Ditko Unleashed An American Hero $59.99 USD Ditko Unleashed An American Hero www.idwpublishing.com EXHIBITION ÉDITIONS DÉESSE Ditko Unleashed, An American Hero President/Publisher September 29, 2016 - January 8, 2017. Frédéric Manzano Curators Florentino Flórez IDW PUBLISHING Frédéric Manzano CEO & Publisher Organization & Coordination Ted Adams Palma Espai d’Art Foundation COO & President Insurance Greg Goldstein March JLT correduria de seguros EVP & Sr. Graphic Artist Robbie Robbins DISTRICT COUNCIL OF PALMA * CCO & Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall Mayor José Hila Vargas CPA & Chief Financial Officer Matthew Ruzicka Regidor de l’Àrea de Cultura, Patrimoni, Memòria Històrica VP of Marketing i Política Lingüística Dirk Wood Miquel Perelló Oliver VP of Digital Services PATRONAT FUNDACIÓ CASALS Lorelei Bunjes D’ART I ESPAIS EXPOSITIUS DE PALMA VP of Licensing, Digital President and Subsidiary Rights José Hila Vargas Jeff Webber Vice President VP of New Product Development Miquel Perelló Oliver Jerry Bennington Patrons Director, Special Projects Susanna Moll Kamerich Scott Dunbier Eva Frade Bravo Francisca Niell Llabrés José Javier Bonet Díaz Pedro Ribas Dietrich Antoni Sbert Casasayas Neus García Iñesta Paco Espinosa Trujillo Gaspar Sabater Vives Special Thanks to: Robin Snyder and our wives, Secretari Eva Barceló & Laurence Manzano. Antoni Pol Coll Acknowledgments: Sotssecretària Lluc Amengual, Thomas Barichella, Olivier & Hugo Bijaoui, Francisca Arbona Serra Aaron Caplan, Jacques Collin, Andrew Colman, ComicLink. com, CoollinesArtwork.com, Editions Déesse, Ditko. * in 2016 Blogspot.Com, Daniel Duclos, Mark Evanier, Ron Fontes, Arthur Fuchs, Joan Carles Gomis, HeritageAuctionGalleries. com, Steve Leialoha, Paul Levitz, Michel Maillot, David CATALOGUE Mandel for supplying us with scans of his collection, MetropolisCollectibles.com, Josep Maria Nadal Suau, Editor Ramón F. Pérez, Faustino Rodríguez Arbesú, RomitaMan. Frédéric Manzano com, Carolina Vicente, Johannes A. Von Horrach, Jim Vadeboncoeur, Peter Wingfield, Marv Wolfman. Authors Florentino Flórez Lenders: Introduction by Robin Snyder Bill Baroud, Kam Blagowski, Mike Burkey, Duane Capizzi, Richard & Stephen Donnelly, Terry Doyle, Stephen Fishler, Design & Modeling Jean-Paul Gabilliet, Michael Haack, Jim Halperin, Peter Koch, Extra Estudio Hans Kosenkranius, Steve Kriozere, Bechara Maalouf, Kelvin Mao, Joseph Melchior, Albert Moy, Jérôme Perrault, Scans Philippe Queveau, Georges Simonian, Vincent Zurzolo. Frédéric Manzano English Translation Rachel Waters Ditko Unleashed © 2016 Editions Déesse. Published by IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial Offices: 2765 Truxtun Road, San Diego, CA. 92106, U.S.A. This is an exhibition catalogue. All trademarks and copyrights All Steve Ditko characters, images and likenesses TM & © 2016 Steve Ditko. appear solely as historic examples of Steve Ditko art. All rights All Marvel characters: TM & © 2016 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its reserved. All similarities to persons living or dead are purely subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. coincidential. With the exception of artwork used for review All DC comic artwork, its characters and related elements are TM of and © purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be DC Comics or their respective owners. reprinted without the permission of Editions Déesse and Idea All other characters, images and likenesses TM & © 2016 by their respective and Design Works, LLC. copyright holders. First Printing 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 ISBN-13: 978-1-63140-711-6 1927-1953 Things to Come Lo que vendrá Ditko: “I was born in 1927 in Johnstown, Ditko: “Nací en 1927 en Johnstown, Pensilvania.” 1 Pennsylvania.” 1 Tenía 9 años cuando en 1936 se editó la pri- He was nine years old when, in 1936, the first mera novela de éxito de Ayn Rand, Los que vivi- successful novel by Ayn Rand was published, mos. Ese mismo año se estrenó La Vida Futura, We the Living. That same year, Things to Come de Cameron Menzies, una fantasiosa adapta- came out at the cinema: a sci-fi movie adaptation ción cinematográfica de la obra de Wells. Dudo of a novel by H.G. Wells directed by Cameron que el futuro artista fuera consciente de una u Menzies. I doubt whether the future artist was otra obra pero en el futuro repercutirían en su aware of either of the two, although at a later trabajo. Por supuesto Rand fue una influencia date they would influence his work. Rand, of duradera aunque no se sabe cuándo ni cómo course, was a long-lasting influence, although entró en contacto con sus novelas y ensayos 2. when or how he came upon her novels and Respecto al film de Menzies, era a su manera essays is not known.2 As for the film by Menzies, muy randiano a pesar de que las ideas de Wells in its way it was very Randian, even though lo alejaban del Objetivismo 3. La película hacía Wells’ ideas distanced it from Objectivism.3 The una apasionada defensa del progreso y la racio- film was a passionate defense of progress and nalidad, como únicos frenos ante la barbarie y The Garfieldian Vol. 15 - Extra rationality as the only way of halting barbarian- la degeneración. La imaginería futurista del film, Garfield Junior High School, May 26, 1943. ism and degeneration. Echoes of the film’s futur- especialmente llamativa en vehículos y edificios, Detail from page 5. istic imagery, with particularly fascinating vehi- encontró ecos en la labor de Ditko, que incluyó Photo of Ditko from his school newspaper. cles and buildings, can be found in Ditko’s work un popular fotograma de Things to Come en Foto de Ditko en el periódico de una de sus historias 4. su escuela. and a popular still from the film was featured in one of his stories. 4 Tenía 13 años cuando el 2 de junio de 1940 apa- He was 13 years old when, on June 2, 1940, the reció el primer número de The Spirit. Cruzaba first issue ofThe Spirit came out. He crossed the toda la ciudad para comprar el periódico donde whole city to buy the newspaper in which the salía la serie. Como les ocurrió a otros dibu- series was published. As with other comic artists, jantes, su madre encuadernaba las tiras de los his mother bound the newspaper comic strips to periódicos para conservarlas mejor y le cosió preserve them and she sewed him a Batman dis- un disfraz de Batman, otro personaje que le guise, another character who fascinated him. fascinaba. Más tarde tuvo ocasión de apren- Later he was able to learn from and collaborate der y colaborar con Jerry Robinson, creador with Jerry Robinson, the creator of the Joker. del Joker. The Garfieldian Vol. 15 - Extra Garfield Junior High School, May 26, 1943. Detail from page 1. Ditko is the third person on the left in the middle row. Ditko está en la fila de enmedio y es el tercero empezando por la izquierda. 1 Declarations by Ditko in “The Spider’s Man. The Life Story of Steve Ditko” in issue #6 of Komik Heroes of The Future. Don Schank, 1964. 2 Ditko, Steve. “#18: Anti -Ditko Fans” in issue #3 of The Four-Page Series. Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2013. 3 As Friedrich A. Hayek explains in The Road to Serfdom, Routledge Press, 1944. “The individual rights which Mr. Wells hopes to preserve would inevitably obstruct the planning which he desires.” “Los derechos individuales que Mr. Wells espera salvar se verán obstruidos inevitablemente por la planificación que desea”. 4 “Prisoner of the Satellites!” in issue #1 of Tales of Suspense. Marvel, 1959. 1927-1966 | FIGHTING EVIL | COMBATIR EL MAL In 1943, The Fountainhead was published. In his En 1943 se publicó El Manantial. En el Anuario de 1944 high-school yearbook, Ditko can be seen in su Instituto de 1944 salía en alguna foto con unas the occasional photo, wearing glasses that lend gafas que le daban ese aire de empollón que him a studious look associated by many with muchos han relacionado con Peter Parker, el alter Peter Parker, Spider-Man’s alter ego. The year- ego de Spider-Man. No se indica que participara book does not mention whether he took any kind en ninguna clase relacionada con el arte, pero sí of art classes, although he did apparently attend en una de dibujo técnico. classes in technical drawing. Cumplió dieciocho años en 1945. Se alistó en el Ditko turned 18 in 1945. He joined the military ejército casi al final de la guerra, pasando una at what was almost the end of the war and was temporada en Alemania donde colaboró con el posted for a time in Germany, where he helped periódico de su base militar. Su interés por el arte out with the newspaper at the military base. His había ido creciendo desde la infancia hasta con- interest in art had grown since his childhood to vertirse en una clara vocación. vocational proportions. Steve: “Me gusta dibujar, el tipo de dibujo que se Steve: “I like drawing – the kind of drawing done emplea en los cómics. Nunca he tenido el deseo for comics. I never had any desire to be an illus- de ser un ilustrador o de hacer una portada para trator or do a POST cover.” 5 el Post.” 5 In 1949, King Vidor directed the movie adapta- En 1949 King Vidor dirigió la adaptación cine- tion of The Fountainhead, with a splendid per- matográfica de El manantial, con un esplén- formance by Gary Cooper in the role of Howard dido Gary Cooper en el rol de Howard Roark, el Roark, the rebellious architect. The following arquitecto rebelde. Al año siguiente Ditko llegó a year, Ditko arrived in New York. Nueva York. Ditko: “Through the years I became inter- Ditko: “A lo largo de los años me había ido inte- ested in doing comic art and went to New York resando por los cómics así que me fui a Nueva to enter the comic-book field.