THE STEVE DITKO INDEX On CD-ROM, by Tristan Lapoussiere
Attention all Ditko fans!
Concerning the availability of The Steve Ditko Index by Tristan Lapoussiere,
I sent this message to Blake Bell so that he could spread the word to
other Ditko fans.
Over the last year, I have received several requests from American or
Canadian Ditko fans enquiring about the availability of my two-volume
The Steve Ditko Index in English.
This message is meant to let everybody know that they should not send
me requests, less alone money (gasp! some people paid for money orders
they couldn't refund) : while I am very flattered by such interest, I am
sorry to say that no English version of the book exists. I had
tentatively stated that I would do an English version on disk if I
received enough reserve orders, but such has not been the case.
The production of the book itself was very costly because it was an
amateur press, or small press work. Those who have received it (Bill
Hall, Robin Snyder, Steve Ditko) can attest that it was worth the price,
but I don't think one should pay so much for a book. The book being 400
pages thick, it also called for high postage costs.
I have attempted to find a professional publisher for an all-English
book version that would have been distributed the usual way, but my
attempts in this direction have failed.
That's why I'm officially announcing the next step in this publishing
(ad)venture of sorts: a fully interactive CD rom version that will be
scripted in html and will be viewable (off-line, or locally, of course)
with Netscape or any other browser. To me, this is the most economical
way for everybody involved, both for me to produce and for you to enjoy.
Engraving CD roms has become so easy and so cheap that I would be a fool
not to jump at the opportunity.
The CD rom will offer all the advantages of a book :
text matter you can read and navigate through easily, jumping to any
chapter you want with just a click of the mouse;
illustrations to accompany the text, with a full-screen version for
each illustration that you can view just by clicking on the caption;
an updated index, sorted by publisher, by title and by year (a
redundance which the paper version didn't allow)
all black and white illustrations will be scanned at such a resolution
that you will be able to print a high quality version of any of them.
In addition, the CD rom format will allow me to make more important
use of color documents, such as
Ditko's first solo work in color (this is already in the book, but was
costly for me to include)
full-size scans of all of Ditko's early covers (from 1953 to 1959!),
available through a thumbnail gallery
and many more, such as interior pages that would be a pain in the neck
to "clean" for black and white reproduction
All this will take a lot of time and work, but I'm sure that the
result will be enjoyed by more people because it will be cheaper (the
book was priced at $75.00, while the CD rom will most probably not sell
for more than $10.00) and will allow me more freedom and flexibility in
developing it.
Again, do not send any requests nor any money!
I will contact Blake when it is ready!
But what you can do in the meantime is send me moral support and
suggestions if you feel like it, because I need to know that my efforts
will be enjoyed by somebody.