The Steve Ditko Archives #1
"Stretching Things" from The Steve Ditko Archives #1 (2014) showcases the singular imagination of Steve Ditko, who both drew and inked the story with meticulous precision. In this surreal tale, alien guard Ogu, stationed in space, ventures to Earth—unaware it’s home to a circus where a game of poker leads to an unexpected cosmic twist. When Ogu wins the sky itself in a hand, he’s forced to confront the consequences of his actions, setting off a trial that challenges both his duty and his understanding of responsibility. The cover, also by Ditko, captures the story’s dreamlike tone with his signature detail and wit.
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Ogu is an alien assigned a guard post in space. He notes a small planet, Earth in actuality, and goes there to investigate. He runs across a circus. The circus performers try to shark him in a poker game, but Ugo beats them at a "sky's the limit" hand and takes the sky with him. Realizing the people needed the oxygen to survive, he attempts to return the sky. He is arrested for abandoning his post and brought to trial before he can do so. He tries to convince his prosecutors to permit him to return the sky.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).