I own a lot of 70s Charlton horror, but I do not own this one. I want to change that, as I absolutely adore this cover. I am not sure if it's one of those Covers-by-Paste-Ups that were assembled in the Charlton offices or an actual original cover. I'm leaning towards the latter with this one, but I can't say for sure. In any case, it's a great example of the unique approach that Charlton had with covers during this period. They were anxious to showcase Ditko's originality, rather than to try to get him to fit a mold. The design is simple, and yet the way Ditko plays with perspective really helps it stand out. I'm always a big fan of characters running 'off cover', and this one has them running in all directions. I particularly like the frightened look on the figure in the red hood. The only problem for me is the decision to place Graves' head and the caption right in the middle. It detracts from the overall impact. Thursday, June 23, 2011
Steve Ditko Cover of the Week: Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves #35
I own a lot of 70s Charlton horror, but I do not own this one. I want to change that, as I absolutely adore this cover. I am not sure if it's one of those Covers-by-Paste-Ups that were assembled in the Charlton offices or an actual original cover. I'm leaning towards the latter with this one, but I can't say for sure. In any case, it's a great example of the unique approach that Charlton had with covers during this period. They were anxious to showcase Ditko's originality, rather than to try to get him to fit a mold. The design is simple, and yet the way Ditko plays with perspective really helps it stand out. I'm always a big fan of characters running 'off cover', and this one has them running in all directions. I particularly like the frightened look on the figure in the red hood. The only problem for me is the decision to place Graves' head and the caption right in the middle. It detracts from the overall impact. 
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this is also one of the few Charlton Ditko horror covers i do not own, and need to get. As for your comment abut Charlton's approach to covers: i recently read an interview with Tom Sutton where he stated that when given a cover assignment, artists were given free reign and could turn in anything they wanted without fear of the cover being denied.(This also accounts for the large amount of painted covers by many Charlton artists such as Sutton,Boyette,Staton etc, as painted covers could get them noticed for commission work to supplement their meager pay from Charlton.)
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