Golden Age Space Wars!

Skyman is not a Charlton character. The aviation hero actually was part of Columbia comics scene. But Skyman's adventures were popular and he appeared briefly in his own title as well for years in Big Shot Comics. The stories reprinted by Mort Todd in these Charlton Neo volumes come from Big Shot. If you enjoy classic movie serials you will like these tales which are paced almost exactly the same as say Radar Men from the Moon. 

The series began soon after Ogden Whitney returned from active duty during WWII. While never featured on the covers of Big Shot, this series of stories featuring Skyman going to the Moon where he encounters Martians and Hitler are well paced adventures with proper cliffhanger endings. The series ran for years from 1946 until late 1948. 

In addition to aliens and Nazis, Skyman and his girlfriend Fawn must confront threats such as giant green rats who live inside the Moon. (No reference is made about cheese, but that must've been in the back of Whitney's mind.)

Hitler has a bombastic scheme to conquer the Earth with bombs from the Moon, but of course that goes awry. But when Skyman is able to end that odious threat, that doesn't mean the danger is over. 

Aliens from Venus are the next obstacle facing Skyman and Fawn as well as several Earth people who have been snatched by Venusians. Skyman has to salvage more than one spaceship to get around the solar system. 

But it will come as little surprise that Skyman and his girl do find their way back to Earth, but it's not without more mayhem and death than I expected. This story was exceedingly well told, but waiting for chapters over several years must've been excruciating for readers back in the day. 

On a different note, Steve Ditko drew a Skyman adventure written by Mort Todd way back in the 90's which appeared under the Indy ACE Comics brand. I have the original around here somewhere. 

I don't sadly have this version of the story from Charlton Neo which presented the Ditko story and pencil art for the tale. I'd love to see and compare. 

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Steve Ditko - Space Wars!

This collection from Vanguard Productions features the same vintage sci-fi yarns found in the Fantagraphic volumes. Published in 2005 this magazine-sized collection was a robust black and white resource for these earliest Ditko yarns. The reproduction is basic. Among the stories here are "Mystery Planet", "The Deadly Cargo of Spaceship 19", "The Decision", "The Gloomy One", "The Juggernauts of Jupiter", "The Secret of Captain X", and "Journey's End". Also included are later stories from the 60's such as "The Blue Men of Bantro" and "Way Out Man". There are many other yarns as well. I like the vibrant recoloring of the classic cover seen below.  There is also a brief essay by David J. Spurlock about the career of Ditko titled "Ditko's Brave New World". 

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Ditko Cover Classics - This Magazine Is Haunted #14!

This Magazine is Haunted #14 can be read at this link. The mysterious Dr. Haunt presents four stories by Steve Ditko and writer Joe Gill (most likely) in this issue -- "From Out of the Depths", "The Green Man", "The Second Self", and "The Man Who Disappeared". There is another story by artists Bill Molno and Vince Alascia. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - This Magazine Is Haunted #13!

This Magazine is Haunted #13 can be read at this link. Ditko joins forces with writer Joe Gill to produced four stories in this issue -- "He Shall Have Vengeance", "The Drums", "Menace of the Invisibles", and "The Man Who Changed Bodies". In addition, there is a story each by Bill Molno and Rocke Mastroserio. 

The cover art was reused for the thirty-ninth issue of Scary Tales with different stories being featured in the little boxes. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - This Magazine Is Haunted #12!

This Magazine is Haunted #12 can be read at this link. This is reboot of the series and features the new host Dr. Haunt, one of Ditko's finest, though he didn't draw the character first. Ditko and Joe Gill (most likely) produce five stories in this one -- "The Faceless Ones", "The Message", "The Thing on the Beach", "His Fate", and "The Last One". 

This cover was reused for the twenty-fifth issue of Scary Tales. It's brighter but less atmospheric. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - The Magazine Is Haunted #16!

This Magazine is Haunted #16 (from the First Volume) was published 1954. To read the issue go to this link. Ditko drew only this cover and none of the stories inside. Artists Sheldon Moldoff, Rocke Mastroserio, Bill Molno among others are featured. The grisly Dr. Death was the first haunted host of the comic which was inherited from Fawcett Comics. 

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Steve Ditko - The Mysterious Traveler!

The third volume of The Steve Ditko Archives from Fantagraphics is titled Mysterious Traveler after the character and comic which much of Ditko's better work from his period was featured. That period is 1957 and this is the second of three tomes to gather up his work from this most fertile year. 

The stories in this volume are evidence that the style of comic book storytelling was well and truly changing in the face of public scrutiny and the Comics Code as the stories here, a mix of science fiction and fantasy are far more whimsical and far less bloody than what had been the focus of these kinds of comics in times before. This is also a time when Ditko was rejuvenated after his year-long bout with tuberculosis and his vigor is evident in the pages he generated using mostly Joe Gill scripts to guide his path. 

In addition to the Mysterious Traveler as a host we have also Dr. Haunt of This Magazine if Haunted, a post-Code replacement for the much more grisly Dr. Death. In his green cape and green slouching hat Dr. Haunt is a figure of absolute mystery who tells his brief yarns of fear and dread with aplomb and a zest which adds to the whole experience. He has a weird cane with an enormous handle which reminds me of a crystal ball of all things. Unlike the very human looking Mysterious Traveler, Dr. Haunt is possessed of a distinctly blue skin making him utterly alien in all respects. Whatever he is, he ain't human. 

In some wacky stories featuring agitated centaurs, bewildered mermen, displaced Nazis, persistant mystics, and many many hapless folks both good and bad, we have hosts who dig in and tell the stories with vigor. Not content with just showing up on the splash page and in the finale panel, Ditko's hosts are omnipresent, slithering between panels and hovering over the pages with if not menace, then omnipotence. It really makes for some visually stimulating comic book pages to read. One caution though, there are two stories in this volume which are missing a page each. Both "The Menace of the Maple Leaves" and "The Forbidden Room" are again reprinted in the next volume in their entirety. 

There will be one more volume dedicated to Ditko's most fecund year, but that's next time. Here are the covers in this volume. 

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Steve Ditko In Outer Space!

Steve Ditko in Outer Space from the Charlton Neo outfit was put together by Mort Todd, Roger McKenzie and Paul Kupperberg. They essentially gather the Steve Ditko stories from four issues of Charlton's vintage Outer Space series. The four issues involved are eighteen through twenty, the last one Ditko only drew the cover which is also the cover of the collection. Below are the covers of the original issues. 

(Pat Masulli and Rocke Mastroserio)

To read this issue follow this link. 

(Rocke Mastroserio)

To read this issue follow this link. 

(Dick Giordano)

To read this issue follow this link. 

(Steve Ditko)

To read this issue follow this link. 

This is a fun collection, recolored with some bright hues, giving them some added vigor. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - The Mysterious Traveler #6!

Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #6 appeared in September of 1957 and is dated December of that year. You can read this issue at this link. There are five Ditko stories in this issue -- "The Old Fool's Secret", "Mister Evriman", "The Old Fool", "Tomorrow's Punishment", and "Little Girl Lost". All but the last one are Mysterious Traveler tales. Joe Gill likely supplied the scripts. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - The Mysterious Traveler #5!

Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #5 appeared in July of 1957 and is dated November of that year. You can read this issue at this link. There are three Ditko drawn Mysterious Traveler stories in this one -- "Above the Topmost Peak", "The Man Below" and "The Sultan". There are other stories by artists such as Charles Nicholas, Rocke Mastroserio, and Maurice Whitman. Joe Gill most likely wrote all the scripts. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - The Mysterious Traveler #4!

Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #4 appeared in April of 1957 and is dated August of that year. You can read this issue at this link. There are four Mysterious Traveler tales in this issue by S. Ditko -- "Escape", "Test of a Man", "The Desert" and "Operation Blacksnake". The story "Mutiny" is not a Traveler tale and is drawn by Charles Nicholas and Sal Trapani. All stories were most likely written by Joe Gill. There are other small features. 

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Ditko Classic Covers - The Mysterious Traveler #3!

Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #3 appeared in January of 1957 and is dated May of that year. You can read this issue at this link. Only one story, "Secret Mission" is by Ditko inside. "The Man Who Came Back" features art by Dick Giordano and Frank McLaughlin and "The End of the Medium" is drawn by Bill Molno. There are other stories and most likely all were written by Joe Gill. 

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Ditko Cover Classics - Tales Of The Mysterious Traveler!

"This is The Mysterious Traveler, inviting you to join me on another journey into the strange and terrifying. I hope you will enjoy the trip, that it will thrill you a little and chill you a little. So, settle back, get a good grp on your nerves and be comfortable -- if you can!"

So opens The Mysterious Traveler, a radio program created by Robert Arthur and David Kogan which from the 1943 to 1952 inspired not one but two distinctly different comic books. The second became a platform for the great Steve Ditko to deliver his fast-developing talents as a maker of spooky tales. But let's begin with the first, a one-shot. 

The Mysterious Traveler number one from Trans-World Publications debuted in 1948, and was produced by the ubiquitous Bob Powell and his at-the-ready studio. The comic delivers several short stories in the tradition of the radio show though no direct connection can be demonstrated. To get a better look follow this link. 

The second comic book featuring The Mysterious Traveler came from Charlton Comics, and it ran for a lucky thirteen issues between 1956 and 1959. This version featured tales written most likely by Joe Gill and drawn by many of the stalwarts at Charlton such as Dick Giordano, Rocke Mastroserio, Bill Molno and others including Ditko who drew his first story for the comic in the second issue and his first cover (one of his best) with the third. The title was revived as a reprint only book for two more issues in 1985 in the last throes of Charlton as the company disappeared for good. Later still in 1990 Eclipse Comics put out reprint volume featuring the Ditko stories titled Tales of The Mysterious Traveler. 

More on The Mysterious Traveler tomorrow. 

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Steve Ditko - Unexplored Worlds!

The second archives volume of early Ditko comics from Fantagraphics is titled Unexplored Worlds. This is work by Steve Ditko after the advent of the Comics Code of America, and so the work is of a more benign nature than that which had preceded it. These are light stories, often little morality dramas and not unexpectedly upbeat endings. Comics now existed in a world in which the good guy wins or at the very least the bad guy is properly punished. There had been plenty of punishment before, but just as in real life the relative goodness of an individual didn't necessarily preclude bad outcomes. [It should be noted that two of the stories in this volume are from Atlas (not yet Marvel) Comics produced for Stan Lee in a short period when Charlton Comics was out of business due to a devastating flood which destroyed the plant. I'll have more to say about Ditko's Marvel work in this era in later posts.]

The early stories in this volume are light science fantasy, tales of a doughty space hero and his ubiquitous gal sidekick as they confront outer space menaces and always come out on top despite overwhelming odds. They win because they deserve to win. Alongside these are many tales of men who behave badly but just as often as they are punished for that disregard for ethics and the Golden Rule are often forgiven and brought back into society having been chastised. Sometimes greedy bastards get theirs, but usually they learn the error of their ways. These stories are likely written by Joe Gill, the scripting machine who made Charlton Comics operational for decades. I've said before that I assumed as a teenager that Joe Gill was a house name and not a real person, but when I learned differently, I bowed before his stunning industry and found his prodigious output humbling. 

Now the Steve Ditko who drew these stories is a more mature artist. He is older, wiser and chastened possibly by a brush with death. He contracted tuberculosis at about the time the comics industry contracted and spent a year convalescing at his Pennsylvania family home under the care of his parents. When he was finally strong enough to rejoin the workforce, he found Atlas (Marvel) waiting but they did not offer enough quantity of work and so once again he headed for Connecticut and Charlton Comics. This was a Charlton recovering from a flood and despite some likely shenanigans with public funds, they plead poverty and cut their rates making their staff even more eager for work. Men like Gill and Ditko were ready. 

As this volume closes, we meet The Mysterious Traveler, a ghost host with a radio history. More on him next time Here are the Ditko covers collected in this volume. 

In these covers it easy to see the specific stylings which we all associate with Steve Ditko's work throughout the balance of his long career. 

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