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It's here...
Blake Bell's new daily weblog - BestOfMostOf.com - on all things visual in the world of entertainment. Feel free to engage in conversation / debate in our Comments section, and explore all the links strew through the page.
Onto the Ditko news...
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2006
 1) Hot on the heels of my involvement in the second volume of the Charlton Action Heroes Archives, comes my involvement in the upcoming AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS! I've been commissioned by Marvel Comics to write a 1500 word essay on Ditko's contributions! We've created an official AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS PAGE that has the full contents, release date, and all relevant info. that we'll be updating you with as the months roll by!
 2) As first revealed here on DITKO LOOKED UP, DC Comics is going to publish the second volume of the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES! Featuring CAPTAIN ATOM, BLUE BEETLEand THE QUESTION stories, we've created an official CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES v2 PAGE that has the full contents, release date, etc., and we'll be updating this up to its release.
3) WE STILL NOT PROMOTING a particular collection of Ditko's 1950s material released this past February to which I wrote the introduction, owing to my many (failed) attempts to get the publisher to live up to his commitments of compensation owed me for my contributions, or even respond to my emails.
 4) Dave Sim, famed creator of the 26-year epic independently published comic CEREBUS is also an admirer of Ditko, and dedicated five separate entries to discussing Ditko last week. It begins with a request for Sim to do a Cerebus as Dr. Strange commission, and the entries grow into full-blown reviews of Ditko's late 1990s work, and a call to Ditko's former co-publisher to see how Ditko is doing these days! You can read all entries here...
Tue Nov 21 - Sim receives request for Dr. Strange commission.
Wed Nov 22 - Sim updates us on how Ditko's doing these days.
Thu Nov 23 - Sim updates us on how Ditko's doing these days.
Fri Nov 24 - Sim updates us on how Ditko's doing these days.
Sat Nov 25 - Sim updates us on how Ditko's doing these days.
 5) In August 2003, I created the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - a forum to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. I'll be using the forum to upload exclusive rare/unseen images (ones that may not even make it into the book) and other research/text culled for my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. Saturday's addition (that can only be viewed by joining the group) will knock your Christmas stocking with Ditko joy! It's the never-before-seen cover mock-up to the aborted "ART OF STEVE DITKO" Eclipse Comics book from the early 1980s! Click on this link - DITKO / KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join & be amongst the first to get all the exclusives!
 6) It's official - I'm a comic-book character! One of the grand men of the comic-book field, Darlin' DICK AYERS took pencil to paper back in 2001 to write and drawn his autobiography. Mecca Comics published his story in three volumes. I visited Dick and Lindy Ayers back in January of 2002 at their home and had the pleasure of interviewing Lindy for my first book, "I Have To Live With This Guy!". I saw pages from the first volume, but wasn't aware Dick was going to "immortalize" me in three panels in volume three. Dick, after being present for the Silver Age of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s (not to mention all his work on the original Ghost Rider in the 1950s), is still going strong, and you can check out this link for details on how to order a commission from Dick. Here's the 3 panels with me from his book...
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2006
1) It's a DLU world-wide exclusive! DC COMICS is going to publish the second volume of the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES! This massive tome will be 388 pages, featuring the remainder of the CAPTAIN ATOM stories not present in volume one, but also the first reprinting of the BLUE BEETLE stories from the late 1960s! Throw in all of THE QUESTION stories (even the Charlton Spotlight #5 story by Alex Toth!) and you have a special volume. The tentative release date is May 2007 and I will once again be involved in helping along the production. Look forward to an introduction by former Charlton editor Dick Giordano and what more could you ask for! More news and images as they become available!
 2) The biggest news is that we're back after 15 months away! Lots of items to cover, so let's start with a run down of all the year's Ditko reprint projects:
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: TALES OF SUSPENSE / TALES TO ASTONISH (TOS released Oct '06 - TTA released Jan '06) : we have a special page dedicated to these treasures!
ESSENTIAL INCREDIBLE HULK (released Sep '06): link to the marvel.com page reprinting Hulk #1-6 and Tales To Astonish #60-91 (lots of Ditko) HERE.
MARVEL MILESTONES #11 (released Feb '06) : contains Dragon Lord's debuts in MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #5 (Mar '80). Also reprints SPEEDBALL #1 (Sep '88) and “The Man in the Sky” from AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #14 (Jul '62). Link to the marvel.com page is HERE.
CAPTAIN UNIVERSE: POWER UNIMAGINABLE (released Nov '05) : link to the marvel.com page reprinting 70 pages of early '80s Ditko is HERE.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS : the last volumes are out. Here's an Amazon.com for the volumes.
DITKO MARVEL PRODUCTS : a link to the Search function at marvelcomics.com to always keep you updated is HERE.
3) WE WON'T CURRENTLY BE PROMOTING a particular collection of Ditko's 1950s material released this past February to which I wrote the introduction, owing to my many (failed) attempts to get the publisher to live up to his commitments of compensation owed me for my contributions.
4) I've taken the tack that if I don't have a specific date, or benchmarks for my STEVE DITKO BOOK PROJECT, then I won't bother anyone with 'false hope.' That said, I've updated the official STEVE DITKO BOOK UPDATE PAGE with all the latest details of the work itself!
 5) 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!
6) In August 2003, I created the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - a forum to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. I'll be using the forum to upload exclusive rare/unseen images (ones that may not even make it into the book) and other research/text culled for my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. Saturday's addition (that can only be viewed by joining the group) will knock your Ditko socks off! It's the original contract to the aborted "ART OF STEVE DITKO" Eclipse Comics book from the early 1980s! A fascinating insight to the (failed) process that tempted Ditko fans the world over before crumbling around us. Click on this link - DITKO / KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join & be amongst the first to get all the exclusives!
SUNDAY AUGUST 14, 2005
1) We present the third official update on the progress of my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK project. We've created an official STEVE DITKO BOOK UPDATE PAGE where we will update the status of the book to date. You can also read about the back story behind the genesis of the volume, through its failed release in 2003, to the layout of the chapters as they stand today! The latest news is the book is 85% complete! Read all about it in our latest update!
2) As we near the end of the long road to seeing my STEVE DITKO BOOK PROJECT published, we also send 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!
3) In other assorted Ditko news since our last update, the on-line magazine, SALON published an article on the "reclusive" Ditko. You can read the article at SALON'S WEB SITE, but you may either have to register, or be granted a free "day pass" to read it. My name and this web site is name-dropped in the article. Ahh, fame and fortune...
FRIDAY APRIL 22, 2005
 1) The Ditko Marvel reprint volume (to which I've written the introduction), STEVE DITKO: MARVEL VISIONARIES hit the stands two days ago! It spans Ditko's work from as early as 1961 to 1992. It's 336 pages, $29.99, in colour and hardcover. We've updated our page to the volume - "STEVE DITKO: MARVEL VISIONARIES" PAGE - so run, don't walk, to pick up your copy. Your support will ensure other Ditko reprint volumes are considered by the powers that be at Marvel Comics!
 2) Issue #11 of SQUA TRONT" (from Fantagraphics) is dedicated to JOHN SEVERIN, but also features SQUA TRONT's editor, Mike Britt, writing about his publishing days with Robert Crumb and his contacts with Severin, Jules Feiffer and...Steve Ditko! There's a small Ditko picture of an eye that Steve had sent at the end of one of his letters to Mike from 1959! The magazine is 64 pages long and $10.95. if you can't find it in stores, you can order it from the Fantagraphics.com web site.
3) We present the second official update into the progress of my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. We've created an official "BLAKE'S STEVE DITKO BOOK UPDATE PAGE" where we will update the status of the book to date. The project has taken off since the start of March, and our first update concerns the back story behind the genesis of the volume, through its failed release in 2003, to the layout of the first chapters as it stands today! Stay tuned for all the news!
 4) In August 2003, I created the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - a forum to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. In 2005, I'll be using the forum to exclusively upload rare/unseen images (ones that may not even make it into the book) culled from my research on my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK, as well as and interviews / excerpts. Today's addition (that can only be viewed by joining the group) will be an interview I conducted with artist (and Ditko admirer) JIM STARLIN about all things Ditko! Click on this link - DITKO / KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join & be amongst the first to get all the exclusives on my STEVE DITKO BOOK!
MONDAY APRIL 11, 2005
1) We ascend into our eighth year of the site with the first official update into the progress of my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. We've created an official "BLAKE'S STEVE DITKO BOOK UPDATE PAGE" where we will update the status of the book to date. The project has taken off since the start of March, and our first update concerns the back story behind the genesis of the volume, through its failed release in 2003, to the layout of the first chapters as it stands today!
2) In August 2003, I created the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - a forum to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. In 2005, I'll be using the forum to exclusively upload rare/unseen images (ones that may not even make it into the book) culled from my research on my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. Today's addition (that can only be viewed by joining the group) will be an extremely rare Green Lantern image from an aborted D.C. Comics Coloring book from 1985! Click on this link - DITKO / KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join & be amongst the first to get all the exclusives on my STEVE DITKO BOOK!
3) Only 9 days away from the April 20th release of the Ditko Marvel reprint volume (to which I've written the introduction), MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO, spanning Ditko's work from as early as 1961 to 1992. It's 336 pages, $29.99, in colour and hardcover. We have a page dedicated to the volume - "MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO" PAGE - so run, don't walk, to pick up your copy. Your support will ensure other Ditko reprint volumes are considered by the powers that be at Marvel Comics! Speaking of which...
 4) Ahh, it's beginning...the Ditko Reprint Revolution of which we've spoken in an earlier update. From the Captain Atom D.C. Archives, to the Vanguard volume reprinting some of Ditko's 1950s material, to the Marvel Visionaries project, and now comes news of a "TALES TO ASTONISH MARVEL MASTERWORKS" volume in the works! There's no firm release date as of yet, but we've created our own "TALES TO ASTONISH MARVEL MASTERWORKS" PAGE that we'll update with all incoming news! In this first update, we discuss Ditko's return to Marvel and his time spent on the T.T.A. title, as well as list the Ditko contents of the volume!
MONDAY MARCH 7, 2005
1) April is bringing the release of a Ditko Marvel reprint volume, spanning Ditko's work from as early as 1961 to 1992. It's 336 pages, $29.99, in colour and hardcover. We've dedicated a page to the volume that we will keep updating with any news. Today, we've updated our "MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO" PAGE with the official release date and news that I've been commissioned to write the introduction to the volume!
 2) We've updated our "STEVE DITKO: SPACE WARS" PAGE with the release of VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS black-and-white reprint volume of 1950s Charlton stories. Both editions are out in stores as of now! The page also features both covers and all the information on the volume, including a complete table of contents that orders the stories properly by job numbers.
3) In August of 2003, I created the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - a forum to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. In 2005, I'll be using the forum to update the status of my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. What would make any Ditko fan want to join this group is I will be uploading never-before-seen images into the FILES section (a section that can only be viewed by joining the group) that likely won't even make it into the book. Tonight will feature the second upload; pre-inked pencils of Ditko's work that appeared in WHAT THE?!. Compare the pencils of Ditko with the finished version, inked by comics legend JOHN SEVERIN. Joining our forum is free, and I will keep uploading images every month until the book's release (no official date yet, I'm afraid), so click on this link - STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join and be amongst the first to get the inside scoop on my STEVE DITKO BOOK!
MONDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2005
1) April is bringing the release of a Ditko Marvel reprint volume, spanning Ditko's work from as early as 1961 to 1992. It's 336 pages, $29.99, in colour and hardcover. We've dedicated a page to the volume that we will keep updating with any news. Today, we've updated our "MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO" PAGE with (as you can see to your left) the cover of the book (larger than here), as well as a DITKO LOOKED UPdate exclusive: the full table of contents! The page also contains my ideal table of contents: the stories that you should see, that would best represent Ditko's career at Marvel Comics, and why. We'll have some even more exciting news about the volume when we update this site again on March 1st! Stay tuned!
2) We may be two days away from the release of VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS black-and-white reprint volume of 1950s Charlton stories. We've dedicated a page to the volume that we will keep updating with any news and reviews. Today, we've updated our "STEVE DITKO: SPACE WARS" PAGE with the alternative cover featured on the softcover version. The page also contains all the information on the volume, including a complete table of contents that orders the stories properly by job numbers. We'll be back on March 1st with a review of the volume, commenting on story choice and the quality of the reproduction.
3) Back in August of 2003, I created a discussion group called the STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP as a forum for people to discuss the careers of both men whose paths crossed each other on many occasion. I disassociated myself with the older, seperate Ditko and Kirby groups due to the unmoderated, childish and disrespectful behaviour of a percentage of the participants. In 2005, I'll be using the forum to update the status of my upcoming STEVE DITKO BOOK. What would make any Ditko fan want to join this group is I will be uploading never-before-seen images into the FILES section (a section that can only be viewed by joining the group) that likely won't even make it into the book (so crowded would the project become if I tried to include everything). Today is the first upload, featuring pre-inked pencils of Ditko's only work that appeared in ACTION COMICS. Compare the pencils of Ditko with the finished version, inked by Art Thibert. It's the only appearance of Ditko pencilling the GREEN LANTERN. Joining our forum is free, and I will keep uploading images every month until the book's release (no official date yet, I'm afraid), so click on this link - STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY DISCUSSION GROUP - to join and be amongst the first to get the inside scoop on my STEVE DITKO BOOK!
 4) A big thanks to Joe Zierman who pointed us in the direction of the web site by one of my old San Diego Ditko buddies, Sam Park, that features pictures of my 2003 San Diego Comicon slide show presentation called "50 YEARS OF STEVE DITKO"! I had no idea pictures existed from the presentation I narrated, but if you click on the link below, you can see there are quite a few. Scroll down a bit and I'm in pictures nine through thirteen...
"50 YEARS OF STEVE DITKO" : pictures from my presentation.
TUESDAY JANUARY 18, 2005
 1) There may be no greater inspiration and influence on the artwork of Steve Ditko than comic-book pioneer, WILL EISNER. On Monday, January 3rd, 2005, 87-year-old Will Eisner passed away due to complications after bypass heart surgery. I've written a little piece on Eisner, his influence on Ditko and my meetings with Will and his lovely wife, Ann (whom I interviewed for my book, "I Have To Live With This Guy!"). In the aforementioned book, the chapter on Ann and Will Eisner was combined with the lives of Muriel and Joe Kubert and Joanie Lee. In what will hopefully present another side to the life and times of Will, I've representing the chapter modified to feature only the story of Ann and Will...
EISNER and DITKO : Ditko's inspiration.
ANN and WILL EISNER : 55 years of life and marriage with Will.
2) The good news is that VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS is following through on their proposed STEVE DITKO: SPACE WARS reprint collection. You can read their promo piece HERE. I was contacted by Vanguard publisher to exist with indexing the contents. Should have some stories that have never been printed. Vanguard is also putting out a collection of Alex Schomburg covers, which will have me as a committed customer. The Ditko book is off to the printers this week and will be on the shelves sometime in February. I am unsure as to whether there will be a hard and a soft cover, but you can click below to see what the book has to offer...
STEVE DITKO: SPACE WARS - Table of Contents.
 3) I've haven't spent a great deal of space on this site identifying "re-launches" of old Ditko characters by the big two comic companies; D.C. and Marvel Comics. They generally end up as pale versions of the originals or huge basterdizations (witness the '80s version of The Question), "remodeled" to "jive with the times." But perhaps that's idiosyncratic of me, so you all be the judge. At worst, it highlights that Ditko's creative legacy continues to live on (and be tapped, or raped, depending upon your point of view). Both companies, in the last three months, have issued limited series featuring two of Ditko's biggest creations. January 5th saw issue #3 of D.C. Comics six-issue mini-series starring THE QUESTION hit the stands, written by Swamp Thing veteran, Rick Veitch. Ditko created The Question back in his late '60s Charlton days as a more palatable version of his seminal MR. A. character. In the early '80s, D.C. purchased the rights to all the Charlton characters. December 29th saw issue #3 of a six-issue mini-series featuring Ditko's Marvel Comics creation DR. STRANGE hit the stands. It's written by the 21st century version of J.M. DeMattis, J. Michael Straczynski. Want to know how the 21st Century is treating two of Ditko's characters from the '60s?
THE QUESTION : read a Rick Veitch interview HERE and HERE.
THE QUESTION : read an interview with artist Tommy Edwards HERE.
THE QUESTION : The D.C. web site has covers and synopses of issues #1, #2; #3; #4 and #5.
DR. STRANGE : read all of (a hazy) issue #1 at the Mile High Comics site HERE.
DR. STRANGE : Comicon.com has a review of the series and a 6-page look at issue #2 HERE.
DR. STRANGE : Marvel web site has covers and synopses of issues #1-4.
 4) Speaking of reading comics on the 'Net, Marvel has a "dot comics" service at their site where they reprint entire issues. If you have every reprint of Spider-Man's first story in Amazing Fantasy #15, you can add the dot comics version to your collection.
AMAZING FANTASY #15 : Read the dot comics version at Marvel's web site.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2004
 1) It's all about the reprint this time around. D.C. Comics released the ACTION HEROES CAPTAIN ATOM ARCHIVES volume one on Wednesday August 25th. It features every Captain Atom appearance from SPACE ADVENTURES #33-42, as well as the first five issues of the 1966 Captain Atom revival (#78-82)! You can read all the details and my review of the finished product HERE.
2) Big Ditko reprint news from Marvel Comics! Coming in APRIL 2005 is MARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO! It's a 336-page, $29.99 hardcover volume featuring stories covering the arc of Ditko's career at Marvel. We have the most complete table of contents released yet but we take it one step further! We give our table of contents - the stories that you should see, that would best represent Ditko's career at Marvel Comics, and why. You can read about it HERE!
4) VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS is apparently reprinting some Ditko Charlton material from the 1950s/early '60s. You can read their promo piece HERE. We've seen collections like this promised before (and we're not sure how this one is going to be released on Christmas Day - a Saturday), so we tend not to publicize them. If anyone is going to be producing material such as this, one only has to send us a review copy and we'd be happy to promote it. We can be reached at ditko37@rogers.com for details on where to send the copies.
5) John Gleeson, a columnist for the Winnipeg Sun here in Canada published an article this summer where he included in his story quotes from letters received from Ditko on the article's subject. Interesting material that can read HERE.
6) Our good friend Michael Ambrose has an article with Ditko content on Charlton's 1970s horror material in the 6th issue of Twomorrows Publishing monthly magazine, BACK ISSUE. You can order it HERE.
7) And finally, November is a month of birthdays: Ditko was 77 years-old on November 2nd and future Ditko fan, my son Luke was 5 years-old on the 22nd! Happy birthday to both!
TUESDAY MAY 25, 2004
1) Exciting news is coming out of D.C. Comics! Late last year I was contacted about assisting with their plan to reprint the earliest (and eventually all of) Joe Gill and Steve Ditko's CAPTAIN ATOM stories in the deluxe D.C. Archives series! I was hired to be the Consulting Editor and I also wrote the Introduction for the project! So far, it is falling under the title, "ACTION HEROES ARCHIVE" and will feature reprints of Captain Atom's appearances in SPACE ADVENTURES #33-42, as well as the first five issues of the 1966 Captain Atom revival (#78-82)! The list price will be $49.95 U.S., hardcover, 228 pages, and should hit the stands in August! Coming in June, I'll be updating the web site with an exclusive interview with Dale Crain, Senior Editor Collected Editions for D.C. Comics on the genesis of the project, the quality of the source material and what other editions of Ditko-related material may lie ahead! Stay tuned!
 2) The February issue of THE COMICS JOURNAL wasn't quite the "all-Ditko issue" that was inferred. It was, in fact, only 31 pages. "Only" being a relative term, since it's most likely the largest section dedicated to a critique of Ditko's work in a magazine. The cover featured a blow-up of the image we showed you during our last update. The image is from "The Joker" story contained in the Marvel comic, AMAZING ADVENTURES #5 (Oct '61). Did they encapsulate Ditko's 50-year career to any great degree? What would it take to make a great suite of articles on an artist with the career of Ditko? You can read my review of the issue HERE. If your local store doesn't get the periodical, or has run out of copies, you can get ordering information from THE COMICS JOURNAL web site HERE.
3) There's still no official release date secured for my STEVE DITKO BOOK. The good news is June should be the month to secure details about this, so look forward to the next update! And if you're looking for some more Charlton material to hold you over until the ACTION HEROES ARCHIVE, you can check out Michael Ambrose's CHARLTON SPOTLIGHT fanzine. Michael's taken his project far beyond that of your garden variety fanzine. Check out the details at his web site, www.charltonspotlight.com. This issue is dominated by a tribute to the recently-deceased artist, Tom Sutton. There are also interviews with José Delbo and Henry Scarpelli, Ron Frantz's ongoing Charlton memories column, memorial tributes to Jack Keller and an ongoing Charlton Comics checklist, with cover gallery! I hope to be producing a Ditko piece for a future issue!
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
1) I've just come back with plenty of exciting Ditko news from this year's SMALL PRESS EXPO held in Bethesda, Maryland! But first, if you want to know where the groundbreaking work is being done in comics today, please read my SPX REPORT on the entire show!
2) I promised news on the status of my STEVE DITKO BOOK and SPX brought the project's release date into a much clearer picture. Barring my personal demise, the book will be in bookstores by next September! The better news is copies of the finished product will be flown in for its debut at next July's San Diego Comic Con! That's right. If you can make it out to San Diego next year, you can get a head start on the book that will rock the Ditko world! If I've learnt one thing, it's that anything is subject change in the world of publishing, but the project motors on under this new course; a course that will likely be finalized in January. With the addition of the COMPLETE PEANUTS by Charles Schulz to the Fantagraphics' library of new releases starting next April, the stage will be set for them to promote my Ditko book to the moon! Speaking of Fantagraphics...
 3) As if the above news wasn't good enough, the December issue of THE COMICS JOURNAL will be an all-Ditko issue! Not only will it provide many unique looks at Ditko's career, but it will be an ideal teaser and promotion for my book in the following months. I asked TCJ's editor-in-chief about the project and he said, "Why a Ditko issue? I've always wanted to see an issue with all of the JOURNAL's best writers examining a given topic and I've found that Ditko's work makes an excellent test for comics critics -- everyone is familiar with at least one period of his work, and I've learned that if a critic can't write intelligently about the Ditko he knows, he really has no business writing about comics." You can read the solicitation and see a larger version of the proposed (but unlikely final) cover HERE.
4) On Sunday night at the Small Press Expo, I mentioned to Frank Miller that I was doing a book on Steve Ditko. His face went from a smile to a stern look. He stopped speaking, raised his hand to his forehead and gave me a salute...and then went back to smiling! Frank knows the Ditko score!
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 13, 2003
1) It is with great pleasure that I announce I am starting a STEVE DITKO & JACK KIRBY Discussion group at Yahoogroups! This list will be tailor-made for people who want to discuss/critique Ditko's work/career as well as Kirby's, and want to do it in a forum where RESPECT will be the fundamental precept of all who post there. I kid not when I say three strikes and a poster will be removed from the list for disrespectful behaviour. No insults, no extraneous off-topic postings designed to inflame instead of producing productive responses. Lest one think this is destined to be a heavily censored forum, think again. Everyone will be allowed to share their own unique opinion and outlook, but they will not openly and maliciously disrespect others and their opinions. If you'd care to join such a forum that strives to achieve a goal of providing fun, informative discussion (without the usual Internet trolling), you can join by entering your email address into the link below! Remember, you don't have to like both artists. If you just want to talk about Ditko, or just talk about Kirby, that's fine, but there's so much cross-over that a new list operating under the principles mentioned above is a necessity! You won't be disappointed!
2) My lecture/slideshow entitled "50 YEARS OF STEVE DITKO" was a roaring success in San Diego this year, so much so that it's going to make another appearance at this August's Toronto Comic Convention! It will be taking place at the Con on the Saturday, August 24. The time has yet to be confirmed, but all who've signed up for my DITKO LOOKED UPdates will be notified a good week before the show! And not only that, but my "GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS OF MARVEL COMICS" slide show that debuted in San Diego will also make a Toronto stop! See the flyer HERE. We'll be showing at the Palmerston Library on Thursday September 4th and then will hit a local bar to rap about Everett, Kirby, Shores, Schomburg, Ditko and the whole gang!
3) And let's hear it for my "I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY! book. It's been translated into Portuguese for release by a Brazilian publisher! More details as they follow!
WEDNESDAY JULY 2, 2003
1) Hard to believe that this is the first Update this year, but I've been a very busy boy. I'm sure you're all wondering about the status of my STEVE DITKO BOOK that was going to be out in time for San Diego. You can read all the details HERE.
2) Remember my lecture/slideshow event from last November in Toronto that made Canada's national newspaper, The National Post? Well, for those of you who missed it, you're going to get another chance! Yes, at this year's SAN DIEGO COMIC CON, I will be presenting an updated version entitled "50 YEARS OF STEVE DITKO"! 2003 is fifty years since DARING LOVE #1 hit the stands and we will be celebrating that at this year's San Diego Comic Con! The show will be presented on FRIDAY JULY 18th, 5:30-7pm, Room 7a with some time at the end for questions. Come explore fifty years of Ditko imagery and commentary!
3) Remember last year's panel at the San Diego Comic Con that I moderated entitled THE ART OF STEVE DITKO? Well, you can now listen to the first hour of it in streaming audio in the ARTIST section! Listen to myself, Gary Groth (publisher of Fantagraphics), John Romita (Spider-Man), Paul Smith (X-Men, Dr. Strange) and Batton Lash (Supernatural Law) recognize and critique the merits of Ditko's 50 year career!
4) Need some more Ditko in your San Diego Comic Con programming? I'm also hosting another Power Point presentation entitled, "GOLDEN AGE ARTISTS OF MARVEL COMICS"! We'll be telling the history of Marvel Comics through the work of the artists that made the company's first 20 years (1939-1958) so memorable! The presentation takes place on SATURDAY JULY 19th, 3:30-5pm, Room 2. I'll be moderating another panel on Thursday at 1:30-3pm in Room 16AB entitled, "THE HISTORY OF SELF-PUBLISHING" featuring the DIY legends of the past 25 years, so come on by and say hello!
5) A big birthday smack in the face goes out to my best friend of 21 years and fellow Toronto Ditkomaniac, Len Lumbers on his b-day back on the 26th. Len is famous in Ditko circles for having one letter printed in DITKOMANIA and three letters printed in the ten-issue run of Ditko's SPEEDBALL!
NEWS ARCHIVE: 1998-2002
If you have any Ditko-related news, please feel free to
E-MAIL ME.
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