"You self-blinded fool..." Mr. A #18 review

One of the best things to come of comic book creators turning to Kickstarter is that it's helped a true living legend of the medium - Steve Ditko - to continue producing work. Perhaps the exposure he's gained from Kickstarter is greater than what he had before, as self-published comics have a terrible time gaining traction in today's comic book market.

The latest Kickstarter production from Ditko is a new issue of Mr. A. Of all of Ditko's creator-owned characters, Mr. A is surely the best-known. Because the character is used to help enact Ditko's objectivist philosophies, he is also a character quite close to Ditko's soul.

In Mr. A #18 there are two stories; in the first, "Mr. A and the Horror," a man in a monster mask goes about extorting money from people. Mr. A sets out to stop the extortioner, but his victims are far too protective of him. In the second tale, "The Score," a businessman commits suicide and Mr. A sets after the men who drove him to that end.

Surprisingly for Ditko's work, there are sub-plots in these tales, whereas his self-published stories normally each tell a single tale. In both stories, there's troule at the Daily Crusader newspaper where Mr. A's civilian identity works, eventually leading to the return of the paper's first publisher who sets things in order at the climax.

Although I have no great love for objectivism, I rather like this book more than the other recent self-published Ditko comics I've read. His art seems more detailed and the lettering sharper. I only hope there are many more stories to come.