Unusual Tales - A Living Doll

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

"A Living Doll" is a 6-page story from Charlton's OUT OF THIS WORLD #12 [1959], telling the story of explorer Pell who is determined to find the hidden tribe of the Mazaros despite the insistence of the locals that there's some bad magic involved.  Decent detailed artwork, but the most interesting thing is the last page, where possibly inspired by the somewhat confusing layout someone made a decision to number the panels. Not sure that was really necessary, and not something I can recall seeing elsewhere, despite some comics with much more confusing layouts.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New publication #16: SIXTEEN now available
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
Back issues and subscriptions available
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
CREEPER hardcover available from DC
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 embiggen

 

    

Unusual Tales - The Second Self

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

"The Second Self" is a 5-page story from Charlton's THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED #14 [1957], the story of a scientist who experiments with cloning. Our host Dr. Haunt is kind of annoying and intrusive in his narration in this one.  Nothing too special in the artwork, but it gets the job done.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

New publication #16: SIXTEEN now available

Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

CREEPER hardcover available from DC

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 embiggen

   

Unusual Tales - Trail Pard

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

"Trail Pard" is a 5-page story from Charlton's ROCKY LANE'S BLACK JACK #25 [1958], where the ebony stallion of the title befriends express mail rider Tony Cato, which ends up being useful when two bandits try to rob a delivery of gold. This story is signed "J. Kodti", one of a handful of stories and covers from late 1958 to early 1959 signed with that or "J. Kotdi". As usual, no clue if there was any particular reason for that signature, but the inking on this one does seem a little different from most Ditko stories of the era, maybe a bit more pen and less brush than usual.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Over two dozen publications in print

Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

CREEPER hardcover available from DC

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 embiggen

   

Unusual Tales - The Moon Snatchers

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

"The Moon Snatchers" is a 5-page story from Charlton's SPACE ADVENTURES #27 [1959]. For some reason this one is signed "Space Mann", and is right around the time that several stories and covers were signed either "J. Kotdi" or "J. Kodti". I have no idea if there's any significance to that.

Anyway, this story is set in the future where the moon is being used for both mining and dumping atomic wastes, and then an astronomer detects that it's moving away from Earth at a rapidly accelerating rate towards Venus and has to be evacuated, accidentally leaving one miner behind.  I was hoping the answer would be that the moon was running away due to the mining and atomic wastes, but it was much more pedestrian than that.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Over two dozen publications in print

Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

DITKO OMNIBUS v1 and v2 now available from DC
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 embiggen

   

Unusual Tales - The World Awaits

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

"The World Awaits" is a 5-page story from Charlton's OUT OF THIS WORLD #12 [1959], featuring a scientist who discovers an alarming secret in the world of mutant ants. Amusing little story, especially the panel of the mutant ant reading a book.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Including massive AVENGING WORLD collection of stories and essays

Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

Recently finished early 1980s Hulk/Torch story available from Marvel
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 embiggen

   

Unusual Tales - The Man Who Saw Again

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

"The Man Who Saw Again" is a 5-page story from Charlton's TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #8 [1958], opening up with a blind man suddenly seeing again and then going back to explore the circumstances that led to that. Enjoyable story, especially the trademark Ditko giant eye panels, which have even more justification than usual in this story.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Shag, Killjoy, Recage and more in DITKO PACKAGE
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

Konga and Gorgo in ANGRY APES 'N' LEAPIN' LIZARDS
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 embiggen

   

--Link-- Shade logo study by Klein

Todd Klein has an ongoing series on his weblog looking at the development of comic book logos, and just put up a post about Shade the Changing Man which includes a few interesting stories about Ditko in that era (did you know he did his own unused logo design for the series?).

Unusual Tales - Mystery Planet

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

"Mystery Planet" is a 6-page story from Charlton's STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES #36 [1958], featuring yet another one-shot generic space hero in the Buck Rogers mould, this time Commander Bryan Bodine, who is sent on a mission with his navigator and girlfriend Nedra to investigate a cannibal planet. Not much to the story, which has a pretty perfunctory resolution, but the design of the killer planet is amusingly goofy.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Graphic novels STATIC and MOCKER still available

Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

#87 now available
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

THE HAWK AND THE DOVE included in DC's DITKO OMNIBUS v2

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 embiggen