steve ditko – Coke & Comics

INTERLUDE: Captain Atom #78

The Gremlins from Planet Blue

Featuring: Captain Atom
Release: October 1, 1965
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Steve Ditko, Joe Gill, Rocke Mastroserio, and Joe D’Agostino
19 pages

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Space Adventures #33, Story B	PRELUDE
Amazing Spider-Man #33	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #72, Story B

But he was not as before when he emerged from the atomic fireball! No… he was charged with unlimited nuclear power… and this power enabled him to hurtle through space at fantastic speeds! Almost indestructible, with superior vision, hearing, and strength, he became the champion of good men… and the enemy of evil everywhere!

With his time at Marvel coming to an end, Steve Ditko started putting out work for other publishers, beginning with a return to the superhero he created for Charlton Comics, Captain Atom. His very first superhero creation.

This was published concurrently with Amazing Spider-Man #32 and Strange Tales #140, the month before climactic stories in each series, and 6 months before his final issue of each series.

Captain Atom had been on hiatus since Ditko’s departure in 1961, though Charlton had recently been reprinting the old Captain Atom stories.

His return sees him facing off against aliens sabotaging our space program. These aliens seem powerful enough to attack en masse and defeat Earth pretty easily, but subterfuge is their method.

One scientist, Professor Jupe, notices the disasters are too frequent to be random. This scientist has a lovely daughter Leah who will catch our hero’s eye. Both will find themselves captives of the aliens.

We get a recap of Captain Atom’s origin and some details of his powers. Captain Atom is charged with unlimited nuclear power, can hurtle through space at fantastic speeds, and is almost indestructible, with superior vision, hearing, and strength.

PRELUDE: Space Adventures #33, Story B

Introducing Captain Atom

Featuring: Captain Atom
Release: January 1960
Cover: March 1960
10 cents
9 pages

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	INTERLUDE	Captain Atom #78
Amazing Spider-Man #33	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #72, Story B

Meet Captain Adam… the Air Force career man who knew more about rocketry, missiles, and the universe than any man alive… a specialist of the missle age, a trained, dedicated soldier who was a physics prodigy at eight, a chemist, a ballistics genius! In short, Captain Adam was an invaluable space-age soldier even before that memorable day at Cape Canaveral, Florida, when an Atlas missile was being readied for blast-off… with an atomic warhead inside… and Captain Adam making the final last second adjustments!

GCD credits the story to Joe Gill and the art to Steve Ditko. They say Ditko’s signature appears, but I can’t prove that. Maybe someone has better eyes than I do. UPDATE: My readers do have better eyes than I!

I’m curious what happens to Steve Ditko after he leaves Marvel. And the answer can be found before he even leaves Marvel. About 6 months before his last Spider-Man and Dr. Strange story appear, his work starts showing up from other publishers. The first work to grace newsstands is a return to his character, Captain Atom, published almost concurrently with Amazing Spider-Man #32, part of the story that reads like Ditko’s last Spider-Man story.

I thought it would be good to check out that story, but for context I thought it would be worth first going back to the creation of the character, which came out over 2 years before the first Spider-Man story.

We’ll retroactively place this in the reading order alongside the comics concurrent to Captain Atom’s return.

Before Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, Steve Ditko teamed with writer Joe Gill to create Captain Atom. Let’s check out his first adventure from 1960.

Amazing Spider-Man #38

Just a Guy Named Joe!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: April 12, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Written and edited by Stan Lee
Plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko
Lettered, unfettered by Artie Simek
20 pages

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Strange Tales #146, Story B	Reading order	Avengers #30
Amazing Spider-Man #37	Amazing Spider-Man	Amazing Spider-Man #39

Goodbye, Steve!

We come at last to the final Steve Ditko Spider-Man story. We just saw the final Steve Ditko Dr. Strange story. One thing they have in common is awful covers. My best guess is Ditko had resigned before turning in a cover for either. So like the Dr. Strange cover, this cover is cut and paste from Ditko’s artwork within the issue.

Here are the interior panels the cover cribs from:

I’ve been pretty clear that the saga of the Amazing Spider-Man as told by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko is basically my favorite story ever. I won’t belabor why any further than I have in the posts on the last 37 issues.

I’d also been pretty clear that I thought that story ended extremely well with issue 33. And that these last 5 issues represent a step down in quality, and a story that no longer seems to be going anywhere in particular.

I find it unfortunate that that was not Ditko’s final issue of Spider-Man. As the man says, it’s better to burn out than to fade away. I wish he’d gone out at the top of his game.

That excellent climax of the Spider-Man saga came out the same month as the excellent climax of the Dr. Strange saga in Strange Tales #141. Both series then went at the same time into a phase I’ve described as “spinning their wheels”. Where any of the next 4 months of issues could have been removed with minimal consequence. Ditko had one more great Dr. Strange story in him, a final confrontation between Dormammu and Eternity.

Does he have one more great Spider-Man story in him?

It’s worth nothing that the last several issues have not been bad and they have their charms. Despite the small number, this phase can actually be broken into two subphases. Issues 34-35 pit Spider-Man against returning foes, Kraven and Molten Man respectively. Some minimal advancement to the romantic supblots surrounded by action that is well told, but not adding much to Spider-Man’s previous encounters with these villains.

Issues 36-38 take a different tactic. They all introduce new villains, none of whom will become the iconic villains that the rest of the series had introduced. But all are interesting in their own right, and all have stories that center around them. Spider-Man becomes almost a secondary character, as we get to know the Looter and the Robot Master.

And they’re actually good comics, taken on their own terms, and not compared to the expectation of Spider-Man comics we’d developed over the previous 4 years of stories. Just offbeat tales about some offbeat characters who run into Spider-Man, tales that function more as satire than drama.

This falls into that mold. The story, Ditko’s final Spider-Man story, isn’t really about Spider-Man. It’s about this guy named Joe.

Strange Tales #146, Story B

The End– At Last!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: April 12, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Edited by the enchanter– Stan Lee
Penciled + inked by the prestidigitator– Steve Ditko
Scripted by the sorcerer– Dennis O’Neil
Lettered by the letterer– Artie Simek
10 pages

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Strange Tales #146	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #38
Strange Tales #146	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #147

Human eyes have never witnessed such a struggle!

We recently described Fantastic Four #50 as the most disappointing cover yet. This may top it. Again, just compare the cover of the issue to the first page of the issue and see the contrast.

This is sad because it’s Ditko’s last Dr. Strange story, and because Dr. Strange has been snubbed from the covers of Strange Tales for the entire run. Even more insulting because the spotlight was instead given to the inferior Human Torch stories. The one time Dr. Strange was finally given the cover spotlight, Kirby, not Ditko, was assigned to draw it.

So here we are, Ditko’s final issue of one of the greatest superhero runs in history and finally we seemingly get our very first Ditko Dr. Strange cover. Except it’s a lie.

That is a Ditko Dr. Strange but it’s been badly cut and pasted from interior art. Resized, flipped around, generally mangled. The Eternity image is also cut and paste from the interior.

I don’t believe Ditko actually made this cover, though it’s generally credited to him. I think someone else made the cover, assembling bits of interior art by Ditko.

I hate it.

The issue is good. This first page is closer to what the cover should look like.

I’d given a lot of hype to this extended saga, which I’m calling “The Eternity Saga”. And I think the first 12 issues are unimpeachable. From #130-141, the action flows crisply to a climax, ending with the final defeat of Mordo and Dr. Strange and Dormammu in something of a stalemate after Strange’s humbling of Dormammu. The story then completely lost momentum as Dr. Strange dealt with Mordo’s underlings and searched for the woman who had helped him, facing some unrelated threats along the way. The last 4 issues have been solid comics, but don’t help make the case that we have a great 17-part saga. We have a great 12-part saga, then 4 more issues, then this conclusion.

Let’s see how Ditko brings this home. And this will be bringing it home. With this story, Ditko bids goodbye to Marvel for the foreseeable future and to the character of Dr. Strange forever.

Stan seems utterly indifferent to the importance of the moment. In addition to the sloppy cover, Stan has junior writer Dennis O’Neil onboard for his second Dr. Strange story and one of his earliest comics, period. It doesn’t matter too much who the writer is, as Ditko does most of the writing anyway. O’Neil will stay on the title a few more issues, but soon enough move to DC, where he will go on to great things.

Strange Tales #145, Story B

To Catch a Magician!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Eerily edited by: Stan Lee
Spookily scripted by: Dennis O’Neil
Demonically drawn by: Steve Ditko
Laconically lettered by: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Strange Tales #145	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #77
Strange Tales #145	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #146

Am I a child, to be frightened by a mere illusion– a shadow of shadows?

Lee seems to have stepped away as the regular writer for the end of Ditko’s run. Just as well as Ditko has been doing most of the writing and refusing to even speak to Lee for a little while anyway.

Roy Thomas stepped in the last two issues, and now we have Dennis O’Neil. While for artists, Stan has been seeking veterans from the ’40s and ’50s, for writers, he has been giving new talent a try. Thomas is new to comics, and O’Neil was hired at his suggestion. This is O’Neil’s first comic work. He’ll go on to do some good things, and will perhaps be eventually better known for his work with the Distinguished Competition.

That Lee is handing off scripting duties to new and untested writers gives a hint as to how important these Dr. Strange stories are to him.

We meet a villain named Mr. Rasputin. He uses magical and scientific means to do espionage. His ancestor had been a famous Russian advisor.

Of course he runs afoul of Dr. Strange.

Strange Tales #144, Story B

Where Man Hath Never Trod!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Edited with percipacity by: Stan Lee
Written with precocity by: Roy Thomas
Plotted and illustrated with profundity by: Steve Ditko
Lettered with the windows closed by: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Strange Tales #144	Reading order	Strange Tales #145
Strange Tales #144	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #145

How dare you make a request of the great Tazza! In the name of Satannish the Supreme, you shall join the other unmoving forms in my hallowed halls…

We are in what I see as the spinning-the-wheels phase. We had an extremely tense and fast-paced adventure that took us from issues 130-141. Then it slowed down. Mordo was defeated. Dormammu was humbled. Loose plot threads included servants of Mordo’s to deal with, and this woman who had helped Strange, who was now a prisoner of Dormammu. We’ve spent the last couple issues dealing with Mordo’s servants and now we’ll go look for this unnamed woman.

Dormammu was beaten with yet another vow to not move against Strange. But there’s a loophole if you read the fine print. Dormammu agreed not to attack Strange on Earth. But if the good Doctor travels to another dimension…

Strange Tales #143, Story B

With None Beside Me!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Edited and rehashed by: Stan Lee
Written and rewritten by: Roy Thomas
Plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko
Lettered and blotted by: Artie Simek
10 pages

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Strange Tales #143	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #75, Story B
Strange Tales #143	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #144

And just like that, Stan Lee is not writing this series any more. He’s been the credited writer since the beginning, and isn’t quite done as the regular writer. But he’s off for the next half dozen issues or so. Last issue was his final collaboration with Ditko on the character of Dr. Strange. Maybe for the best as they no longer get along by this point.

Roy Thomas is Marvel’s young writer that Lee will increasingly be leaning on to take the burden of scripting some of these titles. He’s now the regular scripter on Sgt. Fury, but is only on Dr. Strange for the next two issues.

Either way, this is really Ditko’s comic. Whoever is scripting is just there for finishing touches.

We’re kind of maybe still in the middle of the Eternity Saga. Mordo defeated. Dormammu humbled. That woman missing. The Ancient One off searching for her. Mordo’s minions causing trouble. Dr. Strange with his hands and face bound, and his amulet and cloak stolen.

In this issue, Strange defeats the disciples and recovers his amulet and cloak.

Notably, we still don’t get the name for either disciple. The man will eventually be named Kaecilius, and he’ll be the main villain in the first Dr. Strange film, played by Mads Mikkelsen.

The woman will be known as Adria. It will be 16 years before either shows up again.

Strange Tales #142, Story B

Those Who Would Destroy Me!

Featuring: Dr. Strange
Release: December 12, 1965
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Extravagantly edited and written by… Stan Lee!
Painstakingly plotted and drawn by… Steve Ditko!
Lovingly lettered and bordered by… Artie Simek!
10 pages

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Strange Tales #142	Reading order	Strange Tales #143
Strange Tales #142	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #143

I was born to battle the forces of evil– and though death be my reward, I would have it no other way!

Ditko’s time on this title draws short, and Lee is starting to hand off more and more of his scripting duties. So this is the final Dr. Strange story to be written by the team of Lee and Ditko. (I use the word “team” a bit loosely, as Ditko is by this point utterly refusing to even speak to Stan Lee.)

Dr. Strange’s adventures had been characterized by stories that fit entirely within 10 pages. Then his first battle with Dormammu lasted two issues and 20 pages, the size of a normal Spider-Man or Fantastic Four comic.

Then Strange Tales #130 ended with a cliffhanger. Dormammu and Mordo had teamed up; they’d seriously injured the Ancient One, and Dr. Strange was on the run. Without a break, Dr. Strange struggled against this duo of foes for a full 12 issues. Then finally it seemed as though Mordo and Dormammu were defeated, and Dr. Strange could rest.

But not quite! The woman from the Dark Dimension who befriended Strange remains a prisoner. Dormammu was humbled by Strange but remains a threat. And Mordo’s servants remain at large, and in fact have planted a bomb in Dr. Strange’s sanctum, and the last issue ended with the bomb about to go off.

We then paused and checked in with the many other Marvel titles. That was 8 months ago our time. Thank you for your patience in learning what’s up with that bomb. We won’t quite see the resolution of all the threads at present, but at least we’ll resolve this bomb question.

It’s actually a clever resolution. This cleverness is important as sometimes it seems Dr. Strange could maybe magic his way out of anything, so it’s good when we understand how. The villains left an ordinary bomb, because he would have sensed a mystical trap. And they erased traces of their presence, so he would not detect they had been there.

But… he sensed no trace of evil presences! And knew Mordo had been there recently, thus realizing someone had used a spell to eliminate traces of evil presences! See, clever. Anyways, this puts him on guard, and he finds the bomb. It was a close one, though.

And while he evades the bomb, he’s caught in the shockwave and captured by the baddies.

Mordo’s servants don’t know what’s happened in the Dark Dimension. They just know they can’t contact Mordo. They are unaware Dormammu had him banished for being a pathetic loser.

Amazing Spider-Man #37

Once Upon a Time, There Was a Robot…!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Edited and written by: Stan Lee
Plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko
Lettered and cherished by: Artie Simek
20 pages

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Amazing Spider-Man #36	Reading order	Strange Tales #142
Amazing Spider-Man #36	Amazing Spider-Man	Amazing Spider-Man #38

The penultimate chapter.

Of the greatest run of comics in history. Amazing Spider-Man by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Though it ends with more of a whimper than a bang. Its great climactic finale was 4 issues earlier. We then had a couple forgettable rematches with minor villains, then the introduction of a forgettable villain. This issue also introduces a new villain, but again not the most memorable one.

This issue has some things going for it though. It rises above the last few issues, though not to the heights of the first 33. It’s almost over.

Amazing Spider-Man #36

When Falls the Meteor!

Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Script + editing: Stan Lee
Plot and artwork: Steve Ditko
Lettering ‘n stuff: Art Simek
20 pages

Previous	#476	Next
X-Men #19	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #37
Amazing Spider-Man #35	Amazing Spider-Man	Amazing Spider-Man #37

Just because I flunked science in school doesn’t mean I can’t discover the secret of the universe! I’ve as much chance as anyone else!

“Uncanny” is an adjective Stan likes. It will be more famously applied to a superhero team.

In the previous issue’s announcement, Stan said they were thinking of calling this villain the Meteor Man. But seem to have changed their mind. Apparently they settled on the Looter. Naming is a thing Ditko often leaves to Stan, and Stan certainly gets final say over the name. I feel like they must have intentionally chosen a silly one here. Right? I feel like the entire character is Ditko having a laugh. He’s created so many enduring villains, and now, nearing his final issue, he’s like, sure Stan, here’s the Looter.

Later writers will change the villain’s name to the Meteor Man, and that name will also end up used for an unrelated movie superhero.