A UNIVERSE OF WONDER OVERSTREET'S ADVANCED COLLECTOR #1, pg. 8-25; Sum '93
by Louis Farro
A look at the non-superhero career of one of comicdom's originals.
What do you think about when you hear the name Steve Ditko? I'm sure you think first of the
brilliant and unconventional artist who drew the definitive versions of Spider-Man and Dr.
Strange for Marvel comics in the mid-1960's. Secondly you'd think of the fantasy/sci-fi work he
did for Marvel and Charlton prior to the aforementioned heroes. Perhaps Ditko's Spider-Man and
Dr. Strange work is his supreme contribution to comic art, but in this article I want to examine
that other "second thought" Ditko universe.
Ditko wasn't just marking time while drawing these fantasy stories. He focused the full
scope of his considerable talents on these tales, and the result is a vast, rich, and
wonderfully bizarre body of work. Indeed the fantasy work (by page count) outnumbers the hero
work, and it can be argued that some of the fantasy art surpasses any of the later stuff.
Ditko's style breaks down into fairly well-defined periods, and the following will chart
these and offer representative samples.....
ATLAS/MARVEL : 1956
Ditko collectors are aware that the banding together in 1959 of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and
Steve Ditko produced a creative team that laid the foundations for the coming Marvel age. But
less well known is the fact that Ditko first came to Atlas in 1956 and drew 15 fantasy stories
for them that year. The first two of these both appeared in issues dated April 1956, in JOURNEY
INTO MYSTERY 33 and MYSTERY TALES 40. This year definitely stands alone as a distinctive Ditko
artistic period since he did no work for Atlas or Charlton in 1955 and would not work at Atlas
again until late 1958. Ditko's art from this year is lovely, with a fine-line technique that
imparts an ethereal look. Some Joe Kubert influence can be detected, and that is certainly a
good source for inspiration. 1956 is the year that Ditko started experimenting with unusual
panel arrangements, a practice that became part of the foundations of his fame. The page
layouts in the 1950's tended towards the static, but Ditko, a master of design, liked to take
a square panel and stretch it into a tall thin (or a short wide) rectangle. And he would place
these odd shaped panels on the page in a way that really drew you into the story. The splash
panels from this period are never full pages, but share that small space with two or three
smaller panels.
1956 is a distinct and often overlooked Ditko period and boasts some outstanding stories.
Two prime examples are STRANGE TALES 46's "The Greatest Experiments" with beautiful art in a
tale of interplanetary coloization by robots, and SPELLBOUND 29's "None Are So Blind" about
aliens who find employment in an amusement park on Earth.
1959
The Lee-Kirby-Ditko team starts up six fantasy mags. Ditko would appear in every issue of
each title (with few exceptions) right up until the fantasy books gave way to heroes in 1963.
Ditko had 31 stories this year, and they are clearly the best fantasy work he has ever done
for Atlas/Marvel. He had been polishing his skills at Charlton the previous two years, and the
excitement of being a key player in the 'rejuvenated' Atlas caused him to devote extra
attention to these stories. Ditko continued his use of divided splash panels and unusual
arrangements but with two new twists. He began using inset panels where a smaller panel would
be placed inside a larger one, and he also began using 90 degree angle panels (L-shaped). These
two enhancements were used in tandem on several stories this year but never again together
after that. Ditko stopped used the 90 degree panels after 1959 and used inset panels on only a
few 1960 yarns. He also began using a thicker line on some stories during this period, but it
didn't impair his detail work at all. There are plenty of hairline cracks in the walls,
criss-crossing window panes, and delightfully cluttered curio shops to captivate the eye.
Although these stories are no more detailed than in 1956 efforts, they are tighter and more
finely polished, hence a cut above 1956 or any later periods. 1959 is the richest vein of
Atlas/Marvel Ditko fantasy.
As a bonus there are many well-written stories from this year. The
1959 stories frequently used hard core science-fiction plots and have a more sophisticated
texture than the famous "Kirby monster" tales that became cover features late in the year.
STRANGE WORLDS 3, 4 and 5 are especially good, with high-quality writing adding extra force to
the consistenly strong art. To name a few names : "I Journeyed Back To The 20th Century", from
TALES TO ASTONISH 3, is the first and best of the many time travel tales, with a great splash
and some nice panels of the traveler strolling with impunity down the city streets using his
force field to keep the barbarians at bay... And "Three Who Vanished", from JOURNEY INTO
MYSTERY 50, has alien spies disguised as humans studying Earth in preparation for invasion
- getting thwarted by a refreshingly uncommomn plot twist.
1960
Ditko's 1960 style doesn't leap out at you like 1956 or 1959, and at first I intended to
lump 1960 in with 1961-63. But the more I looked at the 1960 stories the more I realized that
a practiced eye could frequently single out them out, and that I couldn't shoehorn them into
what came later. 1960 is a transition year.
Early in the year Ditko abandoned his inset panels and began to move towards a more
conventional page layout. He also began using full-page splash panels. And there is less detail
work, especially in the backgrounds. These trends reach fruition later and define his last
Marvel period. But most of the 1960 stories were still very tight and refined even without the
extra detail, and sometimes you have to look twice to relize that you're not dealing with 1959.
Highlights from this period include: "I Found The Mad Universe", from STRANGE TALES 76, where a
scientist uses a powerful microscope to probe the space inside an empty glass cube. He
discovers life on a speck of dust and is disgusted to find the inhabitants waging war upon one
another, I'm sure you know what planet the tiny creatures belong to... And "Earth Must Be
Destroyed", from TALES OF SUSPENSE 9, has aliens, intent on earth's destuction, who perish in a
mysterious flood that is explained in the next scene when two Earth scientists are shown washing
off a microscope slide. This "relative size" plot would be recycled mant times, but this one is
superbly drawn, with ugly aliens amidst awesome armaments.
Let me close out 1960 with two personal favourites. "No Way Out", from TALES TO ASTONISH 9,
takes us into the future where Earth spaceships are trapped inside the solar system by an
invisible barrier. This one ends witha brilliant last panel that really drives home the
fish-bowl analogy. This gets my vote for most intelligently plotted, well-written, and
beautifully illustrated of all Ditko Atlas/Marvel fantasy stories. And "I Must Find Those Who
Lurk Below", from TALES OF SUSPENSE 12, deals with a Devil's Island type prison where a brutal
guard persecutes a convict named Pierre. Ditko knows how to draw fat sadistic prison guards and
wretched emaciated prisoners. This tale of Pierre's escape puts Ditko's noted ability to depict
a wide range of facial expressions to good effect.
1961-63
Is it fair to to lump 182 Ditko stories into one period? While few 1961 stories resemble
1960 style most of 1961 melts into pretty well with 1962 and 1963. Full splash pages,
conventional layout, and minimal detail describe this three period. This cleaner and more
simplified style is still quite pleasing, with plenty of entertainment value as Ditko offers up
a long procession of time machines and flying saucers and hulking monsters and spindly aliens
with puckered lips as if from sucking lemons. But the plot are starting to go stale. The
mysterious curio shop owners who mete out justice to crimnals on the lam, and the greedy
business tycoons ripe for a rude awakening, are no longer fresh characters. This period is best
represented by the all-Ditko issues of AMAZING ADULT FANTASY 7-14, and of course the AMAZING
FANTASY 15 that introduced Spider-Man. These books are great Ditko showcases, with Ditko covers
in addition to the insides.
I think that the 1961-1963 period has allowed the earlier work to be underestimated, as
Marvel has reprinted mostly later stories. Of course there are some standouts: "Anatomy Of A
Nightmare", from TALES OF SUSPENSE 22, is a comic book writer desperate for new ideas who takes
a drug that makes him dream of fantastic alien landscapes, but he wakes up in digust (revealing
his alien face) because his dream was only of his "own dull ordinary world". "The End Of The
Universe", from TALES OF SUSPENSE 41, is another personal favourite. This more fully develops
the theme of "No Way Out" as the pilot of a spaceship that voyages to the end of the universe
returns in a detached state of babbling delerium. I like the idea of a great cosmic secret
that snaps a person's sanity. The art on this one is more detailed and polished than any other
1963 story.
Steve Ditko's universe of 259 Atlas/Marvel fantasy stories is one of the most dazzling
landmarks in the history of comic book art.
CHARLTON : 1954
Although finding these Charlton's is getting tough, it's worth the search because they offer
another galaxy of Ditko fantasy work. His output for Charlton was 197 stories, but often they
came with more than one per issue. A bonus here is that many have excellent Ditko covers as
well. Consequently, with Charlton I'll single out individuals books rather than stories. 1954
is the most obscure (and expensive) period of all, but offers rich rewards. One paradox of
Ditko's early Charlton work is that while the overall look of the interior art is comparatively
crude the covers have more intricate detail than any of his later stuff. The gallery of textured
faces, melting candles, cobwebbed bookcases, and buildings where you count every brick seems
almost unsurpassable.
1954's pre-code status allowed Ditko to tackle gruesome subject matter with fiendish
delight, as THE THING 15 ably demonstrates. A freakishly bizarre cover shows a giant worm
smashing a city, and the matching interior story delivers on the cover's promise - with the
last two panels being especially repungant... SCIENCE FICTION SPACE ADVENTURES 10-12 all sport
spectacular Ditko covers. I single out #11 as a particularly classic issue since it also has
three Ditko stories inside.
1957
By 1957 Ditko's style reached the highest level he would achieve at Charlton. Unconventional
panel arrangements coupled with a strong emphasis on composition makes this years a collector's
delight.
Three titles had Ditko in most issues throughout the year: TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER,
THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED, and MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS. MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS 4
features the most ornately detailed of Ditko's post-code Charlton covers and the story inside
that goes with it, "The Forbidden Room", is a nine-pager. There is also a six-page Ditko in
this issue. And UNUSUAL TALES 9 has a rare and beautiful black cover and four Ditko stories
inside. All of the 1957 stories are consistently excellent.
1958-1959
This two-year period isn't marked by stylistic change per se, but more by inconsistency -
with some stories being much more loosely drawn than others. Most of the looser ones, much like
1961-1963 Marvel, are still satisfiying, although a few are embarrassing sketchly. But THIS
MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED volume 2 #2 has four very tight rendered tales, one of which is a time
travel yarn with excellent futuristic cityscapes. And STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES 39 is noted for
being the only book from which this period with five Ditko stories, although they're somewhat
loose. SPACE ADVENTURES 25-27 also deserve a mention for their high concentration of Ditko S-F.
1960-1961
By 1960 Ditko's layout were growing more conventional just as they did at Marvel. The only
difference is that the Charlton stories never used the full-page splash page. But this period
is least consistent with none of the sub-par entries of 1958-1959. These are all tight and
streamlined - just with less detail. After the middle of 1960 Charlton's production standards
went down, especially in terms of color. Obviously not Dikto's fault but this did tend to
lessen the beauty of the art, and make these stories less attractive than their Marvel
counterparts. Among the best from this period are: STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES 47 with classic
"His Brother's Keeper", one of the best written Charlton tales. A scientist experiments on his
brother to release ancient subconscious memories - with ironic results. Nice feathering on the
faces and exceptional drawing throughout the story. MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS 19 has a
routine cover, but "The Green Unknown" is a superb underwater story.
Comparing Marvel and Charlton
The Atlas/Marvel stories are better written and have more memorable plots than their
Charlton counterparts. In particular the 1959 Atlas/Marvel tales are better than almost any
Charlton stories from any period. Even the 1961-1963 Marvel stories, as the plots start to
wear thin, had enough of Stan Lee's whimsicial humor to make them more appealing than most
Charltons. However, most of the Charlton stories are adequate narratives, and they did avoid
Marvel's tendency to recycle plots to the point of diminishing returns. And occassionally
Charlton cranked out a winner (like "My Brother's Keeper") that rivaled any of the Marvel
efforts.
I've already mentioned the decline in Charlton's production values after mid-1960 and how
this tended to obscure the later Ditko work. But Charlton does have the edge with more Ditko
covers and books that contained several Ditko yarns. The multiple Ditko Charlton issues from
the prime 1954, 1957, and 1958-1959 periods deserve special mention, especially the pre-code
books with the great Ditko covers. Giving 1959, the apex of his fantasy styles, a close look
does seem to indicate that he was trying a little to harder at Marvel, as well as being more
inspired by the generally superior scriping there. But rather than split more hairs I'd like
to end by saying that the Ditko fantasy work for both of these companies is highly collectible
and immensely entertaining - truly a universe of wonder.