While this may not be the most dynamic of Ditko's 'Action Heroes' era covers at Charlton, it contains some very interesting. To my eyes, it seems as though there was a conscious effort to mimic Marvel's covers. The split cover definitely has a Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish vibe to it. The image to the left could come straight out of a Hulk or Sub-Mariner story. The one on the right is reminiscent of an early Spider-Man cover; quite melodramatic in tone with identity and origin details to be revealed. I like the fact that two Beetles are together in the same image. My biggest complaint about the cover is the overall colour scheme. The yellows, reds and purples do not mesh together at all. I know that the top banner was crammed with Blue Beetle images in order to get attention on newsstands, but is it really far too busy. It is an interesting cover, but there are many superior ones from this time frame. Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Steve Ditko Cover of the Week: Blue Beetle #2
While this may not be the most dynamic of Ditko's 'Action Heroes' era covers at Charlton, it contains some very interesting. To my eyes, it seems as though there was a conscious effort to mimic Marvel's covers. The split cover definitely has a Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish vibe to it. The image to the left could come straight out of a Hulk or Sub-Mariner story. The one on the right is reminiscent of an early Spider-Man cover; quite melodramatic in tone with identity and origin details to be revealed. I like the fact that two Beetles are together in the same image. My biggest complaint about the cover is the overall colour scheme. The yellows, reds and purples do not mesh together at all. I know that the top banner was crammed with Blue Beetle images in order to get attention on newsstands, but is it really far too busy. It is an interesting cover, but there are many superior ones from this time frame. 
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3 comments:
I agree with your comments, but I still love that cover--all of Ditko's Blue Beetle's in fact. I particularly love the logo--possibly my favorite ever.
What year was this published and how wide of distribution did it get? I don't remember it AT ALL!
I agree that the Beetle covers are all quite strong. In terms of distribution - I don't know, wasn't born yet. I think Charltons had quite decent distribution in the 60s and 70s as they produced a huge line of periodicals and got them out on newsstands themselves.
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