Cover Date: April 1995; On Sale Date: February 1995
Writer: Larry Hama; Artist: Keith Pollard; Inker: Bill Reinhold; Letterer: Bill Oakley/NJQ; Colorist: John Kalisz; Editor: Marie Javins; Editor in Chief: Bobbie Chase; Cover Artist: Henry Martinez
John Blaze has barricaded himself inside his trailer with the eyes of the Kristall Starrer, who has returned from the realm of shadow to reclaim his eyes for himself. While the other members of the Quentin Carnival watch over the frantic Clara, the shadowy Crystal Gazer makes his way to Blaze’s trailer. The eyeballs jump out of their tank to attack Blaze while the Gazer breaks through the barricade; Blaze responds by blasting it with hellfire and remembering how he got to this point.
Flashback to yesterday, when the corrupted Clara is visited by the Oculist who sent her the eyes of the Kristall Starrer. He tells her that she must take out the eyes because the Crystal Gazer has returned for them. The Oculist tells her the story of his childhood in Germany during World War II, where he was the assistant to the Crystal Gazer as he attempted to pass through dimensions to see the light from the beginning of time. When the boy woke up the next day the Gazer was gone save for his eyes, preserved in a jar of liquid. The Oculist tries to take the eyes out of Clara’s head but he’s stopped by Blaze and kicked out of the carnival. That night, after the stunt show, Blaze is told by police Captain Rawlins that the Oculist was found dead, strangled with his eyes gouged out.
Back in the present day, Blaze is firing hellfire at the shadow form of the Crystal Gazer but stops when he sees ghosts of his wife and children. John starts to strangle himself before realizing that the Gazer is just trying to guilt him into killing himself. Blaze grabs the headlight of his motorcycle and channels hellfire through it, producing a blinding light that sends the Gazer away. Rawlins and Clara break into the trailer and Clara reclaims the eyes, allowing them to burrow into her head despite Blaze’s warning that she should destroy them. Rawlins leaves, saying he knows when it’s time to walk away.