The 2005
STEVE DITKO:
MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER
Update Page
 This page is dedicated to updates on the upcoming book. We will revise this page with every site update as to the progress. As for an official release date, nothing has been set in stone, but the second quarter of 2006 has definite possibilities. As of mid-August, 85% of the text is complete and 90% of the images are scanned and ready to go. We're getting very close to the end, everyone.
We're also sending out a LAST CALL FOR ARTWORK! If you have a piece of original artwork (published or otherwise) that you think could be used in the book, now is the last chance to assist by E-MAILING ME. You will receive a thank you in the credits section of the book. We also respect one's confidentiality, if one would rather keep one's contribution private. We're open to any kind of artwork, so please do let me know!
Below is the latest on the status of every section of the book (please see below the chapters for the history of the project to date):
CHAPTER BY CHAPTER
 CHAPTER ONE: 1950 to 1954 - Ditko's leaves his hometown, travels to New York City to be a comic book artist. Covers his first published works, time at the Simon/Kirby studio, Charlton Comics, and the sickness that forced him home in 1954.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER TWO: INFLUENCE/INSPIRATION - What circumstances led to the artist that came to New York in 1950? Examines Ditko's love of Jerry Robinson, his devotion to Will Eisner's The Spirit, and comparisons to Joe Kubert and Mort Meskin.
Status: Half-finished.
 CHAPTER THREE: 1956 - Ditko returns to New York after his illness subsides. His first stop? Marvel Comics. Work is short-lived at the House of Ideas, but main players - Ditko, Stan Lee and owner Martin Goodman - are all in place.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER FOUR: 1957-1958 - Ditko restarts his association with Charlton Comics that would last until the mid 1980s. With no creative restraints (and little financial rewards), Ditko's work flourishes and his output soars.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER FIVE: RETURN TO MARVEL - Ditko gets the call to come back to Marvel Comics. It seemed like business as usual at the time - more five-page genre tales - but it would lead to the Marvel Age of Comics with the advent of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER SIX: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN - Ditko's role in the creation of the Amazing Spider-Man - and his artistic controbutions - is examined from all angles. What were Ditko's contributions that made this character endlessly enduring?
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE END - Ditko, Ayn Rand, Lee and Goodman collide. Creative and financial turmoil between Ditko and Lee/Goodman leave Ditko walking away from his two co-creations before they would go on to make millions for everyone but Ditko.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER EIGHT: DR. STRANGE - An in-depth examination of one of the most unique creations in comic-book history. Those artists who have followed in his footsteps dissect the universes only Ditko could conjure.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER NINE: WARREN - Freed from Marvel in 1966, Ditko produced some of the most stunning wash work in the medium's history for Warren Comics. Combined with his extraordinary pen and ink work, Ditko is vaulted to his artistic peak.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER TEN: 1967-68 - Ditko the freelancer chases work from Tower Comics, to reviving Captain Atom and the Blue Beetle, to joining D.C. Comics. But all is about to change in the career of Steve Ditko with the creation of The Question and Mr. A.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN: FANZINES - Ditko spends the 1960s legitimizing comic-book fandom - the only home he can find for his Rand-inspired material - before fandom bites back, forcing Ditko to blaze a trail in independent publishing.
Status: Finished.
 CHAPTER TWELVE: RAND CRITIQUE - The 70s saw Ditko make a complete split between his work - for - hire & Objectivist material. But was Rand-inspired work of any quality, or did he lose his artistic focus while spreading the Objectivist doctrine?
Status: Unfinished.
 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE 1980s - Trying to survive in a new era in comics that left his generation behind, Ditko meets betrayal at every turn. Those who profess to honor the legend rob him of what he values most, while the mainstream work begins to peeter out.
Status: Unfinished.
 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE FINAL CHAPTER - The 1990s are barren before the Internet and the rebirth of the Fanzine drive a new wave of nostalgia...that Ditko rejects at every turn. Artistically, the hands of a legend fade to gray.
Status: Unfinished.
 CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE LIGHTER SIDE OF... - Ditko could have been one of the finest humorists of comics. Considered such a solemn and serious artist, open the door to a career filled with humor and a little bit of naughtiness.
Status: Half-finished.
Barring last minute changes that would arise during work on the unfinished material above, the chapter structure is set. At the rate the project is progressing, the finished text should be delivered by the end of September. Copy-editing and book design should be completed the year's end, making 2006 destined to be the year of Ditko! Stay tuned!
THE HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
 Back in the summer of 2002 - while finishing my "I Have To Live With This Guy!" book - I attended my second San Diego Comic Con. I had convinced the Con to allow me to moderate an "Art of Steve Ditko" panel featuring Batton Lash, Paul Smith, John Romita, and Gary Groth (co-publisher of Fantagraphics). The day before the panel, I had been showing Gary B&W images from Ditko's 1950s Charlton work. Gary casually said, "Maybe we should do a book on Ditko," unbeknownst to him that one of my dreams in coming to the Con was in finding someone to do so (but didn't think many publishers would do so, for fear of incurring Ditko's wrath).
The panel was a stunning success, the large room filled to the brim with fans for an artist not even at the show. As he was walking after the platform - lacking any casualness of the previous conversation - Gary said, "Let's do a Ditko book."
 By September, plans had been cemented. Gary requested the project finished by January 1st, but I asked to push that back to April 1st, 2003. Even with my new date, there existed a lack of reality with regards to how long a finished product would take to produce (especially with myself working a "real" job to pay the bills). I rushed through writing the first 50 pages and the Spider-Man chapter and the results were less than stellar. This was recognized and the project was rescheduled.
Enter Jackie Estrada - a real-life Copy Editor - and she and I began to work on the Spider-Man chapter. By September, we had produced a chapter that pleased Gary and we were ready to roll.
 Enter a divorce and new job with tons of new time-consuming responsibilities that mothballed the project during 2004. Time and energy was just not present for all but writing the introduction to the "Captain Atom Action Heroes Archives" edition for D.C. Comics.
I am, however, happy to report that March 2005 has seen the project launch into overdrive! I wrote over 8000 words in the first four weeks - a complete and utter re-write of the original 50 pages, the concept of the book completely reconceptualized! Keep your eyes on this page for all the latest updates!
- Blake Bell
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