Steve Ditko
Encyclopedia
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko (born November 2, 1927) is an American comic book
artist
and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee
, of the Marvel Comics
heroes Spider-Man
and Doctor Strange
.
Ditko studied under Batman
artist Jerry Robinson
at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City
. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon
and Jack Kirby
, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin
. During this time, he then began his long association with Charlton Comics
, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero
Captain Atom
in 1960.
Ditko then drew for Atlas Comics
, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel, including co-creating Spider-Man, who would become the company's flagship character. Additionally, he co-created the supernatural
hero Doctor Strange and made important contributions to the Hulk
and Iron Man
. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man
and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales
, Ditko left Marvel for reasons never specified.
Ditko then worked for Charlton and DC Comics
, making major contributions, including a revamp of long-running character Blue Beetle
, and creating or co-creating the Question
, the Creeper
, and Hawk and Dove
. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A
, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand
's Objectivism
philosophy. Since the 1960s, Ditko has declined most interviews, stating that it is his work he offers readers, and not his personality.
Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.
, the son of first-generation Americans of Czechoslovakian descent: Stephen Ditko, an artistically talented master carpenter
at a steel mill
, and Anna, a homemaker
. The second-eldest child in a working-class family, he was preceded by sister Anna Marie and followed in uncertain order by sister Betty and brother Patrick. Inspired by his father's love of newspaper
comic strips, particularly Hal Foster's Prince Valiant
, Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by the introduction of superhero
Batman
in 1940, and by Will Eisner
's The Spirit, which appeared in a tabloid-sized comic-book insert in Sunday newspapers.
Good with his hands, Ditko in junior high school was part of a group of students who crafted wooden models of German airplanes to aid civilian World War II
aircraft-spotters. Upon graduating from Johnstown High School in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 26, 1945, and did military service
in postwar Germany, where he drew comics for an Army newspaper.
Following his discharge, Ditko learned that his idol, Batman artist Jerry Robinson
, was teaching at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the School of Visual Arts
) in New York City. Moving there in 1950, he enrolled in the art school under the G.I. Bill. Robinson found the young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing" and someone who "could work well with other writers as well as write his own stories and create his own characters", and he helped Ditko acquire a scholarship for the following year. "He was in my class for two years, four or five days a week, five hours a night. It was very intense." Robinson, who invited artists and editors to speak with his class, once brought in Stan Lee
, then editor of Marvel Comics
' 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics
, and, "I think that was when Stan first saw Steve's work."
Ditko began professionally illustrating comic books in early 1953, drawing writer Bruce Hamilton's science-fiction story "Stretching Things" for the Key Publications
imprint
Stanmor Publications, which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell, where it finally found publication in Fantastic Fears #5 (Feb. 1954). Ditko's first published work was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in Daring Love #1 (Oct. 1953), published by the Key imprint Gillmor Magazines.
Shortly afterward, Ditko found work at the studio of celebrated writer-artists Joe Simon
and Jack Kirby
, who had created Captain America
and other characters and had instituted numerous industry innovations. Beginning as an inker on backgrounds, Ditko was soon working with and learning from Mort Meskin
, an artist whose work he had long admired. "Meskin was fabulous," Ditko once recalled. "I couldn't believe the ease with which he drew: strong compositions, loose pencils, yet complete; detail without clutter. I loved his stuff". Ditko's known assistant work includes aiding inker Meskin on the Jack Kirby
pencil work of Harvey Comics
' Captain 3-D
#1 (Dec. 1953). For his own third published story, Ditko penciled and inked the six-page "A Hole in His Head" in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (Dec. 1953), published by Simon & Kirby's Crestwood Publications
imprint Prize Comics.
Ditko then began a long association with the Derby, Connecticut
publisher Charlton Comics
, a low-budget division of a company best known for song-lyric magazines. Beginning with the cover of The Thing #12 (Feb. 1954) and the eight-page vampire
story "Cinderella" in that issue, Ditko would continue to work intermittently for Charlton until the company's demise in 1986, producing science fiction
, horror
and mystery
stories, as well as co-creating Captain Atom
, with writer Joe Gill
, in 1960. He first went on hiatus from the company, and comics altogether, in mid-1954, when he contracted tuberculosis
and returned to his parents' home in Johnstown to recuperate.
After he recovered and moved back to New York City in late 1955, Ditko began drawing for Atlas Comics
, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics
, beginning with the four-page "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in Journey into Mystery
#33 (April 1956); this debut tale would be reprinted in Marvel's Curse of the Weird #4 (March 1994). Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales
and the newly launched Amazing Adventures
, Strange Worlds
, Tales of Suspense
and Tales to Astonish
, issues of which would typically open with a Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck
, Paul Reinman
, or Joe Sinnott
, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflexive short by Ditko and writer-editor
Stan Lee
.
These bagatelles proved so popular that Amazing Adventures was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy — a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry
-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method
" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
to create a new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man", Lee originally approached his leading artist, Jack Kirby
. Kirby told Lee about his own 1950s character conception, variously called the Silver Spider and Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy finds a magic ring that gives him superpowers. Comics historian Greg Theakston
says Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. "A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly — it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic".
Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory, although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said, "The Spider-Man pages Stan showed me were nothing like the (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash[ i.e., page 1] and at the end [where] Kirby had the guy leaping at you with a web gun... Anyway, the first five pages took place in the home, and the kid finds a ring and turns into Spider-Man."
Ditko also recalled that, "One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character...."
Much earlier, in a rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". He added he would continue drawing Spider-Man "[i]f nothing better comes along." That same year, he expressed to the fanzine Voice of Comicdom, regarding a poll of "Best Liked" fan-created comics, "It seems a shame, since comics themselves have so little variety of stories and styles that you would deliberately restrict your own creative efforts to professional comics shallow range. What is 'Best Liked' by most readers is what they are most familiar in seeing and any policy based on readers likes has to end up with a lot of look-a-like strips. You have a great opportunity to show everyone a whole new range of ideas, unlimited types of stories and styles---why FLUB it!"
From 1958 to either 1966 or 1968 (accounts differ), Ditko shared a Manhattan
studio at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton
, an art-school classmate. When either artist was under deadline pressure, it was not uncommon for them to pitch in and help the other with his assignment, and the introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in India ink
, and they were then hand-coloured by Ditko". In a 1988 interview with Theakston, Stanton recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands".
Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy
#15 (Aug. 1962), the final issue of that science-fiction/fantasy anthology series. When the issue proved to be a top seller, Spider-Man was given his own series, The Amazing Spider-Man
.
After drawing the final issue of The Incredible Hulk (#6, March 1963), Ditko co-created with Lee the supernatural
hero Doctor Strange
, in Strange Tales
#110 (July 1963). Ditko and Lee shortly thereafter relaunched a Hulk series as a short feature in the anthology
Tales to Astonish
, beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by George Roussos
, penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the Leader
, in #62 (Dec. 1964).
Ditko also penciled the Iron Man
feature in Tales of Suspense
#47–49 (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1964), with various inkers. The first of these debuted the initial version of Iron Man's modern red-and-golden armor, though whether Ditko or cover-penciler and principal character designer Jack Kirby
designed the costume is uncertain.
Though often overshadowed by his Amazing Spider-Man work, Ditko's "Doctor Strange" stories have been equally acclaimed, for their surrealistic
mystical landscapes and increasingly psychedelic visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students. "People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [e.g. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas
in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do."
Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the "Marvel Method
", Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130-146 (July 1965 - July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity
, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos. As historian Bradford W. Wright describes,
The cartoonist
and fine artist Seth
in 2003 described Ditko's style as "oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to a boy's sensibility because there was so much raw power, Ditko's work was really delicate and cartoony. There was a sense of design to it. You can always recognize anything that Ditko designed because it's always flowery. There is a lot of embroidered detail in the art, which is almost psychedelic."
Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and anxiety
, found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled personal life meshed well with Ditko's own interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving the artist plotting credits on the latter part of their 38-issue run. But after four years on the title, Ditko left Marvel; he and Lee had not been on speaking terms for some time, with art and editorial changes handled through intermediaries. The details of the rift remain uncertain, even to Lee, who confessed in 2003, "I never really knew Steve on a personal level." Ditko later claimed it was Lee who broke off contact and disputed the long-held belief that the disagreement was over the true identity of the Green Goblin
: "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] Sol Brodsky
took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues". Spider-Man successor artist John Romita
, in a 2010 deposition
, recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters...."
Regardless, said Lee in 2007, "Quite a few years ago I met him up at the Marvel offices when I was last in New York. And we spoke; he's a hell of a nice guy and it was very pleasant. ... I haven't heard from him since that meeting."
Comics historian Greg Theakston, who visited Ditko on occasion, theorized Ditko saw The Amazing Spider-Man as semi-autobiographical: "Spider-Man was the culmination of everything Ditko was up until that moment. Ditko had personal ties to the character. When people started to 'manipulate him' into bringing in more romance into the strip and changing the direction, Ditko felt slighted, crushed ... they were telling him how to do it. He wouldn't be told".
Writer and then future Marvel editor Roy Thomas
said of that time, "I'll never forget the day I walked into one Marvel office not long after Ditko quit, and here's John Romita
[Sr.] drawing Amazing Spider-Man and Larry[ Lieber]
drawing the Spider-Man Annual and Marie Severin
drawing 'Dr. Strange', and I joked, 'This is the Steve Ditko Room; it takes three of you to do what Steve Ditko used to do'".
(1967–1968), the Question
(1967–1968), Captain Atom
(1965–1967), returning to the character he'd co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966–1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by Archie Goodwin
for Warren Publishing
's horror comic magazines Creepy and Eerie, most of which were done using ink-wash
.
In 1967, Ditko gave his conservative ideas ultimate expression in the form of Mr. A
, published in Wally Wood
's independent title witzend
# 3. Ditko's hard line against criminals was controversial and he continued to produce Mr. A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s. Ditko returned to Mr. A in 2000 and in 2009.
Ditko moved to DC Comics
in 1968, where he created the Creeper
in Showcase
#73 (April 1968) with scripter Don Segall, under editor Murray Boltinoff. Ditko created the quirky team Hawk and Dove
in Showcase #75 (June 1968), with writer Steve Skeates
. Around this time, he penciled the lead story, written and inked by Wally Wood
, in Wood's early mature-audience, independent-comics
publication Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
(1969).
Ditko's stay at DC was short — he would work on all six issues of the Creeper's own title, Beware the Creeper (June 1968–April 1969), though leaving midway through the final one — and the reasons for his departure uncertain. But while at DC, Ditko recommended Charlton staffer Dick Giordano
to the company, who would go on to become a top DC penciller, inker, editor, and ultimately, in 1981, the managing editor.
From this time up through the mid-1970s, Ditko worked exclusively for Charlton and various small press/independent
publishers. Frank McLaughlin, Charlton's art director during this period, describes Ditko as living "in a local hotel in Derby
for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts".
For Charlton in 1974 he did Liberty Belle backup stories in E-Man
and conceived Killjoy. Ditko produced much work for Charlton's science-fiction and horror titles, as well as for former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman
's start-up line Atlas/Seaboard Comics
, where he co-created the superhero the Destructor with writer Archie Goodwin
, and penciled all four issues of the namesake series (Feb.–Aug. 1975), the first two of which were inked by fellow comics legend Wally Wood
. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of Tiger-Man
and the third issue of Morlock 2001, with Bernie Wrightson
inking.
(1977–1978). Shade was later revived, without Ditko's involvement, in DC's mature-audience imprint Vertigo
. With writer Paul Levitz
, he co-created the four issue sword and sorcery
series Stalker
(1975–1976). He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short Demon backup series in 1979, work on Legion of Superheroes in 1980–1981, and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. He also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman
in Adventure Comics
#467–478 (1980). He then decamped to do work for a variety of publishers, briefly contributing to DC again in the mid 1980s, with four pinups of his characters for Who's Who in the DC Universe
and a pinup for Superman
#400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio.
Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man
, drawing The Micronauts
, co-creating Captain Universe
, and continuing to freelance for the company into the late 1990s. In 1982, he also began freelancing for the early independent comics label Pacific Comics
, beginning with Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
#6 (Sept. 1982), in which he introduced the superhero Missing Man, with Mark Evanier
scripting to Ditko's plot and art. Subsequent Missing Man stories appeared in Pacific Presents #1–3 (Oct. 1982–March 1984), with Ditko scripting the former and collaborating with longtime friend Robin Snyder on the script for the latter two. Ditko also created the Mocker
for Pacific, in Silver Star
#2 (April 1983).
For Eclipse Comics
, he contributed a story featuring his character Static (no relation to the later Milestone Comics character) in Eclipse Monthly
#1–3 (Aug.–Oct. 1983), introducing supervillain
the Exploder in #2. With writer Jack C. Harris, Ditko drew the backup feature "The Faceless Ones" in First Comics
' Warp #2–4 (April–June 1983). Working with that same writer and others, Ditko drew a handful of the Fly, Fly-Girl and Jaguar stories for The Fly #2–8 (July 1983 – Aug. 1984), for Archie Comics
' short-lived 1980s superhero line; in a rare latter-day instance of Ditko inking
another artist, he inked penciler Dick Ayers
on the Jaguar story in The Fly #9 (Oct. 1984).
In 1993, he did the Dark Horse Comics
one-shot The Safest Place in the World. For the Defiant Comics
series Dark Dominion
, he drew issue #0, which was released as a set of trading cards. In 1995, he pencilled a four-issue series for Marvel based on the Phantom 2040
animated TV series. This included a poster that was inked by John Romita Sr. Steve Ditko's Strange Avenging Tales was announced as a quarterly series from Fantagraphics Books
, although it only ran one issue (Feb. 1997) due to publicly unspecified disagreements between Ditko and the publisher.
The New York Times
assessed in 2008 that, "By the '70s he was regarded as a slightly old-fashioned odd-ball; by the '80s he was a commercial has-been, picking up wretched work-for-hire gigs. ...following the example of [Ayn] Rand's John Galt, Ditko hacked out moneymaking work, saving his care for the crabbed Objectivist screeds he published with tiny presses. And boy, could Ditko hack: seeing samples of his Transformers
coloring book and his Big Boy comic is like hearing Orson Welles
sell frozen peas."
Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998. His later work for Marvel and DC included established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in Marvel Comics Presents
) and newer, licensed characters such as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
. The last mainstream character he created was Marvel's Longarm in Shadows & Light #1 (Feb. 1998), in a self-inked, 12-page Iron Man
story "A Man's Reach....", scripted by Len Wein
. His final mainstream work was a five-page New Gods
story for DC, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 Orion series but not published until the 2008 trade paperback Tales of the New Gods.
Since then, Ditko's solo work has been published intermittently by Snyder, who was his editor at Charlton, Archie Comics, and Renegade Press
in the 1980s. The Snyder publications have included a number of original books as well as reprints such as Static, The Missing Man, The Mocker and, in 2002, Avenging World, a collection of stories and essays spanning 30 years.
In 2008, Ditko and Snyder released The Avenging Mind, a 32-page essay publication featuring several pages of new artwork; and Ditko, Etc..., a 32-page comic book composed of brief vignettes and editorial cartoons, introducing such new characters as the Hero. In January 2009 Ditko Continued was released, featuring, amongst other material, the first part of a new Mr. A story, followed by Oh, No! Not Again, Ditko!, Ditko Once More, Ditko Presents, A Ditko Act Two, A Ditko Act 3 and Act 4 in the same format. In late 2009, Ditko and Snyder published a reprint of the 1973 Mr. A comic.
Ditko is an ardent supporter and advocate of the philosophy of Objectivism
.
He has an artist nephew also named Steve Ditko. According to Will Eisner
, Ditko has one son.
hosted a one-hour documentary
for the UK arts channel BBC Four
, titled In Search of Steve Ditko
. The program covers Ditko's work at Marvel
, DC
and Charlton Comics
and at Wally Wood
's witzend
, as well as his following of Objectivism
. It includes testimonials by Alan Moore
, Mark Millar
, Jerry Robinson
and Stan Lee
, among others. Ross, accompanied by Neil Gaiman
, met Ditko at his New York office but he declined to be filmed, interviewed and photographed for the show. He did however, give the two a selection of some comic books. At the end of the show, Ross said he has since spoken to Ditko on the telephone and continued to say, as a joke, that he was now on first name terms with him.
As penciler (generally but not exclusively self-inked), unless otherwise noted
Marvel
DC
Charlton
Warren
Atlas/Seaboard
Independent
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, of the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
heroes Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
.
Ditko studied under Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
artist Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Morton "Mort" Meskin was a prolific American comic book artist best-known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.-Early life:...
. During this time, he then began his long association with Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
in 1960.
Ditko then drew for Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel, including co-creating Spider-Man, who would become the company's flagship character. Additionally, he co-created the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
hero Doctor Strange and made important contributions to the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
and Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
, Ditko left Marvel for reasons never specified.
Ditko then worked for Charlton and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, making major contributions, including a revamp of long-running character Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
, and creating or co-creating the Question
Question (comics)
The Question is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. The original was created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Blue Beetle #1...
, the Creeper
Creeper (comics)
The Creeper is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Showcase #73 .-Publication history:...
, and Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A
Mr. A
Mr. A is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. Unlike most of his work, the character of Mr. A and the Mr. A stories remain the property of Ditko, all of which were written and illustrated by himself. The character first appeared in Witzend #3, 1967. Mr. A's name comes from "A is A",...
, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
's Objectivism
Objectivism
Objectivism or Objectivist may refer to:* Any standpoint that stresses objectivity, including;* Philosophical objectivity, realism, the conviction that reality is mind-independent* Moral objectivism, the view that some ethics are absolute...
philosophy. Since the 1960s, Ditko has declined most interviews, stating that it is his work he offers readers, and not his personality.
Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.
Early life and career
Stephen J. Ditko was born in Johnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, the son of first-generation Americans of Czechoslovakian descent: Stephen Ditko, an artistically talented master carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
at a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
, and Anna, a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
. The second-eldest child in a working-class family, he was preceded by sister Anna Marie and followed in uncertain order by sister Betty and brother Patrick. Inspired by his father's love of newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strips, particularly Hal Foster's Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
, Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by the introduction of superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
in 1940, and by Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
's The Spirit, which appeared in a tabloid-sized comic-book insert in Sunday newspapers.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
aircraft-spotters. Upon graduating from Johnstown High School in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 26, 1945, and did military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
in postwar Germany, where he drew comics for an Army newspaper.
Following his discharge, Ditko learned that his idol, Batman artist Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
, was teaching at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
) in New York City. Moving there in 1950, he enrolled in the art school under the G.I. Bill. Robinson found the young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing" and someone who "could work well with other writers as well as write his own stories and create his own characters", and he helped Ditko acquire a scholarship for the following year. "He was in my class for two years, four or five days a week, five hours a night. It was very intense." Robinson, who invited artists and editors to speak with his class, once brought in Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, then editor of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, and, "I think that was when Stan first saw Steve's work."
Ditko began professionally illustrating comic books in early 1953, drawing writer Bruce Hamilton's science-fiction story "Stretching Things" for the Key Publications
Key Publications
Key Publications was an American comic-book company founded by Stanley P. Morse that published under the imprints Aragon Magazines, Gillmor Magazines, Medal Comics, Media Publications, S. P. M. Publications, Stanmor Publications, and Timor Publications.- History :Stanley P...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
Stanmor Publications, which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell, where it finally found publication in Fantastic Fears #5 (Feb. 1954). Ditko's first published work was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in Daring Love #1 (Oct. 1953), published by the Key imprint Gillmor Magazines.
Shortly afterward, Ditko found work at the studio of celebrated writer-artists Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, who had created Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
and other characters and had instituted numerous industry innovations. Beginning as an inker on backgrounds, Ditko was soon working with and learning from Mort Meskin
Mort Meskin
Morton "Mort" Meskin was a prolific American comic book artist best-known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of comic books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age.-Early life:...
, an artist whose work he had long admired. "Meskin was fabulous," Ditko once recalled. "I couldn't believe the ease with which he drew: strong compositions, loose pencils, yet complete; detail without clutter. I loved his stuff". Ditko's known assistant work includes aiding inker Meskin on the Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
pencil work of Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
' Captain 3-D
Captain 3-D
Captain 3-D was a Harvey Comics character who appeared in one issue of his own eponymous title, dated December 1953, a few years before the beginning of the Silver Age of Comic Books...
#1 (Dec. 1953). For his own third published story, Ditko penciled and inked the six-page "A Hole in His Head" in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (Dec. 1953), published by Simon & Kirby's Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications
Crestwood Publications, also known as Feature Publications, was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein"...
imprint Prize Comics.
Ditko then began a long association with the Derby, Connecticut
Derby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,391 at the 2000 census. With of land area, Derby is Connecticut's smallest municipality.The city has a Metro-North railroad station called Derby – Shelton.-History:...
publisher Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, a low-budget division of a company best known for song-lyric magazines. Beginning with the cover of The Thing #12 (Feb. 1954) and the eight-page vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
story "Cinderella" in that issue, Ditko would continue to work intermittently for Charlton until the company's demise in 1986, producing science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
stories, as well as co-creating Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
, with writer Joe Gill
Joe Gill
Joseph Gill was an American magazine writer and highly prolific comic book scripter. Most of his work was for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the superheroes Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judomaster, among others. Comics historians consider Gill a top contender as the comic-book field's most...
, in 1960. He first went on hiatus from the company, and comics altogether, in mid-1954, when he contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and returned to his parents' home in Johnstown to recuperate.
Marvel Comics
Atlas Comics (1950s)
Atlas Comics is the term used to describe the 1950s comic book publishing company that would evolve into Marvel Comics. Magazine and paperback novel publisher Martin Goodman, whose business strategy involved having a multitude of corporate entities, used Atlas as the umbrella name for his comic...
, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, beginning with the four-page "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery
Journey into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
#33 (April 1956); this debut tale would be reprinted in Marvel's Curse of the Weird #4 (March 1994). Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
and the newly launched Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures
Amazing Adventures is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books...
, Strange Worlds
Strange Worlds
Strange Worlds was the name of two American, science-fiction anthology comic book series of the 1950s, the first published by Avon Comics, the second by a Marvel Comics predecessor, Atlas Comics...
, Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
and Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
, issues of which would typically open with a Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck
Don Heck
Don Heck was an American comic book artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, and for his long run penciling the Marvel superhero-team series The Avengers during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.-Early life and career:Born in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New...
, Paul Reinman
Paul Reinman
Paul J. Reinman was an American comic book artist best known as one of industry legend's Jack Kirby's frequent inkers during what comics fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books...
, or Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflexive short by Ditko and writer-editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
.
These bagatelles proved so popular that Amazing Adventures was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy — a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had a few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
-type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the "Marvel Method
Marvel Method
The Marvel Method is a form of comic book writer-artist collaboration in which the artist works from a story synopsis, rather than a full script, creating page-by-page plot details on his or her own...
" of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect."
Creation of Spider-Man
After Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee obtained permission from publisher Martin GoodmanMartin Goodman (publisher)
Martin Goodman born on was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, men's adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics....
to create a new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man", Lee originally approached his leading artist, Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
. Kirby told Lee about his own 1950s character conception, variously called the Silver Spider and Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy finds a magic ring that gives him superpowers. Comics historian Greg Theakston
Greg Theakston
Greg Allen Theakston is an American comics artist and illustrator who has worked for numerous publishers. In addition to his many contributions to books and magazines, he is known for developing the Theakstonizing process used in comics restoration. He has used the pseudonym Earl P...
says Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. "A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly — it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic".
Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory, although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said, "The Spider-Man pages Stan showed me were nothing like the (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash
Ditko also recalled that, "One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character...."
Much earlier, in a rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". He added he would continue drawing Spider-Man "[i]f nothing better comes along." That same year, he expressed to the fanzine Voice of Comicdom, regarding a poll of "Best Liked" fan-created comics, "It seems a shame, since comics themselves have so little variety of stories and styles that you would deliberately restrict your own creative efforts to professional comics shallow range. What is 'Best Liked' by most readers is what they are most familiar in seeing and any policy based on readers likes has to end up with a lot of look-a-like strips. You have a great opportunity to show everyone a whole new range of ideas, unlimited types of stories and styles---why FLUB it!"
From 1958 to either 1966 or 1968 (accounts differ), Ditko shared a Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
studio at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton
Eric Stanton
Eric Stanton was an American bondage and fetish illustrator, cartoonist, and comic-book artist.The majority of his work depicted female dominance scenarios.-Early life and career:...
, an art-school classmate. When either artist was under deadline pressure, it was not uncommon for them to pitch in and help the other with his assignment, and the introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in India ink
India ink
India ink is a simple black ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing, especially when inking comic books and comic strips.-Composition:...
, and they were then hand-coloured by Ditko". In a 1988 interview with Theakston, Stanton recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands".
Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy
Amazing Fantasy
Amazing Fantasy is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, and revived in 1995 and in the 2000s. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular superhero character Spider-Man in 1962...
#15 (Aug. 1962), the final issue of that science-fiction/fantasy anthology series. When the issue proved to be a top seller, Spider-Man was given his own series, The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
.
Doctor Strange and other characters
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
hero Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, in Strange Tales
Strange Tales
Strange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
#110 (July 1963). Ditko and Lee shortly thereafter relaunched a Hulk series as a short feature in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
, beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by George Roussos
George Roussos
George Roussos , also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early issues of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four.-Early life and career:George Roussos was born in Washington, D.C., the son of...
, penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the Leader
Leader (comics)
The Leader is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62, and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In 2009, The Leader was ranked as IGN's 63rd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.Actor Tim Blake...
, in #62 (Dec. 1964).
Ditko also penciled the Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
feature in Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense
Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
#47–49 (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1964), with various inkers. The first of these debuted the initial version of Iron Man's modern red-and-golden armor, though whether Ditko or cover-penciler and principal character designer Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
designed the costume is uncertain.
Though often overshadowed by his Amazing Spider-Man work, Ditko's "Doctor Strange" stories have been equally acclaimed, for their surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
mystical landscapes and increasingly psychedelic visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students. "People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [e.g. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms. But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do."
Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the "Marvel Method
Marvel Method
The Marvel Method is a form of comic book writer-artist collaboration in which the artist works from a story synopsis, rather than a full script, creating page-by-page plot details on his or her own...
", Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130-146 (July 1965 - July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity
Eternity (comics)
Eternity is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by scripter-editor Stan Lee and artist-plotter Steve Ditko, the character is first mentioned in Strange Tales #134 and first appears in Strange Tales #138 Eternity is a fictional character that...
, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos. As historian Bradford W. Wright describes,
The cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and fine artist Seth
Seth (cartoonist)
Seth is the pen name of Gregory Gallant , a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics such as Palookaville.Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto...
in 2003 described Ditko's style as "oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to a boy's sensibility because there was so much raw power, Ditko's work was really delicate and cartoony. There was a sense of design to it. You can always recognize anything that Ditko designed because it's always flowery. There is a lot of embroidered detail in the art, which is almost psychedelic."
Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
, found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled personal life meshed well with Ditko's own interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving the artist plotting credits on the latter part of their 38-issue run. But after four years on the title, Ditko left Marvel; he and Lee had not been on speaking terms for some time, with art and editorial changes handled through intermediaries. The details of the rift remain uncertain, even to Lee, who confessed in 2003, "I never really knew Steve on a personal level." Ditko later claimed it was Lee who broke off contact and disputed the long-held belief that the disagreement was over the true identity of the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
: "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky
Sol Brodsky was an American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age production manager, was one of the key architects of the small company's expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate. He later rose to vice president, operations and vice president, special projects...
took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues". Spider-Man successor artist John Romita
John Romita
John Romita may refer to:*John Romita, Sr., comic book artist best known for his art on The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics in the 1960s...
, in a 2010 deposition
Deposition
Deposition or Depose may refer to:* Deposition , taking testimony outside of court* Deposition , molecules settling out of a solution...
, recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters...."
Regardless, said Lee in 2007, "Quite a few years ago I met him up at the Marvel offices when I was last in New York. And we spoke; he's a hell of a nice guy and it was very pleasant. ... I haven't heard from him since that meeting."
Comics historian Greg Theakston, who visited Ditko on occasion, theorized Ditko saw The Amazing Spider-Man as semi-autobiographical: "Spider-Man was the culmination of everything Ditko was up until that moment. Ditko had personal ties to the character. When people started to 'manipulate him' into bringing in more romance into the strip and changing the direction, Ditko felt slighted, crushed ... they were telling him how to do it. He wouldn't be told".
Writer and then future Marvel editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
said of that time, "I'll never forget the day I walked into one Marvel office not long after Ditko quit, and here's John Romita
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
[Sr.] drawing Amazing Spider-Man and Larry
Larry Lieber
Lawrence D. "Larry" Lieber is an American comic book artist and writer, and the younger brother of Marvel Comics' writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee....
drawing the Spider-Man Annual and Marie Severin
Marie Severin
Marie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
drawing 'Dr. Strange', and I joked, 'This is the Steve Ditko Room; it takes three of you to do what Steve Ditko used to do'".
Charlton and DC Comics
Back at Charlton — where the page rate was low but creators were allowed greater freedom — Ditko worked on such characters as Blue BeetleBlue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
(1967–1968), the Question
Question (comics)
The Question is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. The original was created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Blue Beetle #1...
(1967–1968), Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
(1965–1967), returning to the character he'd co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966–1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
for Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
's horror comic magazines Creepy and Eerie, most of which were done using ink-wash
Wash (painting)
thumb|Example of a wash drawing by [[R. G. Skerrett]].A wash is a painting technique in which a paint brush that is very wet with solvent and holds a small paint load is applied to a wet or dry support such as paper or primed or raw canvas. The result is a smooth and uniform area that ideally lacks...
.
In 1967, Ditko gave his conservative ideas ultimate expression in the form of Mr. A
Mr. A
Mr. A is a fictional comic book hero created by Steve Ditko. Unlike most of his work, the character of Mr. A and the Mr. A stories remain the property of Ditko, all of which were written and illustrated by himself. The character first appeared in Witzend #3, 1967. Mr. A's name comes from "A is A",...
, published in Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
's independent title witzend
Witzend
witzend, published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, was an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. witzend was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wood, who handed the reins to Bill Pearson from 1968–1985...
# 3. Ditko's hard line against criminals was controversial and he continued to produce Mr. A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s. Ditko returned to Mr. A in 2000 and in 2009.
Ditko moved to DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in 1968, where he created the Creeper
Creeper (comics)
The Creeper is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Showcase #73 .-Publication history:...
in Showcase
Showcase (comics)
Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#73 (April 1968) with scripter Don Segall, under editor Murray Boltinoff. Ditko created the quirky team Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
in Showcase #75 (June 1968), with writer Steve Skeates
Steve Skeates
Steve Skeates is an American comic book creator known for his work on books such as Spectre, Hawk and Dove, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Aquaman, and Namor the Sub-Mariner.-Career:...
. Around this time, he penciled the lead story, written and inked by Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, in Wood's early mature-audience, independent-comics
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
publication Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon is a two-issue comic book series that represents one of the earliest independent comics. The first issue was self-published by prominent writer-artist Wally Wood in 1969, with a second issue published by CPL Gang Publications in 1976.This comic-book series is unrelated...
(1969).
Ditko's stay at DC was short — he would work on all six issues of the Creeper's own title, Beware the Creeper (June 1968–April 1969), though leaving midway through the final one — and the reasons for his departure uncertain. But while at DC, Ditko recommended Charlton staffer Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
to the company, who would go on to become a top DC penciller, inker, editor, and ultimately, in 1981, the managing editor.
From this time up through the mid-1970s, Ditko worked exclusively for Charlton and various small press/independent
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
publishers. Frank McLaughlin, Charlton's art director during this period, describes Ditko as living "in a local hotel in Derby
Derby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,391 at the 2000 census. With of land area, Derby is Connecticut's smallest municipality.The city has a Metro-North railroad station called Derby – Shelton.-History:...
for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts".
For Charlton in 1974 he did Liberty Belle backup stories in E-Man
E-Man
E-Man is a fictional comic book superhero created by writer Nicola Cuti and artist Joe Staton for Charlton Comics in 1973. Though the character's original series was short-lived, the lightly humorous hero has become a cult-classic sporadically revived by various independent comics...
and conceived Killjoy. Ditko produced much work for Charlton's science-fiction and horror titles, as well as for former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman
Martin Goodman (publisher)
Martin Goodman born on was an American publisher of pulp magazines, paperback books, men's adventure magazines, and comic books, launching the company that would become Marvel Comics....
's start-up line Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics...
, where he co-created the superhero the Destructor with writer Archie Goodwin
Archie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
, and penciled all four issues of the namesake series (Feb.–Aug. 1975), the first two of which were inked by fellow comics legend Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of Tiger-Man
Tiger-Man
Tiger-Man is a tiger-themed superhero who appeared in a self-titled series published by Atlas/Seaboard Comics in the 1975th year of super-hero comics.-Publication history:...
and the third issue of Morlock 2001, with Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
inking.
Latter-day Ditko
Ditko returned to DC Comics in 1975, creating a short-lived title, Shade, the Changing ManShade, the Changing Man
Shade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....
(1977–1978). Shade was later revived, without Ditko's involvement, in DC's mature-audience imprint Vertigo
Vertigo (comics)
Vertigo is an imprint of the American comic-book publisher DC Comics. Its books are marketed to a sophisticated audience, and may contain graphic violence, substance abuse, frank depictions of sexuality, profanity, and controversial subjects...
. With writer Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, he co-created the four issue sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
series Stalker
Stalker (comics)
Stalker is a fictional antihero and swords and sorcery character published by DC Comics. The character debuted in Stalker #1 , and was created by Paul Levitz and Steve Ditko.-Publication history:...
(1975–1976). He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short Demon backup series in 1979, work on Legion of Superheroes in 1980–1981, and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. He also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman
Starman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
in Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
#467–478 (1980). He then decamped to do work for a variety of publishers, briefly contributing to DC again in the mid 1980s, with four pinups of his characters for Who's Who in the DC Universe
Who's Who in the DC Universe
Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional characters in their imaginary universe, the DC Universe.-History:Who's Who was the creation of Len Wein, Marv...
and a pinup for Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
#400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio.
Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man
Machine Man
Machine Man is a fictional character, an android superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 , a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous Stanley Kubrick film and Arthur C. Clarke novel...
, drawing The Micronauts
The Micronauts
The Micronauts are a Paris-based dance music act. They formed when Christophe Monier met Canada-born George Issakidis whilst working at the Parisian music fanzine eDEN....
, co-creating Captain Universe
Captain Universe
Captain Universe is a disembodied superhero in Marvel Comics' universe who was created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, and first appeared in Micronauts vol. 1 #8. It is the guardian and protector of Eternity...
, and continuing to freelance for the company into the late 1990s. In 1982, he also began freelancing for the early independent comics label Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
, beginning with Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Captain Victory was a comic book created, written and drawn by Jack Kirby. It was first published by Pacific Comics in 1981.-Publication history:One of Pacific Comics first titles, it lasted thirteen issues, plus a special, through January, 1984....
#6 (Sept. 1982), in which he introduced the superhero Missing Man, with Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
scripting to Ditko's plot and art. Subsequent Missing Man stories appeared in Pacific Presents #1–3 (Oct. 1982–March 1984), with Ditko scripting the former and collaborating with longtime friend Robin Snyder on the script for the latter two. Ditko also created the Mocker
The Mocker (comics)
The Mocker is a fictional character by artist Steve Ditko.-Plot:Tyler Rayne was an assistant District Attorney with an uncompromising sense of justice...
for Pacific, in Silver Star
Silver Star (comics)
Silver Star is a comic book created, written, and drawn by Jack Kirby, originally published by Pacific Comics in 1983.-Publication History:The concept for Silver Star began in the mid-1970s as a movie screenplay by Jack Kirby and Steve Sherman...
#2 (April 1983).
For Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
, he contributed a story featuring his character Static (no relation to the later Milestone Comics character) in Eclipse Monthly
Eclipse Monthly
Eclipse Monthly was a full color comics anthology title published by Eclipse Comics. It introduced many characters that would later be featured in their own series or collections.-Series:Series published:*Capt. Quick and A Foozle by Marshall Rogers...
#1–3 (Aug.–Oct. 1983), introducing supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
the Exploder in #2. With writer Jack C. Harris, Ditko drew the backup feature "The Faceless Ones" in First Comics
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...
' Warp #2–4 (April–June 1983). Working with that same writer and others, Ditko drew a handful of the Fly, Fly-Girl and Jaguar stories for The Fly #2–8 (July 1983 – Aug. 1984), for Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
' short-lived 1980s superhero line; in a rare latter-day instance of Ditko inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
another artist, he inked penciler Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
on the Jaguar story in The Fly #9 (Oct. 1984).
In 1993, he did the Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
one-shot The Safest Place in the World. For the Defiant Comics
Defiant Comics
Defiant Comics was a comic book publishing imprint of Enlightened Entertainment Partners, LP. Defiant was established in 1993 by former Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.- Publication history :...
series Dark Dominion
Dark Dominion
Dark Dominion is a comic book series that was published monthly by DEFIANT from October of 1993 until July of 1994.It spanned a total of 10 issues until DEFIANT ceased publication.There was one #0 issue published as a trading card set and binder....
, he drew issue #0, which was released as a set of trading cards. In 1995, he pencilled a four-issue series for Marvel based on the Phantom 2040
Phantom 2040
Phantom 2040 is an American animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom...
animated TV series. This included a poster that was inked by John Romita Sr. Steve Ditko's Strange Avenging Tales was announced as a quarterly series from Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
, although it only ran one issue (Feb. 1997) due to publicly unspecified disagreements between Ditko and the publisher.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
assessed in 2008 that, "By the '70s he was regarded as a slightly old-fashioned odd-ball; by the '80s he was a commercial has-been, picking up wretched work-for-hire gigs. ...following the example of [Ayn] Rand's John Galt, Ditko hacked out moneymaking work, saving his care for the crabbed Objectivist screeds he published with tiny presses. And boy, could Ditko hack: seeing samples of his Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
coloring book and his Big Boy comic is like hearing Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
sell frozen peas."
Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998. His later work for Marvel and DC included established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in Marvel Comics Presents
Marvel Comics Presents
Marvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...
) and newer, licensed characters such as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
. The last mainstream character he created was Marvel's Longarm in Shadows & Light #1 (Feb. 1998), in a self-inked, 12-page Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
story "A Man's Reach....", scripted by Len Wein
Len Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
. His final mainstream work was a five-page New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
story for DC, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 Orion series but not published until the 2008 trade paperback Tales of the New Gods.
Since then, Ditko's solo work has been published intermittently by Snyder, who was his editor at Charlton, Archie Comics, and Renegade Press
Renegade Press
Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade include Flaming Carrot, Ms...
in the 1980s. The Snyder publications have included a number of original books as well as reprints such as Static, The Missing Man, The Mocker and, in 2002, Avenging World, a collection of stories and essays spanning 30 years.
In 2008, Ditko and Snyder released The Avenging Mind, a 32-page essay publication featuring several pages of new artwork; and Ditko, Etc..., a 32-page comic book composed of brief vignettes and editorial cartoons, introducing such new characters as the Hero. In January 2009 Ditko Continued was released, featuring, amongst other material, the first part of a new Mr. A story, followed by Oh, No! Not Again, Ditko!, Ditko Once More, Ditko Presents, A Ditko Act Two, A Ditko Act 3 and Act 4 in the same format. In late 2009, Ditko and Snyder published a reprint of the 1973 Mr. A comic.
Personal life
Ditko resides and continues to work from an office in New York City. He has refused to give interviews or make public appearances since the 1960s, explaining in 1969 that, "When I do a job, it’s not my personality that I’m offering the readers but my artwork. It’s not what I'm like that counts; it’s what I did and how well it was done.... I produce a product, a comic art story. Steve Ditko is the brand name". He has, however, contributed numerous essays to Snyder's fanzine The Comics.Ditko is an ardent supporter and advocate of the philosophy of Objectivism
Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
Objectivism is a philosophy created by the Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand . Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception...
.
He has an artist nephew also named Steve Ditko. According to Will Eisner
Will Eisner
William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...
, Ditko has one son.
Awards and honors
- 1962 Alley AwardAlley AwardThe Alley Award was an American series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, under executive secretary Jerry Bails, and later Paul Gambaccini and David Kaler, the award...
for Best Short Story: "Origin of Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
" by Stan LeeStan LeeStan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
& Steve Ditko, Amazing FantasyAmazing FantasyAmazing Fantasy is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, and revived in 1995 and in the 2000s. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular superhero character Spider-Man in 1962...
#15 (Marvel Comics). - 1963 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero Comic Book: The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
- 1963 Alley Award for Top Hero: Spider-Man
- 1964 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero Comic Book: The Amazing Spider-Man
- 1964 Alley Award for Best Giant Comic: The Amazing Spider-Man AnnualAnnual publicationAn annual publication, more often called simply an annual, is a book or a magazine, comic book or comic strip published yearly. For example, a weekly or monthly publication may produce an Annual featuring similar materials to the regular publication....
#1 - 1964 Alley Award for Best Hero: Spider-Man
- 1965 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero Comic Book: The Amazing Spider-Man
- 1965 Alley Award for Best Hero: Spider-Man
- 1985 Eagle Award: Roll of Honour
- In 1987, Ditko was presented a Comic-Con InternationalComic-Con InternationalSan Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
in absentia, accepted on his behalf by Renegade PressRenegade PressRenegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade include Flaming Carrot, Ms...
publisher Deni LoubertDeni LoubertDeni Loubert is a French Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim and founder of Renegade Press. She is the ex-wife of Dave Sim, with whom she founded Aardvark-Vanaheim and published Cerebus from issues #1 to #77 .Loubert and Sim met in 1976) and married in 1979...
, who had published Ditko's World the previous year. Ditko refused the award, and returned it to Loubert after having phoned her to say, "Awards bleed the artist and make us compete against each other. They are the most horrible things in the world. How dare you accept this on my behalf". At his behest, Loubert returned the award to the convention organizers.
- Ditko was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.
BBC Documentary
In September 2007, Jonathan RossJonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
hosted a one-hour documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
for the UK arts channel BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, titled In Search of Steve Ditko
In Search of Steve Ditko
In Search of Steve Ditko is a BBC Four documentary. It was first shown on Sunday 16 September 2007.The documentary is part of the Comics Britannia season and follows Jonathan Ross' attempts to track down comics artist Steve Ditko In Search of Steve Ditko is a BBC Four documentary. It was first...
. The program covers Ditko's work at Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
and at Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
's witzend
Witzend
witzend, published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, was an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. witzend was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wood, who handed the reins to Bill Pearson from 1968–1985...
, as well as his following of Objectivism
Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
Objectivism is a philosophy created by the Russian-American philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand . Objectivism holds that reality exists independent of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception...
. It includes testimonials by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson
Jerry Robinson is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.-Career:...
and Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, among others. Ross, accompanied by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
, met Ditko at his New York office but he declined to be filmed, interviewed and photographed for the show. He did however, give the two a selection of some comic books. At the end of the show, Ross said he has since spoken to Ditko on the telephone and continued to say, as a joke, that he was now on first name terms with him.
Selected bibliography
Marvel
- Amazing AdventuresAmazing AdventuresAmazing Adventures is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics.The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and historians call the Silver Age of Comic Books...
#1–6; becomes
- Amazing Adult Fantasy #7–14; becomes
- Amazing FantasyAmazing FantasyAmazing Fantasy is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, and revived in 1995 and in the 2000s. It is best known as the title that introduced the popular superhero character Spider-Man in 1962...
#15- The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#1–38 - The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1–2
- The Avengers Annual #13,15
- Strange TalesStrange TalesStrange Tales is the name of several comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It introduced the features "Doctor Strange" and "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the...
#110–111, 114–146 (Doctor StrangeDoctor StrangeDoctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
) - Strange Tales Annual #2
- The Fantastic Four #13 (inking Jack KirbyJack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
) - The Incredible Hulk #2 (inking Jack Kirby), #6
- Phantom 2040Phantom 2040Phantom 2040 is an American animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom...
#1–4 (The PhantomThe PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
) - Tales of SuspenseTales of SuspenseTales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
#47–49 (Iron ManIron ManIron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
) - Tales to AstonishTales to AstonishTales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
#60–67 (The Hulk in #60–67, Giant Man in #61) - SpeedballSpeedball (comics)Robert "Robbie" Baldwin is a comic book superhero character, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics.Originally known as Speedball, the character was created by artist Steve Ditko and writer Tom DeFalco, initially as a candidate for Marvel's separate New Universe imprint.Baldwin first...
#1–10 - ROM Spaceknight #59–75, Annual #4
- Saban's Mighty Morphin Power RangersMighty Morphin Power RangersMighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
#2 (Nov. 1995)
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Amazing Fantasy
DC
- Strange AdventuresStrange AdventuresStrange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
#188-189 - ShowcaseShowcase (comics)Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#73 (debut, the CreeperCreeper (comics)The Creeper is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. Created by Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Showcase #73 .-Publication history:...
)' #75 (debut, The Hawk and the DoveHawk and DoveHawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
) - Beware the Creeper #1–6
- The Hawk and the DoveHawk and DoveHawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
#1–2 - 1st Issue Special #7 (Creeper)
- Shade, the Changing ManShade, the Changing ManShade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....
#1–8 - World's Finest ComicsWorld's Finest ComicsWorld's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
#249–255 (script & art, Creeper series) - Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#483-485 (The Demon) - Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#487 (Odd Man—debut, originally planned for Shade, the Changing Man #9) - Legion of Super-HeroesLegion of Super-HeroesThe Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
#267, 268, 272, 274, 276, 281 - Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1, 2, a 25-page Creeper story planned for ShowcaseShowcase (comics)Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
#106; and the aforementioned Shade, the Changing ManShade, the Changing ManShade, the Changing Man is a fictional comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was later adapted by Peter Milligan and became one of the first Vertigo titles....
#9
Charlton
- Blue BeetleBlue BeetleBlue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
#1–5 - Mysterious SuspenseQuestion (comics)The Question is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by DC Comics. The original was created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Blue Beetle #1...
#1 - Strange Suspense StoriesStrange Suspense StoriesStrange Suspense Stories was a comic book published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a horror/suspense title, the first volume gradually moved toward eerie fantasy and weird science fiction, before ending as a vehicle for the superhero...
#75–89 (Captain AtomCaptain AtomCaptain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
) - Captain Atom #78–89
- Ghostly Haunts, Ghostly Tales, The Many Ghosts of Doctor GravesThe Many Ghosts of Doctor GravesThe Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves was an American supernatural-anthology comic book published by Charlton Comics and best known as a showcase for the popular writer-artist Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Marvel Comics' Spider-Man. The eponymous Dr. M. T...
(most issues)
Warren
- EerieEerieEerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
#3–10 (1966–1967) - CreepyCreepyCreepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
#9–16 (1966–1967)
Atlas/Seaboard
- The Destructor #1–4 (1975)
- Morlock 2001 #3
- Tiger-ManTiger-ManTiger-Man is a tiger-themed superhero who appeared in a self-titled series published by Atlas/Seaboard Comics in the 1975th year of super-hero comics.-Publication history:...
#2, 3
Independent
- Avenging World (1973) (written, pencilled, inked, and lettered by Ditko. Note that the 2002 Avenging World is a collection of Ditko works including the 1973 comic of that name)
External links
- Hart, Hugh. "Strange and Stranger Salutes Spider-Man Artist Steve Ditko", Wired Magazine, August 21, 2008. WebCitation archive.
- Jonathan, RossJonathan RossJonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
. "The Unsung Hero Behind Spider-Man", The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
14 September 2007. WebCitation archive. - Archive of McQuarrie, Jim, "Fantastic Giants, Vol. 2, No. 24", "Oddball Comics" (column), #1146, March 5, 2007
- Steve Ditko.com (fan site)