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    Man-Thing #5

    Man-Thing » Man-Thing #5 - Night of the Laughing Dead released by Marvel on May 1974.

    Short summary describing this issue.

    Night of the Laughing Dead last edited by KillerZ on 01/02/23 10:44AM View full history

    It's no laughing matter when a clown takes his life on the banks of the Citrusville swamps. A circus of consequences ensues, as Ruth and Richard find themselves center ring when solving the mystery of the clown's disappearance. Man-Thing is deeply misunderstood. The spirit of Darrel the Clown rises.

    "Night of the Laughing Dead" marks a unique chapter for the Man-Thing as artist Mike Ploog joins the cast of comic creators. This volume of Man-Thing paints a tragic tale of a life gone awry. The splash page briefly reviews the beginnings of the Man-Thing, showing him slowly rise from the swamp and trek out onto the shore. In a not-too-distant location, the scene shifts to a depressed clown who sits by the shore of the swamp with a gun in his hand. He has been contemplating the seeming meaninglessness of his existence and decides to end his life. A single gun shot rings through the swamp and the Man-Thing responds to the sound.

    Finding the clown's dead body, the Man-Thing discovers a suicide note at his feet. He no longer possesses the ability decipher the symbols on the paper, but the note states: "To whom it may concern, laughter is dead, futility. Blame Ergon." He may not be able to understand the note but he does remember the importance of a proper burial, a funeral of sorts. And so the Man-Thing carries the clown's body to a suitable location to dig a hole for its burial.

    Meanwhile, miles away at a motel, Richard Rory and Ruth Hart rent two rooms to get some much needed rest from the recent ordeal they have faced (see Man-Thing issues 2, 3, and 4). On the way to their rooms, they notice that a carnival is playing nearby. A discussion is overheard about a clown named "Darrel" who seems to be missing. A woman is concerned about his safety but her carnival boss is glad to see him gone. The dialog escalates into an argument and the man begins striking the woman in the face. Richard Rory has seen enough and jumps the man, warning him not to hurt the woman. Before he can respond, a large lumbering man named "Tragg" intervenes, threatening Richard not to mess with his carnival boss. As a final warning, he strikes Richard and walks away.

    Richard and Ruth get in the van to leave and the woman from the carnival joins them. She is leaving and wants to find her friend Darrel. In route to another town they see Darrel's car parked by the swamp. They pull over to investigate and find Darrel taking a bow toward the swamp as if he has just finished a performance. The woman calls out to him, but he doesn't seem to hear her voice and wades out into the distance. The trio finds Darrel's suicide note and take off after him into the swamp.

    Back on the main road, the carnival boss and Tragg are in hot pursuit to find the woman who has left the carnival. They are startled to see Darrel in their headlights taking a bow in the middle of the road. The clown doesn't move and the truck swerves to avoid hitting him. The two men crash into a tree and the truck bursts into flames. Tragg survives the crash and sees Darrel standing in the swamp. The clown taunts the large man, calling him "stupid" luring into the deep water.

    Nearby, the trio continues their search for Darrel only to discover the Man-Thing carrying a body in the distance. The carnival woman is frightened by the Man-Thing but Richard and Ruth assure her that he will not harm them. They see that he is carrying the body of Darrel and looking for a place to bury him. They wrongly assume that the Man-Thing has killed Darrel, and Richard runs him off. It is an intensely emotional scene filled with sorrow and misunderstanding. Amid their grief, they discuss the timing of Darrel's death, the sound of the gun shot, and the appearance of Darrel in the swamp. Could it be a ghost they have been seeing?

    From out of the darkness Tragg appears, grabbing the body of Darrel and making empty threats. He drops the body and begins assaulting Richard Rory. The Man-Thing sees this and moves in to protect Richard. Tragg sees the hulking swamp creature and starts swinging at him. Over and over again he tries to defeat the Man-Thing, but his brute force is useless against the creature.

    As the fight draws to an exhausting close, some strange phenomenon appears at the body of Darrel. An apparition slowly rises from the clown's body, and an eerie voice is heard. The ghost of Darrel is demanding one last performance where each person in the swamp will play a role. The story they are going to act out is the life and death of the clown, with his soul at the mercy of its critics.

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