Here’s a rarity–the cliffhanger successfully ties the issue together. Gerber–with Mike Ploog joining him on the art–spends most of the issue bringing the players together. Rory and the biker chick, a couple circus performers, a dead clown and Man-Thing. They all converge at the end, where Gerber finds time for a fight scene.
He also finds time to bring a little more humanity to Man-Thing, which is an emphasis of the entire issue. It opens with the dead clown and Man-Thing finding him, lots of second person narration describing Man-Thing’s failure to properly access his lost humanity.
The odd cast of characters–there are also some small town meanies mad at Rory for being a hippy (they ought to be mad at him for being such a lame character)–gives Ploog a lot to do. He’s good on the swamp stuff, great on the various people.
It’s got problems, but works.
B
CREDITS
Night of the Laughing Dead; writer, Steve Gerber; penciller, Mike Ploog; inker, Frank Chiaramonte; colorist, Linda Lessmann; letterer, Artie Simek; editor, Roy Thomas; publisher, Marvel Comics.
Comics Fondle 
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