Appearing in "Night of the Laughing Dead"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Clown (Darrell) ⏵ (First appearance; dies; becomes a ghost)
- ⏴ Ruth Hart ⏵
- ⏴ Richard Rory ⏵
- Ayla Prentiss ⏵ (First appearance)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- United States Army (Only in flashback)
- Foolkiller (Mentioned)
- Critics (Behind the scenes)
Races and Species:
- Man-Things
- Birds
- Eagles (Only in flashback)
- Alligators
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Dogs (Only in flashback)
- Ghosts
- Snakes
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
Events:
- Vietnam War (Only in flashback) (Topical Reference)
Synopsis for "Night of the Laughing Dead"
Depressed and suicidal, former clown Darrel has come to the swamp, and commits suicide, shooting himself in the head. Hearing the noise, the Man-Thing finds the body of Darrel, along with his suicide note, and decides to carry off the body.
Elsewhere, Richard and Ruth try to get a room for the night following their encounter with the Foolkiller, however they find all the hotels booked up. At one hotel, they notice that a carnival is in town, however when the Carnival owner -- Garvey -- strikes high-wire acrobat Ayla Prentiss (worried about Darrel's disappearance), Richard intervenes, however is struck down by Tragg the circus strong man. Richard and Ruth agree to help Ayla find Darrel, but not before they get a good night's sleep. However, on the road Ayla spots Darrel's car, and when they see what appears to be Darrel, they follow him into the swamp. Meanwhile, Garvey and Tragg have been following Ayla and the others to get her back, when they too see what appears to be Darrel, who makes them crash. Garvey and Tragg then follow Darrel into the swamp as well.
Richard, Ruth and Ayla end up finding the real Darrel, who is being put his final rest by the Man-Thing. Believing that the Man-Thing killed Darrel, Richard shouts at the creature to go away. However, when Tragg and Garvey track them down, they attack and the Man-Thing comes to their rescue to save them.
With everyone present, the spirit of Darrel rises, and tells them all that he is going to force them to act out the story of his life, to put on one last show for his critics.
This story is continued Man-Thing #6...
Notes
Publication Notes[]
- With this issue, the cover price raises from 20¢ per copy to 25¢ per copy.
Continuity Notes[]
- First appearances of Ayla Prentiss, Darrell the Clown and Tragg.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Man-Thing profile at Wikipedia
- Man-Thing profile at the Marvel Directory
- Man-Thing profile at Toonopedia
- Man-Thing movie entry at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)