#150/3

images: (without ads)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p1, pan1 (Main Image - Dr. Markham)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p2, pan4 (Headshot - Dr. Markham)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p3, pan3 (Dr. Markham (left) and Gene, as gas makes laboratory start to grow)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p4, pan7 (Dr. Markham explains how gas caused house to grow)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p1, pan1 (Gene)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p1, pan3 (Gene broods)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p3, pan4 (Gene (left) blames Dr. Markham for making them "shrink," as Dr. Markham climbs enlarged stairs)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p4, pan7 (stunned Gene, under the mistaken impression that he has shrunk; unidentified fellow scientist (foreground))
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p2, pan6 (Gene knocks Dr. Markham into test tubes containing MOLD-GROWTH X)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p2, pan7 (test tubes of MOLD-GROWTH X shatter on floor, releasing gas; Gene and Dr. Markham (background) )
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p3, pan1 (clouds of MOLD-GROWTH X gas fill house; Gene and Dr. Markham)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p4, pan5 (interior of Markham's house, Dr. Markham drags unconscious Gene to giant door)
Marvel Tales I#150/3, p4, pan6 (Dr. Markham drags Gene to safety (silhouettes), as Dr. Markham's enlarged house bursts like a bubble)