MR. A.
This is a review of mine of a Mr. A. story from
COMIC CRUSADER - Issue #13, 1972; a fanzine by Martin Greim. The review gives
a pretty decent idea as to Ditko's socio-political ideas he was funneling through the
character of Mr. A.. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. A. popped up first in WITZEND #3 ('67)
and ended with perhaps the finest Mr. A. story of all, the silent ''Death Vs. Love-Song''
from COMIC CRUSADER STORYBOOK ('78) which had not one wit of dialogue; an unusual occurence
for a philosophical Ditko book. Eclipse compiled all of the dispersed stories into a TPB
called THE DITKO COLLECTION (Feb '85). There was a revival planned in the early 1990s but
nothing ever came of it. One suspects that Ditko's studio walls are lined with unpublished
Mr. A. ''vignettes''. Ditko may be most known for
Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, but it is Mr. A. who is the truest expression of Ditko, The Artist. The
cover presented here is the 2nd issue in Bruce Hershensen's triad of 1975 unedited Ditko
books.
''COMIC CRUSADER #13''
COMIC CRUSADER #13 has an 8-page Mr. A. story,
devided into an 8-part, 1 page/part series with
different titles for each page.
1) ''Justice/Mercy''; 2) ''Earned/Unearned''; 3) ''Mutual Consent/Force'';
4) ''Initiation Of Force/Retaliation Of Force''; 5) ''Seeking Truth/Evasion'';
6) ''Good/Corrupt/Evil''; 7) ''Good/Evil''; 8) ''Life/Death''
The story involves 'Ken', a young malcontent, who is
the driver in a hit-and-run accident. He is set free by
a 'forgiving' society. The main moral of this story is
that, to feel good about itself (more humane), society
has MERCY on its GUILTY, at the expense of JUSTICE for
the VICTIM.
'Society' comes in the form of 'Mr. Lyner', the man
with the 'political pull' who defends Ken to Mr. A.,
blaming society for Ken's ills; wanting to 'cure' Ken
if what Ditko feels is an inherent problem.
Ken joins a ring-leader's gang and is forced to choose
between killing him or Mr. Lyner. He forces Lyner to help
kill him and despose of the boyd, thereby indebting Lyner
to Ken.
Ditko is saying that ANY deviation off the path of
JUSTICE leads to corruption, as Lyner sinks deeper into his
morass of evil deeds, finally taking his own life when he
realizes there is no way out. Death is the only/final
solution, according to Ditko, once tainted. AKA, it's
all down-hill, Chester!
Ditko's telling of the story is unique in its 8-part
approach - showing a different moral dilemna in each section;
all which end up at the same end : Corruption/Death, while
illustrating Ditko's/Mr.A.'s main point (MERCY is for the
GUILTY - JUSTICE is for its VICTIMS - Part 8 has the classic
Mr. A. panel where he's flicking a two-color card off onto
a man with half-a-human, half-a-skull face.
One had best know the history and context of the Mr. A.
universe as Ditko spends little time setting up such elements.
The moral takes center stage and devices normally used to
clarify characters and settings are almost non-existent.
The artwork follows the 9-panels/page outlay, understandable
given the 1 page/part setup. The last panel of each part has
Mr. A. reiterating the point of the page; reinforcing the
hard-line/no apologies stance but doing little for the
'show-don't tell' aspect of storytelling.
A final note : the inner cover comments, by publisher Marty
Greim, about the story reads :
''This issue's second blockbusting strip is by STEVE
DITKO. Steve originally did it for a school newspaper.
When plans for its printing fell through, Steve asked
if I might like to publish it. Since I believe Mr. A.
to be one of the most thought provoking characters around
today, I jumped at the chance. I hope you enjoy it and I
thank Steve for allowing me to print it!''
If you have any stories or articles concerning
Ditko's take on the Mr.A, please E-MAIL me.
You will receive full credit for your contributions.