The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #130
"Chapter XIII: City in the Clouds" from The Empire Strikes Back Weekly #130 (1980) delivers a tense, atmospheric tale set in a near-future New York City gripped by fear of a mysterious plague. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated with striking precision by Steve Ditko—whose inks lend the story a haunting, almost surreal quality—the issue follows the city’s frantic search for a fugitive believed to be carrying the contagion, only to uncover a startling truth behind the panic. The cover, a dynamic collaboration by Al Williamson and Carlos Garzón, captures the city’s skyline in dramatic, cloud-draped silhouette.
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In the year 2000 all of New York City is searching for a 'plague carrier' who is attempting to escape notice and flee the city. He is apprehended at a transportation center and the police remove the 'plague' from him which turns out to be a handgun he had stolen from a museum which officials had worried could back bring the plague of war.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).