Friday, August 22, 2008

Steve Ditko Cover of the Week: Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #4

Here's a nicely atmospheric entry from the late 50s. There are some aspects (especially that cat) that will carry through to Charlton covers in the 70s, but the dark hues are really a late 50s phenomenon for Ditko. I love how he signed his name as if it were the inscription on the bust, and we get a good look at a pre-Amazing Fantasy #15 spider-web. Some people may ignore post-Code horror books, but Ditko shows that you can grab the reader's attention without a severed head. I really dig the overall Archie Andrews meets Dorian Gray vibe here. A solid effort by Ditko here, as there are so many gems from this period at Charlton.
I off on vacation until Sept 2nd - see you all then.

2 comments:

Phillyradiogeek said...

Here is a review of a new book about Ditko you may be interested in.

http://www.doomkopf.com/2008/08/27/strange-and-strangerthe-world-of-steve-ditko/

Shamus said...

this is a remarkable cover. It makes me sad to see what he was capable of and then some of the really 'amatuerish' things he did in the 80s onward.