Download Ghostly Haunts #47
He was present at the creation of Marvel's most successful superhero. And in addition to being the co-creator of Spider-Man, he created Dr. Strange. Steve Ditko broke into comics in the early 1950s, drawing fantasy and horror tales for Strange Suspense Stories, Fantastic Fears, and Black Magic. By 1956 he'd linked up with Charlton to draw Tales of the Mysterious Traveler.
Later in the 1950s, Ditko went to work for Marvel, turning out somewhat quirky tales of fantasy and horror for titles such like Journey into Mystery and Tales of Suspense. One of his specialties was alien invaders.
Ditko invented Captain Atom for Charlton in 1960 and in 1962, working with Stan Lee, he began his run on Spider-Man. He designed all the major characters—Peter Parker, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, etc.—as well as such major villains as Dr. Octopus, the Vulture, and the Green Goblin. By this time, Ditko had developed a distinctive style of his own, inspired in part by both Jack Kirby and Joe Kubert.
Leaving Marvel in 1966, Ditko worked for Dell, Charlton, Warren and DC Comics, which is how we got this story. Later he worked again for Marvel. Highly independent, Ditko left mainstream comics some years ago.
Credits
Script: Joe Gill
Pencils: Steve Ditko
Inks: Steve Ditko
Reprinted:
- in Ghost Manor (Charlton, 1971 series) #66
- in Blade of Fear (Gredown, 1976 series) #1
Great Ditko! I've always see a great deal of Mort Meskin in Ditko's art as well, and you can really see that here. I don't have this one, so thanks for posting! Always a joy to see what you come up with next!
ReplyDeleteOW: Absolutely primo Ditko! I loved his stuff for Charlton, especially this stuff from the 1970s like this story. I don't think any company got more of the essence of the artist than Charlton, primarily because of their rather relaxed editorial style. A story like this gets closer to the heart of Ditko, in my humble opinion, than even the great stuff he did for Marvel.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome and when you say, "I don't think any company got more of the essence of the artist than Charlton," I couldn't agree more, Mykal, and for precisely the reasons you cited!
ReplyDeleteThank you once again for your keen insight into things Charlton!