Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko (born 2 November 1927 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is a renowned comic book artist and writer best known as the co-creator of Spider-Man.

Related Topics:
2 November - 1927 - Johnstown, Pennsylvania - Comic book - Artist - Writer - Spider-Man

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Ditko studied at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School in New York City under Jerry Robinson and began professionally illustrating comic books in 1953. Much of his early work was for Charlton Comics (for whom he continued to work intermittently until the company's demise in 1986), producing science fiction, horror and mystery stories. In the late 1950s, he also began working for Atlas Comics, the company soon to be renamed Marvel Comics.

Related Topics:
Cartoonists and Illustrators School - New York City - Jerry Robinson - 1953 - Charlton Comics - 1986 - Science fiction - Horror - Mystery - 1950s - Atlas Comics - Marvel Comics

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At Marvel in 1962, Ditko co-created Spider-Man, and shortly thereafter Doctor Strange, in collaboration with writer-editor Stan Lee. Ditko also drew a run of "The Incredible Hulk" in the final issue of the eponymous magazine and then in Tales to Astonish. In that run, the most notable contribution was the idea of Banner becoming the Hulk under extreme emotional stress which made the character a cultural archetype. Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, instantly recognizeable art style, emphasizing mood and anxiety, found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled social life meshed well with Ditko's personal style and interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving the artist plotting credits on the latter part of their 38-issue run together. But after four years on the title, Ditko left Marvel; he and Lee had not been on speaking terms for some time, though the details remain uncertain. The last straw is often alleged to have been a disagreement as to the secret identity of the Green Goblin, but Ditko himself has stated in print that this was not the case.

Related Topics:
1962 - Doctor Strange - Editor - Stan Lee - The Incredible Hulk - Tales to Astonish - Secret identity - Green Goblin

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At Charlton, he worked on characters such as Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, and The Question. With the latter, Ditko freely expressed his personal philosophy, inspired by Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Greek philosopher Aristotle. In addition to his continuing work at Charlton, whose page rate was comparatively low but who allowed their creators great freedom, Ditko drew 16 stories for Warren Publishing's horror-comic magazines, most of which were done using ink-wash.

Related Topics:
Captain Atom - Blue Beetle - The Question - Ayn Rand - Objectivism - Aristotle - Warren Publishing - Magazines

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In 1967, Ditko gave his philosphical 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 alienated many fans, but he contined to produce Mr. A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s. Ditko returned to Mr. A once more in 2000.

Related Topics:
1967 - Mr. A - Wally Wood - Witzend - 1970 - 2000

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By 1968, Ditko was producing his first work for DC Comics. He created The Creeper and co-created The Hawk and the Dove. Ditko used these tales, ostensibly in the superhero genre, to explore various ethical issues, which perhaps contributed to their poor commerical success. Ditko's stay at DC was short, and again, the reasons for his departure are uncertain. He spent the end of the '60s up to the mid-'70s working exclusively for Charlton and various small press/independent publishers.

Related Topics:
1968 - DC Comics - The Creeper - The Hawk and the Dove - Genre

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Ditko returned to DC in the mid-'70s, creating one short-lived title, Shade, the Changing Man. Shade was later successfully revived, without Ditko's involvement, and was one of the longer-running titles in the DC Vertigo line. He also revived The Creeper and did various other, more obscure jobs. He finally returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man title. He worked regularly for both companies until his retirement from mainstream comics.

Related Topics:
Shade, the Changing Man - Vertigo - 1979 - Jack Kirby - Machine Man

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Ditko retired from the mainstream in 1998. Since then, his strictly solo work has been published intermittently by independent publisher and long-time friend Robin Snyder, who was his editor at Charlton, Archie Comics (where Synder scripted Ditko's plots on a revival of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's The Fly), and Renegade Press in the 1980s. The Snyder-published books have included Static, The Missing Man, The Mocker and, most recently, Avenging World (2002), a giant collection of stories and essays spanning 30 years.

Related Topics:
1998 - Archie Comics - Joe Simon - The Fly - Renegade Press - 1980s - 2002

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Ditko resides in New York City. Though a prolific and hard-working artist he is also an intensely private man. Preferring to speak for himself (through both his comics work and numerous essays), he has refused to give interviews since the 1960s.

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