My local comic book store owner Wayne Ehrmann of Zeno’s Books called me Tuesday 5 March 2013 to let me know that two hardcover books came in for me: Ditko Monsters Gorgo and Frazetta Sketchbook deluxe edition in slipcase. The Ditko book featured all the stories drawn by Steve Ditko for the 1960s Charlton comic book Gorgo.

 The comic book Gorgo was adapted from the popular monster movie of the same name. The movie was about a baby sea monster captured and put on display in London. Gorgo’s much larger mother came to London to rescue her baby and wrecked a good deal of London in the process. I saw and enjoyed the movie when I first saw it on TV at my grandmother’s house in Tarrant City, Alabama in the early 1960s.

Years later when I was old enough to have the money to buy back some of childhood memories I collected the Charlton Gorgo comic. In addition to rekindling old memories this comic had artwork by my favorite comic book artist Steve Ditko.

In the 1980s I had a laser disc copy of the movie and I’m looking forward to a restored version coming out on Blu Ray DVD on 19 March 2013. 

Another IDW hardcover reprint books, Ditko Monsters Konga, is coming out in a few months. This one has all the stories drawn by Ditko for the 1960s Charlton comic book Konga. Konga was a giant ape adapted from an early 1960s movie. I wrote an article titled  “Steve Ditko’s Fantastic Giants” in the 1990s on Ditko’s artwork for Konga and Gorgo which was published in the comic book fanzine Advanced Overstreet Collector.