Steve Ditko's 80-Page Package

by Steve Ditko

B & W reprints of Ditko's Missing Man stories as well as two new stories.

Genres: Comics

Paperback

Published January 1, 1999

About the author

Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko was an American comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

He was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always liked the Missing Man. He’s such a cool visual, just a suggestion of arms, legs, and head floating in space. He’s a very Steve Ditko character. In the visual sense, I mean. He certainly doesn't go around grimly pronouncing that criminals should perish because of their actions or anything. On the contrary, MM inhabits a fairly bright, cartoony world. Ditko’s character designs skew toward the clownish, and their mannerisms suggest a cast of loveable eccentrics. If this book were in color, we strongly suspect that those hues would be bright.

Syd Mane is a computer consultant renowned for his troubleshooting abilities. But when villains strike, he puts on his special glasses, transforming into the Missing Man. With the help of Ma’s Detective Agency, the bad guys don't stand a chance.

The series is on the goofy side, and all kinds of fun. It never fails to make me smile. I first encountered the character back in the 80's in one of Pacific Comics’ anthology titles. This volume gathers together all of the MM appearances from various PC titles, as well as a new story, “M… M… Meets the V… L…” As a writer, Ditko can get quite grim and didactic. It's refreshing to see a more … fluffy side of him for a change.

As I’ve said before, whatever one thinks of his writing, Ditko is a fascinating artist with a real gift for storytelling and character design. Recommended!