ROB IMES

I'm sad to hear that Ditkomania has ended. I first heard of the fanzine when I was 13 years old, in the letterpages of Ditko's Fly in 1984. Although I considered myself a major Ditkofan, I was reluctant to send money in the mail to buy something I'd not seen before.

For the rest of the 1980s, I felt like the only one who loved those Fly issues, who enjoyed Lee-Ditko's charming 5-page fantasy tales, who even knew of his Charlton ghost stories. I tried drawing stories in Ditko's style on my own back then, and had an idea about some of the Charlton one-off characters getting together as a superhero group. (For example, the mutants who demonstrated super powers in Ditko's "Deep in the Mountains" could be developed into superhero type characters, I thought.) I didn't realize back then that there was a forum where I could have submitted such fannish endeavours.

That forum was Ditkomania, and it was still being published years later, in 1992, when I had decided to make my own fanzine, about old-time radio. I decided that I ought to check out a few fanzines to see what they were like. I went to the library and saw the Overstreet Price Guide had a listing of current fanzines. When I saw "Ditkomania" listed there, I knew that I had to give it a try. I wondered what it would be like. I also wondered why I'd waited almost ten years to send off for an issue!

I still remember where I was when I first saw an issue of Ditkomania. I had been using my parents' address for my mail, and one day my sister and I picked up my mom to eat at a restaurant. My mom gave me my mail, which included the manila envelope containing Ditkomania #32. I took the issue into the restaurant with me, and looked it over with delight, and a feeling that I'd found a "Ditko home" that I never knew existed. There was a drawing of The Fly on the cover. That made me feel right at home, since I sometimes felt like I was the only one who noticed those Ditko-Snyder Fly issues.

There was also an article written by Rodney Schroeter inside, concerning Ditko's Objectivist comics. That was another area of Ditko's work that I enjoyed but which I felt many people did not know about or appreciate. My only previous exposure to Rodney Schroeter's writing was that he was quoted in Robin Snyder's introduction to The Ditko Collection Volume Two. When I first encountered that book in the late 1980s, I assumed that Rodney was a philosopher like Ayn Rand (since Robin was always quoting such writers in "Under the Gun") and I had once looked in my local library to see if they had any books by this Rodney Schroeter. I would not discover until later (when I generously got back issues of Ditkomania from Bill) that the line of Rodney's that Robin quoted came from Rodney's article in Ditkomania #11, from 1985.

I regret the fact that it took me until issue #32 to even find out about Ditkomania. I was so enthusiastic that the next issue, #33, is nearly all by me, talking about how much I've enjoyed Ditko's work and how I usually felt all alone in the liking of it. But I was glad that I'd found a place where I could share my enthusiasm with those who understood it.

Unfortunately, I didn't contribute as much as I should have, or as much as I undoubtedly would have done when I was a teenager in the 1980s, when my creative energies were a lot greater. Despite the presence today of the Ditko e-mailing list or slickly-produced zines like Comic Book Artist, I don't think they take the place of a fan forum like Ditkomania which allowed us to express ourselves creatively and share our private passion with others.

I wish all the best to Bill. I feared that someday Ditkomania would come to an end. I'm glad that Bill started the zine and that he kept it going as long as he did. It was his passion that kept it alive so long, I think. I notice that in DM #31, one issue before the first DM I ever read, Bill wrote an editorial famously titled, "Ditkomania Almost Cancelled, or Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash," where he urged his fellow Ditkofans to contribute something/anything to the zine. He wanted us to get involved more in the zine, even if it was to write about the first Ditko comic we ever read. Ditkomania, he said, "was to be a fanzine by and for Ditkofans." I'm glad that I was able to contribute a little to the zine while it lasted and only regret that I didn't contribute more.

I am really going to miss Ditkomania. I still hope that it returns someday, in fact. But most of all I want to thank Bill Hall for publishing Ditkomania, being so generous to fellow Ditkofans such as myself, and for the work he put into DM all these years, almost 20 years now! Thanks, Bill!

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ROY BETTS

Thanks Bill. Ditkomania and the Ditko check lists are some of the best years in my comic collecting. I think you are as big a part of my collection as any book. Always the man w/ the answer. Best wishes.

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NICK CAPUTO

What can I say about Ditkomania? Bill Hall put together a very heartfelt fanzine focusing on one of my all time favorite creators. I don't recall how I first heard about Ditkomania (it may have been through Fred Hembeck in CBG, or perhaps in a letter in Marvel Tales) but I did eventually get an early issue and I was inspired enough to correspond with Bill about Ditko and working on some drawings for Ditkomania. I was copying comics and artists such as Ditko and Kirby since I was about six years old, and I was shocked when Bill told me that he was going to use my drawing featuring Ditko at his drawing board meeting two of his creations (Dr. Strange and Spidey)for the cover (I think it was # 7). Since then I've been much more involved in writing than drawing, but I have to thank Bill for publishing my crude work and using more illos in future issues. We shared many thoughts on Ditko through the mail in those pre-email days, and I still have them somewhere admist my possesions. It was a fun time.

Besides my humble offerings, Bill loaded his fanzine with lots of great articles, anecdotes and information on all things Ditko in those early issues, and although I lost track of Ditkomania for a time, I had recently returned to the fold and found it to be better than ever. Covers were now produced by pros like Bill Reinhold and Dick Ayers! Bill, you should be commended for putting together a very special fanzine that deserves all the praise it will recieve. Ditkomania will be missed.

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RODNEY SCHROETER
http://www.execpc.com/~rschroet/

I heard about Ditkomania in the early 80s, from Robin Snyder, who mentioned it in the lettercol of (I think) The Fly, published by Archie and featuring Ditko art and story.

It's generally known among fandom that Ditko is a student of Objectivism, the philosphy created by Ayn Rand. I thought an article or two on this link might serve a couple of purposes. First, there might be fans who'd find the topic of interest, enough to check out her work (especially her two major novels). Second, the process of organizing an article can be highly educational to me (in this goal, I met with great success).

Most fan commentary I'd seen on Objectivism was misinformed, negative, or both; I wanted to see if I understood the philosophy well enough to present it clearly and support it. I was happy with the articles I wrote (though my education didn't stop with them, so if I were to reread them now, I'm sure I'd be editing furiously). There followed several articles and letters in Ditkomania, written by others, in response--some challenging, some excellently thought through, some both.

An article in Ditkomania, written by someone else, claimed that the first Ditko Collection (Fantagraphics) was a document of Ditko's decline. This got me thinking, and I wrote an article I called "Ditko's Ascent." I took the position that, whether an artist's work has declined or not will depend on a person's values; if a person most values intricately detailed art, then Ditko's work has indeed declined; if a person values serious themes that are relevant to human life, then Ditko's over all work has never stopped improving since he began comics.

This article grew larger than what I'd typically done for Ditkomania. It was published in Amazing Heroes #111 under the inaccurate title, "Ditko: An Overview." It was later published in Ditkomania, under its original title.

(In exchanging e-mails with an Objectivist comics fan in Germany, I was told that a German encyclopedia of comic artists contained an article on Ditko; at the end, it says "For further information, see..." and lists the above Amazing Heroes article.)

I also did some artwork for Ditkomania. I might have improved in that area, too, if I'd kept at it.

I thank Bill Hall for his efforts in providing information and commentary on the work of this greatest of comic artists.

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CHRISTOPHER MELCHERT

Bill Hall is someone I have never met but with whom I have had a long and pleasant acquaintance through the mails. I first wrote him on seeing a letter of comment in _Marvel Tales_ in 1982, when they had recently gone back to reprints of early Ditko stories. He sent me copies of _Ditkomania_ & I took to sending contributions: a review of the first Electro story, a review of the Bruce Hershenson (sp.?) collections of the 1970s (two of Mr. A., as I recall, then _Avenging World_, finally another Mr. A. collection), a long response to something by Rodney Schroeter (I admired the Objectivist material aesthetically but considered the philosophy trivial, whereas Schroeter admires the philosophy). I was an impecunious graduate student, so I very much appreciated Bill’s continually sending me copies of Ditkomania gratis, as a fairly frequent contributor and regular commenter. He even once sent me a complete set of Ditko trading cards and an issue of _Cerebus_, to see whether I’d like it.

As an historian, especially, I always minded that Ditkomania was usually undated and often even anonymous. But it got better and better with time--like, say, _RB&CC_ under James van Hise, unlike _The Buyer’s Guide_ under Alan Light & whatsisname Murray his partner. I could wish that Bill had been a more interventionist editor, since one of my contributions included some rude remarks about Ditko I’d rather (on second thought) not seen printed. However, I cannot blame the rudeness on Bill & I’d rather work with an editor who lets anything go than one who rewrites everything to fit his own vision. It agrees with Bill’s evident generosity in other respects that he should let everyone have his say. I don’t know how I can repay Bill directly, but let me be as generous as he to the next guy.

By the way, I've sent nearly all my issues of _Ditkomania_ to Randall Scott of Michigan State at East Lansing, where they should be available for inspection for a long time to come. But I never had all issues & unfortunately did not keep a catalogue even of the issues I had. If anyone else has a good collection, I hope he will catalogue it for Blake Bell. It deserves a place of honour in his larger bibliography.

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RON FRANTZ

I sure hate to see Ditkomania end. For me, the worst part is that I missed all of the issues except the final two. I was completely out of fandom from the years 1988-98.

Ten years is a long time. Sadly, I missed out on a few things...like Ditkomania. I don't know why Bill Hall is "retiring" but I'm sure he has his reasons. The trouble with fan activity (of any variety) is that it is time consuming. Lots of old-timers (like me) have disappeared for long periods to pursue other things, like raising children or earning a living. Some of them gradually find their way back. I certainly hope this will be the case with Bill. There is something about publishing that gets into a man's blood. Once inflicted, the disease becomes terminal and the only cure is to publish something. Now, about those 61 issues of Ditkomania that I have never seen...it sure would be nice if Bill (or maybe someone else) would put together a "Best of Ditkomania" book. Judging from the two issues I have seen, there must be tons of great material there. In any event, I wish Bill all the best.