2016 Comic Challenge 281 Ghostly Tales #147

TITLE-Ghostly Tales #147
PUBLISHER-Charlton

Pretty sure I grabbed this at an auction almost 10 years ago. Grabbed it back then cause I was pretty sure from a quick glance that the cover was by Steve Ditko. And I was right. By this time,cover date March 1981,Ghostly Tales was pretty much all reprints. The cover is from issue 118. And the interior stories seem to be reprinted from issue 116.

We get three stories. Up first  is one written by Joe Gil and Sanho Kim handles the pencils and inks. It is serviceable and that is about it.The middle story has no credited writer,but the pencils and inks are by Steve Ditko. For that alone it is worth buying this comic.The final story has Joe Gil back writing.Then Bill Fraccio doing pencils and inks.

Outside of the Ditko cover and story this isn't anything special. But for those two things alone it is worth grabbing if you find it cheap. Sadly over the past 5 years I have seen the prices on all Charlton comics go up a bit.

Ghostly Tales #147 gets a Buy!

2016 Comic Challenge 185 Secret Origins #028

TITLE-Secret Origins #028
PUBLISHER-DC Comics

I have loved this title since it first hit the newstands. And at least for me the issues with lesser known characters were the better ones.

Nightshade gets the first story. Robert Greenberger,no idea who this is,is the writer. And in what has to be one of his earliest published pro work the penciler is Rob Liefeld. You can see small pieces of what would later become the major flaws in Liefeld's art. At the first time I read this I knew nothing about Nightshade. Now years later,hell almost 30,I have read a handful of her Charlton stuff and a bit of her in Suicide Squad. This is a decent origin/revamping for a very underrated Charlton heroine.

Midnight is the latter story. Roy Thomas is the writer,so you know unlike hacks like Geoff Johns,he will try his best to keep the character in line with his Golden Age stuff. Then the great Gil Kane handles the art. I knew of Midnight thanks to Who's Who. But this was the first I read of him. And he is a 3rd rate Spirit clone. Which is why he has barely been used since DC got the rights to him.

Overall an average issue of Secret Origins. But then for me at least I want to own every issue.

Secret Origins #028 gets a borrow.

2016 Comic Challenge 179 Baron Weirwulf's Haunted Library #070

TITLE-Baron Weirwulf's Haunted Library #070
PUBLISHER-Charlton Comics Group

I never read much of the Charlton horror anthology comics back when they were coming out. Then in the late 90s my local comic shop got in a huge stack of reader copy condition of them. The shop owner had said how much he wanted an issue but was offering a decent discount if you bought at least 10. So I went thru the stack found 20 that caught my attention and went up to the counter. The shop owner chuckled and said "Yeah I knew when I got them you would go after the one with the Ditko cover."

Now I haven't bothered doing much research for this issue. But under that Ditko cover you get your normal Charlton horror short stories. They never reach the levels of say the greatest stuff from EC or all the 70s DC horror titles or even Creepy and Eerie. But they are almost always worth a read. And usually have some good art.

Seems over the past decade the demand for these titles has went up. And I am seeing more and more shops/con dealers wanting $5 an issue for a beat up copy. Now for me yeah I would pay $5 for a reader copy version of this issue.Mostly cause of the Ditko cover.

Baron Weirwulf's Haunted Library #070 gets a borrow.