Thursday, October 21, 2010

Grave Designs For The Dedd!



Above are what seem to be Steve Ditko's character designs for both Dr.Graves and Mr.Dedd, two ghost hosts that appeared in the later 60's at about the same time as Ditko's return to Derby had kick started a revival of Captain Atom and triggered the burst of Action Heroes under Dick Giordano's regime.

Rocke Mastroserio

It must be said that Sal Gentile was still editor when Ghostly Tales took over the numbering of Blue Beetle, but Giordano was head honcho when Dr.Graves got his own book, having debuted in Ghostly Tales under the graceful art of Ernie Bache. While many artists, most notably Rocke Mastroserio drew the early appearances of Mr.Dedd, it seems that Ditko might've been the one who designed the ghoulish host.

Pat Boyette

It's also possible and perhaps more likely that Ditko simply worked up designs for both characters when he began to draw them on a regular basis, perhaps under Giordano's instructions to liven up the characters a bit, make them a bit bolder. In the case of Dr.Graves, clearly Ditko was attempting evoke a little of that Doc Strange magic he tapped into so well at Marvel. Dr.Graves, wearing normal clothes strikes me as a more pure Ditko type than Strange anyway.

And for contrast here is the very first Dr.Graves story from Ghostly Tales. I apologize for the scans being a bit cockeyed, but my copy of the book has some odd staples in it.




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