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Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
written by Blake Bell
Studio : Fantagraphics Books
by Fantagraphics Books
Publisher : Fantagraphics Books
Released : 2008-07-16
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781560979210
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 6 reviews)
List Price : $39.99
Our Price : $25.29
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Product Description |
The first critical retrospective of the work of the reclusive Spider-Man co-creator.
In the wake of the astonishing success of Sam Raimi's three Spider-Man movies, Steve Ditko has become known as the co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the early 1960s character that helped propel Marvel Comics' popularity on college campuses and gave it much of its cultural cachet throughout that decade. But, in the context of Steve Ditko's 50-year career in comics, his creative involvement with Spider-Man is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Ditko is known among the cartooning cognoscenti as one of the supreme visual stylists in the history of comics, as well as the most fiercely independent cartoonist of his generation. His unique style and innovative spatial designs moved from the imaginatively hallucinatory landscapes of Dr. Strange to the almost plebeian earthiness of The Amazing Spider-Man.
Ditko began his career in the 1950s drawing comics for the notorious low-budget Charlton Comics (the Roger Corman Productions of the comics industry) where he developed his craft on various genre titles. He started working for Stan Lee at Marvel Comics in 1958, churning out monster/horror stories, until he was conscripted to work on Marvel's new super-hero line, for which he provided the visual conceptions of The Hulk, Spider-Man, and Dr. Strange, and plotted and drew these characters' adventures between 1962 and 1966. By 1966, Spider-Man had become a pop culture icon, and it was then that Ditko quit drawing the character over mysterious circumstances that will, for the first time, be investigated here.
He immediately created his Ayn Rand-inspired character, Mr. A, whose first story appeared in Witzend, a black-and-white pre-underground independent comics magazine edited and published by Wally Wood, another talented stylist who chafed under the constraints of the mainstream comics publishers of the time. Ditko went on to work at various publishing companies such as DC Comics, Warren Publishing, and even Marvel Comics (albeit steadfastly refusing to ever draw Spider-Man again), writing and drawing his didactic Mr. A stories, relentlessly extolling the philosophical precepts of Ayn Rand, and, more recently, bitter visual jeremiads against the moral status quo of the comics industry.
Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, his strict adherence to his own (and Randian) principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages of comics he's drawn over the last 55 years. |
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Not just for Ditko fans |
I can't claim I was ever a big fan of Steve Ditko, I grew up reading comic books, and of course, I read reprints of his work on Spiderman, but I liked the more realistic work of John Romita (and perhaps, the unrealistically beatiful women he drew). Now I can look at it and see how revolutionary it was in the early 60s, and it was a really unique way to draw a superhero book, I'm sure that was no small part of why Spiderman caught the popular imagination of the day.
My main exposure to Ditko's art was his work on Rom: Spaceknight, and I hated it, my views have softened some since then, but I still don't care for it. But after reading this book, I have an understanding of why his later work wasn't as good as his earlier work, all the characters were so stiff, and almost unfinished, they all kind of blended together into one look. Ditko was an avid believer in objectivism, I don't claim to know a lot about it, it was covered briefly in a college philosphy class I was in years ago, but apparently part of the dogma is that you do the minimum in your unfulfilling job, so that you can focus all your creative energy on what you truly care about(it's just my understanding from what I read in the book, I'm sure the philosphy is more complicated than that).
I wasn't a Ditko fan, but you don't have to be to enjoy this book, it serves as sort of a history of the comic book industry from the point of view of one of its silver age pioneers. I really enjoyed the inside stories behind Ditko's interactions with Stan Lee and others in the comic industry.
On one hand, I really admire Ditko's unwavering artistic integrity, and on the other, I wish that he would at least be willing to relent a little, and make some money from his creations, he has original artwork that would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but chooses to instead live a meager existence. Of coarse, that's his choice, and on one level, I do admire it.
What I can't get behind is turning in inferior work, and justifying it to himself that it's all part of a grand philosophy. Rom was one of my favorite characters at the time, and his weak artistery (intentionally weak, it appears) was part of what led to that books demise. The way I see it, Marvel was paying him, and I was plunking down my allowance to read about one of my favorite characters, he wasn't making widgets, he should have given it his full artistic attention.
But in the scheme of things, that is a small part of his story, Steve Ditko is a pioneer of the comic book industry, co-creating Spiderman, and deserves all accolades that he gets. It's an interesting story, and Ditko is an endlessly interesting man, I highly reccomend this book.
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The Perfect Ditko Book for Every Ditko Fan |
This is a really great book. Steve Ditko remains, after my first exposure to his work more than 44 years ago, my all-time favorite comic book creator. Those of you who know me also know that I credit him completely with the creation of both The Amazing Spider-Man and Dr. Strange--books which he produced for Marvel Comics, and characters whose names are now attached to a man who had almost nothing to do with their creation.
This book has so far been something of a treasure for me. For instance, I had wondered for many years why Ditko's art seemed to blossom when he worked very briefly for Warren Publications when he illustrated stories for the horror magazines CREEPY and EERIE. Steve Ditko created art for those two magazines that were far and away from the material his fans had seen before that, and were not equaled in the long years after. The author, Blake Bell, explains quite simply why Ditko tried so many new and different methods of illustration with the tales he illustrated for Warren. I won't explain those reasons here--for you need to buy this book to discover why.
I also had many other questions answered. For instance, the input of Stan Lee into the characters Ditko created at Marvel had been a mystery to me since I first began to suspect that Lee, indeed, had not created any of the characters whose ownership he has claimed for so many decades. Blake explains, to a certain extent, Lee's pitiable contribution to the labors of both Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. For this he reaped tens of millions of dollars? The mind is boggled.
Some people have asked me why I would champion a fellow whose political ideals are so diametrically opposed to my own. Ditko is a proponent of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. And I find that philosophy abhorrent and have nothing but disdain for Laissez-faire capitalism, which lies at the poisoned base of Objectivism. It's partly a mystery even to me. It could be that I'm not entirely opposed to Ditko's own lessons of personal responsibility so readily apparent in the stories he wrote. Or it could be that Ditko's art, and even his tales, are so well wrought that I am able to look beyond the obvious propaganda inherent in them and see them as the works of fine illustration and sequential art that they are. Frankly...I'm not sure.
Ditko remains a strange man to me. He's a mystery. Much as JD Salinger is a mystery. Much as Jack Kerouac is a mystery. I don't compare him equitably to people like Salinger and Kerouac, but there is that strain of not quite knowing where the creator is coming from, nor at what he's aiming. If you're a fan of Steve Ditko, there is no more perfect book for you than Blake Bell's STRANGE AND STRANGER: THE WORLDS OF STEVE DITKO. I could have done without the fawning book dedication to a certain fascistic monster, but I'm willing to overlook that minor irritant. Pick up this wonderful hardback. I can't really recommend it enough.
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Ditko, a fascinating and uncompromising artist |
This is an incredibly entertaining book. Looking at the cover, one can tell they are not looking at just another comic book artist. Opening the book one sees the first glimpse of Ditko, a five page black and white story called "Stretching Things". The story is a look at a man grown bitter by his handicap, so much so that a possible cure to his condition does'nt bring a happy ending, but a descent into evil. This is'nt your average "comic book artist". The book is a entertaining yet somber look at the career and art of Steve Ditko. The author touches lightly on his pre comic book days, perhaps too lightly in that the interesting tidbits of his life that the author gives us wets the appatite of the reader but leaves us wanting. The book quickly jumps into his career as a comic illustrator, Eisner, Foster and Jerry Robinson being his early inspirations.
The book has a nice balance between text and what most Ditko fans really want to see, his art. There are nice full page splashes of art opposite the beginning of each chapter. The chapters covering his time at marvel and charlton are laced nicely with art of Spiderman, Dr.Strange, Captain Atom, as well as his later Charlton work with pictures of Blue Beetle and The Question. There is a very interesting chapter on his time working at Warren, the publisher that put out the "Eerie" and "Creepy" magazines of the late 60s. This is interesting in that it shows some of Ditkos "wash" technique, a water/ink brushwork style of art of which Ditko was a master. The book covers his time at Marvel and the historic clashes with Stan Lee that drove him to work at other companies such as DC where he created characters such as "The Creeper" and Hawk&Dove and Charlton where he had more creative reign if less pay.
The book goes into Ditko and his objectivist philosophy which he would incorporate into his work often. Such work as "The Question" and his "Mr. A" are examined at length, and holds the reader captive and left wanting more. The efforts of Ditko to keep his work uncompromising are as epic as any Ayn Rand novel. There are a lot of treats for those looking for rare and often unseen Ditko art. The last thirty pages of the book are dedicated to nothing but Ditko art and sketches. A chapter on Ditkos relationship with comic fandom has plenty of examples of his "fanzine" work.
Stories of comic book artists who didnt recieve proper credit or compensation for their work are frequent when talking about gold and silver age artists. The book is, if anything, as much an indictment of the industry as it is a look at the artist. The battle over who owns art(and in some cases who "stole" art), over who created what and who didnt are exposed with jaw dropping effect. With Ditko however, the stain on the industry looks even greater by comparison than it does when held up to giants like Kirby or Superman creators Seigal and Shuster. Ditko doesnt come off as being "handled" or "paid off" or "swept under the rug" like so many companies did with artists who were vocal about creative rights. He comes off as an artist who kept his integrity intact, a rare character trait in any era. Ditko was about the "work" not about the money. One cant help reading this book and walk away looking at Marvel, DC, or Stan Lee in the same light.
The end result is both a sad and heroic tale. But Ditko is not easily defined, and when the author tries to do just that in the last chapter, he misses the mark. The author seems conflicted in the end, longing for the Ditko of old, bemoaning the increasing amount of "telling" text in his art rather than "storytelling". He wants to both exhault and scold Ditko for his uncompromising attitude at the same time. The author talks about how Ditko found Marvel/DC just churning out the same old bland retreads of characters come and gone, unwilling to be innovative. He complains about how Ditko spent too much of his story on the villians juxtaposed with Ditkos objectivist vision of "Hero" as opposed to the flavor of the day, the conflicted, or "anti-hero" that had gained popularity. Yet the author makes statements about how Ditko had "become chained by the trappings of the superhero genre". It's not hard to see that Ditkos work was a scathing commentary on the "anti-hero" and on what superhero comics had become in general. He comments on the decline of Ditkos storytelling abilities. This is a thankfully short bit of editorializing on the authors part to be sure. Yet the author, by trying to define what Ditko is, or had become fails to allow for the possibility that Ditko might have been evolving into something that has no definition. An artist, a master at visual storytelling, an essayist, a commentator on society, one might even say a political illustrator. Combining all of those, one comes up with something that has'nt been seen before or since. Something that eludes even the author. Something new, creative, sometimes polarizing, but definately original and always undefinable. I couldnt begin to put a name to it, all I can say is that it's pure Ditko. This book tells and shows an incredible story. I wish it was a hundred pages longer. A must have for any comic collector. |
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STEVE DITKO - A DECENT TRIBUTE TO AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN |
Growing up, my Grandmother (who bore striking resemblance to Spiderman's Aunt May) used to hand me a few comic books in a brown bag whenever I would come and see her. On one of these occasions I was introduced to the world of Steve Ditko's Spiderman in reprinted form, issued by Marvel. Through Ditko's art, I received what was to be my first taste of "the heroic" as a child. Those faces, imagery, movements - stunned me into adoration for this character who I was to lose interest in as soon as he became another "block-figure" under John Romita's direction. Over the years, I became an avid comic collector, but the crown of my collection continued to be Ditko's work in all categories and genres.
Many years after I stopped buying comic books (focusing my efforts on meeting women like Mary Jane and Gwen Stacey instead!), a philosophy professor of mine offered a suggestion to me. He thought that I might enjoy a book by a novelist named Ayn Rand. The book was Atlas Shrugged.
It did not occur to me for years that there was a connection, outside of my love for heroes of the uncompromising sort, between Ditko and Rand. One day though, on a hunch, I did a search online for the two names. What I came up with was Mr. Blake Bell's website on Steve Ditko and all the pieces fell into place. Since then, I have eagerly awaited the publication of this book.
Now, I am not a total supporter of Mr. Bell's viewpoint nor portrayal of Steve Ditko, which at times delves into the same sort of slander and nonsense that I have seen from his other supposed friends and supporters. It's the "I love your work...but" mind-set. Somehow, the new Liberals & Conservatives can't get over a radical, Objectivist thinker/artist like Ditko. And in this sense, Objectivism being closer to Classical Liberalism than anything else. Even the term "Randian", spread throughout this book has been disavowed by both Ayn Rand herself, and her supporters. Blake uses it to further push, albeit less noisily this "Ditko-Brainwashed" by Rand perspective. He also does a very admirable job of often putting Ditko up on the pedestal that he deserves to be on, and for this, I am grateful to Blake and his efforts.
Another huge Ditko fan, Alan Moore, likens Ayn Rand and Ditko's philosophy to Nazism. What a shame as Mr. Moore seems to follow a very similar "libertarian/Objectivist" outlook on most issues that I have heard him speak on. (check out the interview on his "religion" for a good laugh")
In any event, Blake's book does a decent job of explaining Ditko's philosophy of life, and his creative motivations. The negatives are less important than the well-structured, well-researched, well-rumored (unfortunately) and all around interestingly critical read.
I commend Blake on tackling the subject of a man still alive. I feel saddened though that Mr. Ditko can't have one proper dedication made to him by a peer or a fan that doesn't read like a "kiss and punch" at the same time, but his hero Ayn Rand experienced the same in her lifetime, so perhaps all makes sense in the end.
I was a put off by the cover, which when compared to much of the life-affirming art inside, clearly denotes Ditko as a bit "off" so to speak - paranoid even. Yes, we all know what the cover should have been as a proper tribute - Spiderman holding those steel beams up over his head a la Atlas. But then that tribute already exists in the work that Mr. Ditko created, and in the character of this extraordinary man. It did annoy me though. Steve Ditko is a hard worker, a man of integrity, and someone who deserves to see one crystal clear "thank you" before his days are done. I had hoped that this book might have been it. It came close though, but as Steve would point out, close is never enough. A is A after all.
Please understand that by my review, I do not see Steve Ditko as flawless. Certainly, his writing style and diatribes did not move me to become interested in Objectivism, nor would they, had I not read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged first. Ditko's words were often too preachy and came off as more of a "lecture" than a narrative. However, it was when his characters were involved in "the doing" that I most closely identified with Ditko. His art and plotting spoke more than his words needed to. Steve is clearly a frustrated visionary, as most artists and creators are. The betrayals that Blake covers in the book make us know the "why" of it. So we can understand the mind that created Ditko's Objectivist hero, "Mr. A" and the world that needed him as vindicator.
Steve Ditko took the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Objecivism, and lived by it for most of his 80 plus years on this earth. His is truly a man of unbending will and godlike stature. In that time, he has created some of comic/media's most memorable, heroic figures. He's taken ideas and given them life. And while Stan Lee stands in the light with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, there is someone in the shadows judging him, perhaps dressed in a fedora and trench-coat, and that man is Steve Ditko. And we hope he stands next to his creations, a much more real, much more heroic Spiderman, The Question and Doctor Strange, along with all his other children.
You have my thanks Mr. Ditko for a job very well done, and to you Mr. Blake Bell for bringing all of this to light. And yes, even to Stan Lee, whatever his failings, he had some bloody good taste in art and men. |
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Ditko, the shining star |
Few comic artists have left their mark on the comic book industry like Steve Ditko. With his groundbreaking work on Spiderman and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee, his signature style art connossieurs find recognizable no matter who inked him, and then his remarkable hermitish existence away from the front lines of comicdom, he is a shining star much like B Traven (Treasure of Sierra Madre).
Steve Ditko began his career in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, born to a family with a strong work ethic and artistic background. Naturally gifted, he was self taught and after being discharged from the service, he joined the Cartoonists and Illustrators School to be mentored by Jerry Robinson and the staff of the school. His first sale was to Stanmor Publications (written by Bruce Hamilton), and from there, his unique style and visual sensibilities took him to an artistic peak at Marvel Comics in the mid 1960's. Working with Warren, DC, Charlton, Marvel, and a variety of smaller publishers, the creative output of Steve Ditko was hampered later in his career by his philosophic leanings towards Randism and objectivism.
That, perhaps is the saddest truth in Black Bell's "The World of Steve Ditko". What could have been a charmed life working on Spiderman, Doctor Strange, and his own creations, turned into an introspective look inside that gradually crept into his most celebrated stories. His work became telling, as opposed to story telling, and with that, any appeal Ditko may have had to contemporary publishers was diminished.
As a comic fan and historian, I find that "The World of Steve Ditko" is a wholly remarkable book. What really stands out are a couple of facets. Firstly, Bell is a strong advocate of Steve Ditko. His admiration and defense of Ditko's talent is clear. Secondly, the life and art of Steve Ditko that could have been shared with comic fans and historians that will never be seen is presented with a factual bent that leaves readers with a sense of sadness as opposed to celebration.
Bell relates the stories of co-workers who have been rebuffed over a thematic representation, or financial arrangement gone wrong. Greg Theakston tells of seeing priceless art being cut up. What is clearly missing in the book is the voice of Steve Ditko, but that is not the fault of Blake Bell. It is to his credit that he presents a strong image of a creative genius overwhelmed by his craft, who loses sense of balance and purpose. Ditko is Ditko. That much is sure. But is he the man behind Spiderman, or The Question?, or Hawk and Dove? Or Mr A? Is he just a man who was imbued with a talent few can hope for?
That is the question we are left with after reading this brilliant treastise that defines a man by those who have encountered him at his low and high points without his co-operation. If he were to have been consulted, and he would have agreed, we might have a different story. Perhaps the voice of Howard Roark might be more suitable.
Artists through the decades have struggled with the questions Steve Dikto has embraced whole heartedly. Some have accepted standard tenants of belief, while others have moved towards Randism, monotheism, polytheism, atheism, or hedonism. His is not a new story, but rather one of many who continue to enthrall us.
The graphic design and artistic samples throughout the book are stunning. Rare images culled from scattered files and collaborators collections decorate the book. I love the unpublished Spiderman covers, and actually like them more than the published ones (AAF 15 for example).
The life and influence of Steve Ditko will always be debated. In many ways, he is the opposite of Stan Lee who easily took the spotlight. The comic book industry needs both.
If you read this Mr Ditko. Thank you.
Tim Lasiuta
www.fantagraphics.com
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