1) Dave Sim, creator of the Cerebus comic book (independently published for 300 issues between 1977 and 2004), is not only a great artist and writer (and puller of pins on socio-political grenades), but he also is an astute historian and critic of the medium. Whilst Dave is finishing a secret comic book project - tentatively scheduled for a late 2007 release - he also blogs daily at his Blog and Mail site (the name of the site being a parody of Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail). This year has seen many Ditko entries where Dave comments on Ditko's career and politics, but also critiques Ditko's work. Whilst I continue to work on my Ditko book for Fantagraphics in 2008, I took the above as an opportunity to send Dave some 1950s/60s pre-Spider-Man Ditko stories that wouldn't make the book, so he could review them exclusively for this site. Dave spent copious amounts of time reviewing all the material, and all I had to do was put it all up as a page on the Ditko site, with links to his blog and information about the Cerebus graphic novels. You can read his intro. to the review project HERE. On Sunday, we'll add the first set of reviews, and follow that Monday with the remainder. Thanks to Dave for this exclusive look at 1950s/60s Ditko material through a master cartoonist's eyes.

2) It's official! As you can see by the Amazon.com link above, we're going to get an AMAZING ADULT FANTASY OMNIBUS from Marvel Comics this coming August! The fantastic news is that not only will it reprint the Lee/Ditko issues from #7 to #15 (#15 being Amazing Fantasy #15, featuring the first Spider-Man story, but many other Lee/Ditko gems), but also the issues of Amazing Adventures #1-6, the title that Marvel changed into Amazing Adult Fantasy with issue #7 to do all Ditko stories! Those issues are also rather pricey and rare, and many of them have Ditko stories never before reprinted. Click HERE to pre-order the volume from Amazon.com at 37% off the cover price. We'll have more on this in our next update, including a listing of all the stories within (and what hasn't been reprinted), and a surprise or two about the contents! Stay tuned!

3) This past Wednesday saw the release of the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES v2 featuring the continuation of the Captain Atom run from the first ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES volume. But it also features all of Ditko's Blue Beetle run, and his work on The Question. Who woulda thunk this guy would have returned to such popularity, thanks to that "52" series that DC just finished? I helped with information and also gave DC the artwork to the B&W Captain Atom story from Charlton Bullseye. The cover in the Amazon.com ad above is not the real cover (the real one is to your right). Let's flood DC with orders, so they'll move onto a Creeper and Hawk and the Dove Archives!

4) The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS is on the stands and, according to editor Cori Sedlmeier, it's selling like "hotcakes." The volume features every Lee/Ditko Spider-Man story, a ton of extras, and a 1500-word essay by yours truly! Check out our AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS PAGE, plus my web log - BestOfMostOf.com - also takes a look at the restoration of the artwork in this entry. There's also a huge thread about the volume going on at the Marvel Masterworks Board with lots of examples of restored artwork and commentary about the book.


5) We just received our copy of ALTER EGO #68 featuring never-before-seen notes by Steve Ditko to Stan Lee for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! It only contains 3 of the ten pages, the rest having appeared at a Stan Lee exhibit featured at MOCCA in New York City. Click HERE to read all about it!

6) There's two more collections coming in October from DC Comics with reprinted Ditko material. The "52: THE COMPANION" trade paperback reprints Ditko's Mysterious Suspense #1, featuring Ditko's The Question. The "SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER FEATURING THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS" trade paperback collects stories from Ditko issues of WEIRD WAR TALES #46 and 49 (haven't confirmed yet, though, if both his stories are reprinted).

7) Some Ditko name-dropping by one of the indie creators doing a Dr. Strange story for a Marvel indie anthology. Click on the link to see a couple of pages by Dash Shaw...now there's a Ditko character's name if I ever saw one (Stac Rae, etc.)

8) More recent Ditko-related material from my web log:

9) Over the years, people have been asking for me to lay out what Ditko-related books are available for purchase, so (as you can see at the top of this page) I've added links to all top notch books on the market (and those coming) with Ditko material for sale at Amazon.com. This way, you'll keep abreast of what's new, be able to save up to 37% (and free shipping on orders over $25!) on these items, and we get a little referral fee to help keep my internet operation afloat.

1) The man to your left is bringing a Steve Ditko documentary to the BBC! Read all about it on my web log, BestOfMostOf.com, HERE.

2) We've also been telling Steve Ditko stories on my web log:

1) Dave Sim, creator of the Cerebus comic book (independently published for 300 issues between 1977 and 2004), is not only a great artist and writer (and puller of pins on socio-political grenades), but he also is an astute historian and critic of the medium. Whilst Dave is finishing a secret comic book project - tentatively scheduled for a late 2007 release - he also blogs daily at his Blog and Mail site (the name of the site being a parody of Canada's national newspaper, the Globe and Mail). This year has seen many Ditko entries where Dave comments on Ditko's career and politics, but also critiques Ditko's work. Whilst I continue to work on my Ditko book for Fantagraphics in 2008, I took the above as an opportunity to send Dave some 1950s/60s pre-Spider-Man Ditko stories that wouldn't make the book, so he could review them exclusively for this site. Dave spent copious amounts of time reviewing all the material, and all I had to do was put it all up as a page on the Ditko site, with links to his blog and information about the Cerebus graphic novels. You can read his intro. to the review project HERE. On Sunday, we'll add the first set of reviews, and follow that Monday with the remainder. Thanks to Dave for this exclusive look at 1950s/60s Ditko material through a master cartoonist's eyes.

2) It's official! As you can see by the Amazon.com link above, we're going to get an AMAZING ADULT FANTASY OMNIBUS from Marvel Comics this coming August! The fantastic news is that not only will it reprint the Lee/Ditko issues from #7 to #15 (#15 being Amazing Fantasy #15, featuring the first Spider-Man story, but many other Lee/Ditko gems), but also the issues of Amazing Adventures #1-6, the title that Marvel changed into Amazing Adult Fantasy with issue #7 to do all Ditko stories! Those issues are also rather pricey and rare, and many of them have Ditko stories never before reprinted. Click HERE to pre-order the volume from Amazon.com at 37% off the cover price. We'll have more on this in our next update, including a listing of all the stories within (and what hasn't been reprinted), and a surprise or two about the contents! Stay tuned!

3) This past Wednesday saw the release of the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES v2 featuring the continuation of the Captain Atom run from the first ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES volume. But it also features all of Ditko's Blue Beetle run, and his work on The Question. Who woulda thunk this guy would have returned to such popularity, thanks to that "52" series that DC just finished? I helped with information and also gave DC the artwork to the B&W Captain Atom story from Charlton Bullseye. The cover in the Amazon.com ad above is not the real cover (the real one is to your right). Let's flood DC with orders, so they'll move onto a Creeper and Hawk and the Dove Archives!

4) The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS is on the stands and, according to editor Cori Sedlmeier, it's selling like "hotcakes." The volume features every Lee/Ditko Spider-Man story, a ton of extras, and a 1500-word essay by yours truly! Check out our AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS PAGE, plus my web log - BestOfMostOf.com - also takes a look at the restoration of the artwork in this entry. There's also a huge thread about the volume going on at the Marvel Masterworks Board with lots of examples of restored artwork and commentary about the book.


5) We just received our copy of ALTER EGO #68 featuring never-before-seen notes by Steve Ditko to Stan Lee for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! It only contains 3 of the ten pages, the rest having appeared at a Stan Lee exhibit featured at MOCCA in New York City. Click HERE to read all about it!

6) There's two more collections coming in October from DC Comics with reprinted Ditko material. The "52: THE COMPANION" trade paperback reprints Ditko's Mysterious Suspense #1, featuring Ditko's The Question. The "SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER FEATURING THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS" trade paperback collects stories from Ditko issues of WEIRD WAR TALES #46 and 49 (haven't confirmed yet, though, if both his stories are reprinted).

7) Some Ditko name-dropping by one of the indie creators doing a Dr. Strange story for a Marvel indie anthology. Click on the link to see a couple of pages by Dash Shaw...now there's a Ditko character's name if I ever saw one (Stac Rae, etc.)

8) More recent Ditko-related material from my web log:

9) Over the years, people have been asking for me to lay out what Ditko-related books are available for purchase, so (as you can see at the top of this page) I've added links to all top notch books on the market (and those coming) with Ditko material for sale at Amazon.com. This way, you'll keep abreast of what's new, be able to save up to 37% (and free shipping on orders over $25!) on these items, and we get a little referral fee to help keep my internet operation afloat.

1) The man to your left is bringing a Steve Ditko documentary to the BBC! Read all about it on my web log, BestOfMostOf.com, HERE.

2) We've also been telling Steve Ditko stories on my web log:

1) April 8th was the 9th anniversary of DITKO LOOKED UP! It's been a fun-filled ride, and (with my Ditko book marching it's way to the finish line) I suspect the next year will be just as exciting! Thanks to all those friends we've made along the way, and to all those who contributed to making the site what it is today. Here's a special 9th anniversary treat for everyone. A very clean, B&W splash page from Tales to Astonish #31 (May '62) for the story, "Man of Iron!". Looks like Stan saved that name and logo for another day. Speaking of which...

2) The Iron Man movie is fast becoming a reality. This is of note to Ditko fans because Ditko created the second armoured suit for the character, the gold and red number that has lasted for over 40 years. Here's a look at the original costume that Kirby designed that will be featured at the start of the 2008 movie (courtesy of our friends at the Newsarama Blog.

3) Under two weeks away from the release of the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS! Wednesday April 25th will be the street date for this magnificent volume that features every Lee/Ditko Spider-Man story, plus a ton of extras...including a 1500-word essay by yours truly! Check out our AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS PAGE for all the details. We hope to have more exclusive looks at the project and an interview with editor Cory Sedlmeier in time for the book's release. It all ties in with the release of the third Spider-Man movie on May 4th. It's also Spider-Man Week in New York City the week of the movie. Also, don't forget that May also sees the release of ALTER EGO #68 featuring never-before-seen notes by Steve Ditko to Stan Lee for a 1965 Dr. Strange story, and the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES v2!

4) Ditko's version of Ted Kord as The Blue Beetle may be mulch, but he lives on through TwoMorrows! Author Christopher Irving has put together a comprehensive look at the entire history of the Blue Beetle character that dates back to 1939. It's now on the stands from TwoMorrows Publishing, and you can read an interview with Chris at the Newsarama site.

5) Here's a nifty Ditko 'Net item that I've been meaning to link to for a while. It's "Bob's" Ditko Blog Spot. 3 or so times a week, Bob shares his thoughts on a particular Ditko book he's read. He also has a Kirby Blog Spot that's associated with the Kirby museum.

6) Paul Curtis, who was originally going to write the "Five Fabulous Decade of Marvel" book that eventually was penned by Les Daniels, was alleged to have a great deal of access to the Marvel files, and his web journal certainly backs this up. Looks like he photocopied, from either original artwork, stats, or silver proofs, a great deal of old Marvel pre-hero Ditko stories. Follow the links for more on not just Ditko, but plenty of 1950s material thought lost.

7) Somebody's got Ditko Fever!

8) The gents at Is This Tomorrow? - who put up comic strips on the Web - have their Annotated Steve Ditko story on-line. Here's Part 2.

9) Oh dear, I've succumbed to MySpace and put up my profile with Ditko mentions galore.

10) And we'll link to anybody who thinks we give great forward!

1) We're just over a month away from the release of the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS...and we have the exclusive look at the covers for the volume! Wednesday April 25th will be the street date for this magnificent volume that features every Lee/Ditko Spider-Man story, plus a ton of extras...including a 1500-word essay by yours truly! Check out our AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS PAGE for a look at the Direct Market cover (the Kirby/Ditko cover to Amazing Fantasy #15) and the bookstore market variant cover (by Alex Ross), the back cover and lots of updated details on the volume's contents. We'll be looking to have more exclusives as we reach the release date (a week before the debut of the movie, Spider-Man 3).

2) May sees the release of ALTER EGO #68 featuring never-before-seen notes by Steve Ditko to Stan Lee for a 1965 Dr. Strange story! It appears the notes are on display at a Stan Lee exhibit currently featured at MOCCA in New York City. Click HERE to read all about it! The March 2007 issue (#66, spotlighting the work of Bob Powell) has Ditko content, as well! There's an interview with the wife of 1950s Charlton editor, Al Fago, and she discusses (at some length) her meetings and impressions of Ditko. You can find it on page 77 on the issue.

3) Don't forget that May also sees the release of the CHARLTON ACTION HEROES ARCHIVES v2! Click on the link to read about all the details!

4) What's news on the Web concerning Ditko? David Thompson wrote a Ditko article that talks a great deal about Ditko's Shade...and name-drops us, and an interview we did back in July of 2002 for the Conservative Monitor that still lingers on the 'Net. And here's another Ditko article from a site that focuses on peoples' adherence to certain philosophies.

5) Dave Sim (co-creator of Cerebus) is still bloggin' about Ditko. He reviews "The Lonely One" reprint volume of Ditko's Charlton Konga stories (the volume that was put out as a small press release back in the late 1980s), his review of the another Ditko Package, and has more thoughts on how Ditko's adherence to Ayn Rand's Objectivist beliefs have shaped his career. You can read that entry here.

6) Sim also did up a tribute to Ditko's MR. A for his Christmas Card last year. Here's the first image and here's the second.

7) Back in the mid 1980s, writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons did this little 12-issue series called "Watchmen." It revamped many of the Charlton Action Hero characters from the 1960s, three of which were Ditko's (Captain Atom, Blue Beetle and The Question). The most memorable was Rorshach, Moore's deranged take on Ditko's The Question. Zach Taylor, the director for the recently-released movie adaptation of Frank Miller's "300" graphic novel, is trying to finally make Watchmen into a movie, and slipped the first image of Rorshach (seen below, with adjustments by me to the Brightness tool in Photoshop) into a R-rated version of the "300" trailer.

8) And we couldn't help but get a giggle over this picture we found of artist John Byrne, and how similar it looked to a late 1950s picture of Ditko...but with a key difference...