Strange Suspense Stories #74

A massive, roaring creature dominates the fiery red cover of this 1965 Charlton anthology, looming over two desperate climbers clinging to a cliff face as one fires what appears to be a flare gun upward in a last-ditch effort. The cover, penciled and inked by Dick Giordano, captures that queasy thrill of being cornered somewhere you absolutely cannot escape — the speech balloon says it all: "The only way out is straight down!" Inside, writer Joe Gill and artist Rocco Mastroserio deliver the kind of tight, atmospheric storytelling Charlton did so well in this era with "Barton Street.