Secrets of the Unknown #172

In "Back from the Dead!" from Secrets of the Unknown #172 (1977), a fugitive seeking refuge on Easter Island stumbles upon an ancient scroll that awakens the island’s mysterious stone heads—only to discover they’re not statues at all, but alien beings who take him captive as a specimen. The story unfolds with eerie stillness and sudden dread, turning a remote island into a portal to something far beyond human understanding.

In "The Bomb," a mysterious device descends on New York City, its relentless ticking triggering mass panic and a full evacuation. As military forces stand by, the object suddenly halts its sound, floats upward, and vanishes—its creators having concluded Earth is lifeless, and so withdrew their signal.

In "Run, Rocky, Run!" from *Secrets of the Unknown* #172 (1977), a desperate fugitive sees a last chance at escape in the news of a new experimental rocket—only to realize too late that it’s a tiny, pilotless prototype built for testing, not for carrying anyone. The story unfolds in just five pages, capturing a tense, high-stakes moment where ambition meets the cold reality of scale.