Mysterious Travelers

Zack Kruse is a scholar of comics and American literature. His essays have been published in Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society, Studies in Comics, and Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction. His comic strip, Mystery Solved!, appeared in Skeptical Inquirer, and he is a regular contributor to a number of comic book podcasts.

Steve Ditko left not only writings in his wake but a graphical visual trail of considerable volume. Zack Kruse has followed the trail of Steve Ditko through time to reveal, dissect, analyze, explore, and put together puzzle pieces into a cohesive whole. My view of my uncle has expanded enormously having read this!--Mark S. Ditko This book offers a fascinating examination of the life and work of one of the most important comics creators of the twentieth century. Kruse introduces and utilizes a number of interesting concepts and constructs for understanding Ditko's artistic and philosophical agenda and offers illuminating discussions of the Punisher, Foolkiller, Rorschach, Hawk and Dove, the Creeper, and, of course, Spider-Man.--Kent Worcester, editor of Peter Kuper: Conversations Zack Kruse's Mysterious Travelers is a serious engagement with the philosophic vision that Steve Ditko brought to his comics, giving us new, generative terms to engage with Ditko's work going forward.--Shawn Gilmore "Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society" Mysterious Travelers: Steve Ditko and the Search for a New Liberal Identity provides a unique and valuable take on the comics of Steve Ditko, one of the most important creators in the history of the medium. It also offers valuable insight into mid-twentieth-century philosophical and political thought.--Andrew Kunka, author of Autobiographical Comics