Unusual Tales - Giant From The Unknown

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


"Giant From The Unknown" is a 7-page story that first appeared in Charlton's UNUSUAL TALES #14 [1958].

In this tale, a farmer finds what appears to be the body of a giant when digging for a well.  The first scientists to show up, being aware of the history of the Cardiff Giant, are dismissive of the discovery, but later another curious anthropologist shows up.


Decent little story, especially some of the odd angles used to spice up the storytelling.  That oddly askew panel on the bottom of page 5 is kind of interesting, not something Ditko used often in the period.

This story appears in the Snyder/Ditko publication THE RETURN OF GORGO #31 [2020], so I'm only showing the first page below.

Before the story, some links:
Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New material and classic reprints
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
Many back issues available
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
CREEPER hardcover now available
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

Unusual Tales - The Greater Life

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

"The Greater Life" is a strange little 5-page story from Charlton's UNUSUAL TALES #14 [1958].

A very strange little story about a man who wakes from a three month coma and the changes he finds in the world.  I'm not sure I completely get it, so if anyone has any insights the comments field awaits.

But first, some links:
Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New material and classic reprints, ACT 6 out soon
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
Coming to your mailbox every other month
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
Various THUNDER AGENTS reprints available and upcoming
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 images for full size

Unusual Tales - Valley In The Mist

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

"Valley In The Mist" is a 6-page story from Charlton's MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS #4 [1957].

The Cold War gets positively frigid in this science fiction thriller set in the glaciers in the far north of Alaska, where creatures thought long extinct are discovered alive in the ice and are being thawed out to serve as weapons against the "soft, decadent populace" of North America.  A very attractive little short story, especially the dinosaur and saber-toothed tiger.

This story appears in the Snyder/Ditko publication THE RETURN OF GORGO #31 [2020], so I'm only showing the first page below.

Before the story, some links:
Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New material and classic reprints
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
Many back issues available
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
CREEPER hardcover now available
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

Unusual Tales - The Forbidden Room

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

"The Forbidden Room" is the lead story from Charlton's MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS #4 [1957], a 9-page story that the cover is also loosely based on.

At 9 pages, this is the longest story Ditko drew in the 1950s, tied with one other.  That gives the plot a bit more room to breathe and add a few twists than is standard for the period.  The story has some overtones of "The Picture of Dorian Gray", with some strange turns.  Ditko does some really good detailed artwork throughout. I especially like the cobweb covered chair on page 5, and the framing of the candle and sinister face on the top of page 8. The musical note motif at several points in the story are also nicely done, and something that appears several times in Ditko's 1950s stories.

Before the story, some links:
Buy Ditko's creator-owned work
New material and classic reprints
Find out about the fanzine DITKOMANIA
Halloween issue #82 now available
Check out new and upcoming Ditko publications
CREEPER hardcover now available
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

New Ditko - Ditkomania #82

Now available for ordering is DITKOMANIA #82, the latest issue of the long-running fanzine on all things Ditko.  This is the Halloween issue, so articles and artwork on the Green Goblin, the Creeper, Ditko's one Tomb of Dracula story and some Charlton horror stories.  Also some reviews of various recent Ditko related publications.

Ordering details over here, as usual.  Editor Rob Imes also hosts a mailing list for DITKOMANIA that you can check out over this way.

Upcoming Ditko - 1980s THUNDER AGENTS reprint

DC is doing a reprint of the Thunder Agents revival published by Deluxe in the mid-1980s, which included a two-part story by Steve Perry, Steve Ditko and Greg Theakston in #3 and #4, as well as a Ditko/Theakston pin-up in #1, presumably all of which will be included in this collection. Of course, the original issues are at most maybe $1/$2 each and pretty easy to find, so $60 cover price, or even $38 discounted, might be a bit high for most people.

Ditko did some additional Agents material for other publishers in the 1980s, don't know if those will ever be reprinted, but stranger things have happened.

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T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVE VOL. 7 HC
Written by STEVE ENGLEHART and others
Art by KEITH GIFFEN, DAVE COCKRUM, GEORGE PEREZ, STEVE DITKO, MURPHY ANDERSON, JERRY ORDWAY and others
Cover by GEORGE PEREZ
In the mid-’80s, classic 1960s heroes The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents returned for WALLY WOOD’S T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1-5. In these new tales, the team traveled the globe to battle international terrorism, including super-strong Dynamo, super-speedster Lightning, otherworldly NoMan, femme fatale Raven and more.
On sale JUNE 29 • 256 pg, FC, $59.99 US