If nothing else, Ditko was the master of the 'Less is More' approach. While some of his early Charlton horror covers are loaded with detail, his covers from the late 50s onwards often focused more on the core concept and/or design. Th cover to Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #3 (April, 1957) is an early example of this approach. It is a very simple set-up, and will certainly grab a young reader's attention while staying well within the parameters of the Comics Code. While may of Ditko's other covers on this title have far greater detail, they are no necessarily any more effective. By the 70s, of course, Ditko would be selling very simplistic covers to Charlton. It's hard to know how much was influenced by an internal artistic shift, and how much had to do with Charlton's lower rates. In any case, this is an interesting step in his evolution as an artist. Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Steve Ditko Cover of the Week: Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #3
If nothing else, Ditko was the master of the 'Less is More' approach. While some of his early Charlton horror covers are loaded with detail, his covers from the late 50s onwards often focused more on the core concept and/or design. Th cover to Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #3 (April, 1957) is an early example of this approach. It is a very simple set-up, and will certainly grab a young reader's attention while staying well within the parameters of the Comics Code. While may of Ditko's other covers on this title have far greater detail, they are no necessarily any more effective. By the 70s, of course, Ditko would be selling very simplistic covers to Charlton. It's hard to know how much was influenced by an internal artistic shift, and how much had to do with Charlton's lower rates. In any case, this is an interesting step in his evolution as an artist. 
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5 comments:
Love the giant eye - the blood vessels are a nice touch on Ditko's part.
Yes - I should have mentioned that eyeball. It almost glistens.
I believe I see the work of another artist besides Ditko on the eye, perhaps altering/touching up a few details.
Nick Caputo
You could very well be right, Nick.
Who was doing corrections at Charlton during that period? Giordano?
It could have been a number of people at the time, possibly Giordany, but also Al Fago. The eyeball with the veins and the eyebrow looks odd.
Nick Caputo
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