File:Tales to Astonish Vol 1 32 028.jpg

Description
A man claims to be a martian but no one believes him. A newspaper editor thinks that he can sell papers with the story, so he contacts the man and asks him how he'd prove that he was from Mars. The man replies he can improve on the design of any Earth device. They make arrangements with the fire dept. for him to work on a fire truck ladder which he claims will be able to reach any size height. What his modifications actually allow him to do is reach orbit and propel himself back to Mars. The editor and the astonished crowd are flabbergasted that they had the story of the century in their hands and let it slip through, and then the realization sets in that since he looked the same as any of them, how many other Martians might be hiding amongst them?