DITKO'S SHORTS - edited by Craig Yoe and Fester Faceplant from Yoe Books & IDW

DITKO'S SHORTS , edited by your trulys ol' Fester himself and Eisner Award winner Craig Yoe, is now being solicited for pre-orders on Amazon!
This hardcover collection from YOE BOOKS & IDW of Ditko's 1,2,and 3 pagers from a multitude of publishers (including many from Charlton) has been in the works for a while now, and we are very proud to finally be able to offer this most excellent volume to you!


The description from Amazon:
"
Ditko's Shorts is a fun and incredibly fascinating compilation of short comics one, two and three pages in length. Only a brilliant master could tell a dramatic, compelling tale in such compact form. You'll thrill as Ditko walks this exciting high-wire act without a net! The many stories contained in this hardcover are fast-paced and sport terrific, compelling artwork as only Steve Ditko can draw it! The genres show the artist's great range. There's horror, fantasy, science fiction, western, and even humorous stories. Taken from rare comic books from a who's who of publishers, all the comics are meticulously restored and printed in a beautiful, large-format book. Insightful introductions by punk-rocker and comics historian Fester Faceplant and Eisner Award-winner Craig Yoe. Don't miss Ditko's Shorts - sure to be a much loved and talked about Ditko treasure! "

I will be updating with more info as time goes on, but as you can see, it's a handsome tome!
To see more or to pre-order CLICK THIS LINK

REVIEW AND GIVE-AWAY PRIZE- DITKO MONSTERS:KONGA!

DITKO MONSTERS VOLUME TWO: KONGA! has finally hit the shelves! A companion book to the previous volume, GORGO, it dwarfs it's brother book in size. In fact, at over 320 pages it's the
largest release yet from YOE BOOKS !

I will be giving away a copy of this book, courtesy of Yoe Books/IDW, so make sure to read the simple entry rules at the end of this post!

Edited and designed by Craig Yoe, this appropriately massive book is a  true labor of love. It's no secret that Steve Ditko's art is a passion for Yoe,as evidenced by the aforementioned GORGO volume, and the highly acclaimed THE ART OF DITKO and THE CREATIVITY OF DITKO, and he has really let it shine. Bound in a glossy hardcover with a '"fur" sheen, inner pages on 8 x 11 oversized heavy stock, and illustrated inner coverplates , it's a titanic tome worthy of it's gargantuan subject!

There are many treasures here, including a large amount of previously unpublished behind the scenes photos from the film. There's an interview from Tom Weaver with the movie's writer/producer Herman Cohen, loads of promotional pics, and of course Yoe's essay on the film and the comics.

Ah yes, the comics-from stalwart Chartlon Comics,written by the ever prolific Joe Gill, and drawn by the inimitable Steve Ditko (during what many consider the era where he truly began to fulfill his potential) the pages contained in this book are just that: contained, but barely, as they burst forth with power and grab the readers by the collar and take them on a ride of epic scope.
Gill brings his signature romance and adventure to the stories and Ditko is in fine form as he splays Konga's face with the entire spectrum of emotions, especially relishing in the humor and sadness. If you thought a giant ape couldn't bring pathos to it's readers, even a cursory look at Ditko's delineation will set you straight!
Add in the cover gallery and other surprises,such as Konga and Gorgo showing up in a MARVEL comic--drawn by Ditko, no less, and the obvious helping hand of fetish artist Eric Stanton on certain pages and it's a monumental package that you can give a home on your bookshelf with pride.

A quick note of thanks to Yoe Books for mentioning me in the thanks/acknolwedgements as well as this blog and my Charlton Comics facebook group The Charlton Arrow , where you can discuss KONGA, (along with all other Charlton books) with Craig Yoe, myself, many other Charlton alums and fans alike!

ENTER TO WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK!!
It's very simple, just send an email to me at fester@checkmatecomics.net with the subject "KONGA GIVE-AWAY" and you're entered! I'll be drawing a winner at random one week from today, on Sept 13th, so be checking your inbox!Good luck, and the winner will be announced here soon!

DITKO MONSTERS VOLUME TWO:KONGA! can be ordered from Amazon here: Get Konga Here!

KONGA MONTH: PART 5:--The final Ditko back-up

Our final Ditko back-up from KONGA (#9 ,November 1962) is a departure, in that unlike the previous stories, this one is not a non-fiction/informational piece. Instead, it's a morality play on the dangers of greed and instant wealth.Ditko shows off his playful side in the last panel with a classic "faint from bad news" gag.
Ditko would continue on with KONGA for quite some time, but this would be his final back-up feature for the series.

                                           COMING SOON FROM YOE BOOKS:

KONGA MONTH! part 4--even more Ditko back-ups!

Part Four of KONGA Month,with another Ditko 3 page back-up. This one, from issue #8, tells of man's ability to adapt and evolve to rise to the top of the food chain.
The caption in the final panel assures the reader that humankind will prevail against whatever it comes up against.
However, Ditko's art tells us an entirely different story. A family watches as an atomic bomb detonates in the distance. The father has his eyes closed in silent contemplation and resignation, his arm around his family giving them one final gesture of reassurance. The mother looks on in abject horror, while the baby cries, perhaps giving voice to the millions of lives being snuffed out at that very instant.

 

                                                 COMING SOON FROM YOE BOOKS:

KONGA month--part three! Ditko back-ups continue!

Part three of our look at the KONGA back-up features from Ditko.
Here we have a short look at the Incas, Mayans, and Atlantis from issue #7,July 1962.
Of particular interest is the host Professor Trams ("smart" spelled backwards!) who appears to actually be Ditko's friend and studio-mate, fetish cartoonist Eric Stanton!

                                               COMING SOON FROM YOE BOOKS

KONGA Month Continues: more Ditko back-ups

KONGA month continues here at the Library, with this three page Ditko back-up from issue #6, May 1962.
There's some rather dynamic panels in this one, especially the one with the gorrilla defending it's mate and child against a pack of big cats!

                                                    COMING SOON FROM YOE BOOKS

KONGA month! The Ditko back-up stories!

DITKO MONSTERS: Volume Two- KONGA, edited and designed by Craig Yoe,  hits the shelves in just a few short weeks, (which I will be reviewing once my copy arrives from Yoe/IDW!) and I thought it would be interesting to see the non-Konga back up features Ditko drew for the series.
First up is "The Rulers", a nice three-pager from issue #3, October 1961. Ditko shows he can not only draw monsters, but is quite adept at dinosaurs as well! More Konga back-ups to come in the following days and weeks! Stay tuned!

COMING SOON FROM YOE BOOKS :

BOOK REVIEW- DITKO MONSTERS:GORGO hardcover from IDW/YOE BOOKS

review-DITKO MONSTERS:GORGO published by IDW/YOE BOOKS. Edited by Craig Yoe.

YOE BOOKS has been at the forefront of bringing high end hardcover reprint books to the market for several years now. Forget the Marvel and DC glossy, thin-papered, "prestige" hardcovers that digitally "correct" artwork and colors. These books are printed on heavy stock paper with true scans of the art and books they reprint. They LOOK like comic books, not some magazine pages in your dentist's office.

This new volume, the first in a bookend with KONGA, is easily one of the most attractive books to grace my shelves in quite some time.
The cover art- printed directly on the binding-  is absolutely jumping off the front, nearly exploding in your face with excitement. The perfect image to showcase this collection.

As with many of Yoe's books, extra attention to detail and little touches are added that many others would never think to put in (or ON) their books. Although the photo above doesn't do it justice, the entire binding is rippled with a textured lizard skin relief, giving it a unique look and feel.

Weighing in at an impressive 237 pages (not the 224 as stated on Amazon), what we get is the entire output of Steve Ditko's tenure on GORGO. All his covers and interiors are here, lovingly reproduced (faithfully--just like they should be--, and not "restored"!), along with several pages of Yoe's introduction, various production stills, and other ephemera from the film.

sepia-toned front and end pieces,essay, and interior detail:

Yoe's essay is light hearted and whimsical, as usual,and a pleasure to read through. He made mention of a possible Eric Stanton collaboration with Ditko on one of the stories. I had never noticed before, but after looking closely I most assuredly saw it!
The stories themselves are classic Joe Gill of the era. Commies, monsters,sweethearts and more. Even a rather hilarious black-humor diatribe on the film industry! Surprisingly , nearly all of them still hold up very well, and in some cases possibly even more so than when first published. At the end of the day, though, GORGO is about a child (albeit a monster child) just trying to get along in this crazy world-- with a little help from his mamma!
Ditko's work is absolutely stunning, and considering he was also producing art for Spider-Man and Doctor Strange at the same time, he never let his art waver for his much smaller paycheck at Charlton. A true professional.

I would be remiss if i didn't mention the rather clever ISBN box on the back cover: Gorgo laying waste to the scanner-code bars represented as a cityscape! Wonderful! (The cityscape theme is echoed in the column layout in the essay, as well!)

You can find Craig Yoe/Yoe Books at the link in the first paragraph, and on facebook:
CRAIG YOE
YOE BOOKS
and be sure to hit the International Team  of Comics Historians collective blog: SUPER I.T.C.H.