Secrets of the Unknown #85
In "The Astronaut and the Pirates," a man escapes a desert jail with nothing but a makeshift compass and a dwindling canteen, only to face a cruel twist when a stray bullet empties his water. As he staggers toward a distant dune, a shimmering oasis appears—filled with beautiful women who watch silently as he walks away, convinced it’s a mirage. Steve Ditko’s stark, expressive art brings the story’s haunting isolation to life, while Bill Lignante’s cover captures the surreal allure of the scene.
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A man breaks out of jail on the edge of a desert and vows to cross it. Unfortunately, while a guard fired at him, he must have hit the canteen he prepared as it is now empty. As he pushes himself to crest a dune, he spies an oasis with beautiful women. He rationalizes that it must be a mirage and pushes himself to continue following the compass he has crafted deeper into the desert. After he is gone, the beautiful women wonder why the stranger turned away.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).