Strange Suspense Stories #39

This 1958 Charlton anthology delivers an arresting split-scene cover by Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio: a modern man in a business suit sits stunned against a wall, while beside him a muscular, bare-chested gladiator raises a dagger triumphantly before a packed Roman coliseum crowd. The jarring collision of contemporary and ancient worlds hints at the kind of imaginative, boundary-crossing tales that made Strange Suspense Stories such a compelling read — and this issue also features "Mystery from Mars," written by Joe Gill with art and inks by Steve Ditko and lettering by Jon D'Agostino.