Unexplored Worlds: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 2

More great crime, horror and sci-fi work by one of comics’ greatest stylists.

As the original artist and co-creator who brought the Amazing Spider-Man to life in 1962, and established the look of Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk as we know them today, 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: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 2 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, both following up on Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, Bell’s 2008 critically-acclaimed retrospective of Ditko’s career. 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.