Man-Thing #5

Marvel's muck-encrusted swamp guardian dominates this May 1974 cover with genuine menace, the massive Man-Thing clutching a red-suited, limp figure in its mossy grip while two alarmed bystanders — a blonde woman and a dark-haired man — back away in the swampy background. The cover art by Mike Ploog and John Romita captures that perfect balance of horror and pathos that made this series one of Marvel's most atmospheric offerings of the era. With the story titled "Night of the Laughing Dead," this issue promises the kind of eerie, swamp-soaked tension that writer Steve Gerber delivered so memorably throughout his run.