My Rating
“Brainfever…”
Myrna Clawson awoke screaming from the nightmare once again. It was the same as last time. It was always the same. Her mother rushed to the bedside while Mr. Clawson hurried downstairs to telephone the doctor.
An hour later, Myrna’s parents find themselves locked in an agitated debate over the diagnosis. Brainfever? How much more of this can their daughter take? It has been over a year since Myrna began suffering from these strange recurring dreams, and her condition only seems to be getting worse. The doctor has exhausted his options. His final recommendation is to place Myrna in a rest home under professional care.
The asylum?!
Myrna protests as her parents drive her toward the northwest side of town. She isn’t insane! But how can she explain the same horrifying dream that has haunted her night after night? A young blond-haired man drives a Model T Ford through a violent rainstorm. Lightning flashes across the sky. A bolt strikes a large tree branch hanging over the road. The timber crashes down onto the red automobile, killing the young driver like clockwork.
Every night. The same man, the same road and the same horrible death.
Her parents have no answers for young Myrna. Perhaps Dr. Colenby will.
Will Myrna find a cure for her mysterious “brainfever” within the gothic halls of Dr. Colenby’s institution? Is Larry Shields merely another part of her delusion, or could he be a flesh-and-blood savior? And what are the chances Myrna is headed for electroshock treatments?
“The Fiend In The Fog”
London Harbour—1831. The fog is especially thick tonight.
As Elizabeth Matthews slowly walks along the street leading toward the waterfront, the faint outlines of three ship masts rise from the mist in the distance. The young redhead pauses to adjust her ruby-colored bonnet. Before she can react, a deranged stranger lunges from a darkened corner and grabs her by the arms.
Elizabeth screams as the greasy-haired sailor drags her toward a fog-filled alleyway. Her eyes widen as she realizes the madman intends to murder her. His wild stare tells her everything she needs to know.
Suddenly, shouts erupt from the docks. The commotion startles Elizabeth’s attacker, causing him to release her wrists. Within moments, three sailors from a nearby cargo ship arrive and chase the lunatic into the fog.
The following evening, Captain Teague dines with Elizabeth Matthews and her family. Her father, Reverend Matthews, listens intently as the captain recounts the story of his daughter’s rescue. During the entire conversation, however, Captain Teague can barely take his eyes off Elizabeth. The young sailor has clearly become enamored with her.
Goodbyes
As dinner comes to an end, Teague prepares to leave. He says his goodbyes but offers Elizabeth one final warning: never go out alone at night when the fog rolls in. Never travel in the fog.
Reverend Matthews watches the exchange and realizes his daughter has become just as infatuated with the captain as he is with her.
His hat!
Elizabeth suddenly notices that Captain Teague left it behind. She grabs the captain’s hat and rushes through the front door, hoping to catch her new love before he reaches the waterfront.
It will become the biggest mistake of her life.
Why does Captain Teague forbid Elizabeth from boarding his ship, the Sea Princess? How did Elizabeth obtain the gold button from her lover’s coat? Should Captain Teague set sail and forget he ever rescued the beautiful redhead from certain death?
“A Real Good Witch” — Text Story
Ever since the city passed a new ordinance cracking down on fortune tellers, mediums, and their ilk, Police Captain John Meadows has found himself up to his eyeballs in fraud cases. Just today, a young woman filed a complaint claiming that a self-proclaimed witch has been taking advantage of her elderly mother.
The woman has been paying the supposed witch fifty dollars a session. What can her daughter possibly do?
No worries. Captain John Meadows is on the case.
His investigation leads him to a small studio with a sign hanging prominently in the window:
A REAL GOOD WITCH
Meadows expects to expose another fraud and add one more case to the growing pile on his desk. What he doesn’t expect is for the old woman inside to know things about him that no stranger should possibly know.
How does a police officer prove—or disprove—the existence of a real witch? Where did the old woman obtain her information about Captain Meadows? Can someone really vanish from a highly secured, windowless jail cell inside a police precinct? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
So, who deserves more blame when a comic book story has a plot hole big enough to drive a Model T through—the writer or the editor? Welcome to Charlton Comics Shoe-Horning Endings 101! Haunted Love #2 suffered from this same problem, and unfortunately, “Brainfever” continues the trend.
I’m not sure if Nicola Cuti was still finding his footing as a writer, if Charlton limited the number of available pages, or if somebody simply needed to get the issue out the door, but the ending to “Brainfever” feels ill-conceived and rushed. The setup is actually pretty good. Myrna’s recurring nightmare, the mysterious young man, and the creepy institution create plenty of gothic atmosphere. Then the story races toward a conclusion that left me wondering if I had accidentally skipped a page. It is frustrating because the basic idea had potential. Charlton just needed to give the story enough room to breathe.
Crown Jewel
We are in luck, however, because the second feature is the crown jewel of this issue. Joe Gill spins a wonderfully atmospheric yarn about two young lovers stalked by a phantom killer through the fog-shrouded streets of 1830s London. “The Fiend In The Fog” has everything I want from Haunted Love: Victorian streets, an old sailing ship, murder, romance, supernatural mystery, and enough fog to make John Carpenter jealous.
The real star, however, is Tom Sutton. His artwork is fantastic. Sutton fills the story with deep shadows, expressive faces, crooked streets, rolling fog, and that wonderful macabre atmosphere I associate with horror comics from this period. The splash page alone is almost worth the price of admission. In fact, I think I may have found my phone’s next background wallpaper!
“A Real Good Witch” continues Charlton’s fascination with psychic mediums, fortune tellers, and supernatural con artists. Issue #2 gave us an exposé-style article warning readers about such people, while this issue tackles the subject through fiction. The twist is pretty obvious once the story gets moving, but I still enjoyed it. Once again, however, Charlton fails to identify the author. Come on, guys! Somebody wrote the thing. Give them some credit!
I’m giving Haunted Love #3 four out of five stars. “Brainfever” has an interesting premise but stumbles badly at the finish line, while “A Real Good Witch” provides a fun little supernatural diversion. “The Fiend In The Fog,” however, carries the issue. Joe Gill’s gothic tale combined with Tom Sutton’s beautiful horror artwork is exactly the sort of material I hoped to find when I spent a year tracking down this series. After the disappointing second issue, Haunted Love has found its footing again.