Deep in the swamps of Marvel Comics lays a creeping horror so terrifying, so horrendous, that few dare whisper his name. A creature, part human and part monster, forever walking the swamps looking for solitude; he is known only as Man-Thing! Is he here to warn of us of our environmental follies or is he here for something more sinister?

A mix of horror and old superhero lore, Man-Thing was once buried deep in the arcane vaults of Marvel, waiting for another chance to be brought back to life. Well, wait no more, dear readers. Our creature of the woods has once again seen the light of day thanks to MAN-THING OMNIBUS, a collection of chills and thrills in a huge tome that will surely keep you turning the pages to the last, fear induced panel.

Man-Thing has his origins in a pretty standard superhero convention. An overzealous scientist named Dr. Ted Sallis spends his time in the Florida Everglades attempting to recreate the super-soldier serum a la Captain America. As he works, his lab is attacked by the terrorist group Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M) and he flees deep into the woods after destroying his notes.  Unfortunately for him, he crashes his car into a chemical infested swamp and in hopes of saving his own life, injects himself with what little serum he has left. But nothing is ever that easy in the Marvel world. As the chemicals and the serum mix together,  instead of making him the southern version of the greatest Nazi ass-kicker ever known, he becomes a plant covered creature forever doomed to wander the swamps. As he slowly attempts to regain his memories, he begins a new and strange life where he meets heroes, fights villains, and scares the ever living bejeezus out of any person who wanders to close to his home.

Though Man Thing has been tossed into B-character obscurity along with other horror titles from the 70s, he has recently seen a rise in popularity thanks in no small part to the re-interest in old horror comics such as CREEPY and EERIE. The book itself is a back breaking, 1,192 page hard-cover collection of his early appearances including ASTONISHING TALES, FEAR, MARVEL TEAM-UP and his own series, MAN THING.  The book comes with one of two covers: a new, breathtaking painting by industry favorite, Ariel Olivetti, or, for you old school ghouls, a beautifully reprinted, classic, first issue cover from Frank Bunner. Whichever you choose, both of the books carry the high, but realistic, tag price of $100. Though it seems like a lot of money, especially since you can get the Marvel Essentials MAN THING for about 20 buck a pop—and each come with about 600 pages of comic—the new collection features way better paper and printing quality and is solidly built to last you a lifetime. Trust me, this comic is a must have if you’re a fan of horror, superheroes, or even nostalgia.

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