Friday, May 07, 2010

Steve Ditko Cover of the Week: Strange Tales #146

How about this one? Can you believe that this was the first Dr. Strange solo cover? First, he took a back seat to the Human Torch, then to the duo of Johnny & Ben and finally to the gang from S.H.I.E.L.D. While this series has plenty of strong covers, I think they missed a great opportunity by not showcasing Ditko's powerful connection to Dr. Strange on more covers. I like to think that this cover was commissioned specifically because it was Ditko's swansong on the strip. In all likelihood, it was pure coincidence. What a great cover, though. I really think that a character as ethereal as Eternity could only have been designed by Ditko. A nice way to end a fabulous stint at Marvel, as his final Spidey cover is not one of my favourites.

2 comments:

bob said...

Actually, this cover is a cut-and-paste job from Ditko's interior art in that issue, which is why Doc has the wrong arm in a sling, the figure is flipped. Ditko's last Spider-Man cover is also a cut-and-paste job, though as you note not as well done as this one.

Blog into Mystery said...

Spot on about Eternity. He's always been one of my favorite Ditko creations, and he only could have come from the LSD trip that was that era of Dr. Strange.