Saturday, May 29, 2010
Sci-Fi Week! Diggin' Ditko: Machine Man in "Renewal!"
Remember back on Jack Kirby's birthday when Ol' Groove mentioned that Marvel revived Machine Man with ish #10 (May 1979) with Marv Wolfman and Steve Ditko at the creative helm? Well, I've finally gotten around to sharing it with ya (special thanks to max_renn for the excellent scans)--aren't ya glad? I think Ditko fans are gonna be especially delighted with "Renewal!" Ditko's art is magnificent--the detail, the use of shading, the far-out action sequences--I think it ranks up there with some of Ditko's very best.
Machine Man and Ditko's style seem to be a natural combo. I love the way he draws the smoke coming off of MM in the first couple of pages.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Ditko and Machine Man being a good fit. It's interesting to compare Ditko's work on this book to Jack Kirby's (Kirby preceded Ditko as the artist on this book).
ReplyDeleteKirby's Machine Man was heavier on the science fiction and focused on a hero struggling to decide if he was man or machine.
Ditko's Machine Man was more of a straightforward superhero. He didn't have any doubts about his basic humanity - he stood for his principles, while others around him fell short.
I'm not sure which version I prefer, as I like them both. But it's an interesting contrast between two masters at work.
Ditko's run on Marvel's Machine Man and his inventive Shade The Changing Man were the two best late 1970's books. He really seemed to be doing his best work. Sadly, he was never that good again.
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