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The Steve Ditko Omnibus #1
The Steve Ditko Omnibus Volume 1.
Steve Ditko is the co-creator of Spiderman and he is recognised as one of the comic greats. This volume collects his 1970s work on 'Shade, The Changing Man' as well as a selection of science science fiction and mystery stories that he illustrated.
456 pages, Hardcover
First published August 30, 2011
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About the author
Steve Ditko
1,259 books142 followersStephen J. "Steve" Ditko was an American comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.
He was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.
He was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 19, 2017
The STEVE DITKO OMNIBUS, VOLUME 1 is actually the second of three volumes re-presenting Ditko’s DC Comics work. The first volume, THE CREEPER BY STEVE DITKO (which I've also reviewed on goodreads), collects Ditko’s Creeper stories. The third volume, THE STEVE DITKO OMNIBUS, VOLUME 2, collects stories of other super heroes. THE STEVE DITKO OMNIBUS, VOLUME 1, in contrast, is actually the most eclectic of the three volumes. It collects the short-lived SHADE and STALKER series and a slew of short stories.
Taking those parts in order –
SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN – SHADE lasted eight issues, reprinted here with a previously-unpublished ninth issue. The series ran from 1977-1978, and personally, I think it’s some of Dikto’s best post-Spider-Man/Doctor Strange work. There's plenty of “Ditkoish” weirdness - similar to what you see in Doctor Strange, since the series deals with other dimensions. At its heart, though, SHADE is an old-fashioned adventure serial, and Shade himself is a typical square-jawed hero. It's a fun mix, but it’s not very mainstream, and I'm actually a little surprised that the series lasted as long as it did. Unfortunately, it ends abruptly, with a number of plot threads unresolved.
STALKER – STALKER, originally published in 1975, is a product of the 1970s sword and sorcery fad sparked by Marvel’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN comic. It’s penciled by Ditko, inked by Wally Wood and written by a young Paul Levitz. You have to wonder if Levitz wasn’t in seventh heaven working with such esteemed industry veterans. At any rate, Levitz’s story unfolds nicely, becoming more engaging as it goes. Wood’s and Ditko’s styles are both quite evident in the art, as Wood was something of a heavy inker, and it's interesting to see these two legendary talents merged. STALKER was even more short-lived than SHADE, as only four issues were produced. The main introductory story arc is resolved, however, so while the story itself doesn't really end, there is some closure.
Various short stories – A 1975 story from PLOP!, DC’s answer to MAD, parodies the type of horror stories then found in DC’s HOUSE OF SECRETS and HOUSE OF MYSTERY titles. Other tales originate from a variety of 1960s-early 1980s horror and science fiction comics, including the aforementioned HOUSE OF SECRETS and HOUSE OF MYSTERY, as well as GHOSTS, WEIRD WAR TALES, MYSTERY IN SPACE and TIME WARP. These are all in the EC vein and include a twist ending of some sort. As is often the case with such tales, they vary in quality, with some being quite good and others being forgettable or even silly. Ditko fans will likely enjoy seeing his collaborations with the different inkers and writers, however.
Overall, I’d say that the book is worthwhile for Ditko fans, although others may find it a mixed bag that’s not quite worth the money. Part of me wishes that DC had published those three parts in separate collections, so that fans wanting SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN or STALKER wouldn’t also have to pay for so many short stories that may or may not interest them. Of course, if you’re a Ditko fan like me, then you’ll be delighted to see so much of his DC work in one place.
Taking those parts in order –
SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN – SHADE lasted eight issues, reprinted here with a previously-unpublished ninth issue. The series ran from 1977-1978, and personally, I think it’s some of Dikto’s best post-Spider-Man/Doctor Strange work. There's plenty of “Ditkoish” weirdness - similar to what you see in Doctor Strange, since the series deals with other dimensions. At its heart, though, SHADE is an old-fashioned adventure serial, and Shade himself is a typical square-jawed hero. It's a fun mix, but it’s not very mainstream, and I'm actually a little surprised that the series lasted as long as it did. Unfortunately, it ends abruptly, with a number of plot threads unresolved.
STALKER – STALKER, originally published in 1975, is a product of the 1970s sword and sorcery fad sparked by Marvel’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN comic. It’s penciled by Ditko, inked by Wally Wood and written by a young Paul Levitz. You have to wonder if Levitz wasn’t in seventh heaven working with such esteemed industry veterans. At any rate, Levitz’s story unfolds nicely, becoming more engaging as it goes. Wood’s and Ditko’s styles are both quite evident in the art, as Wood was something of a heavy inker, and it's interesting to see these two legendary talents merged. STALKER was even more short-lived than SHADE, as only four issues were produced. The main introductory story arc is resolved, however, so while the story itself doesn't really end, there is some closure.
Various short stories – A 1975 story from PLOP!, DC’s answer to MAD, parodies the type of horror stories then found in DC’s HOUSE OF SECRETS and HOUSE OF MYSTERY titles. Other tales originate from a variety of 1960s-early 1980s horror and science fiction comics, including the aforementioned HOUSE OF SECRETS and HOUSE OF MYSTERY, as well as GHOSTS, WEIRD WAR TALES, MYSTERY IN SPACE and TIME WARP. These are all in the EC vein and include a twist ending of some sort. As is often the case with such tales, they vary in quality, with some being quite good and others being forgettable or even silly. Ditko fans will likely enjoy seeing his collaborations with the different inkers and writers, however.
Overall, I’d say that the book is worthwhile for Ditko fans, although others may find it a mixed bag that’s not quite worth the money. Part of me wishes that DC had published those three parts in separate collections, so that fans wanting SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN or STALKER wouldn’t also have to pay for so many short stories that may or may not interest them. Of course, if you’re a Ditko fan like me, then you’ll be delighted to see so much of his DC work in one place.
January 11, 2016
Another excellent reprint collection from DC Comics, featuring the legendary Steve Ditko. I think that with the publication of these two omnibuses, and the Creeper book, that pretty much reprints all of Ditko's DC work (or close to it).
This volume reprints two of his more esoteric series: the original Shade the Changing Man and Stalker. Shade was more science fiction than super-hero, and never got the chance to find a proper audience due to financial cutbacks at DC back in the mid-seventies. Stalker was part of the attempt by DC to cultivate a sword and sorcery/fantasy line to compete with Conan (I guess). The line was interesting, but only Warlord found a foothold with the buying public. Stalker's interesting in that it's the creation of Ditko and the late Wally Wood, making for some interesting and beautiful comic books.
The remainder of the book reprints Ditko's stories for the anthology books, like Weird War Tales, Time Warp, and Ghosts. All great stories, too. It also reprints the appearance of the Odd Man from Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, a strip that was going to be the back-up for Shade, and eventually did show up in the pages of Detective Comics. This, however, is the black-and-white version from CCC.
This book is a great read for a comic fan and a pure delight for any fan of Steve Ditko's work.
This volume reprints two of his more esoteric series: the original Shade the Changing Man and Stalker. Shade was more science fiction than super-hero, and never got the chance to find a proper audience due to financial cutbacks at DC back in the mid-seventies. Stalker was part of the attempt by DC to cultivate a sword and sorcery/fantasy line to compete with Conan (I guess). The line was interesting, but only Warlord found a foothold with the buying public. Stalker's interesting in that it's the creation of Ditko and the late Wally Wood, making for some interesting and beautiful comic books.
The remainder of the book reprints Ditko's stories for the anthology books, like Weird War Tales, Time Warp, and Ghosts. All great stories, too. It also reprints the appearance of the Odd Man from Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, a strip that was going to be the back-up for Shade, and eventually did show up in the pages of Detective Comics. This, however, is the black-and-white version from CCC.
This book is a great read for a comic fan and a pure delight for any fan of Steve Ditko's work.
Currently reading
February 5, 2022Reviews of the first six issues of Shade, the Changing Man that I posted on Facebook and subsequently pasted into an e-mail to a friend on February 1, 2010:
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #1
I've heard that the Vertigo Rac Shade is a different character, but I've heard that one before and this site [comicbookdb.com, now defunct] doesn't seem to think so. It's a weird concept, hard to get a grasp on what Shade's power actually does and the movement between the various worlds. This was obviously way ahead of its time, as it was canceled after eight issues. The story intended for #9 appeared in Canceled Comics Cavalcade and eventually appeared in Detective #487 with the text rewritten. [Not true--that was a backup starring the Odd Man.]
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #2
While the first issue was plagued by too much exposition being delivered as dialogue (it didn't have too much exposition, just that method), this one, while having great Steve Ditko weirdness in the artwork, is quite retrograde in its dialogue, making this issue a little disappointingly old-fashioned. Shade says he doesn't know the full power of the M-vest other than a force field and causing susceptible people to see his body change. It doesn't seem terribly plausible that these could be mere perceptions when he's extending his body to punch and kick his attackers from an impossible distance.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #3
I guess they thought it was commercial to show Shade in his M-Vest and nothing else, not even boots, on the cover. You can't see the M-Vest most of the time because Shade has to conceal it because it is illegal. This was an improvement over the previous issue, but Sude still looks like an unintentionally silly villain in a fairly sober series.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1, #4
This is my favorite cover of the series so far, and not just because Shade is actually wearing boots. This issue explains that it's the forcefield that is doing the physical action that appears to be done by changing the shape of his body. There are two panels in this issue that point to Agam Loron being the true identity of Sude, who doesn't really look like a mechanical being any more than Form, but is. Fleisher is definitely not the best dialoguer out there, but Ditko keeps spinning the story around, making it deviously difficult to follow. I've had to correct my plot summaries on the cbdb in several cases.
Something about Sude reminds me of Soofi in Howard the Duck #21. She is eventually revealed to be Earth-616's Anita Bryant, although Marvel avoided making that explicit to avoid a lawsuit.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1, #5
This was the first issue of the series that I owned, and, ironically, unlike with Howard the Duck (the first issue I owned was #20), this issue actually shows him wearing only the Miraco-Vest for most of the issue, which, so far, has not been the norm. I'm not sure who I got this from, maybe Elliott Miller--it was def...initely before the Vertigo series was introduced, as I never knew who the character was before I acquired it, and I knew all the Vertigo characters from the Comic Carnival Hotline as they were introduced. I don't think I had read it before last night--it must have confused me. Ironically, the letters column said that even younger readers are commenting on the series's clarity, so perhaps I'm just reading them when my mind is in alpha and dying for sleep.
This issue actually came out the same month as the Supreme SOOFI story, so any resemblance is purely coincidental. Ditko deliberately misdirects the reader into thinking that Sude (revealed now as short for "Supreme Decider") is really Agam Loron. He lets our minds think that he is cutting one sequence together when actually he just made a transition without saying so. The guess actually isn't that far away, and Sude does turn out to be a woman utilizing a trick made famous by one Oscar Zoroaster P.I.N.H.E.A. Diggs.
This issue really threatens plausibility by allowing Shade to keep the Miraco-Vest while in prison, especially when they're even making him go barefoot. The reason given is concern about it being to dangerous to remove it by having some sort of bond with Shade's body, and forceful separation of it might cause an enormous energy blast that would kill anyone for miles. Kross tells him that he might have to be buried or cremated in it. One would think that they would put more than two guards by his cell, or have better ways to bind him--he is on death row after all, and we don't know the limits of the Metans' technology.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #1
I've heard that the Vertigo Rac Shade is a different character, but I've heard that one before and this site [comicbookdb.com, now defunct] doesn't seem to think so. It's a weird concept, hard to get a grasp on what Shade's power actually does and the movement between the various worlds. This was obviously way ahead of its time, as it was canceled after eight issues. The story intended for #9 appeared in Canceled Comics Cavalcade and eventually appeared in Detective #487 with the text rewritten. [Not true--that was a backup starring the Odd Man.]
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #2
While the first issue was plagued by too much exposition being delivered as dialogue (it didn't have too much exposition, just that method), this one, while having great Steve Ditko weirdness in the artwork, is quite retrograde in its dialogue, making this issue a little disappointingly old-fashioned. Shade says he doesn't know the full power of the M-vest other than a force field and causing susceptible people to see his body change. It doesn't seem terribly plausible that these could be mere perceptions when he's extending his body to punch and kick his attackers from an impossible distance.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1 #3
I guess they thought it was commercial to show Shade in his M-Vest and nothing else, not even boots, on the cover. You can't see the M-Vest most of the time because Shade has to conceal it because it is illegal. This was an improvement over the previous issue, but Sude still looks like an unintentionally silly villain in a fairly sober series.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1, #4
This is my favorite cover of the series so far, and not just because Shade is actually wearing boots. This issue explains that it's the forcefield that is doing the physical action that appears to be done by changing the shape of his body. There are two panels in this issue that point to Agam Loron being the true identity of Sude, who doesn't really look like a mechanical being any more than Form, but is. Fleisher is definitely not the best dialoguer out there, but Ditko keeps spinning the story around, making it deviously difficult to follow. I've had to correct my plot summaries on the cbdb in several cases.
Something about Sude reminds me of Soofi in Howard the Duck #21. She is eventually revealed to be Earth-616's Anita Bryant, although Marvel avoided making that explicit to avoid a lawsuit.
Shade, the Changing Man vol. 1, #5
This was the first issue of the series that I owned, and, ironically, unlike with Howard the Duck (the first issue I owned was #20), this issue actually shows him wearing only the Miraco-Vest for most of the issue, which, so far, has not been the norm. I'm not sure who I got this from, maybe Elliott Miller--it was def...initely before the Vertigo series was introduced, as I never knew who the character was before I acquired it, and I knew all the Vertigo characters from the Comic Carnival Hotline as they were introduced. I don't think I had read it before last night--it must have confused me. Ironically, the letters column said that even younger readers are commenting on the series's clarity, so perhaps I'm just reading them when my mind is in alpha and dying for sleep.
This issue actually came out the same month as the Supreme SOOFI story, so any resemblance is purely coincidental. Ditko deliberately misdirects the reader into thinking that Sude (revealed now as short for "Supreme Decider") is really Agam Loron. He lets our minds think that he is cutting one sequence together when actually he just made a transition without saying so. The guess actually isn't that far away, and Sude does turn out to be a woman utilizing a trick made famous by one Oscar Zoroaster P.I.N.H.E.A. Diggs.
This issue really threatens plausibility by allowing Shade to keep the Miraco-Vest while in prison, especially when they're even making him go barefoot. The reason given is concern about it being to dangerous to remove it by having some sort of bond with Shade's body, and forceful separation of it might cause an enormous energy blast that would kill anyone for miles. Kross tells him that he might have to be buried or cremated in it. One would think that they would put more than two guards by his cell, or have better ways to bind him--he is on death row after all, and we don't know the limits of the Metans' technology.
January 24, 2016
Steve Ditko was a great artist when he helped created Spiderman in 1962 and was the perfect artist for the weird mystical adventures of Dr Strange. By the late 1070s he had developed a odd distinctive style of drawing. This series he did it all wrote, drew, and in my opinion messed it up. Just too many weird art and storyline things mixing into a bad comic series. Not recommended
July 2, 2025
For me to give it a one star means this was "unreadable". To put it in context - I am a huge Ditko fan from his early work in Marvel (even the horror tales that preceded what we now know as Marvel) and actually put his art above Kirby in those early years (blasphemy, I know). It was vibrant, creative, beautifully detailed.
As any Ditko fan knows - after he left Marvel his work deteriorated - and here we are in the late 70's and it is hard to look at. Yes, I see glimpses of the creative spark I used to admire but it is fleeting and for the most part the art is hard to look at.
I'll focus on Shade the Changing Man the reason I picked up this volume. I had known about him (ads for the comic were seen throughout other comics I had from DC) and often wondered what he was like. Turns out I am still wondering. Steve designed him and plotted the stories and it is proof positive that Stan Lee was the key driving force behind the Ditko creations at Marvel (Spider-Man and Dr. Strange). I say this because originally Stan Lee took too much credit for the stories (Ditko and the other artists had a huge influence on the story because Stan Lee only worked out a vague plot with them before they did the art and then came in and wrote the dialogue). Then the pendulum swung the other way and fans claimed Stan barely did anything and the artists should be given all the credit for the stories and the characters. And, as is often the case, the reality is in the middle. The artists deserve credit for a lot (most?) of the creative choices and ideas in the comics but Stan Lee was crucial for reigning in their creativity and giving their stories structure and making their characters more real and grounded (and dialogue that worked).
With Shade we see what happens when Ditko is free to write stories as he wants. They are a mess. Starting with the main character - he has been framed of a crime he didn't commit and now his girlfriend wants him dead and is hunting him down. What is his personality? He doesn't have one. He is a "good guy" and that's it. What are his powers? He has the M vest which has very ill defined powers - it gives him a force field and it causes him to change shape depending on the emotions of the people he is fighting. Ditko made up the power and he has zero idea how to use it in a story or make it interesting. The lack of Ditko's story telling ability hits a high point when he starts to tell the origin of the M vest and he can't even get through that without giving up. The other defining characteristic of Ditko's story telling is he loves conspiracies. There is a big baddy called Sude - but who could be in the Sude costume? It is the mother of Shade's girlfriend!! Why? Because Ditko picked the least likely character he had introduced so far. It makes no sense why a plump woman in her 50's would be a criminal overlord and no reason is given why she is..but Ditko wanted a TWIST!!
The series ends abruptly (i.e. was cancelled) and there are about 5 conspiracies and plot threads never resolved. What fun.
Seriously - stick to Spider-Man or Doctor Strange if you want to see Ditko at his best - even The Creeper is more readable than this, if you want some of his better work from later in his career.
As any Ditko fan knows - after he left Marvel his work deteriorated - and here we are in the late 70's and it is hard to look at. Yes, I see glimpses of the creative spark I used to admire but it is fleeting and for the most part the art is hard to look at.
I'll focus on Shade the Changing Man the reason I picked up this volume. I had known about him (ads for the comic were seen throughout other comics I had from DC) and often wondered what he was like. Turns out I am still wondering. Steve designed him and plotted the stories and it is proof positive that Stan Lee was the key driving force behind the Ditko creations at Marvel (Spider-Man and Dr. Strange). I say this because originally Stan Lee took too much credit for the stories (Ditko and the other artists had a huge influence on the story because Stan Lee only worked out a vague plot with them before they did the art and then came in and wrote the dialogue). Then the pendulum swung the other way and fans claimed Stan barely did anything and the artists should be given all the credit for the stories and the characters. And, as is often the case, the reality is in the middle. The artists deserve credit for a lot (most?) of the creative choices and ideas in the comics but Stan Lee was crucial for reigning in their creativity and giving their stories structure and making their characters more real and grounded (and dialogue that worked).
With Shade we see what happens when Ditko is free to write stories as he wants. They are a mess. Starting with the main character - he has been framed of a crime he didn't commit and now his girlfriend wants him dead and is hunting him down. What is his personality? He doesn't have one. He is a "good guy" and that's it. What are his powers? He has the M vest which has very ill defined powers - it gives him a force field and it causes him to change shape depending on the emotions of the people he is fighting. Ditko made up the power and he has zero idea how to use it in a story or make it interesting. The lack of Ditko's story telling ability hits a high point when he starts to tell the origin of the M vest and he can't even get through that without giving up. The other defining characteristic of Ditko's story telling is he loves conspiracies. There is a big baddy called Sude - but who could be in the Sude costume? It is the mother of Shade's girlfriend!! Why? Because Ditko picked the least likely character he had introduced so far. It makes no sense why a plump woman in her 50's would be a criminal overlord and no reason is given why she is..but Ditko wanted a TWIST!!
The series ends abruptly (i.e. was cancelled) and there are about 5 conspiracies and plot threads never resolved. What fun.
Seriously - stick to Spider-Man or Doctor Strange if you want to see Ditko at his best - even The Creeper is more readable than this, if you want some of his better work from later in his career.
August 13, 2020
Hard to evaluate so uneven a collection of old comic stories. This anthology collects the awful SHADE: THE CHANGING MAN, the expired before its time STALKER, and a mess of shorts for various DC anthology titles. SHADE is the comic that shows that Ditko could be a poor visual storyteller if only because the very strange concept sometimes made the art hard to decipher. The stories are also repetitious and so full of fight scenes that the overall plot advances slowly. Cancelling the title was a blessing. STALKER restores one's faith in Ditko as a visual storyteller. It is a twist of all the sword and sorcery clichés. Oh, the clichés are all there, but the title character is unusual enough to sustain interest through the four issues of this uncompleted story. The real value of this collection are the stories culled from the anthology titles. Steve Ditko is a terrible writer and the few he wrote are subpar, but those written by real writers are often fun stories and a few do not have predictable endings. A bonus. To break down the stars: SHADE gets one. STALKER two. The anthologies two, three, and four, with the overwhelming majority rating three.
October 27, 2023
Steve Ditko is among the greatest comic book artists of all time. Anyone who created/co-created Spider-Man (and his colorful rogues gallery) and Doctor Strange has cemented their place in comics history. Having said that, the material that comprises this book is almost entirely culled from his, shall we say, less than illustrious era, the mid-70s to early '80s.
While his contributions to the various Horror and Science Fiction titles are great, Shade,The Changing Man and Stalker leave a lot to be desired. His artwork is still solid and full of all of his idiosyncrasies that we all know and love, but the writing on those two titles straddles between tolerable and terrible. Stalker especially sucks, a weak concept with even weaker execution.
While I am glad that this material has been compiled in a collected edition, the idea of this book is better than the experience of actually reading it. Still, as a Ditko fan who strives to own his complete output in collected editions it is an essential part of my library, substandard presentation and all.
While his contributions to the various Horror and Science Fiction titles are great, Shade,The Changing Man and Stalker leave a lot to be desired. His artwork is still solid and full of all of his idiosyncrasies that we all know and love, but the writing on those two titles straddles between tolerable and terrible. Stalker especially sucks, a weak concept with even weaker execution.
While I am glad that this material has been compiled in a collected edition, the idea of this book is better than the experience of actually reading it. Still, as a Ditko fan who strives to own his complete output in collected editions it is an essential part of my library, substandard presentation and all.
August 8, 2024
As a big fan of the Shade the Changing Man/Girl/Woman series, this was a must!
To see how the future creative teams adapted the source material from Ditko here was well worth the read!
To see Ditko's trippy 70s art was a wonder!
I love seeing his designs for people, buildings, costumes, and beings that do not get hailed enough next to the also iconic Jack Kirby!
Ditko's writing was definitely stuck in the 60s compared to the other 70s DC books I have been reading surrounding this book. So be prepared for that.
If you're interested in comic book history this book is a great showcase of what other odd and outdated titles DC was putting out in the 70s and it is a joy to see how Ditko handled a multitude of genres with horror, comedy, apocalyptic, fantasy (The short series"Stalker" definitely shines here), and sci-fi!
Overall the enjoyment of jumping from title to title is going to vary on your tastes each time.
This is a very unique and peculiar collection.
To see how the future creative teams adapted the source material from Ditko here was well worth the read!
To see Ditko's trippy 70s art was a wonder!
I love seeing his designs for people, buildings, costumes, and beings that do not get hailed enough next to the also iconic Jack Kirby!
Ditko's writing was definitely stuck in the 60s compared to the other 70s DC books I have been reading surrounding this book. So be prepared for that.
If you're interested in comic book history this book is a great showcase of what other odd and outdated titles DC was putting out in the 70s and it is a joy to see how Ditko handled a multitude of genres with horror, comedy, apocalyptic, fantasy (The short series"Stalker" definitely shines here), and sci-fi!
Overall the enjoyment of jumping from title to title is going to vary on your tastes each time.
This is a very unique and peculiar collection.
Read
December 20, 2022Bit of a grab-bag of stuff. The full run of his Shade issues, but also much more-- 4 issues of Stalker, inked by the great Wally Wood and a great many EC-style horror / unexpected / weird war and sci-fi stories from the various DC anthology mags, ranging from mid-60s to early 80s. (My favorites were the SF stories from Time Warp.) The Shade issues are brilliantly and manically inventive, with almost too much worldbuilding going on, multiple subplots and too many extraneous characters, but the basic idea is wonderfully original and would have loved to see it more fully developed. One of the most interesting facets of the collection was to see his art, so distinctive, in the inks of so many well-known inkers and see what one likes best. Nothing totally blew me away story-wise but Stalker was an unlooked-for treat, and it's a nice survey of his work for DC.
March 10, 2019
I mostly just read the Shade the Changing Man stories, and really enjoyed them. This has all 8 original issues, and they tell a mostly complete story although there was room left to continue on. Very creative worldbuilding and art, and I loved the prominent female roles -- slightly dated, but still fairly central and complex. I also liked that almost all of it took place in Meta rather than on Earth. (I'm coming to this after loving Shade the Changing Girl, and one of the things I liked about it was that it maintained Meta plotlines and a sci-fi tone rather than making Shade's alienness just a metaphor.)
I read a few of the horror stories too, and they all seem fine especially if you're there for Ditko's art, but they didn't interest me enough to read the whole thing.
I read a few of the horror stories too, and they all seem fine especially if you're there for Ditko's art, but they didn't interest me enough to read the whole thing.
August 29, 2020
This book is not what I thought it would be. It's a strange collection. There is two regular titles, Shade, and Stalker. Shade has some really cool visuals, but I wasn't really digging it. Honestly, if not for the Ditko art, this is not a title I would have stuck with. Stalker is a great series that sadly only lasts four issues. It starts off seeming to be a swords and sorcery type of story, but quickly changes in to the story of a boy seeking redemption. The rest of the book is very short strips done for books like House of Mystery. Overall, the artwork is good as Ditko draws everything from Pirates to the far future, but story wise this book is a let down. Definitely only for Ditko fans.
March 2, 2018
Loved the Shade stories. Too bad it was cancelled. The rest is merely so-so, but Ditko's art is great!
May 10, 2013
Mixed bag of late Ditko work for DC (though since he's still active, it's not really late Ditko). his run on Shade the Changing Man, which he plotted as well as drew, is perhaps the high point, with its complex, goofy plots about aliens from another dimension, and the last story in the book (apparently his last DC work, too), also written by Ditko, is a genuinely bizarre and visually arresting one about an energy being. A lot of the rest, though, is pretty run of the mill stuff, mostly horror and SF shorts, though seeing a rare instance of Ditko doing humour (a story from the short-lived Plop!, about a guy in love with a dandelion) is interesting and refreshing. Wood's inks on Ditko for the short run of Stalker create a weird amalgm of the style of two very different masters, though Wood rather overwhelms Ditko's pencils, so the result looks kind of like a Wood book with layouts by Ditko. Most of the rest is pretty forgettable at best, and many of the inkers do Ditko a real disservice. Ditko could look good under someone else's inks, but it's rare here; even the Ditko/Wood team is more an interesting curiosity than a real success. Worth it for ditko fans, but not a lot to recommend it to the more casual reader, I'd say.
February 19, 2012
This was an anthology book, and thus there was a lot that was good and a lot that was not as good. I will give it five stars, because the parts that are good are REALLY GOOD!!! Namely the complete runs of the series "Shade the Changing Man" and "Stalker." Both are exceptional and were cancelled far before their times. I would suggest this volume to anyone simply to read these two stories. Other than that the rest of the book is short little episodic tales that appeared in pulpy anthology books like "Tales of the Haunted House", "Weird War", "House of Mystery", etc. They are very quick reads and many are entertaining little yarns. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
May 9, 2015
Shade and Stalker had some interesting ideas but they never really go anywhere. Shade is a kind of omnipotent hero who fights interestingly designed but kind of incoherent villains. It feels a lot like Mister Miracle crossed with the Creeper, for obvious reasons. But the comic was cancelled before the arcs really progressed. (What is the Occult Research Center a stand-in for? I'm not quite sure of its real world analog.)
Stalker felt like a really good prelude, but there was no continuation.
Most of the one-shot science fiction stories are weak: reminders that a good twist is much harder than it seems. Instead, we get a lot of "It was a real ghost!"
Stalker felt like a really good prelude, but there was no continuation.
Most of the one-shot science fiction stories are weak: reminders that a good twist is much harder than it seems. Instead, we get a lot of "It was a real ghost!"
October 17, 2011
I adore the Shade the Changing Man series, this one and the newer one. It was neat to see how characters translated over from the Ditko stories into Milligan/Bachalo series. I haven't read any of the Suicide Squad but I may see if I can pick them up. Anyway, I loved the story in these original Shades and wish it had continued. I'm dying to how certain plot threads tie up and how he handles some of the shocks. The rest of the book is single stories, my favorite being about the little girl who is accused of being a witch.
February 16, 2012
enjoyed finally reading Ditko's SHADE, & I dug bits of STALKER, but the rest didn't really interest me.
July 10, 2018
Great collection of Ditko's work. Has the previously unpublished last issue of Shade included. Also a wide mix of his other DC Comics work.
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