After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

In a twist on the Superman mythos, the title character in Jim Valentino’s normalman (stylized in all lower-case letters) is shipped off into space by his father when he concludes that the planet they inhabit will explode. The child arrives on a planet inhabited completely by super-powered beings – they dub him normalman, because he’s the only one there without powers.

The character debuted in Cerebus the Aardvark #56 and was soon given his own ongoing series. That title served as a vehicle for creator, Jim Valentino, to spoof and parody other comics, a perfect opportunity (if ever there was one) to introduce cover swipes that parody the source material.

I couldn’t find a specific cover that normalman#3 is paying homage but, it’s very clear that this issue’s cover design is honoring those classic horror titles published by E.C. Comics in the 1950’s: Two-Fisted Tales, Shock SuspenStories, the Haunt of Fear, the Vault of Horror and Tales From the Crypt (amongst others).

Tales From the Crypt #39 December 1953 Jack Davis

normalman #3 June 1984 Jim Valentino

On Ebay: normalman | Tales From the Crypt
On Amazon: normalman | Tales From The Crypt
On AtomicAvenue: normalman | Tales From the Crypt