Ghostly Tales #155

Charlton's long-running horror anthology returns with issue #155, and Pat Boyette's cover sets an unsettling tone immediately: a menacing armed figure crouches in the foreground while a woman in red and a pale, eerily calm man stand surrounded by a crowd of blank-faced figures in what the cover labels "The Engagement Party." The contrast between that cheerful party setting and the creeping dread in every face makes this 1982 issue a fine showcase for Charlton's brand of quietly sinister storytelling. Inside, writer Joe Gill and artist/inker Bill Montes bring their own sensibilities to "His Friends in Need," with lettering by Charlotte Jetter completing the package.