Ditko's earliest covers adorned Charlton Press, where he immediately stood out as a young talent to be reckoned with. While his more grisly illustrations are often recognized by fans, I prefer those that emphasize mood and tension. The above scene is a classic example of simplicity in design, where one observes an extreme close-up of a woman's face aglow with terror while a shadowy figure leers at her from behind. The trees, falling leaves and moon complete the picture, further complimented by the unknown colorist's subdued tones.
Ditko's gigantic, drooling worm creature devastates an urban metropolis. The buildings, skylight, billboards and water tower reference a recognizable Manhattan landscape (one familiar to both the artist and his audience). In the years ahead Ditko would continue to incorporate his surroundings into many of the stories he illustrated, all with great skill and personality.
This Magazine Is Haunted Volume 2, number 12, July 1957
Horrific elements such as the one seen on The Thing # 15 were commonplace in comics, but that all changed when the Comics Code was instituted in late 1954. Ditko adapted to the restraints by placing an emphasis on atmospheric scenes that evoked a sense of menace. Here host Dr. Haunt approaches a foreboding house on a windswept night.
The image of the Mysterious Traveler standing under a street lamp as wisps of paper fly in the air (and are used to spotlight the interior stories) are indicative of master cartoonist Will Eisner, particularly his masked crime-fighter, The Spirit, who appeared in newspapers in the 1940s and 50s. A superior storyteller and craftsman, Eisner was one of many artists whose work was absorbed by Ditko. Subtle touches abound on this cover, such as the host's face appearing behind him on a billboard with the words "in this issue" barely noticeable.
Pedestrians reacting to a most unusual snowstorm is a superb example of Ditko playing with emotions, expressions and body language. Little touches, such as showing the families breath in the cold air, are particularly noteworthy.
Unusual cover concepts are another demonstration of Ditko's prowess in choreographing a scene for maximum effect. Incorporating four elements (the floating figure, a circular motif, amorphous dripping fog and "stepping stones") foreshadows the world he later developed in Doctor Strange.
It's hard to conceive that Charlton editor Pat Masulli had anything more to do with this cover other than approve it, especially since there are no corresponding stories inside the issue. Ditko's quirky imagination is manifested by an eerily effective drawing - a man trapped inside a light bulb surrounded by moths, whose size and perspective add depth to the scene. Comic books have influenced a host of filmmakers in ways both obvious and subtle; perhaps director Jonathan Demme, with his disturbing moth imagery in The Silence of the Lambs (1993), is one such example.
Out Of This World # 7, February 1958
"Strange, Different, Unusual" are the key words on this cover and Ditko follows through by drawing a figure composed of glass, plastic, metal, wood - even part of a newspaper! (Ditko would incorporate newspaper headlines and articles in his Avenging World series a decade later). The spider-web design on the left side is a harbinger of things to come; four years later Spider-Man came into existence under his tutelage.
Ditko seemed fascinated with water-based concepts and incorporated them into many of his cover scenes in this period. This is one of his most fanciful efforts, enlivened by an arresting color scheme.
By the late 1950s Ditko was becoming increasingly busy working for Editor Stan Lee at the nascent Marvel Comics (while his Charlton output lessened, Ditko always managed to freelance for the company). Jack Kirby was Lee's go-to artist for the majority of covers, but Ditko had a proven track-record in crafting fantasy-oriented visuals, taking up the slack whenever Kirby became overwhelmed. Lee recognized the virtue in Ditko's unconventional approach to storytelling and relished collaborating on their mini-thrillers (Ditko has stated that - from the beginning - he worked from a plot synopsis furnished by Lee). When presented with an opportunity to more fully exploit Ditko's creativity, Lee seized it. Amazing Adventures, a borderline seller, was overhauled with its seventh issue (December 1961); Lee restructured the title, adding two words that promised a more serious approach, Adult Fantasy, and for added effect, devised a dramatic sub-title "The magazine that respects your intelligence". It was here, for the first time, that Lee and Ditko worked exclusively on an entire comic. Ditko was also given the all-important cover assignments, one of the standouts being AAF # 13, where a menacing figure, seen from behind, rises out of the sea and onto a dock; in the background a mist-shrouded city becomes a "character" awaiting the unknown.
In Robin Snyder's publication, The Comics (Vol 13, No 1, January 2002) Steve Ditko, wrote about this cover in A Mini-History: The Amazing Spider-Man # 2:
"The Amazing Spider-man #2 (May 1963) featured my first penciled and inked Spider-man cover. It showed an air battle between S-m and the villain, The Vulture. The cover also had an insert involving the second villain, The Terrible Tinkerer (and contains my addition of spider webbing to the title and my idea for the Marvel hero head box in the top left corner)."Ditko's stellar run as co-plotter/plotter/artist on Amazing Spider-Man has been discussed countless times - and deservedly so - but his contributions as cover artist are also of great importance. I will post just a few of my favorites here, beginning with his first full cover art (Jack Kirby penciled the published covers to Amazing Fantasy # 15 and Amazing Spider-Man # 1, with Ditko inking). Spider-Man being menaced by a villain who possess the ability of flight, with the towering Manhattan skyscrapers serving as backdrop creates palpable suspense. Stan Goldberg's choice of an all-gray color scheme emphasizes the two opponents skillfully, and the inset drawing is efficiently utilized to preview the second story.
This cover drew me in all those years ago when I first saw it and it's STILL a favorite. Ditko creates palpable tension by showing the reader a vulnerable hero who appears to have no chance of escape. How does Spidey get out of this predicament? Back then it would cost you 12 cents for the answer, and I suspect quite a few perusing the newsstands for entertainment made that purchase.
On many of these covers you'll notice that dramatic situations supersede conventional fist-fights. Ditko was quite capable of drawing a rousing brawl, but he often concentrated on reaction instead of action. Here the "leading man" is missing; instead his looming shadow and calling card (the Spider-Signal) announce Spider-Man's symbolic presence to both the startled villains and his prospective audience. While early on Lee discussed and worked out cover designs with Ditko, according to the artist there came a point where he produced covers on his own, with no input from Lee.
Spider-Man is haunted by ghostly images of old foes Sandman and the Vulture; a man whose desk appears to be on the ceiling and an off-kilter perspective that compels the viewer to question exactly WHAT is going on in this bizarre psychodrama.
Experimentation is another aspect of Ditko's cover-art, as evidenced here. The all-black background has Spider-Man blending into the darkness with only the red highlights of his costume standing out as The Molten Man's shining figure advances. This was not your typical superhero cover.
Superlatives escape me when trying to describe this cover. Like a perfect game in Baseball the components are visible but you are in awe over the end result. An understated masterpiece by Ditko.
The Creeper's pose, along with the villain lurking above, interact with familiar Ditko tropes: rooftops, rain and a city background.
While this Mr. A illustration was used as the back cover for Rob Gustaveson's fanzine, Eon, I thought it was a good example of Ditko's visual perspicacity and therefore included it. The attractive Mr. A logo design, encompassed by an almost abstract building motif and Ditko's signature leads into his "good/evil" card, the fool skirting the edge and Mr. A's omniscient figure.
Ditko showcases the interior stories in a decidedly offbeat manner: composing each scene inside two huge eyes and a mouth.
Ditko's visual symmetry is fascinating. On this cover he uses optical and circular images to create an illusion of depth that entices the viewer.
Host Dr. Graves presents the feature story on a parchment, holding it up for the viewers to observe. Ditko incorporated the entire cover, including the logo in the design. The candle, bricks and figure seemingly extending beyond the page, creating a three-dimensional quality.
A man floats in space, surrounded by a montage of faces and figures enclosed in a circle (as we have seen, the use of circles and circular images is a constant in Ditko's art). Charlton Press was an ideal place for Ditko to tinker with an array of techniques, and covers were no exception. Nick Cuti, who was an assistant editor at Charlton in the 1970s, had this to say on Facebook when I asked about the cover process:
"at Charlton as far as I can remember all the covers were assigned after the story had been illustrated. We had stacks of finished stories on metal shelves. I was assigned to put together an issue and then an artist was assigned to do a cover for the issue."
Ditko combines several diverse elements to satisfying effect on this cover. A startled man and host Mr. Bones appear in a living room setting, superimposed against a ghostly apparition and a raging sea.
A succession of images devised as index cards. Another unorthodox presentation by Ditko.
The trademark Ditko fingers open a door, revealing a frightening and deadly secret! A few years earlier this cover would almost certainly have been rejected by the Comics Code, but in 1971 the rules were relaxed, leading to more horror-oriented fare.
Barbed wire undulates across the cover, giving the viewer a feeling of entrapment and creating a sense of tension.
The covers Ditko drew when he returned to freelance for Marvel in the late 1970s were usually not as strong as his earlier efforts, likely due to tighter editorial control and/or others providing a composition for the artist to follow. Although a little awkward, Ditko's positioning of the criminal's knives help guide the viewer's eye to Daredevil and his predicament.
Ditko had a run on Archie's The Fly in the 1980s but his covers were watered-down when management refused to let him ink them. Ditko's last issue was an exception, and the artist comes through with a scene of the Fly caught in a deadly situation.
Steve Ditko's Static Chapters 1-5, July 1989. Static copyright Steve Ditko.
In 1988 Ditko began producing his independent work with co-publisher Robin Snyder, a relationship which continues into the present. One of their earliest efforts was a reprinting of Ditko's Static, an intriguing hero with a visual flair. His story came to a conclusion in the second volume. Ditko's scene of Static surrounded by a montage of criminals is heightened by his sharp inking and use of blacks.
Early in his career Ditko assisted Joe Simon and Jack Kirby on their Captain 3-D comic, and, as a few examples I've shown here prove, Ditko picked up some pointers on creating images that leaped off the comics' page.
A sea of individualized faces accompanied by an array of expressions is another Ditko trademark that distinguishes this cover. The Mocker was a "graphic novel" and one of Ditko's best self-published concepts.
Ditko drew a few covers for Editor Mort Todd's reprint line of Atlas horror/monster stories from the 1950s and early 60s. Ditko not only penciled and inked the covers, but provided the color guides as well.
Ditko's satirical side comes to the fore on this unusual cover, with the main concept of an ink bottle spilling its contents over the page and employed as a framing device.
In his later work Ditko has taken on a stripped down, minimalist approach to his art (another nonconformist, sculptor Donald Judd, might have exuberantly approved!) although his sense of design, composition and playfulness remains in evidence, as do his signature tropes, including the eyeball, cover montages, water towers, bizarrely attired characters and creative costume designs.
For over six decades Steve Ditko has not only produced countless stories and invented an army of characters, but a great many of his covers are noteworthy as examples of an artist thinking about how best to craft a singular image. The choices made by Ditko are indicative of an artist who doesn't take the easy way out. It is another accomplishment that puts him in the pantheon of a true original in the world of comic art.
Speaking of Ditko, The Amazing Spider-Talk Podcast asked my to speak about one of my favorite comic book creators. Here is the link:
In acknowledgement of two men who provided inspiration in the study of Ditko's cover-art: Michael Wileman, whose 1982 publication, A 50s Ditko's Cover Gallery, introduced me to many previously unseen Charlton covers, with fascinating commentary on each one, and Robin Snyder's The Cover Series (September 2010), showcasing a plethora of Ditko covers, some unpublished or taken from original stats.
Just in time for the artist's 90th birthday; a nice selection of Ditko's imaginative, captivating covers. On the anthology titles they were often the best part of the comics that they graced.
ReplyDeleteHis Pre-Code covers at Charlton appear to be (successful) attempts to emulate the cover art seen on the EC comics of the day. There's more than a hint of the layout and design techniques of Al Feldstein and Johnny Craig to be found in many of Ditko's earliest Charlton covers. That cover for Strange Suspense Stories #18 is a perfect example of this, eh... cross-pollination.
But then other covers from this period -- such as the giant worm cover to The Thing! #15 -- were pure Ditko.
Within a few years the need to imitate EC was no longer there, and Ditko's covers became subtle, moody depictions of scenes most fantastic; compositions that visually did what Lovecraft did with words...they captured the mood as much as (or more than) the appearance of the scene.
This is a gift that transcends technical skill, an ability than many admire but few ever attain.
Scrolling through these covers defines Ditko's greatness better than any words.
He is a rare and unique treasure.
Thank you, Michael. I have to look more closely at the Feldstein and Craig cover's of that period. I know Ditko was a comics fan and aware of many of his contemporaries efforts, and surely EC was one of them.
ReplyDeleteA rare and unique treasure indeed.
It seems entirely possible that Ditko had been asked or instructed to emulate those styles for the Charlton books. The name "Strange Suspense Stories" for instance, is clearly an imitation of the EC titles "Shock Suspenstories" and "Crime Suspenstories", chosen in an attempt to piggyback on the success of Bill Gaines' company.
ReplyDeleteYou can't fault the editor for copying a model that works!
Always love reading your stuff Nick. One could make the case of a couple hundred more covers and stories making a "Best of" Ditko compilation. These were all fun to scroll thru!
ReplyDeleteRegarding Steve Ditko's "style" all can be traced back to WIll Eisner inspired angle shots with Ditko adding in his own visions enhancing art.
Thanks, Bob. I agree that Eisner was an inspiration but many other artists, from his teacher Jerry Robinson to Mort Meskin (which Ditko has acknowledged), John Severin and others not always acknowledged and in the shadows were part of his education as a young artist. What is important though is how he grew and how his work became truly unique.
ReplyDeleteGreat selection of covers - hard to go wrong with Ditko.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the third cover, it almost seems that the figure in the background from the first cover has down his foul work and is shambling back home now.
Great article and compliation of covers. And a good reminder that he did horror, which I tend to forget.
ReplyDelete-3- and Howard,
ReplyDeleteThank you. I could probably make this post triple the length without sweating, but then I'd have to provide witty commentary to go along with it!
Yes, Ditko's horror work is very effective and work searching out.
Great blog post article on an artist I loved before I even knew his name, as a kid collecting Marvel and other comics ca. 1969-74. It was great to see the covers from Mr. Ditko’s earliest days as a comic book artist. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU, Drew, for the kind words. Clearly you had excellent taste from childhood!
ReplyDeleteSeason's Greetings to all.
ReplyDeleteAnd A Happy New Year right back at you, Kid!
ReplyDelete