JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #78 - Kraggoom splash - Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko

Splash page to "Kraggoom! The Creature Who Caught an Astronaut!" from Journey into Mystery #78.

Drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko.

I always loved Ditko's inks on Kirby. Both had such strong styles but the combination yielded something truly unique. Notice Ditko erased some of Jack's pencils in the area around the astronaut. Normally, we don't like people erasing Jack but it does make the figure pop and stand out from the background. Also, note the white out on Kraggoom's hand. The Comics Code probably felt the proximity of the creature to the astronaut implied too much danger and so the clutching hand was shortened to lessen the threat.

Another SDCC pickup from all around great guy Mike Thibodeaux.

I posted some additional photos to show the erased pencils and the white out around the hand. I was able to back light the hand so you can see how the original would have looked.