Steve Ditko's Monsters, Vol. 1: Gorgo Preview

7/29/2019 Steve Ditko's Monsters, Vol. 1: Gorgo Preview

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MONSTERSDITKO

GORGO!

Scripts by

JOE GILL

Edited & Designed by

CRAIG YOE


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IDW PUBLISHINGSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

Edited and Designed by

CRAIG YOE

Produced by

CLIZIA GUSSONI

Comics from the collections of

DAVID BURD,

JIM VADEBONCOEUR, JR.,

and JOE LATINO

MONSTDITK


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1961 movie poster for Gorgo boast-

ed like nothing youve ever seen

before, but that was obvious hype.

Gorgos story was a synthesis of the

giant monster icks that stomped

before it, particularly Godzilla.

Later, the Mystery Science The-

ater 3000 folks did a send-up of the

ick. Tongues rmly in cheek, they

proclaimed, The plot of King Kong! The mon-

ster from Godzilla! The set decorations from Ol-

iver! Gorgo was directed by Russian-born

Eugene Lourie, who ed his country after contrib-

uting to an anti-Communist lm, Black Crowes,

in 1919. He nanced his way to France by draw -

ing movie posters. In the 1930s, Lourie worked

as a production designer for directors Max Ophls

and Ren Clair in France. He also collaborated

with Jean Renoir on La Grande Illusion (1937)

and followed him to Hollywood. There Lou-

rie worked as an art director on Char-lie Chaplins Limelight (1952).

His own directorial debut was

in 1953 with

the protable The

Beast from 20,000

Fathoms, the rst

of three dinosaur

movies. The

special ef-

fects were

by the direc-

tor and Ray Harry-

hasen. According

to lm his-

torian Tom

W e a v e r ,

The director said

that hissix-year-old

daughter was up-

set that the mon-

ster met his demise

at the end in The

Beast, crying Youre a bad daddy!

You killed the big, nice beast!

Gorgo was Louries answer for

her, with its happier outcome and

theme of maternal love. Reported-

ly, ex-gangsters Frank, Maurice,

and Herman King of King Broth-

ers Production, loved their dear ol

mother and gladly bought into the lm. In fact, Gorgos

mom was the only female of any note in the lm. Lourie

became typecast as a science ction director, which he felt

limited him. After putting Gorgo in the can, he declared he

would not direct the same comic-strip monsters. Guess

the guy didnt respect the comics! Eight years later, Lou-

rie received an Academy Award nomination for his visual

effects on Krakatoa, East of Java. He also designed Clint

Eastwoods wonderfulBronco Billy (1980) and appeared on

screen in Jim McBridesBreathless (1983) starring Richard

Gere. The original location ofGorgo was planned to be

Japan. It was then switched to France before King Broth-

ers nally settled on England. Keep Watching the Skies, a

book by Bill Warren, contends that Australia was anoth-

er locale in the running, but the producers concluded lm-

goers wouldnt care if a monster leveled that continent.

And it was thought that Australia didnt have any recogniz-

able national monuments to destroy. So Merry Old

England it was, and in the breathless words of ForrestJ. Ackerman in the 11th issue of Famous Monsters of

Filmland, Despite every military effort the mighty mon-

ster makes its way up the Thames and across the teeming

city of London, sending national monuments crashing like

bowling pins, crushing buses and people like eggshells.

Big Ben Westminster Abbey the Houses of Parlia-

ment and the Thames Tower Bridgeall are left in ruins

by the great Gorgos rage and rampage. Lourie recalled,

The actual making of the lm was interesting, and I tried

to make it as spectacular as possible. He related that the

London-smashing scenes were all done with breakaway

sets. For these scenes we had built a large tank about three

feet deep, occupying an entire stage of MGM Studios, in

which were replicas of

the Tower Bridge and

the surrounding shore

installations. Here we

staged the destruction

of the bridge and the

beast walking away

in the river. Lou-

rie went on to say,

We obtained benevo-

lent cooperation from

the British Army and the Lon-

don police authorities. We were

allowed to use army tanks and

vehicles and to shoot day andnight sequences on the Tow-

er Bridge and many central

streets. We later had to combine shots

made at night in Piccadilly Circus with

shots of panicky crowds. Simultaneous-

ly the beast was destroying the lumi-

nous signs on the roofs of the surround-

ing buildings. From the sheer number

of special effects, it was a very ambi-

tious enterprise indeed. Lourie con-

cluded, I joyfully destroyed the city of

London... in color and with a wonder-

ful display of spectacular photograph-

THE

I n t r o d u c t I o n b y c r a I g yo eGORGO!


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ic effects. It is said that

Nara Island, where Gorgo

is rst discovered, is possi-

bly a nod to Japans nem-

esis Godzilla as Nara is a

Japanese period of histo-

ry (710794). Or Nara may be a re-

versal of Aran Islands, which are near

the west coast of Ireland. Reported-

ly, The exterior scenes set in Ire-

land were lmed at Bullock Harbourand Coliemore Harbour, both near the

town of Dalkey, County Dublin. Other

scenes were lmed at the MGM-Brit-

ish Studios in Borehamwood in Hert-

fordshire. Empty streets of Lon-

don during the early morning were

used when lming the sequence where

Gorgo is driven through the city. In

his autobiography My Work in Films

(1985), Lourie wrote an interesting

anecdote about some special effects

in Gorgo. I was marooned with Fred-

die Young, our cameraman, and all

his crew in a lighthouse at the

end of a jetty in the port of

Dn Laoghaire near Dublin.

The storm was terric. Waves

splashed high above the jet-

ty. The port authorities or-

dered us to stay put until

the storm and tides subsid-

ed. Tossed impressively by the moun-

tainous waves, a freighter tried to ap-

proach the port. It was exactly like a

scene described in the script. I thought

it would be a good chance to catch the

scene. No way, was Freddies reply.

Later on, I had to shoot the scene with

a miniature ship in a studio tank. Of

course, our cartoonist Ditko thankfully

experienced no risk to life and limb in

the crafting of the Gorgo comic book.

Just what the heck are Gorgo and

his mother, anyway? For the answer to that I

turned to Yoe Books resident dinosaur expert,

Clizia Gussoni, author ofThe Awesome Bookof Dinosaurs and The Awesome Book of Sharks

(Running Press, 2006) and producer of this

book. Ms. Gussoni says, Gorgo is an interest-

ing mix of animals. At rst, we might

think him a Tyrannosaurus rex for his

big head and teeth, but T. rex had puny

arms, only two ngers, no opposable

thumbs, and no frilled gills. Also, dino-

saurs didnt dwell in the water. Ancient reptiles

that did live in the water include Plesiosaurus,

which, like Gorgo, lived in the oceans and

was carnivorous. But, Plesiosaurus had

ns, not arms or legs like our mov-

ie/comic star. In Gor-

go I see similarities with

an ancient crocodile, Deinosu-

chus, which had a long tail, osteoderms (the ridges alo

the back), and powerful teeth.Deinosuchus walked on all fo

in the typical reptilian belly walk. In the end, whatever Go

is, hes a species only a mother could love! The Gorgo

ure and animatronics used in the lming were created by tw

time Oscar winner Tom Howard, who worked on Village of

Damned, Children of the Damned, and The Haunting. He w

on to do stunning effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey alo

side Douglas Trumbull. Howards special effects in Go

were quite good for the times through the use of miniaturi

tion and what was called in publicity suitmation (just w

it sounds likesome guy in a rubber suit!) Studio publ

ty also gushed, The picture introduces the new process kno

as Automotion, which makes the movements of the sta

Gorgo I and Gorgo II, extremely lifelike. The monsters w

made of berglass, foam rubber, and hundreds of ingeniom e c h a n i s m s .

A u t o m o - tion

was nothing


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more than an

eager publi-

cists term for

s t o p - m o -

tion anima-

tion. But, the technical

aspects were complicated

and have been thought well

of by both artists in that eld

and monster movie fans.

Besides praise for the special effects, some ofGorgos

fans have cited that there is an environmentalist mor-

al that ends the lm and that this is one of the few

icks where the monsters arent done-in by the hu-

manoids. And who could hate a movie about mater-

nal love? Gorgos mother rescuing her cute little

city-destroying offspring would soften even the

hardest heart.

The lm starred Bill Travers as Joe Ryan,

William Sylvester as Sam Slade, Vincent

Winter as Sean, Christopher Rhodes as

McCartin, Joseph OConor as Profes-

sor Hendricks, Bruce Seton as Profes-

sor Flaherty, Martin Benson as Mr.

Dorkin... and Mick Dillon as the

monster Gorgo!

Ackerman reported that

Gorgo is the most costly, time consuming production the King Bros.

have made to dateand 38 productions have rolled off their slate.

They certainly hoped to make back the investment. The January 25th

issue of the theater owners Motion Picture Exhibitor ShowmensTrade Review included a special insert that proclaimed Like nothing

Youve Ever Seen Before and because theres more GO in GOr-

GO the grosses will be like nothing youve ever seen before! Not to

mention the artistic merit of the lm, right?

In spite of its merits, Gorgo was honestly a bit cheesy, but still very

cool. The same can be said for the company that published the Gorgo

comics, the Connecticut-based Charlton. Started by two gents who had

met while serving time in jail, the company paid very low rates to the

artistsbut at least their work was printed, if quite shabbily! The com-

pany had street smarts, though, proven by securing the Gorgo license.

Charlton had already had success with their Konga comics selling, at

one point, over 234,000 copies per issue. Gorgo followed

in Kongas big footsteps with nearly the same numbers.

Many of the artists in Charltons stable were of the hack

variety. But, Charlton, maybe to help insure the success

of Gorgo, put their very best man on the job, Steve Ditko.

Ditko had worked for the company since the mid-50s,

pen-and-inking a myriad of horror and fantasy sto-

ries and even a few cowboy and romance tales.

At the same time he was drawing Konga and

Gorgo, Ditko was also working for Marvel

and created Spider-Man with Stan Lee and

Doctor Strange. It was a wonderfully cre-

ative period for the master artist and comic

readers were greatly enriched. Christopher

Hayton has insightfully observed, Steve

Ditkos work output during these early

60s years illustrates how important the

Charlton monster books were to the art-

ist by virtue of the fact that he continued

to work on them, and increased his work

on them, even while his work at Marvel was

rapidly gaining momentum.

Ditko indeed didnt skimp on this lesser pay-

ing work, but brought an obvious zeal, ani-

mation, drawing, and layout chops to it. And

he must have been proud of it, too, evidenced

by his caricaturing himself in a surreal man-

ner as the artist at the drawing board on the cover

ofFantastic Giants (September 1966), a one-shot comic that featured

both Gorgo and Konga in reprints in their last hurrah. It is typical of

Ditko to do his nest work no matter what the nancial rewards.

Part of Ditkos pleasure was from the manuscripts. Ditko has been

quoted as saying, I read the (movie) screenplay ofGorgo. From the

rst reading to this day, I marvel at how well Joe adapted the charac-

ter to comic books.

The Joe Ditko refers to was Joe Gill (1919-2006), with whom he

teamed up with on many a story for Charlton. Gill was a talented but

underrated writer. His early output included working for Timely (Mar-

vel) in the 40s. He also wrote for DC and Dell. Gill quickly pecked

out one story after another in every genre to make a living with Charl-

tons meager page rates. Aside from the low compensation, he, like

Ditko, enjoyed the complete editorial freedom the company granted.

BELOW The director of Gorgo(King Brothers Productions, 1961), Eugene Lourie.

RIGHT Gorgo immortalized on the greatest monster magazine forever and a day...

Famous Monsters of Filmland#11, April 1961 (Warren), artist Basil Gogos. From the

collection of Tom Stein.


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ABOVE Caramba!The rare Spanish pressbook cover has smashing artwork

from the Gorgomovie poster.


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Everything was pub-

lished as is, with

no editorial confer-

ences or meddling.

Gills stories at their

best would show lit-

erary craft with a

touch of humor and

often a bit of ro-

mance. They were

always entertaining.

During Gorgos pro-

duction, both Joe

and Steve were living in Der-

by, Connecticut, the location of

Charltons editorial ofces and

printing plant. In Charlton Spot-

light#5 (Fall 2006), Gill told Jim

Amash, Ditko and I were drink-

ing buddies for a while, even

though he wasnt a drinker. We

both lived in the only hotel in

town, and wed have supper to-

gether in a nearby bar or restau-

rant, and we were totally unalike.

We had nothing in common. But

we hung out together. He had a

nice sense of humor at that time.

I think he ran out or used it all

up He was very withdrawn, he

was devoted to his comic book

art, and he used to say that ev-

erything he did, no matter whohe was working for, if he was

working for DC for two times

the money, or if he was working

for Charlton, he still did the same

quality work.

Artist Frank McLaughlin has

spoken of Steve Ditko in a sim-

ilar way. You know, when I rst

met Ditko at Charlton, he was terric. He was funny. He was friend -

ly. He was affable. He was best man at Billy Andersons wedding. But

he would never allow his picture to be taken. And still doesnt. He

had his own look

in his work. He

did some terric

stuff at Charlton.

Gorgo and Konga,

the Japanese [sic]

monsters, and so

forth. He does a

great job on the

horror and myster-

ies and that stuff. I

thought it was as

good as his Spi-

der-Man. He was

always sickly. The funny thing

is, I had a million laughs with

that guy at Charlton. He looks

like Steve Allen and hed laugh

like him and everything. He was

a fun guy, believe it or not.

The fun Gill and Ditko were hav-

ing certainly found its way into

the Gorgo stories. Ditkos char-

acter designs and layout had a

lot of zing. It was far from the

rst time that Ditko drew such a

creature. Gorgo resembled some

of the monsters Ditko and Jack

Kirby were drawing for Atlas/

Marvels titles, except Gorgo

didnt wear the customary bath-

ing suit in which Marvel clothed

their more modest mankind-destroyers.

Other comic book artists be-

sides Ditko that worked for

Charlton drew Gorgo, including

Charles Nicholas, Vince Alascia,

Bill Molno, Joe Sinnott, Vince

Colletta, Bill Montes, and Er-

nie Bache. Dick Giordano and

Rocke Mastroserio had a hand in some covers. For the purpose of

Ditko Monsters: Gorgo!, we are only reprinting the Ditko-illustrated

scripts and covers.

ABOVE Blimey!A sedated Gorgo is paraded through the streets of London.

BELOW Drawing upon his artistic skills from his

previous career, Lourie storyboarded Gorgo.


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Steve Ditko's Monsters, Vol. 1: Gorgo Preview