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Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
Strange and 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.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published July 21, 2008
11 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
About the author
Blake Bell
107 books7 followersWriter of multiple books on comic-book creators. Books include "Fire & Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner & The Birth of Marvel Comics"; "Strange & Stranger: The World Of Steve Ditko", "I Have To Live With This Guy!", plus multiple introductions and forewords for Marvel and DC Comics. Also, editor of "The Steve Ditko Archives" volumes for Fantagraphics.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 1, 2008
The first critical retrospective of the co-creator of Spider-man, Strange and Stranger grants an inside look into the workings and artistic life of this unusual man. Bell successfully argues Ditko's place within the pantheon of great artists while at the same time presenting the many shortcomings of Ditko the person. Ditko's strong adherence to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism ostracized and made a pariah out of the artist. Bell shines light on many diverse corners of the comics industry in an attempt to understand the reclusive Ditko. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a must for fans of the artist in particular and comic book history in general.
January 22, 2018
Illuminating and educating; the first half of this bio is fascinating and doesn't shy away from some of the technical details of Ditko's work. The influence of objectivism on not just his narratives but also, and more importantly, his professional approach are unflinchingly discussed later.
Ditko comes across as an inspired and professionally-minded artist - especially in his early days - and a maddening but empathetic man. There is some strong research and good writing here - but more care in re-presenting old panels and spreads would have been more appropriate.
Ditko comes across as an inspired and professionally-minded artist - especially in his early days - and a maddening but empathetic man. There is some strong research and good writing here - but more care in re-presenting old panels and spreads would have been more appropriate.
March 6, 2016
Given Ditko's notorious reticence, this is probably as good a biography as one might expect, with insightful chapters on all aspects of Ditko's career, and a far from flattering evaluation of Ditko's more personal Objectivist work. Lavishly illustrated, though at least one complete short story might have been nice.
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September 3, 2012I just finished reading Stranger and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko (2008) by Blake Bell. Strange and Stranger is a biography of one of my favorite comic book artists, Steve Ditko, co-creator of two of my favorite comics books characters, Spider-Man and Dr. Strange.
While other comic book fans from the early 60s enthuse over Jack Kirby’s work, I was always a Ditko fan. His art is somewhat on the quirky side and wasn’t always a good fit for the stories and characters, but when they fit (as they did with both Spider-Man and Dr. Strange) the effect was amazing. Although it’s probably too strong to say there wouldn’t be a Spider-Man without Ditko, without Ditko the Spider-Man we know today would not exist.
Prior to Marvel’s superheroization in the early 60s, Marvel published mostly fantasy anthology comics featuring 3 to 5 stories per issue. Although this was before my time as a comic book reader, the stories were occasionally reprinted in the late 60s and 70s and it was always a treat to find a Ditko story I hadn’t seen before. They were always strange and the art nearly always appropriately eerie.
Much of Ditko’s Spider-Man is readily in print. Every few years Marvel reprints it in some form or another. His Dr. Strange work is somewhat harder to find. His pre-superhero Marvel work is slowly being reprinted; as part of its Marvel Masterworks series, Marvel has been publishing volumes from “The Atlas Era”. Many of these volumes contain Ditko work. And in 2007 it published Amazing Adult Fantasy Omnibus which has almost 50 Ditko stories.
Before, during and after his time at Marvel, Ditko illustrated comics for other companies, mostly Charlton; there too his work encompassed superheroes, strange fantasy and science fiction stories. I wasn’t a Charlton reader back then (I was a Marvel fan boy) but a decent sampling of Ditko’s non-superhero Charlton work has been recently republished and it’s pretty good as well; although the stories may be somewhat inferior to those from Marvel, the art isn’t. Steve Ditko Space Wars (2005), Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives, Vol. 1 (2009), The Art of Ditko (2009) and Big Book O’ Ditko (2010) all contain fine Ditko work (with a bit of overlap) mostly from his pre-Marvel days at Charlton.
Ditko only worked on (art and plot) Spider-Man for a little over 3 of the character’s 48 year history; but his work defined the character as we have him today. He created many of the hero’s best known and current villains, including Doctor Octopus, the Sandman and the Green Goblin. In 1966, he stunned fandom by leaving Marvel for reasons at the time unspecified and even today somewhat shrouded in mystery. I’ve heard there were artistic differences between Stan Lee and Ditko about the direction the stories would take; Bell’s book talks about the lack of written contracts and non-fulfillment of verbal contracts between Ditko and publisher Martin Goodman.
After leaving Marvel, In addition to Charlton, Ditko worked for Warren, some 16 of his stories were published in Creepy and Eerie, and DC, creating several characters that still see publication, including The Creeper, Hawk and Dove and The Question.
For Charlton he created Captain Atom and revamped the Blue Beetle. Both characters (last I knew) were owned by DC (although according to Wikipedia, DC killed off Ditko’s Blue Beatle in 2005).
Perhaps Ditko’s most unusual creation is Mr. A. The original Mr. A stories were published in the fan press in the late 60s, because Ditko thought it unlikely that the stories he wanted to write would get past the Comic Code Authority (the comic industry’s self-censoring body created in the 50s to prevent government censorship). I don’t know that I’ve ever read a Mr. A, story, but I’ve heard a lot about them. In the early-60s, Ditko was becoming a devotee of Ayn Rand. As the years progressed he appears to have gotten deeper and deeper into the Randian philosophy. Mr. A was the result. Although few comic creators share his philosophy, many of them credit Ditko with being one of the first to actually promote or even express a philosophy in his stories.
Unfortunately, it seems Ditko’s obsession with Randian philosophy and his demands for strict creative control led him to become virtually unemployable from the 90s onward.
Stranger and Stranger is an interesting read. It’s profusely illustrated with samples of Ditko’s work from through-out his career. I feel like I learned a lot about Ditko, but I don’t feel like I got to know him. Many sources describe him as intensely private, and I get the feeling very few people actually know him. Ultimately, I was left with a feeling of sadness. Both for the man and, selfishly, for fans like me who wish there was more of his unique body of to enjoy.
While other comic book fans from the early 60s enthuse over Jack Kirby’s work, I was always a Ditko fan. His art is somewhat on the quirky side and wasn’t always a good fit for the stories and characters, but when they fit (as they did with both Spider-Man and Dr. Strange) the effect was amazing. Although it’s probably too strong to say there wouldn’t be a Spider-Man without Ditko, without Ditko the Spider-Man we know today would not exist.
Prior to Marvel’s superheroization in the early 60s, Marvel published mostly fantasy anthology comics featuring 3 to 5 stories per issue. Although this was before my time as a comic book reader, the stories were occasionally reprinted in the late 60s and 70s and it was always a treat to find a Ditko story I hadn’t seen before. They were always strange and the art nearly always appropriately eerie.
Much of Ditko’s Spider-Man is readily in print. Every few years Marvel reprints it in some form or another. His Dr. Strange work is somewhat harder to find. His pre-superhero Marvel work is slowly being reprinted; as part of its Marvel Masterworks series, Marvel has been publishing volumes from “The Atlas Era”. Many of these volumes contain Ditko work. And in 2007 it published Amazing Adult Fantasy Omnibus which has almost 50 Ditko stories.
Before, during and after his time at Marvel, Ditko illustrated comics for other companies, mostly Charlton; there too his work encompassed superheroes, strange fantasy and science fiction stories. I wasn’t a Charlton reader back then (I was a Marvel fan boy) but a decent sampling of Ditko’s non-superhero Charlton work has been recently republished and it’s pretty good as well; although the stories may be somewhat inferior to those from Marvel, the art isn’t. Steve Ditko Space Wars (2005), Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives, Vol. 1 (2009), The Art of Ditko (2009) and Big Book O’ Ditko (2010) all contain fine Ditko work (with a bit of overlap) mostly from his pre-Marvel days at Charlton.
Ditko only worked on (art and plot) Spider-Man for a little over 3 of the character’s 48 year history; but his work defined the character as we have him today. He created many of the hero’s best known and current villains, including Doctor Octopus, the Sandman and the Green Goblin. In 1966, he stunned fandom by leaving Marvel for reasons at the time unspecified and even today somewhat shrouded in mystery. I’ve heard there were artistic differences between Stan Lee and Ditko about the direction the stories would take; Bell’s book talks about the lack of written contracts and non-fulfillment of verbal contracts between Ditko and publisher Martin Goodman.
After leaving Marvel, In addition to Charlton, Ditko worked for Warren, some 16 of his stories were published in Creepy and Eerie, and DC, creating several characters that still see publication, including The Creeper, Hawk and Dove and The Question.
For Charlton he created Captain Atom and revamped the Blue Beetle. Both characters (last I knew) were owned by DC (although according to Wikipedia, DC killed off Ditko’s Blue Beatle in 2005).
Perhaps Ditko’s most unusual creation is Mr. A. The original Mr. A stories were published in the fan press in the late 60s, because Ditko thought it unlikely that the stories he wanted to write would get past the Comic Code Authority (the comic industry’s self-censoring body created in the 50s to prevent government censorship). I don’t know that I’ve ever read a Mr. A, story, but I’ve heard a lot about them. In the early-60s, Ditko was becoming a devotee of Ayn Rand. As the years progressed he appears to have gotten deeper and deeper into the Randian philosophy. Mr. A was the result. Although few comic creators share his philosophy, many of them credit Ditko with being one of the first to actually promote or even express a philosophy in his stories.
Unfortunately, it seems Ditko’s obsession with Randian philosophy and his demands for strict creative control led him to become virtually unemployable from the 90s onward.
Stranger and Stranger is an interesting read. It’s profusely illustrated with samples of Ditko’s work from through-out his career. I feel like I learned a lot about Ditko, but I don’t feel like I got to know him. Many sources describe him as intensely private, and I get the feeling very few people actually know him. Ultimately, I was left with a feeling of sadness. Both for the man and, selfishly, for fans like me who wish there was more of his unique body of to enjoy.
October 9, 2017
Great overview of a comic innovator, who like Jack Kirby watched his work make Marvel millions,but who also sabotaged his own success thru his 100% adoption of Ayn Rands objectivist philosophies. Its a turning point where objectivism took over his work and life, severing work relationships, disappointing his fans and worse still sacrificed all the great technique that made him the great storyteller just to preach his divisive libertarian views. This book is essential: Excellent reproductions of his art and very sharp but sympathetic critical analysis of his work both technically and philosophically.
September 2, 2008
Nicely illustrated monograph of the Spider-Man co-creator, who I didn't initially appreciate until this book. (I was a John Romita acolyte when it came to Spider-Man artists.) Ditko's story also has built-in drama as he comes more under the sway of Ayn Rand's Objectivism teachings that compromises his professional relationships and ultimately credit for his work. I'm still not swooning over his rubber band figural renderings, but I can now appreciate his impressionistic style and unique approach to visual narrative.
April 24, 2009
Probably not too interesting for non-comics nerds, but the writer does a decent job of getting into the treacherous mechanics of working on mainstream, superhero art. But those of us into self-publishing & zine culture might will enjoy his troubled relationship with hobbyist editors and things taking years to come out (or never coming out).
Ditko's later conversion to Ayn Rand's philosophy is also gruesomely compelling. Sidenote -- the Rorschach character in Watchmen is a mocking nod to Ditko's objectivist hero.
Ditko's later conversion to Ayn Rand's philosophy is also gruesomely compelling. Sidenote -- the Rorschach character in Watchmen is a mocking nod to Ditko's objectivist hero.
August 10, 2014
An excellent book for those interested in one of comics greatest (and enigmatic) legends. There is a good amount of biographical material scattered throughout, however, there are very few pictures of Ditko himself. It is also fascinating, to see how his adherence to the philosophy of Ayn Rand, influenced both his storytelling, and his professional decision making. Lots of great artwork featured throughout.
May 3, 2021
Steve Ditko did the pictures, Blake Bell did the text. It does feature a few words from the reclusive artist, usually quoted from obscure fanzines in which he all too rarely expressed a view. Strange indeed is the world of Steve Ditko.
Like most of his generation of comic artists, Ditko grew up fairly poor in the depression and loved comic strips as a kid. After brief army service, he enrolled in The Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York where he was tutored by the great Batman artist Jerry Robinson, then moved easily into work in comics. He soon got work at the Simon and Kirby studio and eagerly studied the work of the master. Not Kirby, Mort Meskin. Ditko admired his art hugely and was greatly influenced by it.
Ditko’s best work and the work for which he is best known was his sixties Marvel stuff on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. However, as this book demonstrates, the techniques he used therein did not come from nowhere but were the development of his work in the fifties on lesser titles, mostly for Charlton. Because the bosses at Charlton didn’t much care what went in their pages, as long as it was cheap, there was a great deal of artistic freedom which Ditko utilized to the full. The classic Marvel works which grew out of this apprenticeship are available in colour as Marvel Masterpieces or, more cheaply, as black and white Essentials. Ditko is one of those artists, like Gene Colan, whose work looks good in black and white though for the full psychedelic effect of Doctor Strange colour might be the best option.
About this time Steve discovered Ayn Rand, writer and philosopher, and believed in her with all his heart and set himself on a path of steady decline as far as commercial success was concerned, which was odd because her greatest heroes were successful businessmen. Objectivism was a right-wing philosophy, devoted to the rights of the individual and utterly opposed to altruism of any kind. Wealth creators are great, it said, and criminals are looters and have no excuses but should be punished ruthlessly. At least, that’s how Ditko saw it.
Why Steve fell out with Stan is one of the big mysteries of comic history and is revealed in this book. It’s not fair to the author to give it away in a review. After the split, Ditko moved to Warren and worked on Creepy and Eerie for Archie Goodwin, where, in competition with such all-time greats as Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Wally Wood and Neal Adams, he produced more good work. These magazines are also being reproduced in nostalgic collections for old fans. Blake Bell rates this stuff as equal to and possibly better than Ditko’s Marvel work.
Financial problems at Warren meant a move to Charlton. Here he revived The Blue Beetle and Captain Atom and started The Question, a watered-down version of Mister A. The pure version, the personification of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, featured in a low circulation magazine called Witzend. Ditko was now starting to separate the work for hire from the stuff he really believed in, like Mister A. The former paid the bills and the latter expressed his philosophy and broke every convention of the Comics Code. Charlton’s superhero line folded and he moved on to DC where he turned out Beware The Creeper’ and The Hawk and The Dove. These were more watered down expressions of his new black and white view of good and evil. They didn’t succeed either. There was always work at Charlton to pay the bills but the next few decades saw a steady decline in Ditko’s fortunes.
Strange and stranger and quite sad, the world of Steve Ditko. A Freudian, I suppose, would make much of the lack of women in his life. That may count but I think it’s the lack of friends that shaped him. What Ditko really needed was some mate down the pub to tell him that Objectivism was a bit daft and he was taking it too seriously. Right now he needs someone to tell him that using his valuable original art as cutting boards is crazy but alas there is no one he will listen to. It’s a shame. You admire his integrity and shake your head ruefully at his folly.
When comic fans grow up we get lots of disposable income and an understandable nostalgia for the innocence of our childhood. The market price for nostalgic goods gets inflated and a disposable 10 cent comic becomes a collector's item while the original art is worth thousands. Meanwhile, the creators are elevated to God-like status. Really, though, they were guys earning a living drawing comics for children, albeit in many cases with integrity and a desire to make something of quality. The ones who did that are the ones that are remembered and Ditko, rightfully, is among their number. But he’s not a great man, not even a great artist, just a great comic book artist. It’s worth keeping these things in perspective.
Even so, the book is an interesting read, a valuable document in graphic art history and a must for any die-hard Ditko fan. As you would expect it is lavishly illustrated with the works of the eponymous chap in the title with a ratio of about two-thirds art to one-third text. A fine, big, sturdy volume, it’s available at a reasonable price and, for the aforementioned nostalgic middle-aged men - including me - worth every penny.
Like most of his generation of comic artists, Ditko grew up fairly poor in the depression and loved comic strips as a kid. After brief army service, he enrolled in The Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York where he was tutored by the great Batman artist Jerry Robinson, then moved easily into work in comics. He soon got work at the Simon and Kirby studio and eagerly studied the work of the master. Not Kirby, Mort Meskin. Ditko admired his art hugely and was greatly influenced by it.
Ditko’s best work and the work for which he is best known was his sixties Marvel stuff on Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. However, as this book demonstrates, the techniques he used therein did not come from nowhere but were the development of his work in the fifties on lesser titles, mostly for Charlton. Because the bosses at Charlton didn’t much care what went in their pages, as long as it was cheap, there was a great deal of artistic freedom which Ditko utilized to the full. The classic Marvel works which grew out of this apprenticeship are available in colour as Marvel Masterpieces or, more cheaply, as black and white Essentials. Ditko is one of those artists, like Gene Colan, whose work looks good in black and white though for the full psychedelic effect of Doctor Strange colour might be the best option.
About this time Steve discovered Ayn Rand, writer and philosopher, and believed in her with all his heart and set himself on a path of steady decline as far as commercial success was concerned, which was odd because her greatest heroes were successful businessmen. Objectivism was a right-wing philosophy, devoted to the rights of the individual and utterly opposed to altruism of any kind. Wealth creators are great, it said, and criminals are looters and have no excuses but should be punished ruthlessly. At least, that’s how Ditko saw it.
Why Steve fell out with Stan is one of the big mysteries of comic history and is revealed in this book. It’s not fair to the author to give it away in a review. After the split, Ditko moved to Warren and worked on Creepy and Eerie for Archie Goodwin, where, in competition with such all-time greats as Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Wally Wood and Neal Adams, he produced more good work. These magazines are also being reproduced in nostalgic collections for old fans. Blake Bell rates this stuff as equal to and possibly better than Ditko’s Marvel work.
Financial problems at Warren meant a move to Charlton. Here he revived The Blue Beetle and Captain Atom and started The Question, a watered-down version of Mister A. The pure version, the personification of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy, featured in a low circulation magazine called Witzend. Ditko was now starting to separate the work for hire from the stuff he really believed in, like Mister A. The former paid the bills and the latter expressed his philosophy and broke every convention of the Comics Code. Charlton’s superhero line folded and he moved on to DC where he turned out Beware The Creeper’ and The Hawk and The Dove. These were more watered down expressions of his new black and white view of good and evil. They didn’t succeed either. There was always work at Charlton to pay the bills but the next few decades saw a steady decline in Ditko’s fortunes.
Strange and stranger and quite sad, the world of Steve Ditko. A Freudian, I suppose, would make much of the lack of women in his life. That may count but I think it’s the lack of friends that shaped him. What Ditko really needed was some mate down the pub to tell him that Objectivism was a bit daft and he was taking it too seriously. Right now he needs someone to tell him that using his valuable original art as cutting boards is crazy but alas there is no one he will listen to. It’s a shame. You admire his integrity and shake your head ruefully at his folly.
When comic fans grow up we get lots of disposable income and an understandable nostalgia for the innocence of our childhood. The market price for nostalgic goods gets inflated and a disposable 10 cent comic becomes a collector's item while the original art is worth thousands. Meanwhile, the creators are elevated to God-like status. Really, though, they were guys earning a living drawing comics for children, albeit in many cases with integrity and a desire to make something of quality. The ones who did that are the ones that are remembered and Ditko, rightfully, is among their number. But he’s not a great man, not even a great artist, just a great comic book artist. It’s worth keeping these things in perspective.
Even so, the book is an interesting read, a valuable document in graphic art history and a must for any die-hard Ditko fan. As you would expect it is lavishly illustrated with the works of the eponymous chap in the title with a ratio of about two-thirds art to one-third text. A fine, big, sturdy volume, it’s available at a reasonable price and, for the aforementioned nostalgic middle-aged men - including me - worth every penny.
November 9, 2015
How a great artist destroyed himself.
November 22, 2024
Steve Ditko is undoubtedly one of the masters of comics and this critical analysis does him justice. As the creator or co-creator of Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, The Creeper, The Question, and many more, Ditko holds a central place in the history of comics. Ditko rarely did interviews or even allowed his photograph to be taken, so figuring out who he was as a person was challenging, I'm sure. Ditko always said that his personal life was unimportant and that his art should stand on its own. In this book, author Blake Bell does mostly that--examining Ditko's style and its evolution over time, but including enough background information to at least get a basic idea of who Ditko was as a person. Ditko seemed like a pretty normal guy, albeit extremely introverted, for the most part, but his unwavering dedication to Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy clearly caused him to lose untold wealth from his creations. Bell doesn't shy away from criticizing Ditko's quirks or pointing out his artistic decline in later years. We do get a sense of what made Ditko great--such as his innovative layouts, attention to detail, and ability to convey strangeness on the page. Ditko as a plotter/writer is also examined, and again we see that his early work is much better than the later stuff where he was preaching his unconventional views. But when Ditko was at his best, he was a master storyteller. This book contains a lot of excellent reproductions of Ditko's art from a wide variety of sources, some of it very rare.
September 29, 2019
Considering Ditko's penchant for privacy, Blake Bell does an excellent job gathering enough information to write a book about Ditko's life, or at the very least his career. The portrait he paints is of a brilliant comic book artist whose career and legacy were marred by his ridiculous adherence to Ayn Rand's deeply flawed, poisonous Objectivist philosophy. Say what you want about the brilliance or foolishness of Randian thought, it didn't seem to do Ditko any favors, pushing him away from his most famous work (Spider-Man), creating a rift with one of his best collaborators (Stan Lee), and pinballing him around the comic world from one studio to the next. Ditko evidently died childless, unmarried, broke (or at least missing out on the fortune he could have made), and alone, so his belief system didn't seem to amount to shit all for his personal life.
Which is a shame, because it's clear that Spider-Man's success was absolutely due to Ditko's creativity and his ability rein in Stan Lee's worst impulses to make the book so fantastical it loses its relatable edge. Ditko's other creations, such as Dr. Strange, Blue Beetle, and The Question also continue to resonate with modern audiences. If Ditko's perspective on his work, and the comic industry, hadn't been distorted by Objectivism, who knows how much more great characters and stories we could have gotten from him.
Which is a shame, because it's clear that Spider-Man's success was absolutely due to Ditko's creativity and his ability rein in Stan Lee's worst impulses to make the book so fantastical it loses its relatable edge. Ditko's other creations, such as Dr. Strange, Blue Beetle, and The Question also continue to resonate with modern audiences. If Ditko's perspective on his work, and the comic industry, hadn't been distorted by Objectivism, who knows how much more great characters and stories we could have gotten from him.
December 16, 2018
Back when this came out I was extremely excited because I had a feverish Ditko obsession and by the time I finished it, I had lost quite a bit of respect for Ditko (I used to make a lot of excuses for him) and it helped me come to terms with and be honest about just how badly Ditko's work had declined (I was still a bit of a fanboy back then). And after that it leaves me wondering all the more what could have been had he developed his talents more and focused on what he was actually good at. Blake Bell quite accurately describes the decline.
A few small complaints.
(1) The 60s/70s Charlton Ghost comics really don't receive enough praise for their experimentation and drawing quality.
(2) The Creeper stories in World's Finest should also have recieved more attention. It was one of the few (or only?) truly mainstream superhero comics Ditko wrote himself and it's interesting because of the light humrous tone he approached them with. Very different to his creator owned comics.
(3) The Crackling Blazer was a minor feature but it deserved a mention because it's one of the weirdest things he ever did.
But this is a great book. I haven't read Ditko Unleashed yet so I don't know how it compares.
A few small complaints.
(1) The 60s/70s Charlton Ghost comics really don't receive enough praise for their experimentation and drawing quality.
(2) The Creeper stories in World's Finest should also have recieved more attention. It was one of the few (or only?) truly mainstream superhero comics Ditko wrote himself and it's interesting because of the light humrous tone he approached them with. Very different to his creator owned comics.
(3) The Crackling Blazer was a minor feature but it deserved a mention because it's one of the weirdest things he ever did.
But this is a great book. I haven't read Ditko Unleashed yet so I don't know how it compares.
June 30, 2020
Two things "wrong" with this book. The first that Ditko is represented as both bitter and hard to work with - that may be true, but you know what they say about meeting your heroes. The second is the amount of time spent telling us how much and how often Ditko pushed his Rand-ian beliefs into his work (or turned down work because of them) - again, almost certainly factual but, even though I've heard of Ayn Rand, I'm no scholar of philosophy and, therefore, didn't really follow the "argument".
Having said that, as a collection - or, perhaps more accurately, a sample - of his artwork and as a biography, it's both interesting and informative, while not necessarily being fawning, which some biographies can be. Ditko may not have been your average comic writer/illustrator and this book goes a long way to show that. I wonder what some of his more ardent fans thought of it. For me, always more of a DC fan, but interested in comics in general, it is a worthy addition to my shelves, despite the faults I, personally, found with it.
Having said that, as a collection - or, perhaps more accurately, a sample - of his artwork and as a biography, it's both interesting and informative, while not necessarily being fawning, which some biographies can be. Ditko may not have been your average comic writer/illustrator and this book goes a long way to show that. I wonder what some of his more ardent fans thought of it. For me, always more of a DC fan, but interested in comics in general, it is a worthy addition to my shelves, despite the faults I, personally, found with it.
September 4, 2018
Probably the closest to a biography we will get of a the reclusive Steve Ditko. I've never been a huge fan of the guy's art (or his politics)--but it can be said that he had a strong moral character that seems like in most industries today.
October 16, 2020
Honestly not what I expected and I was happy for it to be so. I suppose I was only use to Ditko's Marvel stuff and had no idea of any of the early things.
October 16, 2008
I met Blake Bell at MOCCA at his Q&A about this book. He wasn't really prepared to answer any questions that were not covered in this book, and generally got the fame-seeking, annoying nerd vibe from him. Basically, I understood why Steve Ditko wouldn't want him to do a biography. His analytical skills are pretty bad, and his thesis--Steve Ditko could've made a lot of money if he had disregarded his ideals--doesn't really endear him to me either. Ever heard of artistic integrity, Blake?
June 24, 2009
A fascinating look at a legend in the comics industry. The story of his life and his philosophies are intertwined with examples of the art he was producing at the time. It's a shame that his personal beliefs led to the destruction of his career.
August 6, 2011
I need to reread this one. There is so much to comic art that I don't know. The way pencils and inks are done, how that can change everything, the design of the panels, the 'lighting' of a 2d page. I have much to learn. And Ditko was incredibly inventive and creative at all those things.
August 11, 2011
No one can say Ditko lacks principles, but there is a distinct whiff of "squandered talent" here. He couldn't leave behind superheroes or objectivist philosophy - both, taken together, rarely work in the examples provided. That said, Spider-Man #1-#38 is still nothing to sniff at.
Read
October 1, 2011Good history, great samples. Quick read if you're a comic buff, particularly either a horror comic buff or a marvel fanboy ;).
September 20, 2012
A must read for comic fans
April 28, 2013
A decent over view of Ditko's artistic output over the years but very little about the man himself.
April 30, 2015
steve ditko is the genius behind many marvel characters. he is most famous for fighting stan lee over intelectual property.
he then went a little nuts and became ann randyn crazy.
he then went a little nuts and became ann randyn crazy.
August 12, 2015
Cool book, great art, sad and frustrating life story,
October 22, 2015
One of the more complete looks at the reclusive Ditko's life.
April 28, 2016
Wow, I had no idea the co-creator of Spider-man and Dr. Strange was such an eccentric guy. Fascinating story of a guy who seemed to sabotage his own success every chance he got.
October 8, 2013
Gorgeous and gossipy, this is what a comic artist's biography should be.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews