Steve Ditko Visionaries My Take Overall!

Hello All,                                                                                                                                                        Sometimes, it will takes more than words of dialogue to propell any comic book forward...it also takes line work of a wooden tool called a pencil. It also takes a piece a art board that is eleven by seventeen in size, and of course an idea to be put to the art board. Today I am going to be talking about comic artist Steve Ditko who I am still trying to find the right words to talk of his passing from a few years ago. I want to share my thoughts on his body of career work from back in the days of when he was working for a magazine publisher known as Marvel comics. In the end of last month while at Adventures Underground, I had decided to include in my comic buying to include this very trade seen here 

 held by one of two of Steve's creative creations for the company known as Spider-Man!                                                                                                        Now let's break into this great bit of Steve's legendary work by letting you know that it has seventeen superhero tales of that era called the nineteen sixties to the early nineteen nineties, to be specific to 1992 the year after yours truly had graduated from high school... it also has ten non superhero tales in this as well that ran from December of nineteen sixty one through till April of nineteen sixty three. His main other character that he was famous for Co-Creating Stephen Strange better known as the master of black magic DR. STRANGE, which is also on the cover of this very trade.                                                                   A majority of these stories in here are written by the man who got a start at Marvel when they were still known as TIMELY Comics all the way back in nineteen thirty nine, when he was seventeen years old and his name was Stan Lee. He along with both Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby started a revolution in nineteen sixty one by changing the company by writing about superheroes....   Steve was working for Marvel when they were known as Altas comics in nineteen fifty six and because of sales of comics were nearly nothing  was laid off with all the other freelancer artists in the following year of nineteen fifty seven... then was rehired along with the other freelancer artists a few months later in the following year.                                                                                                                                               The one of Steve's works before his creation of Spider-Man in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy ongoing magazine cover dated August #15,1962, which was released in July... I want to talk about this book 

  seen here. As you can see the title of this isn't Amazing Fantasy at all, it is Amazing Adult Fantasy which was the ongoing title from as far back as November of nineteen sixty one. 

 In fact there is a huge connection in these anthology stories in all of Amazing Adult Fantasy/Amazing Fanstany that is well how can I not reveal a twist of fate endings to each one, very much like a certain television series running on the air at the time? Yes I am of course talking about the one and only Twilight Zone!  (Which is coming very soon for a review of the first twisted season....)                                                                                                       Here is the opening image of one those very stories from Amazing Adult Fantasy number seven that most comic readers may just put off as another simple comic tale...              

called JOURNEY'S END this five page yarn has a simple crook that has definitely found a way to elude the law after he has done something very irredeemable and uses a time machine to get away from his problems. Only later in the story do we find out that he is returned to the persent and placed in Jail. BUT WHY YOUR ASKING? Before I reveal why he is there,  back in nineteen fifty nine the premiere season of the Twilight Zone in it's twenty sixth episode it had a very different type of take on a man known as Joe Caswell is pucked at the moment of a hanging in 1880 and brought to 1960 and kills his savior and how that ends different from Journey's End the comic story is another modern day crook takes a trip to that very hanging party in 1880! It seems in the comic tale all we know is that the crook in that tale beats a man who is the time machine inventor so badly that... well you try to piece the answer together? An give me your own answer ok! Stan Lee who wrote the story possibly in a interview said that when he was writing those anthology tales he put a O Henry type of ending on them... as to how truthful that was who really knows... Yet Steve's art style really makes me even now see that he loved the pencil work he laid out for the story of JOURNEY'S END!                                                                                         Before I get into the heart of why Ditko left his mark on the Marvel comics universe as a hero in a influential instrument of inspiration for upcoming artists I want to also say that he drew the core of the company's main characters at that time in the first Amazing Spider-Man annual dated with only the year of release   

       which is nineteen sixty four. That also coincided with the release of the regular issue of the amazing spider-man seventeen that had the conclusion of his second confrontation with the fan favorite mysterious villain known as the Green Goblin which kept appearing everywhere and fighting the hero to a standstill each time they encountered one another. Of all of the characters on this annual shown here Spider-Man had fought them at least once or twice from the first fifteen issues thus far.  Now as to some background of the man on the annual in the odd color of a purple outfit ( I say this because in his first appearance which is amazing Spider-Man number three his outfit was completely white in color, then his second appearance was in issue eleven and it was purple,but then the very next issue he was colored in color that has mostly been his color scheme ever since which is the same as Bruce Banner's monstrous alter ego), he is known as Doctor Octopus. When Stan Lee had a appearance of a hero that Spider-Man had yet to interact with he put a footnote of where you could find them in their own comic title throughout the story.                                                                                                                                          Whenever Ditko laid out his panels on his page and was creating the illustration within it he really put his heart into using his imagination a great example of this was his creation that I mentioned earlier known as Stephen Strange and here is a pair of panels 

           from one of the last Dr. Strange tales in this trade. The story was named THE END--AT LAST! in a comic known as STRANGE TALES 146 dated July,1966. In the story Dr. Strange's arch nemesis Dread Dormammu takes them both to the nether world of the entity known as Eternity. Dormammu tries to destroy both Strange and Eternity.... when Steve created the universe of Doctor Strange back in nineteen sixty three, he saw the scope as everything on an inter dementional plane of existence including at least one of the many characters in the weaving of it's very creation!                                                                  Of all of Steve's many times of working at Marvel his best that is included here is the three part arc of Spider-Man's saga is issues Amazing Spider-Man #31-33!                               

In this Amazing Spider-Man arc, it is definitely considered the best of the duo of Steve's best pencils and his own plotting that gives gravity to both the teenager named Peter Parker and his driven hero of Spider-Man on all levels of growth for the teenager that got bit by a dying radioactive arachnid way back in a title that wasn't even Spider-Man at all in name. Oh and the dialogue was written by a fellow named Stan Lee.... the other stories in this visionaries trade are after Ditko who had felt that he was no longer getting fair duty of creativity on his most interesting character of creation went and decided to leave because he also felt that he and Lee couldn't get along much anymore! It wasn't until fourteen years later in nineteen eighty, did Steve returned to work at least in a small way he at the time didn't have any connections of dealing with Stan and as far as I know he would only work for his former employment if that were certain.... the characters that Marvel had him work on at the time Daredevil the man without fear. He did pencils for issue 162, in the story Daredevil had a case of memory loss and becomes a fighter in the ring in one of Hells Kitchen boxing gyms. Then finds out who he is, after bringing down a corrupt fight promoter known as Mr. Hyle and his oversized cat named Ramona... that was in January of that year, then some months after that he was able to return to one other character that he drew back in the early days of nineteen sixty three known as the incredible Hulk, when he was working on this very title again, there was a little television series of the same name airing on the CBS network on Friday nights. He illustrated issue 249 titled "Jack Frost nipping at your soul!" I won't tell you of it's story, other than I really enjoyed it very much.                                                                                                                               Then eight years later (after working on not only his own character known as Mr A which he started in nineteen sixty seven at a independent comic publisher), in nineteen eighty eight, he co created with writer Tom Defalco Robert "Robbie" Baldwin known also as Speedball the masked Marvel. The first issue of a ten issue series, is seen in this special Steve Ditko trade, I am wondering if Steve would have tried to make Robbie Baldwin endowed with more than just drawing him, if Marvel would have allowed him to and explored stuff that he really wanted to with Peter Parker way back in the sixties? The final character that Steve made for Marvel was in Marvel Super-Heroes issue 8 released in January nineteen ninety two with the title "The coming of Squirrel Girl!"                                Here is what both Squirrel Girl and Speedball look like from their initial beginnings by the artist                                                       

      who drafted them to fully compete line art. I would  be guessing around nineteen eighty eight for Robbie Baldwin to late October/November back in nineteen ninety one before the book was released in December of ninety one for Squirrel Girl! Besides seeing a youthful illustrator growing in his own skills with his ongoing projects he because of those aforementioned reasoning of why he left the BIG TWO creative comic companies he was essentially one of the first of mainstream creative to making his own triumphs with his own character way before the biggest movements in the early nineteen nineties when IMAGE COMICS imprint was founded. As to getting to the very title of this entry of my overall take on the Steve Ditko Marvel Visionaries I will say is definitely considered in my opinion a lot of great information about comic illustrating for a person who wants to study art that it is wanting to become a comic artist is a stepping stone of learning is worth a long look. My grade is an B plus, an for thrity six dollars I can honestly say that I am really looking forward to re reading it for getting even more fascinating history about Marvel comics and their characters very strong starts!

 Hello All,                                                                                                                                                          As of yet I don't happen to have a very comfortable or confident title for today's very entry, which is very much greatly understandable since today is really reflected of great sadness of what happened in New York. Which was a very venturous and violent attempt to inspire fear throughout a whole country that cherishes freedom for all of it's many citizens.... of ALL diversities of choosing what each of us likes to do within reasonable understandings. The event that had happen over twenty two years ago was of two airplanes that were FORCED by a group of people calling themselves Al Qaeda took control of those planes flew them with their hostages into the two towers known                                                 

                                            as the twin towers or as the world Trade center.                                            All of these many years later it still fills my soul with genuine sadness for everyone who did perished from all of the passengers of both planes also I deep down have emotions towards the terrorists because even though what they were doing was a true introduction of real EVIL on American soil... because they like every other person on the planes were simply humans. Beside that as well in the end of that horrible set of actions to which they wound up with nothing for their existence, even if by their train of thoughtfulness was assuming that they would meet their deity.                                                          In the past when I have written about September 11th, 2001 I have reflected on the helpers by remembering the firefighters and police officers through a series that I grew up on when I was very young about two paramedics known as Roy Desoto and Johnny Gage in the nineteen seventies,  I watched it in it's first go around of repeated syndication.... here are the two them showing         

    how much that they care by helping someone's whom is injured! The series is known as EMERGENCY! Maybe soon after this I will be reviewing that whole series since I have it in a collective edition on DVD. Yet with all that said of helping other people everywhere there's  that first brain teaser from a few years ago....                                                                            I want to this September 11th of twenty, twenty three want talk about a certain comic trade that I picked up back at the end of this past July from at Barnes and Nobles. Still before we delve into  the review of this very trade seen here 

                                                                                                     in my pal Spider-Man's hands is that besides there is without any doubt more than just the disheartening events of September 11th of two thousand and one of why I went and picked up POST AMERICANA which is published by IMAGE COMICS imprint. The story and illustrations of POST AMERICANA is by comic artist Steve Skroce and also comic artist Dave Stewart is the colorist of the story. Both men worked for years for both Decetevice Comics and Marvel Comics and their characters at least a few decades ago known as the nineteen nineties... 

                          This trade consists of seven issues for the whole story and in it, it has both a post apocalyptic science fiction political intrigue and some unknowable time within the future.  Only the super elite rich are who run what is left of whatever is left of the government and the those not fortuitous to have money have become completely free of everyday morals an decide to be cannibals. Then there are some groups of people who are trying to get back to normality who are called by the current president of America are terrorists and are to be captured at all cost.  Before I go on even more so with this summary so far, it seems to be far fecthed look at what the unknowns of the past few years have brought upon us as a species? Do we or don't we have more distrustfulness on somethings more than we should?, I haven't expressed any feelings/thoughts on how I believe that fear has changed us from understanding that yes we do still need to certainly challenge ourselves as humans everyday, and yes it's always fascinating how we as humans come to our unique approach to answering those struggling questions of  which we in our judgements are right on of choosing our options of world wide views.                                   Back to the ongoing review of the POST AMERICANA trade with it having a very interesting setup of two men who were once prisoners have turn to being part of an unknown terrorist group and they are attacking a facility known as the Bubble. They are known as Dom and Mike and they in part succeeded getting an military sleath jet. 

....And come to find out that while stealing it something has gone wrong with the guidance systems forcing them to do the unthinkable of landing in one of the country's most dangerous wastelands areas. 

                     They find in this area where they have ended up that cannibals are whom reside here and that they love creativity from the past. When one of these two men are trying to find a way to convince their captors that he wants to help them by sharing information with one of their leaders he finds out more than he could be hoping for?                                   There is more to this story than just interweaving of who's plotical right over each other, it's also has one thing that all comics should have but very little of it is really shown in most comics from both Decetevice and Marvel comics of recently that in the end comes from this panel here....
                         

from a character known as Eggbert as he explains of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson presidency of in sometime of the 21st century to his crazed master Marcy whose got her own plans for the world. Basically with in a story of such seriousness you get a moment to bust a gut with a small smile and of course a huge laugh. It has a love story in it as well, between a mother and a daughter.                                                                                                              The most interesting thing about this story was that Skroce came up with it during the time of Covid-19 when for a long period of time if the series were published by Detective or Marvel it would not see potential print. The reasoning behind that was the entire editorial department board of both companies of mainstream comics had said from late February of twenty, twenty till they were ready that everyone who was working on a title for them was to stop their creative juices and not write, ink, or even draw a single page of any kind till the editorial department was ready to start receiving new work from any freelance artists. Which if I am remembering right wasn't until summer time of Twenty, Twenty two before they started receiving work again! Besides that the series wouldn't have also seen print because not only does it show a negative effect on how the government in the story is in disarray of itself,  Steve Skroce had there be enough cursing that it would have to be published by a strong independent publisher who were respectful of their incoming series or ideas of series to be of how that creative person was viewing the onset of current culture of their own world during the craziness of extreme conditions during the pandemic. Overall I there are two very important things that I really have to say before giving this trade a grade of how much I loved or liked it as a whole. Those two things are one don't ever think that I want you to stop living your own life however you see that it works for you. Number two concerning your plotical decision-making continue to be the best part of sharing what YOUR BELIEFS ARE WHEN YOU VOTE, AND EFFECTIVELY YOU JUST MATTER NO MATTER WHAT IS ALBOUSTULELY GOING ON IN OUR WORLD.  My grade for POST AMERICANA is a solid A MINUS!
        

A SPECIES WITH A PLAN TO KILL US HUMANS DEAD!

                                                                                                                  Hello comic loving fans worldwide,               

Here's the first comic from my most recent comic pickup of the first week of April in twenty, twenty three. When I saw this comic at Adventures Underground it just screamed true classic science fiction from a long forgotten era of everything from old time radio programs to finding a way of if you are a kid in the early nineteen forties through the nineteen fifties to getting your hands on banned novels or even banned movies this very comic is for you!  Before we get into the greatness of the mysterious world of PLAN 59 FROM OUTER SPACE number one, I have to remember and remind myself of a certain New York psychiatrist named Frederick Wertham that was admittingly claiming that the things within the four color magazines known as comic books are filled with very undeniably bad influences for young developmental brains. One such example he presented at conference that he had with the United States senate was that a child could completely be convinced that from the character of Superman that they can fly from high places. It was because of his argument of this and other type of influences that the C.C.A. was created. I  will eventually get to what the whole meaning of what the C.C.A. was, for I am just out of curiosity looking  to studying his arguments in his book titled Suduction of Innocent, which I am still trying to decide where I want to purchase it from.                                    Now on with my thoughts and review of PLAN 59 FROM OUTER SPACE  #1. This title is not from the Big Two companies that make comics, nor is it from Image,  Dark Horse or even others of smaller comic publishing companies either. A little less than a year and half ago there were a set of creative people who went and left the BIG TWO comic producers and they went on to create their own products... Wait a quick minute doesn't that sound kind of familiar? What it is that I am referring to is when seven comicbook artists left both Marvel and Decetevice Comics in the latter half of nineteen, ninety one to form their own company, where each of said artists is able to keeping their creations under their own creativity of copyrighted materials. The comic company they forged is IMAGE comics in the early months of nineteen, ninety two. The creators this time  around aren't illustratiors like back then over thirty years ago, but are writers their creative imprint is called SUBSTACK comics.  

       PLAN 59 FROM OUTER SPACE is from the SUBSTACK imprint and is crafted from the minds of Michael Dolce (story), James Mascia (story &script), Joaquin Gonzalez (artist), Daniele Caramanico (colorist), Taylor Esposito (lettering), C.B. Zane did the wonderful cover. The retail price is $ 4.99, as far as I know this series has only a newsstand print of the cover, as to if there's any direct comic store version I don't have any knowledge at all.   The story starts out with a woman named Paula who talking to her fiance about his work whilst listening local news about the local police officer has gone completely missing... Paula's fiance goes off to work. Before going to bed she hears of a unidentified flying object in another part of California. While sleeping she is attacked by mysterious beings...      Now she is attacked by everyone in the whole town? When apparently only a man who survived her assault ended up in one one town's many graveyards and is taken by huge unidentified flying object, say what?  

    All that we as readers know is, that whatever has just happened is it a dream that Paula's been having from R.E.M. sleeping or is there more to this as we find out that whoever is maintaining oprational control of yet an unseen UFO are trying to find her specifically!  

Throughout this comic that I read, I have to say that the story really did make me see of how evey kind of genres are able to be a creative perspective of never just one single thing, and you the reader are just done with a twenty two pages of words and illustrations that give us a yarn of many given thoughts on how grand a tale of possible power can be used... While I was witnessing both joy and excitement of maybe an opportunity for aliens to conquer the planet earth in a new way that hasn't been a way they have ever tried before, I was glad that I got to see some other plans that these aliens have been using before but have dropped their hand each time because... well let's just say because for now as a open answer! I loved how it in its own way also felt like there should have been a very offbeat Mystery Science Theater commentary track, within the comic itself... 

              

A comic that is definitely debatable!

 Hello comic loving fans,                                                                                                                             Here we are with another review of a comic by publishing company Marvel comics which is owned by Disney since August ninth in  twenty ol seven, today was kind of very special to me. While walking through the store this morning over by the seasonal alise, which use to be alise fourteen when we were Albertson's,  it is now alise thirteen/fourteen but I will admit that I enjoyed Albertson's setting up of alises for my given take, because I knew exactly where everything was and now like everyone else there I mostly feel like a lost puppy trying to figure out how to hopefully help a customer.  That being besides the point I have also gotten use to much of what I can under the Safeway name. I was looking at the assorted beanie babies after making through walk as to if the store needed a floor sweep with a floor duster mop, I happen to have it with me just to be safe. At that same area are magazines and cards in the magazines I had found what is seen here in 

   Spider-Man's arms. I took it to my locker in the breakroom.                                                                    So before we get into how I'm truly wanting to be very honest of my thoughts on this highly charged forced subject,  I had heard that the inner content of this seems very much possibility a flaming piece of oblivious obliteration on the fear of something STILL for the most part is uncertainty fully of unknowable unknowns of the world's current most definitely difficult virus called Covid-19. Speaking of Covid it is what the main point of this very comic and right or wrong what is best for you as an individual with the choice of decisions for you that matters most of all.                                                                            The writer of this story is Paul Allor, with artistic talent by Paco Diaz C.B. Cebulski as Editor in chief.  It opens with a family who is waiting to get their Covid-19 Vaccine in a local New York hospital with their grandpa named John. They happen to be watching a live news broadcast of  

Earth's mighty heroes known as the Avengers are in a fight against their adversity Ultron. Who is using his army of himself to fight them just six blocks away from the hospital. The mother of the family asks her best friend, her husband if they should be asking the hospital staff to turn off the television that is airring the live feed of what is happening,  he responds with a practical point of "IT'S THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. AND THE AVENGERS ARE DOING WHAT THEY CAN TO PROTECT US. " John the grandfather, tells them of one time he recalled knowing of another fight with Ultron the team had and what he remembered of how they dealt with their spreading trouble maker by adapt and evolve to stop him. John admits that he himself had heard about all of that time from a friend of his, to his daughter and the rest of the family.  When his grandson, who is waiting for a vaccination shot as well indicates that from what they are looking at is pretty scary. The father of two grandchildren now wonders are they all safe in the hospital at all too? In the end we come to find out that John when he was younger worked as a foreman for the company that cleans up after super humans fights that team is called Damage Control.  Then the whole family go to... well here's a better way   

 of sharing that part of the story!                                                                                                            Now I really feel that now that this rampant pandemic has certainly caused a lot of deaths to millions of people around the world no matter how old you are what is the real question about getting the whole planet and ALL OF US actual little people because in the grand scheme of everything that WE ALL deal with Covid is now effectively evolved into something very similar to every virus or aliment that we can get any day. Does wearing a mask rather medical or a cloth one as advised pervent us from getting Covid since as I just said it's just like any kind of cold or viruses now that it has been impact full by other means now. All that I can really say is at the end of each day you have to realize that you are making the most important and personal life decisions that you feel are right for you!                                                                                                                                                                 Before I reveal my grade for this very comic,  I want you all to know that I have come up with a new subheading for when your looking for my reviews of comic books in this upcoming year... and yes this is my first one for the start of twenty twenty three. My overall opinion for this comic grade wise is a F. Here is my reason of why it gets that very grade is because this story wants to put all of into fear of the unknowable newest scariest thing we are still trying to learn about... shouldn't a comic story of any kind present a problem, rather non-fictional or fictional and let us, the reader be able to completely understand what is happening when it is talking about a particular real life event  and let us decide what WE DO with our own human brains that will keep trying to be safe in this very interesting world of ours!                                                                                                                    Oh and please above all else ALBOUSTULELY enjoy whatever it is you are reading even if it's not a comic, because it brings you joy that matters most of all!