this text I have to start recognizing that I have a great debt to Steve Ditko . For many years I have regarded as a famous second fiddle, half hidden behind the shadow of King Kirby, and that would be virtually unknown today if not for his role in the genesis of the most popular superhero of all time: Peter Parker, alias Spider-Man. Yet this excellent volume Diabolo newly published editions reveals a different Ditko, but that already guess all the talent that made it so believable at the time to two characters as different from each other as were the shy, wimpy Peter Parker and Dr. Stephen Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts.
Unlike other illustrious contemporaries as Will Eisner, Jack Kirby or Jim Steranko, Ditko was a quiet and hardworking professional. Blake Bell explains in his introduction, "Apparently, his childhood was typical of the Great Depression and World War II in a small American population. Born in 1927 and lived in Johnstown, Pa., in the midst of a big family. Was always considered as a discreet and reserved young man, some traits that kept during his early career in the comic. While not shy away from social interaction, I never considered the center of attention, or a womanizer, nor drink in public. It could be said of him - and a colleague, as Joe Gill, the prolific author of Charlton - he was a man hardened by life and old-fashioned. "
These first-time stories, mostly made in early fifties, before the Comic Code and in full splendor of the editorial EC, can make a very pleasant surprise to all those who, like myself, largely unknown in life and work of this great artist. They are short stories, autoconclusivos of varied topics ranging from horror to science fiction, through the western gender or black, through which Ditko unleashes his talent with that dynamism and expressiveness that are the house brand and eventually became so plausible antics of Spider-Man or the nightmare worlds frequented by Dr. Strange. Citing back to Dell : "Ditko pursuing a level of excellence that went far beyond what they pursued other authors, who were content with minimal effort to create what is often regarded as a product of throwaway children and change their work appear as something more lucrative and prestigious ".
In previous reviews have commented that this kind of deluxe editions tend to have always a "but", and yet, this time without a precedent, I could not find any. The binding is really good, and the role and reproduction of illustrations. The color is generally quite acceptable except for some bullet drop here and there where some ugly stain or smear a little, very little assembly. As for the translation in the absence of strong contrasts with the original, very correct and to appreciate serious spelling and grammatical errors, which is welcome in these times. Perhaps the most excessive of the work is its bloated price, which is not so much when you consider all of the above and that is a minority work for gourmets who want to know more about the author before us, in addition to knowing a little better that golden age of American comic before the outbreak of the Comics Code. How would Stan Lee himself : "Excelsior" and seldom could agree more with him.
TECHNICAL DATA:
TITLE: Strange Suspense: The Ditko files
Vol. 1 AUTHOR: Steve Ditko et alii
EDITORIAL: Diabolo
FORMAT: Hardcover, over 200 pages in full color, 24.5 x17, 5 cm.
RRP: € 34.95
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