My Rating
A New Life…
Elaine Mills spent the first three days cleaning up the old loft apartment located in Greenwich Village. The house itself was built in the early 19th century but was converted into apartments during the 1940s. Elaine found several manuscripts as she made her way through the filth and clutter. It was obvious this section of the building went unlived in for at least one hundred years.
The manuscripts were all written by someone named Adam Tucker. Elaine became excited by the prospect of finding more of these stories as she worked for one of New York’s leading horror publishers. The manuscripts were just what her company needed to boost sales.
How will Elaine convince her boss that the author is among the living? Can a royalty check be cashed from beyond the grave? What are those sounds coming from the attic?
Beware, Do Not Love Him!
Trevor Blaine was locked up in the highest tower of his family estate in Kent. Accused of a murder he didn’t commit, the man passed his time watching family and friends move about the grounds living the life he was denied. Then the young blond woman arrived by coach. She looked different. Would this stranger help Trevor escape Blaine Hall before the voices drive him mad?
What family secrets hide within the walls of Blaine Hall? Should Helen Finchley have listened to her father’s advice and declined her friend’s invitation? Does Helen believe in love at first sight?
Another Life (text only story)
Is a cat a good substitute for the love of a good woman? That is what the assistant bookkeeper named Gerald Talbot asked himself nightly. The only social interaction he had outside of work was the alley cat he rescued last year. The cat, named Melinda, was his entire world. They slept, ate, and even watched television together. Then one day Melinda the cat ran out of the front door!
Can Gerald continue to live without his best friend? Who is the woman that opened the door leading to Melinda’s escape? Is the love of a woman a good substitute for a cat?
Eternal Love
Martin Kendricks was an American sculptor, Yvette Lavaux his Parisian model. From the day they met on the streets of Paris it was love at first sight. What inspiration Martin lacked Yvette inspired until the day came when she fell ill.
The doctors blamed the poor working conditions of the factory in which Yvette worked. It would later be confirmed her illness was terminal. Martin rushed to sculpt his finest masterpiece before Yvette had no energy left to admire his gift to her.
Will Martin succumb to Yvette’s sickness? Can the two lovers find peace in a statue made for two? Does the quality of marble hold special properties for the ones inspiring the form? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
I’m trying to wrap my head around the possible goals Charlton Comics had for this series. I know the books were published back in 1975, but was the horror genre just a dying fad by this time? I’m not a huge fan of random story books in general, but if Charlton Comics wanted to go this route, why not make the stories connect in some way?
Archie Comics built their publishing empire off this model. Most of their books are written as random stories, but the characters (ie. Archie, Jughead, Veronica, etc.) and locations are linked together in one uniform world. I would have loved to see Charlton Comics take the Haunted Love stories and do some world building.
In issue ten we get more of the same. Joe Gill seems to be the head writer on the series at this point. To me, it seems like he had taken horror scripts written for another project, then tacked on a love angle to the very end of the stories to qualify for this series. There are some cases where the two lead characters fall in love under ridiculous situations, or at an insanely quick pace. “Hello, my name is Ken. Your name is Barbie? I love you! You love me?! Kiss, kiss…the end”
I’m giving Haunted Love No.10 three out of five stars. I have no issues with the writing or art in general, just the context of how they are packaged together. In my opinion this format just doesn’t work for a sustainable comic book series.
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