Heading: Section 1: The STEVE DITKO COLLECTION
Author:
Title: AVENGING WORLD (No Number) * Steve Ditko Collection
Place Published:
Publisher:Bruce Hershenson
Date Published: 1973
Description: CGC certified: F/VF (7.0). Off-white to white pages. Grader notes: "crease right bottom of front cover; crease right top of front cover; light bend left bottom of whole book." STEVE DITKO COLLECTION. CGC-certified as Steve Ditko's personal copy, and with a certificate of authenticity signed by Patrick Ditko, Steve Ditko's nephew. Not cleaned and pressed in order to preserve all traces of Steve Ditko's handling. Credits: Cover: Steve Ditko. Script: Steve Ditko. Art: Steve Ditko. GPAnalysis: No reported sales in this grade. A non-Ditko Collection 7.5 sold for $18 in 2010. Ditko Collection Census: This is the only certified Steve Ditko Collection copy."Avenging World... combines flinty certitude with unprecedented graphic intensity. Never in the history of comics did soapbox polemics pack such a visual punch or sound so sincere and convincing." – Bill Mason, "Any Idea In Any Form," Witzend Vol. 1. Fantagraphics, 2014, p. ix. Avenging World features illustrated Objectivist harangues reprinted from Witzend #s 6 and 7 (1969-1970), with new revisions and additions from the teeming mind of Ditko. Among the highlights is an iconic image of Mr. A policing the border between "Black and white principles" and cautioning the reader to choose wisely: "Your choice of actions will determine in which direction you will lead yourself.... No one can do it for you and it is either one or the other." Mr. A, who inspired the Watchmen's trenchcoat and fedora-wearing vigilante, Rorschach, is one of Steve Ditko's most intriguing creations. The character, based on Ayn Rand's Objectivist principles, is noted for his mercilessly rigid moral absolutism. It's part of Ditko's idiosyncratic allure that even readers who dislike Ayn Rand can vicariously enjoy her concepts as filtered through the transformative scrim of his imagination. Our Director, a decades-long Ditkophile, asked Ditko himself about the philosophical significance of Mr. A's moniker in a 2003 fan letter. Ditko's reply says it all: "Thank you for your interest and appreciation of my work. The 'A' in Mr. A stands for the Law of Identity: A is A, a thing is what it is, truth is true, a lie is a lie. It involves the law of non-contradiction; the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect. The laws come from Aristotle's view of man as a rational animal. Logic, contradictions cannot co-exist and are proof of an error. The white [and black] of Mr. A's card symbolizes Good is Good and Evil is Evil and any contradiction – greying – is a violation of the law of identity." The Ditko Estate has big plans in store for Mr. A, and who knows? Maybe someday fans will value Steve Ditko's Objectivist asskicker almost as much as they do Spidey and Dr. Strange. As Jeet Heer wrote in Ditko's obituary in The New Republic, "These quirky personal comics are often enigmatic, reading like parables written in an alien tongue. But there's a mysterious energy to this work which might win them a posthumous fame, of the sort enjoyed by William Blake or Henry Darger. Ditko changed global popular culture by creating Spider-Man and Doctor Strange but it could be that his real work is yet to be discovered." Is Mr. A's time at hand? Is a Rorschach-like day of reckoning nigh, when Mr. A will take his rightful place alongside guys like Blake and Darger in the eccentric art pantheon? If so, then this very copy of Avenging World – like Rorschach's fateful journal – must surely become a Grail-like touchstone to Mr. A acolytes everywhere. After all, it's one of only two CGC-certified Ditko Collection mags in existence featuring the Randian renegade (the other is a CGC-JSA authenticated Ditko-signed copy of Mr. A's titular mag, lot 7 in this sale). Late breaking news: Just as we were preparing our catalogue for the printer, Heritage sold a Ditko-signed Avenging World in their Sept. 17th Comics and Animation Art Select Auction. The result? An anemic $432. Heritage's description, like their result, is a marvel of minimalism: "Avenging World #nn JSA Authentic Autograph: Steve Ditko (Bruce Hershenson, 1973) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages. Steve Ditko story, wraparound cover, and art. CGC notes, "Steve Ditko Authenticated Autograph." Not listed in Overstreet." – Heritage.***************************** Enjoying the Ditko Sale? Order a fully-illustrated softcover catalogue for 30 bucks or a limited edition hardcover for $200. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with bon mots, obscure facts, esoteric lore. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact [email protected]. Consign to PBA Galleries. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Our sell-thru rate is 98%, and our research-intensive catalogues are the best in the biz. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to [email protected]. Coming soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 4: SUPERMAN, featuring every issue of Superman from #1 through the modern era. Contact [email protected] to get on the notifications list.

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