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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Oh Mr Ditko, how could you lol. Really interesting info and comics that I wasn't aware of at all. I wonder how much of what was illustrated here went on on Epstein's island ( the conspiracy stories are starting to come out now).
ReplyDeleteI'd say this stuff was tame compared to the perversity of Epstein's domains. It's all pretty grim, and I hope to see some heads rolling over here in these United States sooner than later. The pressure is mounting but the big guy is the head of the snake for sure.
DeleteRip, thanks for diving into the Ditko/Stanton relationship. It was very informative.
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service sir. And happy to return the favor.
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