Swamp Thing #12

Swamp Thing goes prehistoric in this October 1974 entry from DC's "Line of Super-Stars," and Nestor Redondo's cover makes an immediate, visceral impression: the muck-encrusted mockery of a man is wedged directly inside the gaping jaws of a massive dinosaur, bracing a bone or branch across its teeth to keep from being swallowed whole, while a second enormous clawed creature looms at the left. It's a primal, almost elemental image — one monster against another in a fiery, palm-fringed landscape — that sets the stage perfectly for "The Eternity Man." At just 20 cents, this issue delivers the kind of bold, imaginative spectacle that made Swamp Thing one of 1974's most compelling reads.