Sunday, May 5, 2013

THE DITKO COVERS: A Chronolgy, Part 4

We (finally!--sorry for the delay!) return to our chronological look at Steve Ditko's covers for Charlton.
We begin with GHOSTLY TALES #88, cover dated September 1971 and continue on to GHOSTLY HAUNTS #25, cover dated June 1972.
All 25 covers Ditko produced during this time were for the horror titles, and indeed, the horror genre would be his only covers at all for the remainder of his career with Charlton (with the exception of two Static covers for CHARLTON ACTION in 1985).




































4 comments:

  1. Javier HernandezMay 5, 2013 at 10:39 AM

    Fester,

    Just last night, I was on Ebay looking at a lot of these very covers. I also headed over to the DITKO FEVER website and looked through more Ditko Charlton covers.

    As you've mentioned, there is so much Ditko artwork many of us haven't seen yet! The collection you have here boggles my mind.... What's always been so appealing about Ditko's work, particularly his monster work, is that his 'cartoony' style (there's no better word for it!) works so well with his exceptionally imaginative compositions.

    The last one shown at the bottom, GHOSTLY HAUNTS #25.... it's sheer brilliance! The hooded skeletal ghoul at the top, left corner is wonderfully executed. And honestly, whoever colored the page did an outstanding job. Maybe it's because of the computer screen, but the green, ghostly glow makes this pure gold!

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  2. Professor FesterMay 5, 2013 at 11:05 AM

    agreed, Javi---and it's amazing how consistently GOOD his covers were. It's a shame that so many of them remain unreprinted.

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  3. Nick CaputoMay 13, 2013 at 1:06 PM

    Prof,

    Around 1970 my neighborhood candy store started getting Charlton comics and it didn't take long for my older brother John and I started purchasing many of the ghost titles, especially if they had a cover by S.Ditko. I partcularly recall buying the "All Ditko" Haunted # 1 off the stands.

    So many of these covers are exceptional. They really grab your attention; simpe and effective. A few favorites are Many Ghosts 30; Haunted 3 and 4; Ghostly Haunts 33 and Ghost Manor 5.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 11, 2014 at 5:13 PM

    The cover to Ghostly Haunts #23 is one of my all time favorite images by Steve Ditko. Finding this one in the back issue bins was what got me hooked on Charlton in the first place.

    http://benjaminherman.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/halloween-spotlight-on-charlton-comics-horror-anthologies/

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