| Ghostly Tales | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cover ofGhostly Tales#55 (May 1966), the first issue of the new title, art byRocke Mastroserio. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Charlton Comics |
| Schedule | Bimonthly |
| Format | anthology |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | May1966-October1984 |
| No. of issues | 115 |
| Main character | Mr. L. Dedd/I.M. Dedd |
| Editor(s) | Pat Masulli,Sal Gentile,George Wildman |
Ghostly Tales is ahorror-suspenseanthologycomic book series that was published byCharlton Comics from 1966 to 1984 (though it was primarily areprint title from 1978 onward). The book was "hosted" byMr. L. Dedd (later changed toI. M. Dedd), a middle-aged gentleman with purplish skin and horns who dressed like avampire. Mr. Dedd spun his "ghostly tales" from the parlor of his "haunted house".
Ghostly Tales was part of a wave of new horror and suspense comics published by Charlton during this period. Its sister titles, with many of the same creators, were the Charlton anthologiesThe Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves (with host Dr. M. T. Graves),Haunted (with hosts Impy and then Baron Weirwulf),Ghost Manor (with host Mr. Bones), andGhostly Haunts (with host Winnie the Witch).
Ghostly Tales debuted with issue #55, taking over the numbering ofBlue Beetle vol. 3 (which itself had continued the numbering ofUnusual Tales).Ghostly Tales was predominantly bimonthly during its run; it went on a publishing hiatus between issues #124 and #125 from January to August 1977. It became primarily a reprint title with issue #127 (Jan. 1978), republishing material from its own archives as well as those of its sister titles (and someGolden Age material from titles likeUnusual Tales and Fawcett'sThis Magazine is Haunted — whose rights Charlton owned). Altogether,Ghostly Tales published 115 issues.
Regular contributors to the book includedPat Boyette,Steve Ditko,Wayne Howard,Russ Jones &Bhob Stewart, andRocke Mastroserio. Over the course of its 18-year run,Ghostly Tales was edited byPat Masulli,Sal Gentile, andGeorge Wildman. Wildman edited the title for more than twelve years, from issue #97 (August 1972) until its cancellation with issue #169 (Oct. 1984).
Horror comics in general were in decline in the early 1980s, and Charlton in particular was suffering financially. In October 1984, Charlton suspended publication, andGhostly Tales ended its run, although the company did release several additional horror reprint issues under different titles through 1986.[1]