Overview
Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, his strict adherence to his own (and Randian) principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages of comics he's drawn over the last 55 years.Synopsis
Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is a coffee table art book tracing Ditko's life and career, his unparalleled stylistic innovations, his strict adherence to his own (and Randian) principles, with lush displays of obscure and popular art from the thousands of pages of comics he's drawn over the last 55 years.
The Barnes & Noble Review
If you know Spider-Man, chances are you're just one of 100 million casual movie viewers. If you know Dr. Strange, it's likely that you've read a few comics, however long ago. But if you know the Question or Mr. A, it's pretty certain that you're a dyed-in-the-wool fan of artist Steve Ditko, creator of all the heroes cited above and one of the seminal architects of the comics landscape, and consequently responsible for a myriad hours of viewing and reading pleasure for countless fans. Now even the comics newbie can experience the full range of Ditko's accomplishments, thanks to Blake Bell's masterful, copiously illustrated biographical study. With passionate yet unremittingly objective scholarship, Bell chronicles the life and work of this notoriously reclusive and stubborn artist. The shadow of creative tragedy hangs over Ditko's career: his vast, eye-popping output, from early horror comics in the 1950s to his final Ayn Rand–dominated preachments of the '90s, was all produced for cut-rate wages at a backbreaking clip. When his work fell out of favor, the financially strapped artist was reduced to taking such projects as a coloring book for the Transformers franchise. Bell is forthright on the myriad sins of the comics industry but equally tough on Ditko's own failings, mainly an insanely unswerving dedication to the Objectivist creed that sabotaged every effort to help his cause. The author trains his keen eye on just what made Ditko's talent unique and groundbreaking; his analysis puts weight behind fellow artist John Romita's estimation, which placed Ditko in rarefied company: "They are what I call creators. The rest of us are illustrators." --Paul DiFilippo
Editorials
Steven M. Bari
Peculiar and tremendously talented writer and artist.— Weekly Comic Book Reviews
Douglas Wolk
The portrait that emerges here is of an artist whose principles have ossified into bitter perversity.— The New York Times Book Review
R. C. Baker
This fascinating tale of a bull-headed individual who gave his all to the masses and then withdrew from their adulation offers a stark twist on the American Dream.— The Village Voice
Rick Klaw
A must have for both fans of the artist in particular and comic book history in general.— Sfsite.com
Alan David Doane
Blake Bell does the impossible and explains Steve Ditko.— Comicbook Galaxy
Paul DiFilippio
Now even the comics newbie can experience the full range of Ditko’s accomplishments, thanks to Blake Bell’s masterful, copiously illustrated biographical study.With passionate, yet unremittingly objective scholarship, Bell chronicles the life and work of this notoriously reclusive and stubborn artist.— Barnes and Noble Review
Gordon Flagg
Bell’s insight into Ditko’s work and its enduring appeal combine with an abundance of powerful artwork to make this lavish volume indispensable to comics fans.— Booklist
Geoff Boucher
Ditko’s life, like that of R. Crumb or Harvey Pekar, has enough obsessive oddity and outside struggle to be a tale told wide. But Bell goes the opposite direction, getting as narrow as the lines Ditko used to restrain the action in the old Marvel and Charlton comics.— Los Angeles Times
Richard Pachter
A personal and professional portrait of the brilliant storyteller and polemicist.— Miami Herald