Book excerpt: Curious, If True: Strange Tales Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - In these short stories, never previously published together, Mrs Gaskell (1810-1865) unleashes her fascination with the macabre and uncanny. These short fictions provide outlets for a strange and powerful imagination.Strange Tales is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in Strange Tales. It was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the groundbreaking work of writer-artist Jim Steranko. Two previous, unrelated magazines also bore that title.