Steve Ditko Horror and Dr. Death, This Magazine is Haunted, at Auction

Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: fawcett, Sheldon Moldoff, steve ditko

This Magazine is Haunted #16 (Charlton, 1954) features the second-ever Steve Ditko cover, and the highest-graded copy is up for auction. #Ditko #sponsored

The concept of legendary artist Sheldon Moldoff, This Magazine is Haunted was publisher Fawcett’s debut entry into comic book horror. The title lasted for 14 issues there from 1951 to 1953 and was sold by Fawcett to Charlton in 1953 along with much of the rest of their non-Captain Marvel comic book line.  Legendary creator Steve Ditko was entering the business at this time, and he soon found steady work at Charlton.  Ditko was well suited for horror (among many other things, obviously) and his Pre-Code Horror covers at Charlton are some of his best-remembered work from this era. His first published cover appeared on another Charlton horror title with The Thing #12, and the next month, his second-ever published cover was released on This Magazine is Haunted #16.  The highest graded CGC 9.2 copy of this important early Steve Ditko cover is up for auction in the 2024 October 24 – 25 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40272 at Heritage Auctions.

This Magazine is Haunted featured a “horror host” named Doctor Death, who introduced the stories in the mold of EC Comics’ Crypt Keeper. Moldoff is best remembered for his early DC Comics work on characters including Hawkman, Batman and Green Lantern, but his horror comics work was significant for the comic book business as well.  According to a 2000 interview with Roy Thomas for Alter Ego, Moldoff explained:

I said, “Bill, if I give you an idea which I think will be the next trend, will you give me a contract and a percentage of sales if it shows a profit? I only want it if there’s a profit; I’d get paid a percentage of the profit. I think I know what’s going to come in next.” And he said, “I’d be glad to!” I said, “Okay, I’m going to bring you a couple of titles and a little breakdown, and show you what I have in mind.”

So when I came back, I showed him two titles. One was Tales of the Supernatural, and the other was This Magazine Is Haunted. And I said, “This is going to be it: horror. This is going to come on strong.”

Months go by, and in the meantime I’m busy with other work, I’m doing other things-and now, quite a few months later, I see on the newsstand Bill Gaines’ horror books, Tales from the Crypt and all this other stuff! I say, “What the hell is this?” I look at it, and sure enough, it’s coming from EC Publications!

Of course, Moldoff eventually went to Fawcett with his horror comic concepts, and it would appear that Charlton got some unpublished inventory when they acquired the title, as the story “The Last Voyage of the Sea Witch!” that inspired Ditko’s cover was written by Moldoff.  Pre-Code Horror that features a spectacular early Ditko cover, the highest graded CGC 9.2 copy of This Magazine Is Haunted #16 (Charlton, 1954) is up for auction in the 2024 October 24 – 25 Pre-Code Horror & Crime Comics Showcase Auction #40272 at Heritage Auctions.

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