The Phantom Stranger #19

Neal Adams delivers a genuinely unsettling Arctic scene on this 1972 DC thriller: massive, ghostly blue hands reach down from above as a group of terrified explorers in heavy cold-weather gear scramble across the ice below, while the Phantom Stranger's enigmatic visage looms silently in the background. The title alone — "Return to the Tomb of the Ice Giants!" — promises something ancient and deeply dangerous lurking beneath the frozen wastes. At 52 pages for just 25 cents, this oversized issue pairs Adams' chilling cover with interior work by the supremely talented Jim Aparo and writing by Len Wein, making it a fine snapshot of DC's early-'70s horror-adventure era at its atmospheric best.