Monday, February 9, 2026

Ditko - Edge Of Genius!


I'm not sure but likely the first time I was aware that Steve Ditko delved into the underground world of fetish comics and illustration was in Ditko - Edge of Genius from Paragon Publications, a reprint operation run by Greg Theakston. There are several of these "Edge of Genius" volumes dedicated to the likes of Toth, Eisner, Wood and Ditko. This volume, the only one I own has the early Ditko stories from Charlton and Atlas which have been reprinted several times over the years. But tucked in the back is a surprise. 


"Helga's Search for Slaves" is an illustrated fetish piece credited to Eric Stanton, but a glimpse by any veteran comics fan will see the hand of Ditko. The actual name on the is "John Bee", the pseudonym the team had when they worked together. You can get a glimpse of the work by looking at the bottom panel of the cover of the nineteenth issue of Bizarre Comix. For a full look at this strange "Princess Valiant" fetish tale check out this Internet Archive link

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