Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko
Blake Bell

Fantagraphics Books 2008

Web: http://www.fantagraphics.com

After the astonishing success of the Spider-Man movies, Stan Lee became a household name. At the same time, not enough people realized that there was another artist just as important to the development of this pop culture icon and his name was Steve Ditko. Ditko was, and is, somewhat of an enigma, he is a very private person, indeed, he has not offered any interviews or appeared at any comic book conventions since the 1960’s ! He is also dedicated to the objectivist vision of Ayn Rand and her vision of the world as expounded in Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead and ended up being isolated from much of the fame (and dollars) associated with the Spiderman phenomenon. He clearly was and is a very sensitive and talented artist who finds the dichotomy between creativity and commercialism difficult if not impossible to reconcile.

It could also be said, it didn’t help that Stan Lee took all the credit for the development of Spiderman leading to Ditko parting ways with him just as Spiderman was hitting the big time in the early Sixties. While Ditko continued to work, even in the 80’s and 90’s he never really trusted the corporate comics industry and certainly was never really acknowledged for the pivotal role he played in the development of comic book style. Perhaps Strange & Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko in offering a comprehensive examination of his life and work, written as it is by Ditko scholar Blake Bell, will at least readdress some of this imbalance.

While Ditko gave Spiderman his distinctive look, we should not consider this his only achievement, regardless of its significance. In my mind what is more important is his astonishing 50 year career in comics and graphic illustration and his creativity as an artist.

This superb volume has been skillfully written to appeal to the widest possible audience, even those who do not have an overriding interest in comics, will find the his life story, his experience as an artist and his role in the development of Spiderman a fascinating read. While those who know Ditko as one of the most innovative comic book artists of the last century will be thrilled with the extensive coverage given to the development of his style, rare examples of his comics and background on publishers, the comic book industry and his life.

The biography of Steve Ditko is a fascinating read, Bell’s writing style is such that it draws us into his life and helps us appreciate how he developed as an artist and an individual. From his most humble childhood in Pennsylvania; to the dizzying heights of co-creating Spider-Man and leaving it all beheld as he walked away from the Spiderman franchise, it’s all there. We also again insight into his determination, perfectionism and above all, his dedication to his art form.

We should also not forget the coverage given to the development of his unique style. Strange & Stranger documents his earlier influences and his experiences working with low budget comic book companies as well his experimentation with all genres of comic books. Through a lifetime of creative effort he evolved a visual talent which broke all the rules of traditional comic book art and made him one of the most innovative in his field. Ditko’s evolution as an artist is well represented with a wide range of black and white and colour comics, nearly every page offers some form of illustration, including many full page excerpts from his various series.

This is an impressive, high quality hardback, illustrated throughout and edited in such a way as to offer a good balance between biography, technical information and nicely reproduced comics and illustrations.