Astounding Stories #86
In "The Imitator's War," a man awakens disoriented in a thick fog, his identity erased—until a mysterious stranger offers help through hypnosis. As memories return, he recalls a life as a circus performer, and the truth of his fate begins to unfold. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko, with inks by Ditko and letters by Artie Simek, this haunting tale unfolds with quiet dread. The cover, by Dick Giordano, captures the eerie stillness of the moment.
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A man finds himself lost in a fog with no idea who he is. He is approached by a stranger who offers to help him through hypnosis. The hypnosis recovers his lost memory and he realizes that he was a circus performer who has died from a fall from the high wire. The stranger is revealed as Death who was delayed from their appointed meeting and is here to usher him into the next world.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).