The Unexpected #174

Part of DC's 1976 Bicentennial celebration, The Unexpected #174 dares readers to face its signature brand of menace and mystery with this genuinely unsettling cover by Luis Dominguez. A multi-armed goddess-like figure looms over a kneeling man clutching a glowing lamp, while a body lies prone in the foreground and an onlooker recoils in horror — the speech bubbles asking "He was strangled! Who could do such a terrible thing?!" set the mood perfectly. Inside, George Kashdan and Don Perlin deliver "Gauntlet of Fear," promising exactly the kind of chilling anthology thrills this series does so well.