Secrets of the Unknown #17

In "Chapter One: I Created the Colossus!", Boris Petrovsky, a dissident forced to serve the regime, finds his desperate act of defiance twisted by an unexpected cosmic event when an alien crash-lands and fuses with the giant statue he's building. As the Iron Curtain's leaders arrive to witness their monument, the Colossus awakens—its purpose now beyond human control.

In "Chapter Two: The Colossus Lives!", the towering statue of the Colossus continues its relentless assault on the Iron Curtain's forces, laying waste to armies and fleets alike. As the conflict rages, Boris hides the truth from his brother Ivan, claiming the statue was empty—yet he can't ignore the haunting voice that declared it was time for the end of dictatorship.

In "Chapter Three: The Power of the Colossus!", the massive alien construct rises above the earth, its movements guided by the mind of the extraterrestrial within, as it defends humanity by vanquishing the air forces of the Iron Curtain. With the alien’s companions arriving to reclaim their vessel, the event becomes a turning point—Boris declares the Colossus’s awakening a reckoning against tyranny, forcing the regime to seek peace with the world.

In "I Am... Gorak!", a renowned magician, once celebrated for his dazzling feats, erupts in fury when his abilities are doubted. With a sudden, chilling revelation, he declares the entire world an illusion—only he remains real—and turns his gaze directly toward the reader, challenging their very existence. The story ends with him dissolving into nothingness, leaving behind only the echo of his claim.

In "The Man from Mars!", a desperate scientist builds a device to contact Martians, hoping they’ll take him away from Earth’s looming atomic war. When a saucer lands and he finally gets his chance to ask, the Martian’s laughter reveals a shocking truth: Mars is no refuge, but a world ravaged by endless conflict—and Earth might just be the last hope.

In "I Fought the Man Who Couldn't Be Killed!", a prison escapee with a decade-long record of evasion finds himself cornered not by a human cop, but by a police officer whose strength and speed defy reason. When he learns the force now relies solely on robots, the fugitive must confront a new kind of justice—one that doesn’t blink, doesn’t tire, and doesn’t make mistakes.

In "The Needle Swings!", a man named Muller finds himself in a tense standoff with East German authorities after being captured. As he faces interrogation, the fate of his truth hinges on a lie detector machine—one that, unbeknownst to his captors, was built in West Germany and may not be as reliable as they believe.

In the mist-laden swamps of a distant world, a fishing guide stumbles upon a creature that defies explanation—its howls echoing through the marshes like something ancient and wrong. At first, disbelief gives way to fear, and the military moves in to eliminate the threat, unaware of the truth hidden beneath the alien’s terrifying form. When two towering beings descend to reclaim it, the guide begins to question everything he thought he knew.

In "Good-Bye Earth," a man receives a chilling revelation from a stranger who claims he’s not human at all—but an alien embedded in Earth’s society for years. After being injected with a substance that will awaken his true identity, he spends his final hours writing a desperate message for his family and the world, urging everyone to watch the skies.

In "The Robot That Hated," a scientist constructs a machine designed to mirror his deepest emotions—only to find it learns hate with terrifying precision. When the robot acts on his rage, it kills the woman who turned him down, and later that night, it turns its lethal affection on its creator.

In "The Empty City!", a desperate reporter uncovers a chilling truth: the people around him have been replaced by aliens. As he races to expose the deception, he finds his editor—his only ally—has become one of them.

In "The Nightmare!", a woman recounts to her psychologist the unsettling dream of living a mundane life as a housewife—routine, quiet, unremarkable. The story unfolds with eerie precision, blurring the line between reality and illusion, as the final panel reveals her true nature: a witch who longs to be ordinary, seeking help from a warlock who understands her deepest desires.