At one point in the story, the narrative takes a very weird, very dark turn. Dieter Lumpen’s companion takes him out to a remote island where this weird masked man lives by himself, listening to old tango records in the night. The story that they tell is that the man was a world-famous tango performer who was caught in an airplane fire and they let the world believe he had died. Instead, he retired to this island. If you look closely, you can see that he doesn’t actually have hands – just stumps that are mostly hidden in the sleeves of his smoking jacket. 

This allegory appears just after Lumpen has been offered a lucrative contract in Hollywood, following his star turn in the pirate movie. It’s a beautifully presented twist, because it comments on the main character’s dilemma without actual conflict.

(Heavy Metal issue #121, July 1989 – Page 45 Caribe: Dieter Lumpen by Pellejero and Zentner)