Ditko Unleashed - 70 Years of Steve Ditko's Visionary Comic Art
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
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Just as he came up with Dr. Strange on his own initiative, Ditko apparently proposed the Hulk revival in Tales to Astonish, telling Stan he'd figured out a way to make it work. The original six issue Hulk book was all over the place, changing direction monthly, with a lot of rushed ideas about nondescript commies and aliens. What Ditko did was create a very strong structure, codifying the transformations triggered by emotion, establishing the set environment on the military base, introducing the Glen Talbot character to generate some romantic drama, and, importantly, giving Hulk a perfect arch-enemy in the Leader, a creature of pure intellect birthed by the same radiation that made the Hulk a primal brute (and also giving the Hulk some difficult foes to punch with the Leader's androids). If you look at the way those early stories are put together, it's almost a perfect serial. Ditko left one issue after they had Colletta ink him. I don't know if that's why he stopped on the Hulk, but his dislike of Colletta's inks on Kirby has been documented by Evanier. And the post-Ditko Hulk was pretty erratic for a while.
Those 'one and done' issues of Spider-man sold that title so much better than the drawn out 6 issue story arcs of today. You were so satisfied with this month, you couldn't wait for next month's adventure... not because the story's not finished yet.
I didn't like Ditko when I was a kid. As you said, it's not comforting and I guess that was the barrier. Now I look at it and wonder what it was that I didn't like. It's all brilliant.
Nice review guys!! Do more Ditko!!! I would only point out that the photo on page 14 is not him. That picture is from the high school year book when he was a junior and has been incorrectly identified as him.
Man, it's so refreshing to be able to play a video that's over an hour and not be interrupted with obnoxious ads every two minutes. Love the video and the content. I'm glad I've been subscribed to the channel for as long as I have been. Keep up the great work, fellas!
I love how he draws the Hulk. Like a strong stocky box built like a fridge.
When Ditko is using the six panel grid on those Warren stories, it’s about the shape of a mid-60s tv screen; the washes give the sense of a black & white tv show like Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone. Even more so than the Atlas/Marvel and Charlton mystery stories.
One comic Ditko did that wasn’t touched on was Big Boy, done for the restaurant chain, circa 1995-96. Think the inks were by Luke McDonnell. Only one or two issues but I’m sure pretty tough to find.
Those P. Craig Russell inked Ditko drawn Rom comics were amazing!!!
I did a comic on Steve Ditko’s life for university and this is one of the books I got for my research. It’s brilliant.
We all know Steve was a genius. I told friends my folks age when Steve died and they were all sad even if they weren't comic nuts like me. But there are a couple of things in my life I think I missed out on. #1 was that Jack Kirby never did Batman #2 was that Neal Adams never did spidey,#3 was that Steve never did more spidey and doctor strange.😞
And the Hulk, too! He was a genius and Stan Lee couldn't wait to take credit for him.
Felt more when Romita died to be honest. Not because he was a superior artist but also an all round great man. Nobody ever said a bad word about Romita.
@iwanttoseemrshow
Stan Lee came up with the idea for Hulk, just as he did with Spider-Man.
I really like the work Ditko did at Charlton comics, his horror and science fiction is overlooked.
At 06:15, you guys are wondering how they did the negative image on the "Out of This World" cover. Having worked in the production department at Marvel throughout the 80's I can tell you. Whoever was working on the cover mechanical, would submit the line art to the stat room, with a note "S/S Neg" (Same Size Negative). A negative of the art would be produced, and pasted over the original art with rubber cement. This mechanical would be sent to the separators. It looks like the negative stat was removed not too long after production, because otherwise you would see yellow rubber cement stains like those around the logo.
You must do the Ditko Is Strange anthology, my dudes.
I’m in a Ditko deep dive currently and this came up- great dissection fellas. I bought this book about halfway through the video- kayfabe effect got me again!
I didn't get into Ditko's work until I saw some of his later Charlton work on Captain Atom and Blue Beetle. His drawings of the Blue Beetle's "Bug" airship were really cool. The black and white work he did for Creepy and Eerie were amazing. Then he hit his stride with Dr. Strange. That title came around right when the psychedelic era was in full swing and Ditko fit right into the vibe! Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Ditko was far from being an acid using member of the counter-culture! No one drew alien worlds and other dimensions like Ditko.
Spot on with the Patience shout out, back in Feb when the Clowes artist’s edition came out Ditko Unleashed is definitely one of those books I grabbed after seeing it on his shelf on the endpapers.
I just got a good deal on ebay today for this book...for $50.00! I saw this review first and grabbed it right away when i saw a listing. This is what I call a complete Ditko history!
Insightful & entertaining at the same time, you guys are the best.
Brilliant job, gents. I bought his Starman issues in Adventure Comics a few years back and the writing was so dense. Really had taken away from the artwork. I loved his work on the Demon in the Batman family dollar book. Baron Tyme is still one of my favorite character designs. I always found it jarring as a kid when Marvel would put Ditko on a book that had been penciled by Pat Broderick (and inked by Danny Bulanadi), as it seemed like such a major contrast.
My favorite Ditko work was Shade. The designs and images were insanely awesome.
For what it’s worth, Mark Evanier tells that story at an sdcc a few years back, about Stan Lee telling him Ditko was his favourite inker on Kirby, while they were lowering the coffin into the ground at Bob Kane’s funeral. The epitome of “where the hell did *that* come from?!”
I remember being at a comic convention back in the early 80's hearing someone ask Jim Lee why he never gave credit to Steve Ditko's work on Spiderman?
Should have asked Stan Lee that question
@@tikitokiworld3242 it'd be an odd question. Stan often talked about how great the artists were.
But Stan did give credit to Ditko. He called him Spider-Man's co creator and insisted he got credit on the Spider-Man movies.
Never understood why Romita didn't have credit in the movies. Mary Jane was his character, and Spider-Man 2 is pure Romita.
@@langreeves6419But did he talk about how the artists were also writing the stories? Nah. Ditko forced Lee to give him credit by threatening to leave, which is a very different set of circumstances.
I"m not sure if this has been discussed in the comments section, but Steve Ditko is the one that gave Iron Man his modern red and yellow/gold look that is associated with Iron Man. Great video; i definitely will be looking for this book. I've also been watching some Mark Ditko videos (Steve's nephew) and the videos give a bit more of Steve Ditko's life outside of comics as not being a total recluse as he is often described as. Anyway, again, great video!
It was discussed in the video. No reason to rehash it in the comments.
Breautiful review guys....this book must be the "Holy Grail" for Ditko art. In my very early years collecting comics I was always fascinated with Steve's renderings. That innovative way he would split the mask/face thing of Peter Parker was so original. Oddly enough, his females all seemed so generic.but on point for that era. The voluputious females of today are so photo real by comparison. Your critique is just Stellar...thank you for your channel. I should have kept all my old issues from the bygone days.
Thanks, I enjoy your passion for Art. Keep the early love of our inner child
Definitely getting this one; thanks for showing its guts, guys.
I really like your channel.
23:45 That "Konga" image looks so cool.
Just binged the Essential edition of his Spider-man yesterday. Issue #6 with the Lizard is brilliant.
Starting the video now!
Dude, Ditko pencils are amazing. I never saw them before.
BTW if anyone is interested in the complete Famous Artist Course, all of the pdf's are available online for free
Apparently Ditko loved doing the WWF comics since there was clear good and bad guys.
RIP Ed
When I look at my copy of this catalogue and see other review it. I regret not going to Palma, Majorca to see the exhibition. The photos from the exhibition set up are like walking through Dikto panels. Why the exhibition was never picked to travel is a crying shame.
53:52 Ghostly Tales looks amazing
Ditko is one of my all time favorites! I picked up a couple of those Ditko’s World Static books in the 50cent bin the other day, and while it’s definitely Ditko, those comics are unreadable. Like you mentioned Neil Gaiman saying, he had crossed over into some other, almost propaganda-like, world by that point.
Woah woah woah lol. We shit talking Gerry Conway? I like those books, and I've never heard anyone not be a fan. I'd love to hear the full take.
I'm gonna guess that the streamlined renditions of horses and desert landscapes at 7:40 may reflect an interest in Bernard Krigstein's art for EC Comics, especially his cleaner, more abstractified stuff like "The Purge" from the next-to-last issue of Vault of Horror. That's only a guess, but I've seen other aspects of Ditko's work that seem to harken back to Krigstein -- for example, in Krig's solo debut for EC, the story "Derelict Ship" in Weird Fantasy 22 from 1953, page 6 has a big panel wherein disembodied mouths and floating heads are shown on a black background -- Ditko had a fondness for similar depictions, and I wonder if there's a connection.
PSA: BOSTON KAYFABERS! COMICALLY SPEAKING IN READING, MASS. HAS A COPY OF THE X-MEN GRAND DESIGN OMNIBUS.
There's a Twitter parody account called Fake Steranko and when the subject of politics comes up in the discussion, he says something like "Keeping politics out of comics is like keeping Steranko out of your mom."
I def have to get this book! Its kinda out of print and hard to find at a reasonable price!
A lot of stoners will wow you with the stories of what they've seen while tripping on shrooms, but none can comprehend the mind of a vivid imagination.
so, have you done a compendium video on the history of fanzines?
Thank you for posting this. I do think it's impossible to discuss Ditko without frequently addressing his political views, as his works are inherently political. Though I suppose he would call them "moral" in the traditional sense, considering he thought in absolutes. But what I find so frustrating about the general Ditko mythos is his Objectivist awakening dictated his art rather than the other way around. He's very clear about his life goal - to be a comic book artist, which he accomplished at a young age. Even into old age, his personal works really just feel like self gratification rather than life lessons. Which is fine! Artists should make what looks good to them, that was always his philosophy. And as someone who share little to none of his views, that's what makes his art so interesting. He was a very consistent and considerate artist for an audience of one. But this is a personality type in search of validation. Which isn't a knock on Objectivism, even if it still doesn't strike me as a logical lifestyle, but to say I'm very skeptical that Rand taught him anything he hadn't thought of years before. All of this big long ramble is to say, those rules and codes were taught to him by golden age comic book superheroes in his youth, which could be pretty darn brutal with righteous justice...erm...executions. I'm just saying, I don't like the idea of lethal force in real life and I am pretty vocal about it. But you know who taught me that? The same person that taught Dirko the opposite - Batman. Comics are funny.
You have to really have to push for some of that to make any sense
Ditko HATED the use of lethal force he said it's the ultimate theft of another person's property. If a hero kills in his comics it's supposed to be allegorical to an individual overcoming their own irrationality.
Epic review. Thanks for sharing this. Ditko is phenomenal.
I have this awesome book! My son got it for me last Christmas.
Watch out for that Sanpaku gan. 👀
Love the video! I dig Steve Ditko and it was good to see all of his work for different companies. I'm curious to see a Mr. A complete book sometime in the future. I just have one question for you guys. Do you prefer his work on Spider-Man or Doctor Strange? Or is it all just good and shouldn't be compared in that way?
Since no one has commented please permit an old man to share some memories relating to your post. During the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 one of my third grade buddies at school passed me Amazing Fantasy #15 while the teacher was chalking something on the board. I was 8-years-old and Spider-Man awed me although my genuine first impression was: 'This is the same guy who draws Gorgo.' Before the end of the school year the same kid brought in Spider-Man #1 and #3 as well, inducting me into Ditko fandom for life. Around the same time I saw a Dr. Strange story in a comic in a drugstore where my dad dropped off some film to be developed, by then I easily identified Ditko's distinctive style, especially hands. Spidey and Strange are Ditko's highest highs quality-wise in comics, possibly because they comprise his two largest bodies of work that he worked on consecutively for years, something he'd never done before and, as time went by, the characters taught Ditko how to draw them. There's a creator's love in his infrastructure of JJJs, Flash Thompsons, Liz Allens, Cleas and Wongs. Not only did they have personality swimming in their oceanic eyes, they damned near had souls. And during Ditko's run on Spider-Man he created a dozen villains that endure to this day. My personal overview is after walking away from Spidey and Strange the art of Steve Ditko never had the same love or attention to detail. All the characters afterwards became disappointing hollow shells reciting lines. I never stopped buying Ditko but always felt like I was paying more and getting less. Blue Beetle and the Question were okay, the Creeper borderline but I passed on Hawk & Dove. I bought Mr. A though, he spanned more time than any other Ditko characters but I never could get vested in him, cool snapbrim or not. Nowadays when I crave a pure adrenalin blast of Steve 'Think' Ditko it's Spidey and the master of the mystic arts I turn to. And my childhood friend Gorgo.
It's a shame the IDW Ditko artist editions are lost in limbo. Scott Dunbier said he has enough material for three volumes but there's some rights issue or something preventing their release. Sigh...
It's funny how Ditko on one hand could do wonderful serial stories featuring Doctor Strange, overrated Serial Hulk stories featuring Hulk versus beings Hulk shouldn't be fighting, stand alone Spider-man stories culminating in that wonderful multipart epic of the Master Planner. That last Master Planner issue... that masterful sequence... Every good Spider-man movies tries to copy that sequence as it exemplifies "Great power/great responsibility" but none of them come close to how intense/desperate/HOPELESS Peter was. Yeah, 35:48, Amazing stuff indeed.
SVA = Burne Hogarth School of Art and Illustration
My parents met there as students
🔥💙🔥
Robynn Snyder is a woman, not a man.
It’s funny that, “With great power comes great responsibility,” is one of the least Objectivist statements one could make. Dr. Strange was a book where A is definitely NOT A. No wonder he could not continue them.
I see no issue with him continuing them. He pretty much fully created Dr. Strange. To say these are the reasons why he couldn't continue them pushes a narrative fantasy that was never true about Ditko.