tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post2994545995713202372..comments2024-03-13T19:47:41.667-04:00Comments on Marvel Mysteries and Comics Minutiae: Ditko at Charlton Part 2: 1972-1974Nick Caputohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-54062225284419686862018-11-12T00:03:18.015-05:002018-11-12T00:03:18.015-05:00Of course, what's most interesting about Ditko...Of course, what's most interesting about Ditko's Charlton work is that you can focus on his purely artistic abilities and not worry about people dismissing his philosophical views, with the rare exception of something like Killjoy. But even in those stories, Ditko kept a more humorous tone and still came up with some interesting villain designs, all in a few short pages.macsnafuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05416923388411337843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-16117379618472681602017-07-17T22:02:37.382-04:002017-07-17T22:02:37.382-04:00Hi Mario,
Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot ...Hi Mario,<br /><br />Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot Epic started that early. I'll revise the sentence.Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-41575159601881401582017-06-27T13:38:45.568-04:002017-06-27T13:38:45.568-04:00"Letting Ditko retain ownership of his charac..."Letting Ditko retain ownership of his character was a big deal; one that the big two did not consider in this period. "<br /><br />No, Epic (created during the Jim Shooter era) in the early 1980s at Marvel allowed creators to own their creations. Starlin owned Dreadstar, just like other creators owned their creations.<br />By the way, Steve Ditko really is an interesting creator. Very nice, suspenseful work for Charlton.<br /><br />MarioAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-75073352150549423262017-04-28T20:34:00.231-04:002017-04-28T20:34:00.231-04:00Hi Michael,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It&...Hi Michael,<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's always good to ook back and evaluate work. I've reassessed the work of many artists over the years that I now greatly appreciate. And I certainly agree with your closing sentence. Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-79402853865409314082017-04-28T16:34:12.694-04:002017-04-28T16:34:12.694-04:00I remember back in the 70s thinking as Kid posted....I remember back in the 70s thinking as Kid posted...that this stuff was Ditko in decline. But in recent years I've reevaluated and now admire his work at Charlton from this period. What I saw as artistic weaknesses then I now view as growth and experimentation. The fact that he was playing looser at a time that the medium was embracing the tight, fine line artists shows that Ditko was still marching to his own drum rather than following a trend.<br />And of course, any decline that the artist has undergone is only noticeable when measuring Ditko against Ditko. Even at his poorest, Steve Ditko is still head and shoulders above most others in the field. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00263957025573611416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-57258231301095450292017-04-26T20:31:52.100-04:002017-04-26T20:31:52.100-04:00Hi Kid,
I'm glad you enjoyed this look back a...Hi Kid,<br /><br />I'm glad you enjoyed this look back at Ditko's Charlton work. Some of the work is certainly weaker in places, particularly when we move into the later 70s; still he could bat it out of the park from time to time. <br /><br />Don't minimize your efforts though; you have a thoroughly enjoyable blog. Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-33998651298680253352017-04-26T20:27:35.184-04:002017-04-26T20:27:35.184-04:00Russ,
Skeates would have done an excellent job on...Russ,<br /><br />Skeates would have done an excellent job on that type of story. Yes, this work by Ditko is a smorgasbord of powerhouse work and the production and coloring on some of these stories is much better than is usually recorded. Thanks again for sharing your always insightful thoughts. Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-48679234809490286042017-04-26T20:24:52.015-04:002017-04-26T20:24:52.015-04:00David,
I'll certainly try harder to write abo...David,<br /><br />I'll certainly try harder to write about more boring and uninteresting comics :)<br /><br />Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-34799834696707769542017-04-26T20:23:58.109-04:002017-04-26T20:23:58.109-04:00Anonymous,
I've certainly written about Ditko...Anonymous,<br /><br />I've certainly written about Ditko's work on Spider-Man and Dr. Strange from time to time in the pages of Ditkomania, this blog and elsewhere. Here are a few earlier post I can point you to: https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2015/07/50-summers-ago-amazing-spider-man.html<br /><br />https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2016/10/dr-strange-beginning.html<br /><br />https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2016/11/dr-strange-early-stories-circa-1963-64.html<br /><br />http://comicbookcollectorsclub.com/ditkos-gwen-stacy/<br /><br />http://comicbookcollectorsclub.com/the-lifting-sequence-ditkos-defining-moment-on-the-amazing-spider-man/Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-22953818489210203112017-04-26T13:10:10.842-04:002017-04-26T13:10:10.842-04:00Some great covers and images shown here, Nick, wis...Some great covers and images shown here, Nick, wish I had them. However, I'm not as enthused by every page on view as you are, as I believe I can detect evidence in some of them of the start of the decline in Ditko's work compared to his early Spider-Man and Dr. Strange pages for Marvel. His style is becoming looser and beginning to look a little more cartoonish, although still enjoyable for the most part. (Ghost Manor #5's cover IS great 'though.) However, an excellently researched and written article as usual. You've obviously decided to leave trivial blogging in my domain and focus on more meaty and worthy subjects, at which you're so good.Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07224781868125924337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-83601447884572771552017-04-26T09:56:08.439-04:002017-04-26T09:56:08.439-04:00Too bad someone like Steve Skeates didn't writ...Too bad someone like Steve Skeates didn't write an issue where Winnie narrated a story about Dr. Graves narrating a story within that story. It's the sort of thing he did in the late 60's.<br /><br />I'm just stupefied by how much fantastic art is here, especially when you consider how fast Ditko had to work. I remembered the parallel hatch-lines from this era, but I didn't recall how much Ditko used solid black to tie the pages together. Charlton's color production was pretty uneven, but even so a lot of the color choices are quite witty and the masses of black really helped them to pop. We tend to take a lot of this for granted because there was so much of it, but just look (for instance) at how much scope could be contained in a small panel by the guy; landscapes with multiple levels of depth, long shots of crowds acting out the story, all legible and interesting... and then you got a psychotic close-up of characters trapped in a Joe Gill story. Tour de force.Russhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04809592629762693427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-61582451337636374392017-04-26T09:33:23.477-04:002017-04-26T09:33:23.477-04:00Nick,
Please stop the blogs on ghostly Charlton c...Nick,<br /><br />Please stop the blogs on ghostly Charlton comics. I'm starting to get a yearning to do some Ebay shopping on Ghostly Manor and the like. Do more articles on comics nobody would be interested in. Thank you...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15483490849520450768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-65215969889876743692017-04-26T09:26:43.596-04:002017-04-26T09:26:43.596-04:00This is a interesting review. Glad to know there a...This is a interesting review. Glad to know there are people has fascinated by Steve Ditko as oneself. Have you done a analysis on his full runs of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange? <br /><br />MarkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-10256216204632325682017-04-26T02:17:38.632-04:002017-04-26T02:17:38.632-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07224781868125924337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-32895899696807044582017-04-26T00:20:57.054-04:002017-04-26T00:20:57.054-04:00Thank you, Allen, but no chance of letting go of t...Thank you, Allen, but no chance of letting go of those comics anytime soon! :)Nick Caputohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096100224095280865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2089733759263636022.post-91057630460178733582017-04-26T00:06:48.242-04:002017-04-26T00:06:48.242-04:00A remarkable couple of entries covering Ditko'...A remarkable couple of entries covering Ditko's late sixties/early seventies work, Nick. The only thing left to do is send me copies of those comics you used as research.Allen Smithnoreply@blogger.com