Haunted #56

Charlton's long-running anthology of supernatural chills reaches its 56th issue with a cover by Steve Ditko that wastes no time setting an eerie mood: a torchlit young man stumbles backward in a darkened cavern, confronted by the looming stone figure of an armored warrior, while a shadowy cloaked figure in the foreground clutches a spear and a spiked weapon. Inside, Tom Sutton handles writing, art, lettering assist from Ray Burzon, and inking on "The Source," promising the kind of moody, atmospheric horror storytelling Charlton fans had come to appreciate from Baron Weirwulf's Haunted Library. At fifty cents, this 1981 issue is a fine snapshot of late-era Charlton doing what it did best.