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

    

Unusual Tales - Impossible, But...

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

"Impossible, But..." is a 5-page story from Charlton's THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED #16 [1958], where Dr. Haunt presents a parable about that new-fangled television machine. Mostly interesting for the layout of Haunt's interstitial panels down the middle of each page and gradually zooming in as we go along.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

Cover for upcoming #17 SEVENTEEN now posted
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA

Back issues and subscriptions available

Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications

Most Ditko stories for DC now available in hardcover

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 Couldn't Die

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

"The Man Who Couldn't Die" is a 5-page story from Charlton's UNUSUAL TALES #11 [1958]. This is a nice little war story, a genre Ditko didn't draw too much of, with a supernatural twist, where a Sergeant returns from France to tell the widow of his deceased Major about how much the men all admired her husband, and then reminiscing about the secret of the Major's death that the men have chose to keep. Neat story. A much more prolific war comics artist, Joe Kubert, is often compared to Ditko of this era, so if you're familiar with Kubert's 1950s work it's interesting to compare this particular story with some of Kubert's.

But before the story, some links:

Buy Ditko's creator-owned work

New comic #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