Burnt orange till the end of time

I recently binge-watched the entire recent Marvel series Loki, and it is impressive. The storyline - typically for Marvel, given its long history of intelligent storytellng - is every bit as convoluted and extraordinary as one might expect, with a careful balance however between the cerebral and the dramatic fight scenes and special effects. The core actors (even Owen Wilson, who I have never liked in anything) give excellent performances. There's even an appearance from Richard E Grant! What's not to like?

However, what impressed me most was the sheer sumptuousness of the sets - in particular the wildly Retro-futurist Brazil-meets-Blade Runner-meets-Grand Budapest Hotel "look" of the sinister "Time Variance Authority" citadel...

...and the Art Deco-meets-neon alien worlds...

Just gorgeous!

Judge for yourself from the trailer:

Loki official trailer

Expressing thoughts no mortal has ever gleaned before

There were many geniuses who created the everlasting Mighty World of Marvel (comics, cartoons, movies and all) - the original "pantheon" of Stan Lee (still alive) and Jack Kirby, of course, being the most lauded. But there was another - certainly one of the most innovative graphic artists ever - who made the Marvel legend a reality, Mr Steve Ditko!

The man who created the nerdy-teenager-turned-superhero Spiderman (and most of the friends and foes who persisted with him over the years, including J Jonah Jameson, Gwen Stacy, Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, Green Goblin, Flash Thompson, Electro, Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, Aunt May and the rest) and the amazingly unearthly worlds and incantations that made the "Sorcerer Supreme" Doctor Strange such a cult hit, Mr Ditko's sheer imagination made a huge impression on the comic-buying world (myself included) in those heady days of the 1960s - before he fell out with Mr Lee, packed his bags and departed back to freelancing (for DC and other lesser imprints).

In latter years the born loner became ever more reclusive [he died alone earlier this year and was not discovered for days], and, despite contributing many new artworks and characters for numerous comic titles (Marvel's included) almost up to the turn of the century, he never regained the heady success of his early days - but his legacy is certainly immense, and his name will never be forgotten...

...the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth forbid it!

RIP Stephen John Ditko (2nd November 1927 - c29 June 2018)