Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko

      
                           Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko

                                   Writer: Blake Bell

                                   Hardcover: 220 pages

                                   FANTAGRAPHICS; Reprint July 2008

                                   ISBN: 9781560979210

Enigmatic and reclusive. Two words that no one would deny apply to Steve Ditko.

I seem to have been waiting a very long time for someone to have written a sizable biography of  one of my favourite creators in any medium. Ditko of course, is most famous for his co-creation of Spider-Man, but as this biography takes a chronological look at his work and life we see just how much he has achieved. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there is considerably more Ditko out there than I had supposed.

Written by Blake Bell, who is considered the pre-eminent Ditko scholar, a name that I first became familiar with from an introduction which he wrote for Action Heroes Archive vol. 1, released by DC. Bell’s linear approach is perfectly matched to Ditko’s career which went through distinct phases through the decades. Bell’s writing style is clear, open and frank and whilst he obviously holds Ditko in high regard, he doesn’t allow his reverence of the subject to obscure some of the harsher aspects of Ditko’s career or personal interactions.

As you would expect, all quotes are sourced and included in the sources are one or two anecdotes which were rightly kept separate from the main body of the work but when read at the end of each chapter add a great deal to the overall enjoyment of the book. One thing that is missing from this volume is an index. I was surprised that there was not one as other works of this nature have benefitted from the inclusion. I also found it annoying that printed in the book is an internet link to a Ditko bibliography which doesn’t work. I understand that the internet is not a solid state object and that often the loss of information is not the fault of the compiler of that information, but what I don’t understand is why, if the hard work of compiling a Ditko bibliography had already been done, it could not have been printed in this book.

One of Bell’s most interesting points is how early in Ditko’s career his Randian philosophical beliefs began to permeate his work. This was a surprise for me, but I will admit that I’m not particularly knowledgeable in regard to Randian Objectivism. But Bell clearly has a solid grounding in an area that has dictated Ditko’s choices for most of his life and convincingly shows the reader early examples of it in Ditko’s work, including his Spider-Man strips.

The physical quality of this volume can not be overstated. High quality paper and binding are very obvious as soon as you handle the book, but there are a few more subtle extras which betray the publishers (Fantagraphics Books) desire to create an above average package. If you remove the dust jacket, title and author are embossed on to the front cover and something that I didn’t notice at first, the entire hardback cover has Ditko drawn panels printed on it in a grey on grey colouring, only visible in the right light. I appreciate that this doesn’t raise the quality of the work itself, but, if it were not there I don’t believe that you would pay less for the book. Another added bonus is the opening few pages that reprint Ditko’s first comic sale, in full, with oversized reproduction of the highest quality. This acts as a sort of introduction to the subject and I believe it was well placed at the very start of the book, engaging the reader with Ditko’s work before looking at the man that created it.

The final pages of the book include a gallery of covers by Ditko. If memory serves, they are all public domain images from Charlton Comics publications, each is reproduced as a full page, oversized image and to my mind showcase some of the finest comics covers ever produced. In fact if you look at an earlier post on this blog, you’ll see that I chose an early Charlton cover by Ditko as one of my Great Covers posts. So perhaps I’m a little biased on this, but it seems Bell, at least, agrees with me.

After reading Strange & Stranger I believe that the only way will see a more concise presentation of the life and work of Steve Ditko is in the unlikely event that Ditko himself offers his services to someone like Bell. There are undoubtedly gaps in this biography, but that is to be expected when dealing with a subject that has guarded his personal life so closely as Ditko has. Bell has done an amazing job working with the restrictions imposed upon him.

Whilst Strange & Stranger is very much a biography, the amount of artwork included on every page allows it to be seen as an art book in it’s own right and as stated above, the quality of the reproduction is flawless, I particularly enjoyed seeing Ditko’s un-inked pencil work later in the book. There really is something here for everyone, whether you are an avid fan of Ditko already or have a broader interest in comics in general, you will not be disappointed by Strange and Stranger.

In closing I’d like to say that Strange & Stranger was my favourite Christmas present and I’d like to offer my thanks again to my partner and son for getting me a copy. Love to you both.

Mad Thinker