The Hero According To Ditko!

There's no doubt that Steve Ditko was one of the most important creators in the history of the comic book medium. Well trained by the likes of Jerry Robinson and Mort Meskin, he was a serious second-generation student of the form who seemed only ever to want to make comic books. His skills grew and he eventually came to the attention of Stan Lee who eventually hitched him up to do some nifty weird little stories which eventually ended up in a little comic called Amazing Adult Fantasy which featured only Ditko stories. When the sales of that comic slowed Stan tagged Ditko to draw two hero features, one called Dr. Strange which was in the established wheelhouse of the artist and another called The Amazing Spider-Man which showed the fans of his little mystery tales something new. Ditko drew and grew and became much more confident as an artist and Spider-Man became a hit beyond Marvel's expectations. But there was friction between the co-creators as Lee wanted a hero more in the classic vein, someone more handsome and more aspirational. Ditko wanted something else, he wanted a hero for the everyman, he wanted a hero to speak for him. And then sooner than anyone expected Ditko's time at Marvel was over and out. 

He returned to his familiar haunts in Derby Connecticut at the Charlton Comics factory where he took advantage of the superhero surge he'd help ignite with Spider-Man and bring a fresh gloss to his vintage Cold Warrior Captain Atom, his very first superhero feature done with the omnipresent Joe Gill. 

Also when he returned to his old stomping grounds at Charlton, he took his newfound editorial freedom to create something new, a hero from his heart. It ended up being an unusual fusion as two heroes were forged from the same fire, one pure and white and unrelenting and the other a bit more fit for the general palate of the typical comic book reader. 

One was named Mr. A and his stark black and white appearances in prozines and fan publications gave Ditko the freedom to express without limit his philosophy about what was really heroic in this world of ours. The other creation wasThe Question, who started as a back up in Charlton's Blue Beetle, and he and Mr. A have much in common save that The Question, produced for Charlton comics is a bit less rough and tumble. 

And there was the new Blue Beetle himself, a hero revived and revised by Ditko to meet the rigors of the modern Silver Age superhero universe.  But Beetle too was awash in the new philosophy that guided Ditko, and that was Ayn Rand's notions of Objectivity. I love to see old Ditko comics because they are so distinctive and handsome, especially this late 60's period, but I ache when hear these downright weird and sometimes vicious Randian notions and ache even more when I realize that much of the pain and suffering in my country these days is the result of this adolescent solution to the complexities of life. I'll have more to say on this as the month develops. 

Then the work on the "Action Heroes" being done at Charlton under the leadership of Dick Giordano was noticed and in an effort to meet the Marvel challenge, DC tapped Giordano to join its new roster of newly elevative editors such of Mike Sekowsky, Joe Kubert, among others. Giordano brought some of the Charlton talent with him such as writers Denny O'Neil and Steve Skeates and artists Jim Aparo, Pat Boyette, and Steve Ditko. Actually Ditko might've moved on his own, but whatever the case he dropped new heroes such as The Creeper and the squabbling the ever squabbling Hawk and Dove. 

Some years later, the nigh always itinerant Ditko returned to DC again and created Shade The Changing Man and more. There were other heroes at other companies, but after these bursts he started just self-publishing his personal theories and doing work-for-hire to meet the bills. That's a lot of Ditko to plumb and only a month to do it in. (Unless I decided to divide the labor.)

In addition to all this Ditko, I want to revisit a cult classic TV program. The Prisoner  and its prequel Danger Man/ Secret Agent were produced in that same tumultuous decade as Ditko was giving the world his Rand-inspired heroes and while not of that philosophy does challenge conventional twentieth century thinking in a host of arguably revolutionary ways. Patrick McGoohan's unwavering dedication and sometimes impolite manner to fight for what he believed reminds me a lot of Ditko. 

All this and whatever drops my way such as Johnny Dynamite, fresh from Yoe Books. This collection gathers up the gritty Mike Hammer-like adventures from Comic Media, and any fan of Pete Morisi will wand to check this one out. I might even slip in a Prince Valiant review or two. It may all be too much, but rather that than too little. 

Also we in the States are having an election in a few days and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that the good guys win. Fascism is not just a theory to explore in the history of foreign wars in anymore, not just a dusty concept from a land and time long ago, but a real threat and hopefully we can stave it off and begin the long hard slog to a true liberty for all the citizens of my besieged homeland. We want to show the world that we more like our much ballyhooed ideals than has been demonstrated in recent years. 

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