RIP Steve Ditko (1927-2018)

Easily one of the most eccentric and unique personalities in a rather eccentric and unique field...

...Steve Ditko was not only the co-creator or sole creator of some of pop culture's most enduring characters, but a fascinating person to be around.

I had the privilege of working with him on a number of projects at various companies, and while he disliked interacting with fans, when dealing with fellow pros, he was honest (if not entirely diplomatic), knowledgeable about an amazing array of subjects, and far more "professional" than many young hot-shot artists!

By that, I mean he always met deadlines and had no problems modifying artwork to suit the editor's/client's needs, which rankles many "creatives" who feel it would "impugn their vision".

I'll miss him.

BTW, check out a rarely-reprinted Mr A story with no captions or dialogue (or any mention of Objectivism) at all...HERE!

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Ditko Unleashed

Reading Room RAVENS AND RAINBOWS "Bias"

Here's a tangled tale of time...

...as an alien plant's examination of a captive humanoid takes a lot longer than you might think!

Pacific Comics' one-shot Ravens & Rainbows (1983) was a compilation of Jeffrey Jones' fanzine work from the 1970s, most of it in color for the first time!

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Jeffrey Jones

A Life in Art

Friday Fun REX DEXTER OF MARS "Revolt of the Robot Slaves of the Secret Planet"

Either Rex Dexter is the worst navigator in the history of space flight...

...or somebody (like creator/writer/artist Dick Breifer) is conspiring to keep him from getting home!

Considering Mars is the second-closest planet to Earth (Venus is closer, but it's in the other direction), where the hell is this unnamed world, anyway?
And why hasn't anyone noticed other ships and crews disappearing in this region of space?
This never-reprinted tale from Fox's Mystery Men Comics #11 (1940), offers no answers...

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Comics About Cartoonists

Stories About the World's Oddest Profession

Reading Room JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY "Unreal!"

As Mighty Thor and Tales of Asgard took over Atlas/Marvel's Journey into Mystery...

...backup tales like this one were, sadly, slowly squeezed out of the book!

The cleverly-written narration doesn't offer a clue as to which protaganist is speaking.

Of course, we assume it's the human...

Plotted by Stan Lee, scripted and penciled by his brother Larry Lieber (Stan's birth name was "Stanley Leiber"), and inked by Matt Fox, this never-reprinted story from the back of Marvel's Journey into Mystery #100 (1964) was one of the last non-Asgardian tales in the book.

They were discontinued as of #105.

Matt Fox began as a pulp illustrator for Weird Tales, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, and others.

When the pulps died in the early 1950s, he moved to Atlas Comics, where, because he wasn't a fast penciler, he inked others' pencils more often than doing solo pencil-ink assignments.

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Atlas-Era

Journey into Mystery

Volume #4

Wednesday Worlds of What Th... SIDNEY MELLON'S THUNDERSKULL! "When Demons Do Clash!" Conclusion!

Yea, verily, the fearsome finale is upon us!

Now, witness the cataclysmic clash that only Sidney Mellon could devise!

Writers Gerard Jones & Will Jacobs and artists Chuck Austen, Norman Felche & Mike Christian produced the ultimate parody/tribute to the enthusiastic, youthful, but incredibly-inexperienced (and sometimes totally-inept) creators who jumped on the b/w speculator bandwagon in the late 1980s!
To ram the point home, they provided a text piece that conveyed the message that this was a spoof.
Ironically, it was too subtle for some readers...

But wait!
There's MORE!

Every magnum opus needs a climax, and Sidney Mellon's ThunderSkull is no exception!

There is an adult-only finale (that means there's naked breasts, guys!) that truly exemplifies the cry "He COMES!"!

If you're over 18, you can see it HERE!

BTW, for the patriotic among you, we previously-presented a historical piece about Independence Day HERE!

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Killing Monsters

Why Children Need Fantasy, Super-Heroes and Make-Believe Violence

by Gerard Jones