The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #126
"Chapter IX: Sanctuary!" from The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #126 (1980) delivers a striking twist on the idea of refuge, set in a future where Earth’s overpopulation forces even the wealthy to farm weekly. When a rich man escapes to a seemingly idyllic, fertile planet, he quickly learns the hard way that paradise comes at a price—both the land and its few inhabitants are desperate, demanding eight hours of labor just to survive. Written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, with art and inks by Larry Lieber, and a cover by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzón, this issue blends social commentary with sci-fi unease in a story that’s as unsettling as it is unexpected.
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In the future, Earth is overpopulated, and even the very rich must work an hour on a farm each week to produce enough food. A rich man leaves Earth and finds a sparsely-populated and fertile planet to live on. He discovers that the plants are actually predatory, and that the few peaceful inhabitants are so short of food that he must work eight hours a day to feed himself.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).