Unusual Tales - The Man Who Painted On Air

"Unusual Tales", a series presenting Steve Ditko's comics from 1957 to 1959 that are in the public domain.

"The Man Who Painted On Air" is from Charlton's UNUSUAL TALES #7 [1957]. It's a 9-page story, which makes it one of the longest stories Ditko drew in the 1950s, one of only two stories that long. It wouldn't be until 1960, when he started doing Konga and Gorgo stories that he'd do any longer stories, with even his Marvel work never topping the 6-page mark until the 1960s.

In this one, a down-and-out promoter seems to see his dream answered when he finds an artist with a visually spectacular act of painting in mid-air, and remains oblivious to hints that something more is going on.

The gimmick in this story is tailor-made for some clever Ditko visuals, and he doesn't disappoint.

Some links to check out:
Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New material and classic reprints
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
New issue out this week
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
Slightly short of complete Doctor Strange colour reprint later this year
Download public domain comics, likely including the one this story is from
Scans in this series generally adapted to my personal tastes from those copies

Click to enbiggen.