Unexplored Worlds: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 2 - Tapa dura

Fantastic... Raw and grotesque and beautifully drawn and presented.--Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen

Ditko is one of the most elusive and complex characters of comics' golden age, but these volumes (...with illuminating forwards by Blake Bell) at least give a compelling glimpse into the creative development of the man behind the panels.--Chris Mills

As the original artist and co-creator who brought the Amazing Spider-Man to life in 1962, artist Steve Ditko’s talents varied far beyond the realm of the superhero genre. Tales of unexplored worlds, of spine-chilling suspense, mystery, and horror dripped hauntingly from the pen of Steve Ditko over half-a-decade before he would bring to the world famous wall-crawler to life. Unexplored Worlds continues the showcase of the artist’s 1950s work that began with editor Blake Bell’s 2009 best-selling Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1. For the first time, spectacular full-color reprints of stories are on display from the peak period of his career as an artist. After a bout of illness forced Ditko to disappear from comics in 1955, the artist came back with a vengeance, marking 1956 as his first stint at Marvel Comics with his Spider-Man co-creator, Stan Lee. And in 1957, Ditko renewed his association with Charlton Comics, a partnership that would see Ditko produce almost 500 pages of completed artwork in that year alone. The leap in the quality of the legendary artist’s work during this period is stunning. A few scant years into his career and Ditko was already the most unique artist in comic-book history and one of its most prolific. The book also features editor Bell’s insightful introduction, providing historical background and speaking to Ditko’s influence and his unique craft.