Space Adventures #13 [1979]

SPACE ADVENTURES #13 [1979] is from early in Charlton's reprint era from 1978 to 1984, during which they published very few original comics but still averaged two books with Ditko work every month.  This issue reprints a trio of stories from OUTER SPACE #1 [1968], including the Ditko illustrated "His Own Little World" (uncredited but possibly written by Joe Gill).

Great opening page on this one, with a large establishing shot of a spaceship cutting straight to a classic Ditko fistfight in progress.  The story involves Rudd, the second in command of a patrol ship hijacking the ship to an uninhabited world that he wants to rule for himself, using an invention that allows him to duplicate anything that he can think of.  Of course, his choices of what to duplicate are questionable.

Fun little story, the ending is maybe a bit... of its time, but the road there is fun, with a lot of great things for Ditko to draw, including crashing ships and cute aliens.

Doc Stearn...Mr Monster #6 [1986]

DOC STEARN...MR MONSTER #6 [1986], published by Eclipse, features a reprint of the 5-page story "Stretching Things" from FANTASTIC FEARS #5 [1954]. This Bruce Hamilton written story is one of the first Ditko stories to be drawn and published, and had been reprinted a few times before this (such as the 1970 fanzine FMZ #1, where editor Michael T. Gilbert's introduction mentions as the first place he saw it), but not in colour as far as I know. The colouring is some then-state-of-the-art work by Steve Oliff, and might be a bit over-rendered to my tastes, but doesn't look too bad compared to the original.

As I've said before, this is a great little story in both writing and art. You can see a lot of the little storytelling bits that would appear in more polished form in later Marvel and Charlton shorts.

Gilbert's introduction also includes a few bits of art that Ditko had drawn for the fanzine ALTER EGO in the 1960s.

Giant-Size Man-Thing #1 [1974]

While he wasn't doing any new work for Marvel in the early 1970s, you could count on a regular supply of Ditko from the company in the form of reprints, especially of his short fantasy and science fiction stories. Case in point, GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #1 [1974] has a reprint of "The Ice-Monster Cometh" from AMAZING ADULT FANTASY #11 [1962], an entertaining 5-page story about Hugo Bogg, a jewel thief who hides his loot for years, and plans to use the local myth of an "Ice-Monster" to recover it.

Lots to like about this story. As usual, Ditko does well with the rustic European setting, and Bogg is a suitably weaselly looking ne'er-do-well.

Eerie #135 [1982]

Until recently, EERIE #135 [1982] was the best quick source for Ditko's 1966/1967 work at Warren, reprinting ten of the sixteen stories that Ditko drew for the publisher's two magazines. All of the ten were written by Archie Goodwin.

CREEPY #9 [1966]  - "The Spirit Of The Thing"

CREEPY #10 [1966]  - "Collector's Edition"

CREEPY #11 [1966]  - "Beast Man"

CREEPY #12 [1966]  - "Blood Of The Werewolf"

CREEPY #13 [1967]  - "Second Chance"

CREEPY #14 [1967]  - "Where Sorcery Lives"

CREEPY #15 [1967]  - "City Of Doom"

EERIE #4 [1966]  - "Shrieking Man"

EERIE #7 [1967]  - "Fly"

EERIE #8 [1967]  - "Demon Sword"

There are a lot of minor alterations in the stories, such as changing the host from Uncle Creepy to Cousin Eerie as needed, and altering the title lettering and story introductions (sometimes omitted entirely). The reproduction also isn't great, with the grey wash tones sometimes coming out a bit darker than they should. And the cover by Sanjulian is a bit incongruous for an all-Ditko issue in style, though it fits in subject matter.

All of the stories are pretty good, some are spectacular. Of special note is "City Of Doom", since as far as I know it was the only one of the stories which hadn't been reprinted by Warren prior to this. It features a barely dressed barbarian warrior named Thane. I'm not sure if Thane appeared before this, but there is at least one more story with the character (by Goodwin and artist Jeff Jones) in the following issue of its original publication. I'm also not up on the history of barbarian warriors in comics, but I do know this is well before Marvel licensed Conan for their comics.

Anyway, Thane opens the story betrayed and left to be eaten by some great looking vultures at the beginning of the story, but manages to escape and make short work of the vultures. He then encounters Livia, the also barely dressed high priestess of the ancient city of Kadith in the middle of the desert, and follows her there in hopes of both revenge on his betrayers and some treasure. As you'd expect, what follows is a mix of monsters, betrayal and death amidst the mazelike interior of the Kadith.

Overall not one of the best of the Ditko/Goodwin collaborations at Warren, but pretty decent, and a few great visual moments from Ditko.

Eerie Greatest Hits [1994]

The companion volume to CREEPY THE CLASSIC YEARS [1991], Harris comics reprinted this selection of stories from the first few years of Warren's EERIE magazine, mostly written by Archie Goodwin. It's not as good as the prior book. The choice of stories is fine, but overall the book is just cheaper looking, with thinner paper, weaker reproduction of the art and less relevant editorial material. There were two Godwin/Ditko stories.

"Room With A View" is a 6-page story from EERIE #3 [1966], the first Ditko story for Warren. It's a haunted hotel room story, where a traveler insists on taking the only empty room in a hotel, despite the desk clerks warnings that no one is ever happy there. Turns out to be a haunted mirror, which give progressively more terrifying visions. The story isn't one of Goodwin's better ones, but Ditko does a pretty good job with his imaginative renderings of the visions in the mirror. This one is drawn closer to the more common Ditko style, although more detailed than most of his colour comics.

The 6-page "Deep Ruby" is from EERIE #6 [1966], although the host framing sequences have Uncle Creepy instead of Cousin Eerie, so it seems to be taken from the prior reprint in CREEPY #25 [1969]. It's a quick little story about a jeweler approached by a decrepit homeless man, and being surprised by the red ruby the man shows him. His desire for the stone leads him into a horrific nightmare dimension, and of course Ditko's detailed renderings of that dimension are the heart of the story. He'd drawn some comics that evoked that kind of imagery before, but it's in some of these Warren stories that those concepts appear fully-formed. The combination of the lack of Comics Code restrictions and the freedom that comes with drawing for black and white, so the art that leaves the drawing board is the art that people see, really seems to have brought something out. This story uses the inkwash style that the majority of Ditko's Warren work was done in, and even in this lackluster reprint the attention to detail is impressive.

Creepy The Classic Years [1991]

After Warren stopped publishing around 1983 their titles were next seen after a gap of a few years from publisher Harris Comics. While Harris published about a million new and reprint Vampirella comics (approximate number, may be higher) they made far less use of the CREEPY and EERIE brands, with only a few new CREEPY comics and one reprint book of 1960s material for each title.

CREEPY THE CLASSIC YEARS [1991] came first.  Editor Richard Howell provides the introduction, which includes a few notes on each artist, including Ditko, and also the page header seen here which I'm still looking for information on. In the book are two Ditko reprints, both written by Archie Goodwin.

The 6-page "Second Chance" from CREEPY #13 [1967] has a spectacular splash page, and it's no surprise that Dark Horse is using a cropped and colourized version of that page for their upcoming reprint of Ditko's Warren stories. Trust me, the full page in the original black and white is even better. Featuring Edward Norton's descent into Hell, where he confronts Beelzebub and demands their bargain to give Nugent a second shot at life after his death. Ditko really lets his imagination run wild in the land of the damned, using similar concepts to his famous fantasy landscapes in Doctor Strange, but rendered in ways the Comics Code probably would have objected to. There's also an earthbound component to the story, set in a graveyard, which allows for a few more macabre backgrounds and looks of sheer terror that Ditko excelled in. The plot itself is pretty routine, but Goodwin keeps it moving along and lets the artwork do the heavy lifting on this one.

The book concludes with the 8-page "Collector's Edition" from CREEPY #10 [1966], which is, for those of you familiar with it, an appropriate story to finish a book. Howell's introduction mentions that some consider it "the single finest story Ditko ever turned out", and it's definitely a contender. The story features Colin Danforth, a collector of obscure and forbidden occult books, an obsession which forces him to do business with the unsavory Murch, who dangles the possibility of the rarest of artifacts, the Marquis LeMode's "Dark Visions". One of Goodwin's best, and Ditko was the perfect artistic partner for the story, rendering it in a detailed style, with some key parts using some very unusual technique that I can't quite figure out. I think it's some sort of mechanical tone, but used very delicate way, creating almost a wood-cut effect. And to top it all off, his detailed rendering never gets in the way of the storytelling.

Curse of the Weird #1 [1993]

This is one of the reprint anthologies of Marvel science-fiction/fantasy/horror stories edited by Mort Todd in the early 1990s. Among other things, Todd hired Ditko to do some new illustrations for the books, including the cover to this issue, which is a nice image of people on the street in a story fleeing a man being struck by lightning. The image reminds me of the story "The Most Dangerous Man In The World" from WORLD OF MYSTERY #6 [1957], but that might be a coincidence.

The Ditko story reprinted in the issue is the 4-page "Do Not Panic" from STRANGE TALES #95 [1962]. A typical science-fiction parable of the era with the reaction of a city to the first landing of an alien craft. I do really like the space-suit that Ditko draws, though the colouring is a bit too modern for me.

Marvel Tales #164 [1984]

The early-1980s monthly reprint of the classic Spider-Man comics gets up to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #26 [1965] in this issue, with the cover and 20-page story "The Man In The Crime-Master's Mask" from that issue, Ditko doing plot and artwork.  The first half of the issue is heavy on the Parker stuff, at home, work and school, as Peter is without his costume due to events from the previous issue, and eventually has to resort to an ill-fitting Spidey suit bought at a costume shop, which provides both some visually comedy and turns out to be fortuitous at the end of the issue, as he gets involved in a battle for control of the criminal underground between the Crime-Master and the Green Goblin. 

A great balance of the the various innovative aspects of the second half of the original Spider-Man run, with Peter Parker's two worlds developing, some clever long-term plotting and some great character bits.

Also in this issue, the Green Goblin pin-up from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 [1964].  That original flying broomstick of his isn't quite as spiffy as the glider he'd get by the time of the main story.  The cover has the usual alterations for format, most noticeably flipping the Green Goblin from one side of the page to the other.

Marvel Tales #153 [1983]

The reprints of the original Spider-Man comics that ran in MARVEL TALES from #137 to #177 (1982-1985) get up to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #15 [1964] this issue, with the 22-page story "Kraven The Hunter" drawn by Steve Ditko.  As you'd guess from the title, this introduces the last of the classic villains who would make up the Sinister Six in the landmark THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 [1964] soon after (but oddly reprinted in this run a few months earlier, in #150).  That's quite a few classic designs in a short amount of time (including non-members of the Six, the Lizard, the Green Goblin and the Chameleon), and there were still a few left, though none quite as notable as the ones introduced in the first 15 issues.

Anyway, the story opens with Spider-Man breaking up a gang planning a robbery.  One of the members is able to get away, and it turns out to be one of Spider-Man's earliest foes, the Chameleon from back in #1. Tired of Spider-Man's interference, but realizing he's out-matched by our hero, he decides to bring in an old friend, Kraven the Hunter, who is up for the challenge.  After all, don't all hunters eventually decide to go after the most dangerous game, man?

Kraven arrives in New York to great fanfare, easily re-capturing some snakes and gorillas who conveniently get loose on his arrival, and then first observes and then confronts Spider-Man, leading to their confrontation in the park.  Meanwhile, Peter Parker's life keeps getting more complicated, with Betty Brant getting jealous of Liz Allen paying attention to him and his Aunt trying to set him up with the niece of a neighbour.  That'll never go anywhere...

A great little issue from the heart of the classic run.  Kraven is pretty much a text-book Ditko design, with distinctive elements on all parts of his body to that he's easy to recognize in any pose, and his shtick makes him a good foil for Spider-Man, matching him in acrobatic ability.  The Parker elements of the story are a nice balance to the super-heroics, and help to make it more than just a standard slugfest.

The original Ditko cover is also reprinted on this issue, although as usual with some modifications (removing the blurb and headshot about the Chameleon and a big UPC box over Spider-man's foot, although at least in the direct market edition that gives them a place to credit the creators).

Thane Of Bagarth #24 [1985]

Thane Of Bagarth was the back-up feature by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo in the late 1960s HERCULES series from Charlton.  Towards the end of their publishing life, Charlton had two issues reprinting the earliest stories, plus some other material.  In this issue, that included "The Hammer Of Thor" from OUT OF THIS WORLD #11 [1959], a 5-page story drawn by Steve Ditko.

The old mythic Norse hero Thor made any number of appearances in comics prior to the most famous one that Jack Kirby drew in 1962, including several by Jack Kirby.  In this short story, the legend of Thor is traced to a weak young man named Thor back in the days of the vikings.  In the forests where he retreats to be in peace Thor finds a cave where, for some reason, he gradually "grew strong in the rays of the cave's mysterious energy beams", and also found a metal hammer which had destructive potential when he threw it.  Later, Huns invade from the east, conquering all until they run into the now bearded Thor, who drives them away with his hammer.  Thor then retreated to the solitude of his forest and into legends passed down through the ages.

More like an outline of a story than an actual story, and some of the parts which might have made for the best visuals are just described in the captions, and no real explanation of the cave and the hammer.  A decent example of Ditko's work from the time, solid but a bit more sparse than some of this work either a few years earlier or later, made slightly more interesting by what was later done in comics with the same legends (and the probably coincidental finding of the hammer in a cave).

This issue also features a full page ad for Ditko's STATIC series which was starting up from Charlton that same month, using a large panel from the first story.

Where Creatures Roam #3 [1970]

Two Ditko 5-page reprints in this issue.

"I Am The Victim Of The Sorcerer" is from TALES TO ASTONISH #16 [1961], a great little showcase for Ditko's art, featuring a confused and desperate man on the city streets at night, with no memory of who he is or how he got there, but with a a definite sense of fear of an evil entity drawing him closer.  The level of increasing despair Ditko brings to the character as he approaches his inevitable end is intense.  I especially like how for pages 4 and 5, he changes the layout to a less common 4 panels per row, increasing the sense of constriction the character is feeling and making the reveal in the last larger panel all the more satisfying.  Definitely a highlight among the many great shorts Ditko did in that period.

Later in the issue is "I Live Again" from TALES TO ASTONISH #8 [1960]. It's a sequel to "I Spent Midnight With The Thing On Bald Mountain", which was reprinted in the previous issue.  It's a comparatively lesser story, as the statue come to life survives its fall from the previous story (with some selective memory about what caused it), terrorizes the nearby village, then decides to head for America to fulfil its dreams of world conquest. So he takes over a fleeing ship, orders it to head to the US, sinks it as it gets close to Florida, just to be mean. Fortunately for Earth it decides to hide out in a steel structure in a fenced in field to plan some more, which just happens to be a rocket being fired out into deep space.  Seriously. Oh well, at least Ditko does his usual good job with the art to elevate the story.  The stone texture of the creature is great, and it punching out an alligator and tossing around a bull is kind of funny.

The cover is the Kirby/Ditko cover from TALES TO ASTONISH #16 [1961], with a lot of little modifications as was common for cover reprints at Marvel around that time.

Space War #34 [1979]

A trio of Ditko reprints in this issue. The cover is the absolutely splendid giant alien squid monster cover to SPACE ADVENTURES #11 [1954], one of Ditko's best from his first stint at Charlton. Recoloured the monster green here, but that works.

The issue opens with the oft-reprinted 6-page "Mystery Planet" from STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES #36 [1958]. There are some excellent visuals in this one of a killer planet on the rampage, with an evil face on it and destroying other worlds. I'm pretty sure this is the only story with this cast, the heroic Commander Bryan Bodine, his beautiful navigator Nedra and Dr. Wradek, but they're treated as on-going characters very much in a Buck Rogers type set-up. Anyway, the story is a visual treat, with the planet and the aliens and lots of heroics. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but about what you'd expect in a 6-page story. An interesting note is how well this story would fit in with some of the solo stories Ditko did 20 years later for QUESTAR, so I guess he found a lot to like in the basic set-up.

Later in the issue is the less well known "Automata Ultima", a 3-page story from MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS #12 [1959], in its only reprint to date. An intriguing title, although the story doesn't quite live up to it. It opens with a future Earth, where the automated machines continue to make an endless supply of weapons long after the human civilization is dead and gone. This turns out to be a nightmare of a 1950s arms-maker, I guess reflecting his fears about the weapons he's working on. I'm guessing this made more sense in 1959. A couple of neat images by Ditko, not marred by any speech balloons on the first two pages.

Doctor Strange Classics #3 [1984]

It was all the rage in the mid-1980s to do deluxe format mini-series of classic runs of comics, and a year of Ditko's Doctor Strange got the treatment in this series. This particular issue reprints three 10-page stories from STRANGE TALES #136 - #138 [1965], all plots and art by Ditko. The colouring is a bit over-done, some kind of pseudo-painting look, but for the most part the line-work comes through and is sharply reproduced, and these remain an excellent affordable way to sample some of Ditko's best.

The issue opens with "What Lurks Beneath The Mask", with Doctor Strange on the run from the minions of the Dormammu-powered Baron Mordo, looking for the secret of "Eternity" to save the stricken Ancient One. Especially good in the opening pages are the hints of a whole magic subculture with various odd mystics thoughout the world on both sides of the battle, and a quick hint about a never followed up on past Doctor Strange adventure. Anyway, in his haste Doc misinterprets a clue from a crazy old mystic whose memory the Ancient One had once erased and winds up in a strange realm with a demon who tries to switch bodies with him. There's a great scene where Doc uses his Cloak of Levitation to battle the demon inhabiting his body.  Great little side-story in the middle of a longer epic.

In "When Meet The Mystic Minds" Doctor Strange decides that he has to find out the secret of Eternity directly from the mind of the Ancient One, which leads to an excellent sequence of increasingly bizarre visuals as he attempts to reach his mentor.  The closing scene, with Doc atop a mountain walking into an enlarged amulet just ahead of Mordo's arrival, that's how you do a cliffhanger.

"If Eternity Should Fail" opens with one of the best renditions of the mystic realm in Ditko's work, probably the panel you'd put in the dictionary if you needed one image to define "Ditkoesque".  And that's just the beginning, as we next get introduced to Eternity, the living embodiment of a universe, who offers the type of enigmatic advice you'd expect from someone who looks like that.  Returning to his own realm, he finds the Ancient One has been captured by Mordo and goes to confront his foes, who also have the unnamed woman who helped him in Dormammu's realm held captive.

Seriously, this is 30 incredible pages of comics.  If you've never read them you owe it to yourself to check out one of the multiple versions of this run that should be readily available now.  Added bonus in this version, they got some of the new guys to do some pin-ups in the back, and this one includes a great image by P. Craig Russell titled "Dr. Strange gets lost on his way to the Surrealist's Convention", which is even weirder than what you're imagining.

Ghost Manor #63 [1982]

From deep in the heart of Charlton's long mostly-reprint era, a couple of minor Ditko pieces from just a few years earlier in this issue, starting with the cover, which is from GHOST MANOR #28 [1976]. A decent generic horror cover of a man being confronted by something seen only by its shadow in an attic.

Later in the issue is the single page story "Lost Mine" from GHOST MANOR #30 [1976]. A nice little vignette about two prospectors who find a rich vein of gold in the Grand Canyon back in the wild west, and what their greed caused. Nothing special, but interesting to note that there's a lot of the story not directly told in the captions that the art does a good job of filling in.

Marvel Tales #167 [1984]

This issue features a reprint of "The Wondrous World Of Dr. Strange" from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 [1965], obviously the team-up between Ditko's two main Marvel characters of the 1960s. It's a real blast to see Spidey juxtaposed with all those weird and wonderful mystical visual effects that were at their peak at this time.

The villain of the story is Xandu, a mystic who has stumbled onto half of the powerful Wand of Watoomb and wants the other half, currently in the Sanctum Sanctorum of Doctor Strange. He mentally controls some thugs, who manage to get the other half of the wand but fortunately for the cosmos also attract the attention of Spider-Man, who manages to delay Xandu long enough for Strange to catch up and they can team up to defeat Xandu.

Lot of great little touches in how these two worlds mix, with a good old fashioned rooftop fight in the first half for the Spidey side, and then one of the best mystic realm scenes Ditko ever did later in the book.

The cover to the Annual is also reprinted, though with some of the little Spider-Man figures moved around, and not looking quite right with the colouring on the giant Spidey head. Also, since they had an extra page, they were randomly reprinting some of the pin-ups each issue, this time the Lizard pin-up from THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1 [1964].

Where Creatures Roam #5 [1971]

This issue contains a reprint of the 5-page "He Waits in the Dark" from TALES TO ASTONISH #24 [1961].  In a run-down tenement building in Europe, a janitor laments the sorry state of repairs, and quits when the landlord, who lives in luxury, refuses to spend any money fixing the place. A mysterious new man takes over the job, and makes some repairs on his own, then gives the landlord a chance to change his ways.  That doesn't happen, of course, so the new janitor sends the tenants away and waits in the cold and dark until the landlord, in his quest for his rent, enters the building and is condemned to stay with it forever as both blink out of existence.

Kind of a vague morality play, but a lot of things worth noting in the art. Ditko really sells the poverty of the tenants contrasted with the luxury of the landlord, and the cold and dark really comes through.  That sequence at the bottom of the page below really works well, the deep shadows with just enough detail to create a sense of impending doom that you know is coming.

Charlton Classics #9 [1981]

For the most part, Ditko did full artwork for his work for Charlton. The main exception to that is the 1965-1967 revival of Captain Atom, inked by Rocke Mastroserio and later Frank McLaughlin. In that same era, a number of Ditko's short stories for the various ghost books were also inked by Mastroserio.

This issue of CHARLTON CLASSICS, a series which reprinted Sam Glanzman's HERCULES series from the 1960s, also reprints one of the Ditko/Mastroserio stories, "The Ghost of Husfat", a 7-page story from GHOSTLY TALES #56 [1966]. This is your typical story of curses found in Egyptian burial grounds, with the younger of two archaeologists getting greedy for the forbidden treasure, which eventually seals his fate.

It's a pretty good looking story, with the inks maybe being a little softer and less detailed than Ditko's own of the era would be, but seeming to be true to the pencils, capturing a lot of the atmosphere and storytelling that elevate these little morality plays beyond what they normally are. And Ditko doing Egyptian imagery is always good to see (no mummies in this one, though).

Tales of the Mysterious Traveler #15 [1985]

Original material from Steve Ditko appeared in Charlton comics until 1978, and from then on it was a steady stream of reprints, usually two or more a month, for as long as Charlton was a going concern.

Then, late in the company's run, there was some new Ditko stuff printed in their pages again in 1985, only this time it was material owned by Ditko.  Two issues of CHARLTON ACTION FEATURING STATIC presented revised versions the first two chapters of Static previously published by Eclipse, along with some other new and revised Ditko stories, and after reviving the 1950s series TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER with an all reprint #14 they included a new Ditko story among the reprints in #15, which turned out to be the final issue.

The issue opens up with a reprint of the 5-page "The Desert" from TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #4 [1957] (though with the first page edited to remove the title to make room for the indicia). A decent little story about two men trapped for months in an remote Arctic outpost until the younger man gets cabin fever and decides to brave the elements.  Nothing too special, but the giant floating head of the Traveler watching the proceedings is always interesting.

The new story follows, "Deadly Shadow", an 8-page story written and drawn by Ditko. The Traveler only appears at the beginning and end.  Clever little morality play about a down-and-out inventor who comes up with a device that turns him into a living shadow, and uses it for criminal purposes.  A series of double crosses and betrayals and hasty actions leaves him with a serious dilemma in the end.  A solid example of Ditko's work of the era, finding different ways of exploring a theme to keep it visually interesting for the length of the story.

"Mister Evriman" from TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS TRAVELER #4 [1957] has always been one of my favourite of these 1950s Charlton shorts.  The 6-page suspense story starts with the Traveler musing about that impact of this new-fangled "television" thing on American society, with a nice symbolic urban background dominated by antennas on every building.  A pollster doing some research finds some disturbing correlations about the negative impact of game shows, and how they're setting the world up for tyranny and destruction, until a game-show contestant named Homer Evriman shows up, who everyone sees as a reflection of themselves, setting the cosmic balance straight. Sure, it makes little sense, but it's a tale well told.

THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED #16 [1958] is the source for the 4-page "The Night Was Strange", a science fiction drama narrated by Dr. Haunt, who we're supposed to believe is someone other than the Mysterious Traveler. Actually, he's slightly re-drawn and coloured here to make him seem even more like the Traveler, not that it takes a lot. This science fiction story has an astronaut returning from a two year mission on an experimental rocket, only to find himself in some totalitarian future. A nice little twist at the end improves the story somewhat, and as usual Ditko does a better job with the storytelling than the story needed.

While all-Ditko in the middle, the story opens and closes with some non-Ditko, a very strange Alex Nino cover and a Henry Boltinoff gag page that could have come right out of a 1950s DC comics.

Fantasy Masterpieces #2 [1966]

This issue reprints "Those Who Lurk Below", a 6-page Ditko story from TALES OF SUSPENSE #12 [1960]. At a 19th century penal colony, one prisoner, Pierre, is singled out for especially cruel treatment by the guard Kragok. Assigned to clean up some ancient ruins in a tunnel, he finds an old book called "The Legend of the Earth Dwellers". From this book Equality learns of the Unspeakable Word. Sorry, that's not right. He finds out about an ancient race which was unable to live on the surface so retreated underground using powerful brain-operated digging chairs. Bolstered by this new hope, he keeps working, and finally finds a digger, not realizing that Kragok has planted both it and the book to give Pierre false hope that he could then crush. Imagine his surprise when the chair works, Pierre escapes to an underground utopia that Kragok is doomed to spend the rest of his life searching for.

This story, especially the page shown, is a great little showcase for the expressiveness of Ditko's faces. The feelings of hate and fear and anger and hope and surprise all come through loud and clear on all the characters. And interesting to note that his visual concept of a utopian city remains consistent through the years, as that last panel is pretty much a different angle view of the city on the cover of AVENGING WORLD [1973] (and reprinted as the cover of AVENGING WORLD [2002]).

Part of a Ditko panel from page 6 is used on the cover of this issue, and the three artists reprinted in here (Kirby, Ditko and Heck) actually all get billing on the cover with their story titles, something not too common at the time.

Marvel Tales #151 [1983]

The chronological reprints of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN continue this issue, following an odd aberration the previous month where the first Annual is reprinted out of order, before the first appearances of Kraven and the villain of this piece, Mysterio. Because you can't have a double-sized issue be anything but a multiple of 50, I guess.

Anyway, this issue reprints THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13 [1964], both the cover and the 22-page story "The Menace of Mysterio", both by Steve Ditko. The cover has more than the usual tweaking, eliminating one of the two bottom panels, extending the other, and sundry other changes. The story opens with "Spider-Man" stealing some money in one of those conveniently labelled "$" bags.  This causes the public to turn on our hero, much to the delight of publisher J. Jonah Jameson, who feels vindicated.  Peter Parker, of course, is confused, and wonders if he's developing a split-personality, given all the pressure he's under, including financial, and even goes to a psychiatrist before realizing how bad an idea that is.  A new costumed figure, Mysterio shows up to challenge Spider-Man, with the backing of JJJ. Of course, you know how that turns out, Mysterio is revealed as the fake Spider-Man, Peter gets some photos of the action in their big battle, clearing the good name of his alter-ego, making a few bucks and tweaking old JJJ.

Great little issue, especially for those who like a solid dose of Parker in their Spider-Man comics, with some good scenes of his evolving interaction with his classmates, Betty Brant and JJJ. The psychiatrist scene is pretty funny and insightful as a quick innovative take on the whole super-hero alter-ego thing. And Mysterio is yet another in an incredible string of villains introduced to torment Spider-Man.