Marvel Two-In-One #18 (August 1976)

Due to the horror implosion, which killed many a supernatural comic book at Marvel in the ’70s, my character The Scarecrow never got to continue his solo adventures past Dead of Night #11 and Marvel Spotlight #26. His story came to a conclusion of sorts in a story I co-plotted with Bill Mantlo for Marvel Two-In-One #18, in which he teamed up with the Thing.

But here’s part of the secret history of comics—I had begun writing the Scarecrow’s third adventure, of which only a single page of script and art remain. This was meant to be the splash page for Scarecrow #2 (that Marvel Spotlight #26 was meant for the planned and cancelled first issue), with room left at the top for one of Marvel’s introductory text paragraphs and at the bottom for the indicia. As far as I know, this photocopy is all that exists of that second issue.

And as for the lettering which appears above the title, my script indicates that it was to read as follows:

In the dead of the night,
By the full of the moon,
The evil that drives us
will breath its last breath …

For the chase with the hell-fiend
is won by the swift—
However you look at him
the SCARECROW SPELLS DEATH!

Yeah, I know, it’s doggerel … but what do you want? I was only 20 years old! If I ever get a chance script a comic again, I promise to do better!