Number 1071
Ditko x 4
These four stories drawn by Steve Ditko were originally published in Marvel Comics' Journey Into Mystery just after Thor became the main feature. Ditko's pages are masterpieces of composition. I loved these stories when they were published, and while the stories themselves are typical for Marvel Comics at the time, the artwork makes up for any shortcomings in the plots.
Did Ditko work "Marvel-style" on these stories, getting a springboard plot from Stan Lee, drawing them, then Lee would step in and write the dialogue? Or did Stan give him a script? I've never known how he and Lee worked on these five-page shorts during that period.
From Journey Into Mystery #84, 1962:
From Journey Into Mystery #85, 1962:
From Journey Into Mystery #86, 1962:
From Journey Into Mystery #92, 1963:
Nice collection of Ditko shorts. They are gorgeous! Thanks, Pappy.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, HEH.
ReplyDeletePappy: As you say: "Masterpieces of composition." that was Ditko's magnificent gift, put on perfect display here! Great post, per usual. Merry Christmas, my friend!
ReplyDeleteLove his sense of design; maybe if Ditko hadn't been a comic book artist he could have designed cars or space age toasters, but with his gift he would have been great no matter what he'd done.
ReplyDeleteI never cared for Ditko's vision of Spiderman, probably because I grew up with the John Romito version and that's what I was used to, but I've liked his artwork on just about everthing I've seen outside of that, such as these stories.
ReplyDeleteAs for whether Stan Lee wrote the stories or just provided the outline, I would guess the former. I've read Stan didn't start using the "Marvel way" until the mid-60s. Now, I read this in a book Stan Lee wrote himself. The artists versions on what happened may be quite different!