Midnight Tales #14

Charlton's horror anthology returns with issue #14, and Wayne Howard's cover sets the tone perfectly — a casually seated older gentleman holds court while an enormous, horned, fanged monster looms directly behind him, its lolling tongue and wild eyes stealing the scene, as a stylish young woman stands nearby and a visitor reaches toward the host. The deadpan speech bubble — "Oh, he's a very fine watchdog… the real problem, though, was housebreaking him…" — captures exactly the kind of dark, dry wit that made Midnight Tales such a treat in 1975. With Howard handling every creative duty from script to lettering, this is a remarkably personal vision of horror-comedy done with real craft.