So here’s a back issue of particular interest to me, Mike, the guy what runs Sterling Silver Comics who also happens to be a huge fan of the comic book character Swamp Thing. Issue #140, the issue just previous to the one pictured above, featured what was supposed to be the first part of an ongoing serial starring the Patchwork Man, a misunderstood Frankenstein’s Monster-ish menace spinning out of the early issues of the original Swamp Thing series. I bought my own copy of that issue, a few decades back, but was never able to track down a copy of #141…I was never even able to confirm that there was a Patchwork Man story in #141, as the price guide didn’t mention it, and there was no World Wide Web at the time were I could further research the matter.

In the intervening years I did discover that the Patchwork Man only had his one installment that was published in the United States, and it turns out the second part intended for the following issue only saw print in a foreign release (that, alas, I have not yet acquired).

Anyway, back to the issue above…there was a four-month publishing gap between issues #140 and #141, during which apparently some editorial decisions were made and it was decided not to continue on with ol’ Patchie’s adventures. What we got instead were a couple of stand-alone horror stories, including one written by Batman’s co-creator Bill Finger…who actually had died a couple of years prior to this comic’s release, so this story had been sitting around a while.

This is the first copy of this comic I’d ever encountered, after all these years of being curious about it even after learning about its unfortunate lack of Swamp Thing-related content. I’m glad I finally got to see it in person!

A team-up for the ages! The Flaming Carrot, the oddball surreal superhero, joining forces with Herbie Popnecker, the star of an equally-strange comic book series from the 1960s! If I recall correctly, Carrot creator Bob Burden had actually sought out Herbie’s creator, Ogden Whitney, for an artistic collaboration but Mr. Whitney had unfortunately passed away in the 1970s. Burden is more than up to the task of presenting the inherent weirdness of Herbie, however. FUN MIKE FACT: the Flaming Carrot’s secret identity is a long-standing mystery, and I was half-convinced that the Flaming Carrot was, in fact, a grown-up Herbie. One would think this particular issue would have put that theory to rest, but frankly, given the sorts of adventures both characters were involved in, that still isn’t a deal-breaker!

A classic example of the “villain as hero” comic book series, The Joker had a short but memorable run in the 1970s. Because he was the villain, despite being the star of the book he usually met with a Comics Code Authority-mandated defeat at the end of each issue. However, plenty of guest-stars, heroes and villains, popped up in the comic, including Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor, the Creeper, Catwoman, and, as in the issue pictured above, Sherlock Holmes! Okay, in the story it was an actor playing Sherlock Holmes, but close enough! An oddball classic by Denny O’Neil, Irv Novick and Tex Blaisdell!

This issue from DC Comics’ short-lived adaptation of the popular 1970s sitcom, illustrated by Ric Estrada and Bob Oksner, was written by Mark Evanier, now known for his collaboration with Sergio Aragones on Groo the Wanderer and his work on various iterations of the Garfield cartoon. However, he had also worked on the actual Welcome Back, Kotter TV show as an editor and writer, making him quite ideal for this particular assignment!

The modern era of Thanos begins in 1990’s Silver Surfer #34, returning after his seeming death in the late 1970s (and a cameo appearance here and there). And he’s hardly left after that, starring in multiple event series (such as Infinity Gauntlet and its several follow-ups), and showing up everywhere from Ka-Zar to Guardians of the Galaxy to even the Marvel live-action movies ever since reappearing in that comic pictured above. Not too bad for a dead guy! Thanos will be featured in a new ongoing monthly series due out in November, so clearly he’s not going away again any time soon!