The Art Of Ditko!

Today is the birthday of the great comic book artist Steve Ditko. Ditko was famous for his distinctive art stylings, his dedication to his craft, his eccentric adherence to his personal philosophy and his unyielding need for privacy.  He is an easy man to admire for sticking to his guns, but then as with any man there are contradictions, something I'm not at all certain Ditko would have admitted to. Ditko drew heroes, but he's most renowned for drawing regular people.

In Craig Yoe's celebration of the artist, called appropriately enough The Art of Steve Ditko the reader will find concise reflections on the talents and particulars of the artist. There are essays by Jerry Robinson where he describes what a fine hard-working student Ditko was, and  John Romita in which praises Ditko's talent, regrets that he never spent some time talking to Ditko when he saw him in the Bullpen and how difficult it was to replace him. P.Craig Russell contributes a piece praising Ditko's talent and to some extent regretting how that talent seem to stall out a bit in favor of exhorting others about Objectivism. Add to all that a couple of pieces by editor Craig Yoe about Ditko's influence on him and you have that part of the book. That said the essays aren't what this book is about. 

There are loads of reprints from Charlton, many from the 50's collected many times over. But for me it is the later Charlton material from The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves, Ghostly Tales and other titles from the later 60's that makes this tome a real treat. This is the period which I like most about Ditko, one often considered the beginning of a decline for him among many of the fans. His style became more robust and muscular and dynamic. The stories here have a depth and potency which some of the wonderfully illustrated fables of the 50's only hint at. Add in scads of original artwork and some selected covers and this is an oversized tribute to a great artist indeed. 

I'll have more on the companion volume to this tome after a wee break for some national political matters. 

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