Strange Tales #16 (V2)

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The issue begins with Cloak meeting up with Mr. Jip. Cloak explains there’s nothing Mr. Jip can do to seize control of him anymore; and Mr. Jip smiles and assures Cloak, it’s not him he’s after anymore; but rather Tandy Bowen – better known to the world as Dagger, Cloak’s partner.

Elsewhere, we see a man named Clarence Walker, who is better known as Sugah Man. He’s a pimp who sells the services of the women he has working for him for physical pleasures. The money he earns from their services goes partially into purchasing drugs, which he injects into his women to keep them in his thrall; the rest goes to his life style. However, on this night, a shadow rises from his bed when he goes to sleep and the following morning Clarence drives all of his prostitutes to a drug rehabilitation center; donates his Cadillac to an orphanage and uses the rest of his money to get a monastery, and surrender all of his Earthly possessions, except for the brown, simple robe and the wooden cross he wearing. And the following day, he realizes what he’s done – to his own horror.

The scene shifts to a man named Martin Thorne who is a ruthless business man, whose sole concern is making a profit, no matter the cost to anyone else around him. Today he’s purchased a hospital with the intent on tearing it down and building a sky rise. However, a shadowy form emerges and takes over – and he donates his money to charity, disbands all of his companies, liquidates his stocks and holdings to give to those in need, the hospital he just purchased is donated to the community, and the next day – when he regains his senses, he sees himself in simple clothing, holding a shovel, somewhere deep in Latin America, helping divert a river to a small village in need.

Back at the Holy Ghost Church, Dagger awakens to find Cloak sitting in the darkness. She feeds him some of her living light and asks what is wrong with him. Cloak does not immediately answer.

The scene shifts to Alberto Ruiz, a dealer of dope and stolen arms. When he goes to bed, he stands and goes to the police station; confessing all he’s done, and also confessing all the names of his clients. He eventually lands in jail – and shares a cell with most of the very people he had turned on.

Scene shift, and Rebecca “Rusty” Nales has located the only person to escape the night Brigit O’Reilly was killed – Samuel Brady, who has become a homeless man, and drowning in his alcohol. She asks what happened that night and he explains that they all plotted to kill O’Reilly because of Falcone’s idea; but what came after them was a monster – a monster that wore O’Reilly’s face. Rebecca grabs Samuel and hauls him off to jail, then decides to look up Cloak and Dagger next.

Speaking of Cloak and Dagger, Cloak asks Dagger if she trusts him; and she tells him she does. He then teleports her to a place of safety; but as soon as he teleports away, that place looks terrible. Cloak then teleports to Mr. Jip and says he refuses to acknowledge the deal and he will not surrender Dagger to him. Mr. Jip chains him and explains that he’s already done exactly what he wanted – and the place of safety that Cloak thought he left Dagger in was a place suggested by Mr. Jip and Dagger now finds herself surrounded by the dark shadows of all the horrible people who had their darkness extracted from them by Night (one of Mr. Jip’s lackies), which explains why they were all doing generous things after that darkness was taken out of them.