New Ditko - A TOUCH OF GENIUS (Charlton 1971)

If you've been enjoying the sampling of 1970s Charlton reprints in the recent SD Publishing comics here's something  new you might want to check out. A TOUCH OF GENIUS is a new book from SD Publishing's Famous Comics imprint and reprints Ditko's artwork for Charlton from the year 1971, all of it in colour and written by his frequent collaborator Joe Gill. It was a good year for that work, with several striking covers and visually inventive storytelling choices (especially regarding the integration of the various hosts into the stories). I might post about a few of them here in a bit.

It's a print-on-demand book, so it's available from various on-line sellers.  Use the ISBN numbers below to look for the best price (I recommend bookfinder.com and their search engine, though it's far from comprehensive. Looks like Book Depository currently has the best price for most places, despite shipping from the UK):

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1945307293
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1945307294

It might also be available direct from the publisher, check here for contact information.

New Ditko - TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #34

Now available from the usual sources is TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER, the latest in the revolving anthology series by SD Publishing and their Famous Comics imprint. Bit more of an anthology than usual, with only a pair of Ditko stories (but a solid pair, one of the best 1950s stories by Ditko/Gill, "Little Boy Blue", and "The Hand Of Ages", a fun 1980s Ditko story that goes with that great cover). There's also a short essay by Ditko and a preview of another unpublished story, possibly the same one previewed in earlier issues.

This issue also includes a number of other new and reprint stories and features, including work by Robin Snyder, Adolfo Buylla, Robert Kanigher, Alex Toth, Hennry Boltinoff, William Messner-Loebs and others.

The August, 2021 issue of Snyder's THE COMICS! newsletter also has an interesting short Ditko essay, "Credit", regarding the evolution of credits in Marvel comics, and in particular on the old 1960s Spider-Man promotional drawing (also reprinted in this issue). Might still be available from Snyder, address at link.

--Link-- Upcoming Ditko - MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER

Up now on Kickstarter, the next Snyder/Ditko title, another issue of TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER. The cover shown is a 1986 cover used on REVOLVER #4, which goes with the story "The Hand Of Ages" from that issue, so that'll probably be included.

New Ditko - OUT OF THIS WORLD #33

Available now from SD Comics is OUT OF THIS WORLD #33, the latest in the revolving anthology series of classic reprints. Highlight this time around is a reprint of "The Beginning" from CHARLTON ACTION FEATURING STATIC #11 [1985] in a double page horizontal format, much larger than its original version. There's also some 1950s and 1960s Ditko, another page from Ditko's unpublished 1980s Flash Gordon story, plus a few non-Ditko stories by Henry Bolinoff, Robert Kanigher, Irwin Hasen and others.

Should be available now from the usual sources.

New Ditko - CHEYENNE KID #100 and AVENGING WORLD

Almost 50 years after #99 came out from Charlton in 1973, we now have CHEYENNE KID #100, now from SD Publishing.  With a classic 1957 Ditko cover from #10 and a variety of Ditko western comic work, mostly from the 1950s (with one story from 1970).

The print-on-demand series of Ditko collections (previously including the five volume collection of Ditko's 32 Series and a collection of the Four-Page Series and other essays) has also expanded to include THE COLLECTED MR. A. VOLUME II: AVENGING WORLD, a 172 page book featuring one of Ditko's most striking covers (ISBN-13 : 978-1945307270).

Should be available now from the usual sources.

—Link— OUT OF THIS WORLD on Kickstarter

Currently on Kickstarter, a campaign by Robin Snyder for another issue of OUT OF THIS WORLD, a 48-page comic sure to be full of vintage Ditko work, including that unusual cover.

--Link-- CHEYENNE KID #100 Kickstarter

Robin Snyder's latest Kickstarter for the next SD Publishing book, CHEYENNE KID #100. That takes over from the Charlton series that ran from 1957 to 1973, ending one issue short of that milestone number. Presumably the cover will be the 1957 cover to #10 shown in the campaign, which was Ditko's one contribution to the series.

Presumably at least some of the contents will be drawn from Ditko's other western comics work for Charlton, which includes a half-dozen short non-series stories plus a whole lot of equine based stories in ROCKY LANE'S BLACK JACK and BLACK FURY.

New Ditko - TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #32

TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER NO. 32 is now available from SD Publishing, with a striking classic 1957 Ditko cover. A variety of Ditko contents inside, including several 1950s stories, a 1970s story hosted by Winnie The Witch, a 1980s Traveler hosted story from the last days of Charlton and more. Even, unusually, a non-Ditko 2-page story by Rudy Palais.

But the big news is that there's also an original never before published 5-page Ditko story in here, I think the fourth entry in his "If... Then..." series (previously seen in STEVE DITKO'S 160-PAGE PACKAGE [1999], STEVE DITKO'S 176-PAGE PACKAGE HEROES [2000] and TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER NO. 27 [2018]). A nice example of later day Ditko storytelling, very clear and expressive within a deliberate well thought-out style.

Should be available now from the usual sources.