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--Link-- MR. A. Kickstarter last call
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New and Upcoming Ditko - MR. A. #15 and others
To catch up some...
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Now available from Robin Snyder is MR. A. #15. This contains two new Mr. A. stories, "The Best Deal" (20-pages) and "Exploder" (11-pages), that Ditko originally intended for the first issue of a MR. A. series solicited but unpublished by AAA circa 1990, the front and back cover for that issue and a classic Mr. A. page first seen on the back cover of the 1973 issue of MR. A.
To anticipate the inevitable question, I do not know the exact reasoning for the "#15" designation, but will note that the following 14 prior publications contained at least one original story featuring Mr. A. (many others contained single page Mr. A. features):
WITZEND #3 [1967]
WITZEND #4 [1968]
COMIC CRUSADER #6 [1969]
COMIC CRUSADER #7 [1969]
GRAPHIC ILLUSIONS #1 [1971]
THE COLLECTOR #26 [1972]
COMIC CRUSADER #13 [1972]
SENSE OF WONDER #11 [1972]
MR. A #1 [1973]
MR. A #2 [1975]
COMIC CRUSADER STORYBOOK [1978]
STEVE DITKO'S 176-PAGE PACKAGE HEROES [2000]
DITKO CONTINUED... [2009]
OH, NO! NOT AGAIN, DITKO! [2009]
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To anticipate the inevitable question, I do not know the exact reasoning for the "#15" designation, but will note that the following 14 prior publications contained at least one original story featuring Mr. A. (many others contained single page Mr. A. features):
WITZEND #3 [1967]
WITZEND #4 [1968]
COMIC CRUSADER #6 [1969]
COMIC CRUSADER #7 [1969]
GRAPHIC ILLUSIONS #1 [1971]
THE COLLECTOR #26 [1972]
COMIC CRUSADER #13 [1972]
SENSE OF WONDER #11 [1972]
MR. A #1 [1973]
MR. A #2 [1975]
COMIC CRUSADER STORYBOOK [1978]
STEVE DITKO'S 176-PAGE PACKAGE HEROES [2000]
DITKO CONTINUED... [2009]
OH, NO! NOT AGAIN, DITKO! [2009]
And I thought I had posted about it before, but apparently not, so I'll just mention that #20 (or as I still like to call it, "#SNAKE FACE") is also out, with Miss Eerie, The Cape and more. It also announces the next book in the series, which appears to be called #2oww1 and will feature The Outline, The !? and The Grey Negotiator. THE FOUR-PAGE SERIES might have some more issues, and while I can't say for certain that more Mr. A. is in the pipeline, I will note that Ditko kept the "Coming: The Origin Of Mr. A." blurb on the last page of "The Best Deal".
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--Link-- Ditko's #2oww1 Kickstarter
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--Link-- #2oww1 Kickstarter ending
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New Ditko - KILL THE FACE
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New Ditko - #2oww1
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Upcoming Ditko - #22 and Mysterious Traveler (Kickstarter link)
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Ditko in 2014 wrapup
A pretty decent year for new and reprint Ditko in 2014. As usual, go here for the occasionally updated list going back to 2005.
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Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko continued their publishing programs with three more of Ditko's 32-page series (#19 to #21), plus MR. A. #15 printing for the first time some stories done circa 1990 for an unpublished series. There were also two issues of Ditko's essay series THE FOUR-PAGE SERIES.
There were two issues of DITKOMANIA published during the year, #92 and #93.
Several notable reprints.
The Wallace Wood Estate licensed reprints of a few of Wood's major projects. The complete WITZEND includes the earliest Mr. A. stories, the first version of Avenging World and several short bits. CANNON includes Ditko's two stories from HEROES, INC. (printed two pages to a page to fit the landscape format they used for the bulk of the Cannon strories).
KILL THE FACE reprinted the three Ditko issues from the 1980s in colour for the first time.
Marvel had a bunch of reprints, mostly just reprinting stuff already available in multiple formats. There were also the usual pricey reprints of public domain material from various publishers.
Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko continued their publishing programs with three more of Ditko's 32-page series (#19 to #21), plus MR. A. #15 printing for the first time some stories done circa 1990 for an unpublished series. There were also two issues of Ditko's essay series THE FOUR-PAGE SERIES.
There were two issues of DITKOMANIA published during the year, #92 and #93.
Several notable reprints.
The Wallace Wood Estate licensed reprints of a few of Wood's major projects. The complete WITZEND includes the earliest Mr. A. stories, the first version of Avenging World and several short bits. CANNON includes Ditko's two stories from HEROES, INC. (printed two pages to a page to fit the landscape format they used for the bulk of the Cannon strories).
KILL THE FACE reprinted the three Ditko issues from the 1980s in colour for the first time.
Marvel had a bunch of reprints, mostly just reprinting stuff already available in multiple formats. There were also the usual pricey reprints of public domain material from various publishers.
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--Link-- Ditko Double-Take Kickstarter ending
Coming up on the end of the Ditko Double-Take Kickstarter for the next two Snyder/Ditko books, the all-new #22 of the on-going series and a 32-page "new and reprint" TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER book.Still no hint about exactly what that'll be, but I'll note that when Charlton briefly revived the title in the 1980s Ditko did do one new story in #15, an unused cover planned for a later issue that was shown in AMAZING HEROES and said to be slated for an issue of REVOLVER at Renegade, but not used there, although at least one other Traveler story did appear at Renegade.
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New Ditko - The Four-Page Series #7
The latest in Ditko's essay series, THE FOUR-PAGE SERIES #7, is now available. Three
“#43: The 1st New York City Comic Book Convention”
“#40: The Chosen Grey Mind”
“#41: A Cure Or The Actual Disease?”
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“#43: The 1st New York City Comic Book Convention”
“#40: The Chosen Grey Mind”
“#41: A Cure Or The Actual Disease?”
We also get our first look at the cover of the upcoming TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #16, and this hint of things to come:
Ordering details for THE FOUR-PAGE SERIES #7 are as noted in the scan above, or as always you can check this page. Snyder informs me that several of the earlier FOUR-PAGE issues are currently out of print (3, 4, 5), as are several of their earlier books.
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New Ditko - #22 and Traveler #16
Retailers that carry the books should have copies now or soon, or you can order direct from Robin Snyder, details here.
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Upcoming Ditko - #23
Other upcoming releases listed in the latest book are THE ALIEN, something about Blue Beetle in THE COMICS newsletter and the essay "Why I Quit" in the FOUR-PAGE SERIES. I'm not completely certain all of those are Ditko related, more info as I get it.
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--Link-- Ditko #2oww3oww & Out Of This World Kickstarter
Now available for backing the next Snyder/Ditko Kickstarter, again for two books. The usual new issue is #2OWW3OWW, featuring Miss Eerie and The Cape, and there's also OUT OF THIS WORLD, a science fiction anthology with a mix of new and reprint material. The cover is the classic Ditko image first used in the 1965 fanzine ALL STARS #1 (as seen below), presumably in pure black and white. Don't know about the other material, but there's a lot of Ditko work that would fit the theme, like the QUESTAR stories.
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Kickstarter open for pledges until April 2, 2015.
Kickstarter open for pledges until April 2, 2015.
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--Link-- Ditko MR. A "#4" Kickstarter
Haven't been keeping up lately, so I almost missed plugging the latest Kickstarter from Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko, for a reprint of the 1975 MR. A comic, featuring two 16-page Ditko stories, originally published by Bruce Hershenson. Just a day left to back it.
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New Ditko - STEVE DITKO'S WEIRD COMICS #1
Note that if you prefer the stories in black and white the story "The Creator" is available in the recent TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #16 from Snyder/Ditko and Todd has announced plans for a more comprehensive collection of MONSTERS ATTACK stories (including work by John Severin, Gene Colan, Alex Toth, Pat Boyette and others) sometime in the future which will have the stories in their original form.
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Monsters Attack #4 [1990]
Some wild transformations in this story about Count Kcraz, a greedy man who uses powers of illusion to force people to sell him their land. The illusions are very well rendered, especially the fingers turning into snakes. Eventually Kcraz’s land-grab takes him to the home of the witch Zona, who scares off his underlings with ease. But Zona wisely realizes that she’ll need something more subtle to stop Kcraz, who won’t scare very easily.
An enjoyable little story with an unexpected ending and some very strong storytelling, always a pleasure to see Ditko’s renderings of magics and Eastern European locations.
This story is newly rendered in colour as the cover feature in the recent STEVE DITKO'S WEIRD COMICS #1.
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Monsters Attack #5 [1990]
This is Ditko’s take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein story, with a scientist (in the classic mountain-top castle overlooking a small village location) managing to create life in his lab, only needing the a sample of brain blood to finish the job and infuse the creation with a personality. He heads into town to find the right donor, encountering a variety of personalities among the townspeople, and also revealing a few secrets about his own past.
An interesting story with a somewhat enigmatic ending, this is the story in this set most similar to the work that Ditko has done since, right up to his latest on-going self-published stories. There are several very strong bits of imagery playing on the story’s themes of creation and personality.
This story is reprinted in the recent TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #16 from Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko in its original form and in colour in STEVE DITKO'S WEIRD COMICS #1 from Charlton Neo.
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Amazing World Of DC Comics #13 [1976]
The 4-page story is set in medieval times and features a would-be squire named Bruce who gets conned by a bunch of frightened knights into dealing with the mysterious "Gnark" that, as the title says, is coming. Cute little story, the artwork shows some pretty heavy inkwork typical of Wood in this period, but still pretty clearly Ditko underneath.
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Many Ghosts Of Doctor Graves #43 [1973]
Fairly straightforward story, with a bit of an abrupt ending, the various settings in time and variety of deaths play well to Ditko's strengths, and there are a lot of great faces.
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Eerie #135 [1982]
Until recently, EERIE #135 [1982] was the best quick source for Ditko's 1966/1967 work at Warren, reprinting ten of the sixteen stories that Ditko drew for the publisher's two magazines. All of the ten were written by Archie Goodwin.
CREEPY #9 [1966] - "The Spirit Of The Thing"
CREEPY #10 [1966] - "Collector's Edition"
CREEPY #11 [1966] - "Beast Man"
CREEPY #12 [1966] - "Blood Of The Werewolf"
CREEPY #13 [1967] - "Second Chance"
CREEPY #14 [1967] - "Where Sorcery Lives"
CREEPY #15 [1967] - "City Of Doom"
EERIE #4 [1966] - "Shrieking Man"
EERIE #7 [1967] - "Fly"
EERIE #8 [1967] - "Demon Sword"
There are a lot of minor alterations in the stories, such as changing the host from Uncle Creepy to Cousin Eerie as needed, and altering the title lettering and story introductions (sometimes omitted entirely). The reproduction also isn't great, with the grey wash tones sometimes coming out a bit darker than they should. And the cover by Sanjulian is a bit incongruous for an all-Ditko issue in style, though it fits in subject matter.
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All of the stories are pretty good, some are spectacular. Of special note is "City Of Doom", since as far as I know it was the only one of the stories which hadn't been reprinted by Warren prior to this. It features a barely dressed barbarian warrior named Thane. I'm not sure if Thane appeared before this, but there is at least one more story with the character (by Goodwin and artist Jeff Jones) in the following issue of its original publication. I'm also not up on the history of barbarian warriors in comics, but I do know this is well before Marvel licensed Conan for their comics.
Anyway, Thane opens the story betrayed and left to be eaten by some great looking vultures at the beginning of the story, but manages to escape and make short work of the vultures. He then encounters Livia, the also barely dressed high priestess of the ancient city of Kadith in the middle of the desert, and follows her there in hopes of both revenge on his betrayers and some treasure. As you'd expect, what follows is a mix of monsters, betrayal and death amidst the mazelike interior of the Kadith.
Overall not one of the best of the Ditko/Goodwin collaborations at Warren, but pretty decent, and a few great visual moments from Ditko.
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There are a lot of minor alterations in the stories, such as changing the host from Uncle Creepy to Cousin Eerie as needed, and altering the title lettering and story introductions (sometimes omitted entirely). The reproduction also isn't great, with the grey wash tones sometimes coming out a bit darker than they should. And the cover by Sanjulian is a bit incongruous for an all-Ditko issue in style, though it fits in subject matter.
Anyway, Thane opens the story betrayed and left to be eaten by some great looking vultures at the beginning of the story, but manages to escape and make short work of the vultures. He then encounters Livia, the also barely dressed high priestess of the ancient city of Kadith in the middle of the desert, and follows her there in hopes of both revenge on his betrayers and some treasure. As you'd expect, what follows is a mix of monsters, betrayal and death amidst the mazelike interior of the Kadith.
Overall not one of the best of the Ditko/Goodwin collaborations at Warren, but pretty decent, and a few great visual moments from Ditko.
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