183. Blue Beetle

Here we have fan favorite Blue Beetle. The last of the Ditko creations this week that were carried over from his days at the now defunct Charlton Comics.
The brilliance of Steve Ditko knows no bounds!
You need proof? Let's take a look at the most acclaimed work of Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons: the Watchmen. Most of the main characters were based (at least partially) on Ditko's Charlton Comics creations.
Rorschach= a mix of the Question and Mr. A.
Doctor Manhattan= Captain Atom.
Silk Spectre= Nightshade.
Nite Owl= our very own Blue Beetle.

Steve Ditko= Creative Genius!

182. Captain Atom

Here's Captain Atom.
Let Ditko Week never end!

181. Shade, the Changing Man

Wow, I had no idea that Shade, the Changing Man was a Steve Ditko creation. I was only vaguely familiar with the Peter Milligan Vertigo version of the character. I tried to get a good mix of the two here, but I'm afraid that whenever you put that crazy coat on him he tends to look all Vertigoed.

180. Hawk & Dove

I really wish I could spend more time on most of these, Hawk & Dove here included. This one is super-rough.
Well, hopefully tomorrow.

179. Mr. A

It's just like Bill Reed said: If entry #178 was the Question, Mr. A is the answer.

178. The Question

We continue on our journey of all things Ditko week with #178 on the 365 Reasons to Love Comics list: The Question.

177. The Creeper

I once saw the Creeper described as "the Joker if he decided to fight crime... with a feather boa."

...or something like that.

176. Spider-Man

We start off "Ditko Week" with what is easily his most popular creation: Spider-Man.
As the story goes; Stan Lee asked Jack Kirby to do some pages for a new character he had been mulling over, a teenage hero with spider-based abilities. I guess there was a magical ring involved somehow too. Anyway, Stan thought Jack had made the main character too heroic in his sample pages, he wanted Peter Parker to be kind of vulnerable, so he turned to the wonderful Mr. Ditko to work up something different. I think we all know how that all worked out. Steve ditched the spider-jewelry and gave us one of the greatest costumes in comic book history.

175. Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko.
One of the single greatest comic creators of all time.
I chose to use Mr. Ditko's creation of Eternity to represent him on this list, not only because it is such a great visual, but also because I hope his work will live on forever.
I can not wait to explore some of his fantastic creations over the next few entries.

174. The Amazing Screw-On Head

The Amazing Screw-On Head.
Do you really need any other examples of Mike Mignola's brilliance?

No, you don't.

173. Eye-Scream

I must admit, Eye-Scream is one of the major reasons I love comics. Well, not him specifically, but purely outlandish characters like him.

172. Ego, the Living Planet

"I talk to planets baby", Ego, the Living Planet
~MONSTER MAGNET
Dopes To Infinity (1995)

171. José Ladrönn

You know what? I'm not going to even pretend for a moment that I can mimic the fantastic style of José Ladrönn.
He did a lot of great work for the Planet Hulk storyline, so this pic is in that spirit.
Go and check out José's website too. His work is mind-blowing.

170. Cliff Chiang

I wish I could capture some of the magic that Cliff Chiang seems to effortlessly inject into every piece he creates. ...But, No dice!
oh well, at least this one's in color.

169. Lady Cop

To be honest, I still don't know much about Liza Warner AKA: Lady Cop. Despite Bill Reed's fine, fine work. Maybe I'm just missing something...

EDIT: Yes, I was missing something;
"Lady Cop was the story of one Liza Warner– a young woman terrorized by being the sole survivor of a massacre by a Killer In Boots. Haunted by the experience and vowing to catch the killer, she… joins up with the police force. What? You expected a cape and tights? Never! She becomes a policewoman, learns martial arts, kicks sexist pig ass, and teaches all her readers about the dangers of venereal disease."

~I will never question you again Mr. Reed

168. Joe Kubert

I realize that the "I love this artist" talk is probably redundant sounding, but it doesn't make it any less true. Joe Kubert is one of the greatest artists to ever work in the field, and I ... I love him.
There I said it.
Add in the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art and you have yourself one fine, fine man. He must be one heck of a teacher too, because his boys Adam and Andy, are superstar artists in their own rite.

Oh, this is a rendering of Tor from 1,000,000 Years Ago! ( a Joe Kubert creation! )

167. Conservation Corps

The Conservation Corps: Kid-friendly fun with an environment-friendly message. What's not to love? Let's bring the Corps back, people! We need them now more than ever!


Now that the anthropomorphism section of the list is completed, look for something completely different (...ish).

166. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Who doesn't love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
Personally, my favorite version is the original. Even if they were a riff on the Frank Miller Daredevil stories of the time.
Heck, I even had some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comics. Probably still do somewhere.

165. Boris the Bear

Once again, my time constraints will not allow me to type endlessly about Boris the Bear. If it did I would have to get the Thesaurus out to find synonyms for transcendent. So I guess it's probably for the best.

164. Usagi Yojimbo

What can I say about Usagi Yojimbo?
Stan Sakai is brilliant, just brilliant.

163. Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon is great. I haven't seen much of his newer exploits with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I have seen I've really liked. Of course, I loved the original series.

162. Spider-Ham

This was a lot of fun, I wish I would have had the time to really do this one up right.
Here he is; Peter Porker, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Ham!

See you Monday, we'll wrap up this Anthropomorphism "Week".

161. Tawky Tawny

I like Tawky Tawny, the original Tawky Tawny. It seems that modern writers are not sure exactly what to do with him.
I actualy really liked the Astro City character based on him; "Looney Leo".