The following review is © 2008 Dave Sim (note, now posted here), and first appeared in DITKOMANIA #67, August 2008, published by Rob Imes, and appears here by permission of Dave Sim and Rob Imes. The original issue is still available from Rob for $2.50 postpaid in the US, and includes a great exclusive original backcover by Dave Sim of Spider-Ham with a Doctor Strange inspired background. See here for more information on ordering, subscribing or contributing. #68 is out now and includes the first reactions to the review in the letter column, and for Sim fans you can expect some more contributions from him in future issues.On a personal note, while I don't agree with everything in Sim's review, I do think it makes several important points that are largely missing from commentary on the book and on Ditko in general, so I'm glad they've allowed me to share it here. I'll include more in the comments to this post, and I welcome the comments of anyone reading (and Rob will share those comments with Dave, and if he replies I'll add a pointer to the comments section).
Also, ordering info for Ditko's creator owned independent work. You'll see why after you read the review.
STRANGE AND STRANGER
One Man’s View
by Dave Sim
One Man’s View
by Dave Sim
[Sim's complete essay can now be found at the Moment Of Cerebus site]
(Dave Sim is the legendary independent comics creator who wrote, drew, and self-published the groundbreaking 300-issue Cerebus series from 1977 to 2004, which can be found collected in thick trade paperback volumes at the better comics shops and bookstores. His most recent projects are the graphic novel Judenhass, concerning the Holocaust, and the Glamourpuss series, which is both a satire of fashion magazines and an analysis of classic photorealistic comic art. The second issue of Glamourpuss was released in July. Both titles are published by Aardvark-Vanaheim, Inc., P.O. Box 1674, Station C, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 4R2.)
More later, hopefully after other people comment, but one thing I wanted to mention I disagree with Sim on, you should not order Ditko's books out of a desire to supplement his income or any such altruistic reason. You should order them because they're damn good comics, including some pure masterpieces (I recommend DITKO PACKAGE and THE MOCKER to start), available at a fair price, and because that's the best way to encourage Ditko and Snyder to publish more Ditko comics (new and reprint) in the future.
ReplyDelete[e-mailed by Steve Bissette, who had some trouble posting it]
ReplyDeleteI used to order all Robin's publications; lost track of it after the last move. I agree they're always engaging reads, and some of them are indeed 'damn good comics,' though some for their bizarre extremes more than narrative impact. I treasure THE LONELY ONE, which was Robin's reprint of some of the coolest KONGA stories, and have a stash of THE COMICS issues (from my own purchases and via Michael Cohen, who gifted me with a stack some time ago). In any case, thanks for posting all this, Bob, and I've now sent my package to Robin (check for Ditko packages and a photocopy of my latest comics creation). Kudos!
I agree with a lot of what Sim is saying there, but as is often the case, his own persecution complex ("a new round of Evil Dave Sim talk") gets a bit heavy handed toward the end.
ReplyDeleteZach G.
THANKS for posting this, Bob! I've re-edited my blog post at http://srbissette.com/?p=1859
ReplyDelete-- hope it's OK to post the link here.
Great review by Dave; I think I catch where you aren't in full agreement, and maybe will address that a bit in my review? Time will tell.
These days, I don't understand why Robin Snyder doesn't sell 'em through an E-Bay or Amazon store or something like that. At the very least, he could have his own website with updated info, instead of relying on the fan sites.
ReplyDeleteI congratulate Sim for providing the most coherent and on-the-mark review and commentary on this book I have yet seen.
ReplyDelete