Secrets of the Unknown #174
In "The Man Who Painted on Air," baby Billy Bailey’s sudden refusal to sleep through the night becomes an unexpected lifeline when his restless wakefulness helps his parents escape a house fire they might have otherwise slept through. Written by Joe Gill and brought to life by Charles Nicholas’s expressive art with inks by Jon D'Agostino, this eerie tale from Secrets of the Unknown #174 (1977) blends quiet domestic moments with a creeping sense of the uncanny. The haunting cover, a striking piece by Steve Ditko, captures the story’s unsettling mood before you even open the book.
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Baby Billy Bailey suddenly refuses to sleep through the night at 13 months. Good thing, since he keeps his folks awake to notice and escape a house fire they might have otherwise slept through.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).