For one minute I thought Ditko would be at LSCC.

Mr_Cosmic

EDIT: It was, unsurprisingly, a fake:

From comicconventions.co.uk:
Please let me make this clear Steve Ditko will not be attending LSCC 2013. IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED THAT THIS IS INDEED A FAKE NAME RELEASED TO US AND HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AS NOT COMING.


......................................................................original post..................................................

According to comicconventions.co.uk and BleedingCool.com Steve Ditko will be at the next LSCC.

http://www.comicconventions.co.uk/
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/08/29/steve-ditko-to-attend-london-super-comic-convention-next-year/

Did I miss something? This isn't April 1st is it?

Caliban

I was in the comic shop of one of the LSCC organisers earlier this year and we were discussing who would be a big name to get for next year's show. We mentioned Steve Ditko and then dismissed that idea as impossible.

I hope we weren't overheard.

brydeemer

I was as surprised as you.

Bry

SolitaireRose

I think people need to read some of Ditko's work from that last 5 years to know how rediculous this story is.

Mr_Cosmic

@SolitaireRose

Well, I haven't read anything from the last five years but just watching In Search of Ditko would make anyone think he'll never be seen again.

dubbat138

Mr_Cosmic said:

@SolitaireRose

Well, I haven't read anything from the last five years but just watching In Search of Ditko would make anyone think he'll never be seen again.

Thank you so much for that link. I have been wanting to watch that documentary for a while now.

phansford

+1. Just watched the documentary. Just great.

random73

Mr_Cosmic said:

@SolitaireRose

Well, I haven't read anything from the last five years but just watching In Search of Ditko would make anyone think he'll never be seen again.

soooo....does that mean his recent stuff is bad? i havn't read any and i think there are different ways to read that statement.

Mr_Cosmic

random73 said:

Mr_Cosmic said:

@SolitaireRose

Well, I haven't read anything from the last five years but just watching In Search of Ditko would make anyone think he'll never be seen again.

soooo....does that mean his recent stuff is bad? i havn't read any and i think there are different ways to read that statement.

I'm not sure but I assume Ditko's recent work is very much like his Mr. A comics. I don't know how that would play into him not going to London though. Everyone knows he is a very private man but maybe his recent comics say something I'm not aware of. Perhaps @SolitaireRose can explain his post.

phansford

This links to some of his recent work.
http://ditko.blogspot.com/p/ditko-book-in-print.html

http://www.ditko-fever.com/robinsnyder.html

Without commenting directly on the newer work - Ditko's best work was at Marvel nearly 50 years ago. I had the Blue Beetle stuff in my collection - with the Question as back-up stories. They were pretty good, but nothing as good as that Marvel work.

I had purchased some of the collected older Sci-Fi stuff. It was great, but again... not Marvel level

Mr_Cosmic

Just to be clear..when I said:

Well, I haven't read anything from the last five years but just watching In Search of Ditko would make anyone think he'll never be seen again.

I was alluding to the fact that the documentary makes it clear Ditko doesn't want to talk to anybody. Hard to imagine he'd fly to London and shake fan's hands. Although, the BleedingCool story had me fooled..I guess I just really, really wanted an excuse to go to London.

random73

SolitaireRose said:

I think people need to read some of Ditko's work from that last 5 years to know how rediculous this story is.

actually this is the quote i meant, my bad.

SolitaireRose

Random - his work has all been illustrated essays, most on obbjectivism, but a lot about how the artist should only give his art, and his personal life is irrelevent. He only draws himself behind a drawing board, obsccuring everything but his hands.

phansford

Steve Ditko is the J.D. Salinger of comics. Maybe - just maybe - he struck gold with Spidey and Dr. Strange and the realty is the rest of his work is just mediocre. And without a great writer his work doesn't rise to the occasion. I love Steve Ditko artwork, but that's the conclusion I have come to over the years.

random73

SolitaireRose said:

Random - his work has all been illustrated essays, most on obbjectivism, but a lot about how the artist should only give his art, and his personal life is irrelevent. He only draws himself behind a drawing board, obsccuring everything but his hands.

Objectivism like Ayn Rand "Who is John Gault?" Objectivism? The art is his contribution?

RedRight88

random73 said:

Objectivism like Ayn Rand "Who is John Gault?" Objectivism? The art is his contribution?

Most likely the Ayn Rand...Most of his post-Spidey titles have been Randian analogues.

SolitaireRose

random73 said:

SolitaireRose said:

Random - his work has all been illustrated essays, most on obbjectivism, but a lot about how the artist should only give his art, and his personal life is irrelevent. He only draws himself behind a drawing board, obsccuring everything but his hands.

Objectivism like Ayn Rand "Who is John Gault?" Objectivism? The art is his contribution?

Yep. He's become a HUGE Ayn Rand devotee. In fact, reading Ditko is how I first found out about her and his philosophy.

random73

huh. interesting.

random73

so, that, while helpful, doesn't answer the qualitative question of whether his recent work is "bad". Rand's Atlas Shrugged is a little heavy handed at times but not "bad" given the era it was created in. It suffers some of the same period limitations as say...Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in that it is very much a product of its generation. but 'bad' isn't a term i would use in describing it.

phansford

I provided some links.... I think the work is bad. It looks like a mediocre high school art student trying to copy Steve Ditko. :(( But then maybe I am being a bit harsh. :))

random73

that is so sad.

Mr_Cosmic

I consider myself a conservative voter and I'm even a little sympathetic to some of Rand's views. However, I ordered a Mr. A reprint from DCBS and had a hell of a time getting through it. I found Ayan's own Atlas Shrugged to be more palatable than Ditko's comic.

SolitaireRose

random73 said:

so, that, while helpful, doesn't answer the qualitative question of whether his recent work is "bad". Rand's Atlas Shrugged is a little heavy handed at times but not "bad" given the era it was created in. It suffers some of the same period limitations as say...Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in that it is very much a product of its generation. but 'bad' isn't a term i would use in describing it.

I don't know if I would say it is bad so much as simply not comics. It's Steve writing essays and having some small drawing around them. I find it interesting, but if you aren't already interested in what he has to say and his worldview, you will have very little use for it.

random73

gotcha! That explains it totally. thanks!

dubbat138

phansford said:

Steve Ditko is the J.D. Salinger of comics. Maybe - just maybe - he struck gold with Spidey and Dr. Strange and the realty is the rest of his work is just mediocre. And without a great writer his work doesn't rise to the occasion. I love Steve Ditko artwork, but that's the conclusion I have come to over the years.

I liked his work at Charlton. And all the pre-code Marvel giant monster and horror stuff he did.

SolitaireRose

dubbat138 said:

phansford said:

Steve Ditko is the J.D. Salinger of comics. Maybe - just maybe - he struck gold with Spidey and Dr. Strange and the realty is the rest of his work is just mediocre. And without a great writer his work doesn't rise to the occasion. I love Steve Ditko artwork, but that's the conclusion I have come to over the years.

I liked his work at Charlton. And all the pre-code Marvel giant monster and horror stuff he did.

While his Marvel stuff is my favorite, his work at Warren right after he left Marvel (1966-67) is just BEAUTIFUL and was during the time when Archie Goodwin was just about their only writer. Solid EC style stories and Ditko's use of ink wash was outstanding. Well worth tracking down.

phansford

I liked his pre-code Marvel stuff also..... and he had Stan Lee writing for him.

That's the thing.... Ditko's art was fantastic, but the quality of the end product really depended on the quality of the writing. I think that's why his later stuff eventually was hit or miss. He never found that writer that he could feed from.

dubbat138

SolitaireRose said:

dubbat138 said:

phansford said:

Steve Ditko is the J.D. Salinger of comics. Maybe - just maybe - he struck gold with Spidey and Dr. Strange and the realty is the rest of his work is just mediocre. And without a great writer his work doesn't rise to the occasion. I love Steve Ditko artwork, but that's the conclusion I have come to over the years.

I liked his work at Charlton. And all the pre-code Marvel giant monster and horror stuff he did.

While his Marvel stuff is my favorite, his work at Warren right after he left Marvel (1966-67) is just BEAUTIFUL and was during the time when Archie Goodwin was just about their only writer. Solid EC style stories and Ditko's use of ink wash was outstanding. Well worth tracking down.

I have only read a little of Ditko's work at Warren.