Unexpected 152 (1973)
The Dark Secret of the Swamp

Kind of looks like a Swamp Thing story but it isn’t. Swampy may not make an appearance in the book BUT he does find his way into a couple house ads!

I enjoy collecting and researching swamp/bog monster related books that’d inspired Swamp Thing or were inspired by Swamp Thing. Last week I received a shipment of books related to the muck-monster genre. A number of the books are from the early 70s. The 70s seemed to be the height of swamp monster comic book characters.

Some of those books promise more monster than what’s actually delivered. Unexpected 152 is one of those comics.

Nick Cardy’s cover along with the title page gives the reader the impression that a swamp monster plays a key role in this issue but that’s unfortunately not the case. None the less, this book certainly delivers mystery, horror and monsters.

Below is about all the swamp monster you get in this story.

The artwork is great. This final panels depicting a man being impaled by a weather vane is quite cinematic.

The story, Creeping Beauty depicts an ol’ fashioned duel as well as some really gnarly monsters that look very similar to Bissette and Totleben’s Un-Men insects.

I was very excited to stumble upon these fellas

Ads:
Not only did this DC title provide swamp monster goodness, it also features two ads involving Swamp Thing.

Behind the scenes at the DC comic world provides fun articles and insight. The logo graphic also provides a little Swamp Thing cover.

Right behind Wonder Woman, a portion of Swamp Thing 5 can be spotted.

This subscription form from the back of the comic lists Swamp Thing along some other great “Mystery” titles.