HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stephen John Ditko. Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular activities: "Vocational Course. Ambition: Undecided". (; November 2, 1927) was an American
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artist best known for being the co-creator of
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
superheroes
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
and
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
. He also made notable contributions to the character of
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
, introducing the character's signature red and yellow design. Ditko studied under
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
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 Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was 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
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist
Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an 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 li ...
. During this time, he began his long association with
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero
Captain Atom Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
in 1960. During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'', co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
. Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'' and the "Doctor Strange" feature in ''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'', Ditko left Marvel. He continued to work for Charlton and also
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, including a revamp of the long-running character the
Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the rights to the ...
and creating or co-creating The Question, The Creeper,
Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...
,
Nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
, 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 Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
's philosophy of
Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...
. Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work. He responded to fan mail, sending thousands of handwritten letters during his lifetime. Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's
Jack Kirby Hall of Fame The following is a list of winners of the Harvey Award, sorted by category. In 2017, the Harvey Awards decided to skip the 2017 awards ceremony and to reboot the ceremony for 2018 in order to give fewer awards by focusing on works instead of indiv ...
in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2024, Ditko was named a
Disney Legend Disney Legends is a Hall of Fame award that is awarded by The Walt Disney Company to individuals who " avemade a significant impact on the Disney legacy." The honor was established in 1987, and was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...
for his contributions to Publishing.


Early life

Stephen John Ditko was born on November 2, 1927, in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...
. His parents were second-generation Americans: children of Rusyn Byzantine Catholic immigrants from the former
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
(now
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
).For information on the Ditkos's origins and Steve's siblings, see Bell, ''Strange and Stranger'', Endnotes, p.1, citing 1920 and
1930 United States Census The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during t ...
data. "Ditko's grandparents were of Austrian descent (the paternal grandfather having landed in 1900, and paternal grandmother in 1901), even though Ditko's parents, on the 1930 Census, list their parents as 'Czechoslovakian'. Czechoslovakia coming into creation in 1918, owing to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI (and the parents' mother tongue being Slovak)."
His father, Stefan ("Stephen"), was an artistically talented master carpenter at a
steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...
and his mother, Anna (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Balaschak), a homemaker. The second-oldest child in a working-class family, he was preceded by sister Anna Marie, and followed by sister Elizabeth and brother Patrick. Inspired by his father's love of newspaper
comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
, particularly
Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship ...
's ''
Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American 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 s ...
'', Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by the introduction of the superhero
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
in 1939, and by
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...
's '' The Spirit'', which appeared in a tabloid-sized comic-book insert in Sunday newspapers. 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
aircraft-spotters. Upon graduating from Greater Johnstown High School in 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 26, 1945, and did military service in
Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sov ...
, where he drew comics for an Army newspaper.


Career

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 The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...
) in New York City. Moving there in 1950, he enrolled in the art school under the
G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...
. Robinson found the young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing"Jerry Robinson interview, ''
Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
'' #38 (Aug. 2004), p. 9
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, Jerry, "Student and Teacher", in Yoe, Craig, ed. ''The Art of Ditko'' (
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
, January 2010), , p. 54
Robinson, who invited artists and editors to speak with his class, once brought in
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
, then editor of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
' 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 Key Publications was an American comic-book company founded by Stanley P. Morse that published under the imprint (trade name), imprints Aragon Magazines, Gillmor Magazines, Medal Comics, Media Publications, S. P. M. Publications, St ...
imprint Stanmor Publications, which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell, where it finally found publication in ''Fantastic Fears'' #5 (
cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
d February 1954). Ditko's first published work was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in ''Daring Love'' #1 (October 1953), published by the Key imprint Gillmor Magazines. Shortly afterward, Ditko found work at the studio of writer-artists
Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was 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
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
, who had created
Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
and other characters. Beginning as an inker on backgrounds, Ditko was soon working with and learning from
Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an 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 li ...
, 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 Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...
' '' Captain 3-D'' #1 (December 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 (December 1953), published by Simon & Kirby's
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 fea ...
imprint
Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
. Ditko then began a long association with the
Derby, Connecticut Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately west-northwest of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic River, Housatonic and Naugatuck River ...
, publisher
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
, 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 A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
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 Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
, with writer
Joe Gill Joseph P. Gill (July 13, 1919 – December 17, 2006)Social Security Death Inde ...
, in ''
Space Adventures Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spacefl ...
'' #33 (March 1960). Ditko was allowed a great deal of creative freedom at Charlton due to very little editorial interference. However, the
Comics Code Authority The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...
was imposed on the comics industry in 1954 due to public concern over graphic violence and horror imagery in comic books, and would prevent Ditko from further developing as a horror artist. He first went on hiatus from the company, and comics altogether, in mid-1954, when he contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and returned to his parents' home in Johnstown to recuperate.


Marvel Comics

After he recovered, Ditko had originally intended to return to Charlton, but Charlton's office had been flooded by
Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $11,764,962,686 today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It tropical ...
and operations wouldn't resume until months later. Ditko instead moved back to New York City in late 1955 and began drawing for Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, beginning with the four-page "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in ''
Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s ...
'' #33 (April 1956); this debut tale would be reprinted in Marvel's ''Curse of the Weird'' #4 (March 1994). In 1957, Atlas switched distributors to the
American News Company American News Company (ANC) was a magazine, newspaper, book, and comic book distribution company founded in 1864 by Sinclair Tousey, which dominated the distribution market in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th ce ...
, which shortly afterward lost a
Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...
and discontinued its business, leading to Atlas's entire staff being laid off. Ditko returned to Charlton afterward and experimented with various drawing styles and genres in series such as '' Tales of the Mysterious Traveler'' and ''This Magazine is Haunted''. During the summer of 1958, writer-editor
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
invited Ditko back to Atlas. Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's ''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'' and the newly launched ''
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 h ...
'', '' Strange Worlds'', ''
Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...
'' and ''
Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...
'', 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 Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septem ...
,
Paul Reinman Paul J. Reinman (; born Joseph Paul Reinmann, ; 2 September 1910 – 27 September 1988)Paul J. Reinmen
, or Joe Sinnott, all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflective short by Ditko and Stan Lee. The first collaboration between Ditko and Lee was ''2-Gun Western'' #4 (May 1956), which was also Ditko's only non-fantasy story. These Lee-Ditko short stories 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 A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a Television, television program teleplay or a film screenplay. In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and ...
" 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 Goodman to create a new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man", Lee originally approached his leading artist,
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
. 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 super powers. Comics historian
Greg Theakston Greg Allen Theakston (November 21, 1953 – April 22, 2019) was an Americans, American comics artist and illustrator who worked for numerous publishers. He is known for his independent publications as a comics historian under his Pure Imagin ...
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 /nowiki>i.e., page 1and at the end
here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...
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 " nothing better comes along." Additional, February 28, 2012. 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 (
sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; ''thus'', ''so'', and ''in this manner'') inserted after a quotation indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated as found in the source text, including erroneous, archaic, or unusual spelling ...
) 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 1968, Ditko shared a
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
studio at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue with noted fetish artist
Eric Stanton Eric Stanton (born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.; September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999) was an American underground cartoonist and Sexual fetishism, fetish art pioneer. While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the major ...
, 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. Additional . Ditko biographer Blake Bell, without citing sources, said, "At one time in history, Ditko denied ever touching Stanton's work, even though Stanton himself said they would each dabble in each other's art; mainly spot-inking", and the introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in
India ink India ink (British English: Indian ink; also Chinese ink) is a simple black or coloured ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing and outlining, especially when inking comic books and comic strips. In ...
, 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".Theakston, ''Steve Ditko Reader'', p. 14 (unnumbered, misordered as page 16) Spider-Man debuted in ''
Amazing Fantasy ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'', retitled ''Amazing Fantasy'' in its final issue, is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, with the latter title revived with superhero features in 1995 and in the 20 ...
'' #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'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
''. Lee and Ditko's collaboration on the series saw the creation of many of the character's best known antagonists including
Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''The Amazin ...
in issue #3 (July 1963); the
Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The San ...
in #4 (Sept. 1963); the
Lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...
in #6 (Nov. 1963); Electro in #9 (March 1964); and the
Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
in #14 (July 1964). Increasingly irritated by his perception that he was not receiving his due or proper compensation, Ditko demanded credit for the plotting he was contributing under the
Marvel Method A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a Television, television program teleplay or a film screenplay. In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and ...
. Lee acquiesced, and starting with #25 (June 1965), Ditko received plot credit for the stories. One of the most celebrated issues of the Lee-Ditko run is #33 (Feb. 1966), the third part of the story arc " If This Be My Destiny...!", and featuring the dramatic scene of Spider-Man, through force of will and thoughts of family, escaping from being pinned by heavy machinery. Comics historian Les Daniels noted, "Steve Ditko squeezes every ounce of anguish out of Spider-Man's predicament, complete with visions of the uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save."
Peter David Peter Allen David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Grea ...
observed, "After his origin, this two-page sequence from ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #33 is perhaps the best-loved sequence from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era." Steve Saffel stated the "full page Ditko image from ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #33 is one of the most powerful ever to appear in the series and influenced writers and artists for many years to come." Matthew K. Manning wrote that "Ditko's illustrations for the first few pages of this Lee story included what would become one of the most iconic scenes in Spider-Man's history." The story was chosen as #15 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor
Robert Greenberger Robert Greenberger (born July 24, 1958) is an American writer and editor known for his work on ''Comics Scene'', ''Starlog'', ''Weekly World News'', the novelization of the film ''Hellboy II: The Golden Army#Novelization, Hellboy II'', and for ...
wrote in his introduction to the story, "These first five pages are a modern-day equivalent to Shakespeare as Parker's soliloquy sets the stage for his next action. And with dramatic pacing and storytelling, Ditko delivers one of the great sequences in all comics." In this series, Ditko also had a lasting effect on Marvel's
branding Branding may refer to: Physical markings * Making a mark, typically by charring: ** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.) ** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...
when he inserted a small box on the upper left-hand corner of issue #2 that featured a picture of Spider-Man's face along with the company name and price. Stan Lee approved of this visual motif and soon made it a standard feature on all of Marvel's subsequent comic books that would last for decades. Two of the most sought-after Spider-Man collectibles during Ditko's time on the series were mail-away items ordered through comic book ads. Ditko art was featured on a very popular t-shirt and on a 6' tall poster.


Doctor Strange and other characters

Ditko created the
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
hero
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
in ''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'' #110 (July 1963). Ditko in the 2000s told a visiting fan that Lee gave Dr. Strange the first name "Stephen". Though often overshadowed by his Spider-Man work, Ditko's Doctor Strange artwork has been equally acclaimed for its
surrealistic Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
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. drug users" recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on
mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
. But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do." Ditko, "always the most straight-laced man in comics", was deeply offended by the suggestion that he used
psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluc ...
s to create the worlds of ''Dr. Strange''. Eventually Lee & Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in ''Strange Tales'' #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Lee and Ditko introduced the cosmic character
Eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...
, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos.''Strange Tales'' #134
at the Grand Comics Database: "Indexer Notes: Part 5 of 17. First mention of Eternity. Strange would finally find it in ''Strange Tales'' #138 (November 1965)".
As historian Bradford W. Wright describes, The
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
and fine artist
Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...
in 2003 described Ditko's style as: In addition to Dr. Strange, Ditko in the 1960s also drew comics starring the Hulk and Iron Man. He penciled and inked the final issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (#6, March 1963), then continued to collaborate with writer-editor Lee on a relaunched
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
feature in the omnibus ''
Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...
'', beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by
George Roussos George Roussos (; August 20, 1915 – February 19, 2000), also known under the pseudonym George Bell, was an American comic book artist best known as one of Jack Kirby's Silver Age of comic books, Silver Age inkers, including on landmark early is ...
, penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the
Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
, in #63 (Jan. 1965). Ditko also penciled the
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
feature in ''
Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...
'' #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. Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
, 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 Ross, Jonathan, ''In Search of Steve Ditko'',
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
that the disagreement was over the true identity of the
Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, ...
: "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after roduction manager
Sol Brodsky Soloman "Sol" Brodsky (April 22, 1923 – June 4, 1984) was an People of the United States, American comic book artist who, as Marvel Comics' Silver Age of comic books, Silver Age Unit production manager, production manager, was one of the key arc ...
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".Lawrence, Christopher, "Who Is Steve Ditko?", ''Wizard'' #124 (Jan. 2002) 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. ..." A friendly farewell was given to Ditko in the " Bullpen Bulletins" of comics cover-dated July 1966, including ''Fantastic Four'' #52: "Steve recently told us he was leaving for personal reasons. After all these years, we're sorry to see him go, and we wish the talented guy success with his future endeavors." 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."


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 the
Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the rights to the ...
(1967–1968), the
Question A question is an utterance which serves as a request for information. Questions are sometimes distinguished from interrogatives, which are the grammar, grammatical forms, typically used to express them. Rhetorical questions, for instance, are i ...
(1967–1968), and
Captain Atom Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
(1965–1967), returning to the character he had co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966 and 1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by Archie Goodwin, for
Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
's horror-comic magazines ''
Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...
'' and ''
Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...
'', generally using an ink-wash technique. In 1967, Ditko gave his Objectivist ideas ultimate expression in the form of Mr. A, published in
Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
's independent title ''
witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comix, underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the wri ...
'' # 3, an underground anthology comic in black and white that avoided the Comics Code Authority by being published in magazine format and only being available by subscription, and whose editorial policy was to allow artistic freedom without any editorial interference. Mr. A is a similar character to the Question, but without being restricted by the Comics Code. 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 (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
in 1968, where he co-created the Creeper in '' Showcase'' #73 (April 1968) with Don Segall, under editor Murray Boltinoff. DC Comics writer and executive
Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...
observed that Ditko's art on the ''Creeper'' stories made "them look unlike anything else being published by DC at the time." Ditko co-created the team Hawk and Dove in ''Showcase'' #75 (June 1968), with writer
Steve Skeates Stephen Skeates (; January 29, 1943 – March 30, 2023) was an American comic book creator known for his work on such titles as ''Aquaman'', ''Hawk and Dove'', ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', and ''Plop!'' He also wrote under the pseudonyms Chester P. ...
. 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 Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...
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 Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the emalecolor separators with candy and other little gifts".Cooke, Jon B., & Christopher Irving
"The Charlton Empire: A Brief History of the Derby, Connecticut Publisher"
''
Comic Book Artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...
''  #9, August 2000. Access date April 27, 2010
WebCitation archive
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 Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Com ...
, 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 Wally Wood. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of ''
Tiger-Man Tiger-Man is a tiger-themed superhero who appeared in a self-titled series published by Atlas/Seaboard Comics in 1975. Publication history The first appearance of "Tiger-Man" was in the first issue of ''Thrilling Adventure Stories'', February 19 ...
'' and the third issue of ''Morlock 2001'', with
Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017) was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein, adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his other ho ...
inking.


After 1975

Ditko returned to DC Comics in 1975, creating a short-lived title, ''
Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...
'' (1977–1978). Shade was later revived, without Ditko's involvement, in DC's mature-audience imprint
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...
. With writer
Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002 to 2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...
, he co-created the four-issue
sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of Romance (love), romance, Magic (fantasy), magic, and the supernatural are also ...
series ''
Stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring t ...
'' (1975–1976). Ditko and writer
Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
produced the first issue of a two-issue ''
Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...
'' series. He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short
Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
backup series in 1979, created The Odd Man and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. Editor
Jack C. Harris Jack C. Harris (born August 30, 1947) is an Americans, American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics. Biography Early life and career Jack C. Harris attended the University of the Arts (Ph ...
hired Ditko as guest artist on several issues of ''The
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
'', a decision which garnered a mixed reaction from the title's readership. Ditko also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman in ''
Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New 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: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' and a pinup for ''
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
'' #400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio. Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's ''
Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
'', drawing ''The
Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...
'' and
Captain Universe Captain Universe is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, the character first appeared in '' Micronauts'' #8 (August 1979). Captain Universe is the guardian and prote ...
, and continuing to freelance for the company into the late 1990s. Starting in 1984, he penciled the last two years of the space-robot series ''
Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
''. A
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
story by Ditko and
Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...
was changed into a
Dragon Lord ''Dragon Lord'' (also known as ''Dragon Strike'', ) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang and Barry Wong. It was originally supposed to be a sequel t ...
story published in ''
Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series or ...
''. Ditko and writer
Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
introduced the Speedball character in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #22 (1988) and Ditko drew a ten-issue series based on the character. In 1982, he also began freelancing for the early independent comics label
Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...
, beginning with '' Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers'' #6 (Sept. 1982), in which he introduced the superhero Missing Man, with
Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series '' Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book '' Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and ...
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 The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
'' #2 (April 1983). For
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 store, comic book specialty stor ...
, 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 A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
the Exploder in #2. With writer Jack C. Harris, Ditko drew the backup feature "The Faceless Ones" in
First Comics First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present (stylized as 1First Comics), known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' ...
' '' Warp'' #2–4 (April–June 1983). Working with that same writer and others, Ditko drew a handful of the Fly, Flygirl and
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
stories for ''The Fly'' #2–8 (July 1983 – Aug. 1984), for
Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
' short-lived 1980s superhero line; in a rare latter-day instance of Ditko inking another artist, he inked
penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...
Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was 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 s ...
on the Jaguar story in ''The Fly'' #9 (Oct. 1984).
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...
in 1982 announced a series by Ditko and Harris would appear in a new science-fiction comic, ''Astral Frontiers'', but that title never materialized. Ditko and Harris created ''3-D Substance'', a character with the power to turn invisible in a 3-D comic, in 1990. Substance also had the ability to project his voice away from himself, which Ditko demonstrated through the placement of word balloons. In the early 1990s Ditko worked for Jim Shooter's newly founded company
Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...
, drawing, among others, issues of ''
Magnus, Robot Fighter Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional superhero who battles rogue robots in the year 4000, appearing in comic books created by writer/artist Russ Manning in 1963.Steve Holland, ''Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History''. Lewes: ILEX, 2009. . .pp. 102–1 ...
'', ''Solar, Man of the Atom'' and '' X-O-Manowar''. In 1992 Ditko worked with writer
Will Murray William Murray (born 1953) is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl. Biography Early ...
to produce one of his last original characters for Marvel Comics, the superheroine Squirrel Girl, who debuted in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2, #8, a.k.a. ''Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special'' (Jan. 1992).''Marvel Super-Heroes'' (Marvel, 1990 series)
at the
Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...
In 1992 he had a meeting with Stan Lee, who wanted to work with Ditko on a comic project about a "garbageman superhero from the future", but he declined because he didn't like the future portrayed in the concept. When Lee then suggested they should do a Spider-Man graphic novel together, he declined that too, claiming he no longer had the same feelings for the character that he once had. In 1993, he did the
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
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 A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...
. 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 Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
, 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 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 ynRand'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'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' coloring book and his Big Boy comic is like hearing
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
sell frozen peas." Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998. His later work for Marvel and DC included such established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in ''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...
'') and newer, licensed characters such as the ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...
''. 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 is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
story "A Man's Reach....", scripted by
Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine (character), Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel sup ...
. His final mainstream work was a five-page
New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...
story for DC Comics, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 ''Orion'' series Additiona
WebCitation archive
of main page.
but not published until the 2008 trade paperback ''Tales of the New Gods''. Thereafter, Ditko's solo work was published intermittently by Robin Snyder, who was his editor at Charlton, Archie Comics, and
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 included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and ''normalman''. History Loubert was publ ...
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. Releases have continued in that format, with stories introducing such characters as the Hero, Miss Eerie, the Cape, the Madman, the Grey Negotiator, the !? and the Outline. He said in 2012 of his self-published efforts, "I do those because that's all they'll let me do". In addition to the new material, Ditko and Snyder reprinted earlier Ditko material. In 2010 they published a new edition of the 1973 ''Mr. A'' comic and a selection of Ditko covers in ''The Cover Series''. In 2011 they published a new edition of the 1975 comic ''...Wha...!? Ditko's H. Series''. Two "lost" stories drawn by Ditko in 1978 have been published by DC in hardcover collections of the artist's work. A Creeper story scheduled for the never published '' Showcase'' #106 appears in ''The Creeper by Steve Ditko'' (2010) and an unpublished ''Shade, the Changing Man'' story appears in ''The Steve Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1'' (2011). A
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
and the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...
story written by Jack C. Harris and drawn by Ditko in the 1980s was published by Marvel as ''Incredible Hulk and the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault'' #1 in August 2011.


Personal life

As of 2012, Ditko continued to work in Manhattan's Midtown West neighborhood. He mostly declined to give interviews or make public appearances, 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." However, he did contribute numerous essays to Robin Snyder's fanzine ''The Comics''. He had a nephew who became an artist, also named Steve Ditko. As far as it is known, he never married and had no surviving children at the time of his death.
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...
stated that Ditko had a son out of wedlock; this may have been a confused reference to the nephew. Politically, Ditko supported a "constitutional republic" and "inalienable individual and property rights". He supported neither
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
nor
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
in the 2004 presidential election due to believing neither would prioritize them. Ditko said in 2012 that he had made no income on the four ''Spider-Man'' films released to that time. However, a neighbor of Ditko stated that Ditko received royalty checks. Those involved with creating the 2016 film ''
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
'' purposely declined to contact him during production, believing they would not be welcome. Ditko described himself as an atheist.


Objectivism

Ditko was an ardent supporter of
Objectivism Objectivism is a philosophical system named and developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive a ...
. The philosophy of
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
had "forever changed itko'soutlook on morality, finances and his mission as a comic-book creator". After Ditko had received greater control of the plotting, he began revering the role of policemen in his Spider-Man work. Ditko had once told his Charlton co-worker
Pete Morisi Peter A. Morisi (January 7, 1928 – October 12, 2003),Peter A. Morisi
, a policeman who moonlighted as a comic book artist, that he envied Morisi for being able to arrest criminals. Randian philosophy had influenced Ditko to demand being credited and compensated as both the plotter and artist for Spider-Man beginning in issue #25, which Stan Lee (now credited as "scripter") allowed, though their working relationship would begin deteriorating. Other ways Ditko incorporated Randian views into Spider-Man were by having Peter Parker become more aggressive, demand better pay for his Spider-Man photos, and show contempt for student protestors. Marvel publisher Martin Goodman had been worried that Parker's hard right-wing politics would distance the character from most left-leaning, countercultural university students, and disputes with Goodman over royalties had led to Ditko leaving Marvel. Ditko later expressed his Objectivist views even further with the Question, who criticized the apathy of the public toward right and wrong, and Mr. A, who refused to save villains from death. He also described himself as an Aristotelian which his Objectivist views would align with.


Death

Ditko was found unresponsive in his apartment in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on June 29, 2018. Police said he had died within the previous two days. He was pronounced dead at the age of 90, with the cause of death initially deemed as a result of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
, brought on by arteriosclerotic and hypertensive
cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina, heart attack), heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumati ...
. The final words of Ditko's last essay, published posthumously in ''Down Memory Lane'' in February 2019, quoted an "old toast": "Here's to those who wish me well, and those that don't can go to hell." In June 2021, Ditko's nephew Mark Ditko was interviewed and discussed his history with his uncle and his legacy, dispelling myths about him while also discussing his work with the Bottleworks Exhibition which houses a Steve Ditko Exhibition. He also shared rare photos among many other facts.


Legacy

In 2021, Steve Ditko's younger brother Patrick, executor of his estate, in cooperation with the estates of artistic colleagues
Don Heck Donald L. HeckDonald L. Heck
at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on Septem ...
,
Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...
and
Don Rico Donato Francisco Rico II (; September 26, 1912 – March 27, 1985) was an American paperback novelist, screenwriter, wood engraver and comic book writer-artist, who co-created the Marvel Comics characters the Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) with p ...
filed a lawsuit to terminate and reclaim the copyrights for their characters from Marvel Comics under the justification of the
Copyright Act of 1976 The Copyright Act of 1976 is a United States copyright law and remains the primary basis of copyright law in the United States, as amended by several later enacted copyright provisions. The Act spells out the basic rights of copyright holders, ...
. Marvel countersued the litigants citing the same law since the creations were made under
work for hire In copyright law, a work made for hire (work for hire or WFH) is a work whose copyright is initially owned by an entity other than the actual creator as a result of an employment relationship or, in some cases, a commission. It is an exception to t ...
contracts, the company had full ownership. While the other participants settled in June 2023, the Ditko estate persisted until December 8, 2023. Although the settlements are confidential, Marvel's full ownership of the copyrights was secured for undisclosed sums to the creators. In June 2022, a mural was completed in Ditko's hometown. Approved by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, and featuring his two most well-known characters (
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
and Dr. Strange), the outline of the artwork was printed upon large white sheets of durable material. Community members painted upon the sheets during the winter and spring months, and then they were attached to a 28-foot tall wall. Ditko was honored as a
Disney Legend Disney Legends is a Hall of Fame award that is awarded by The Walt Disney Company to individuals who " avemade a significant impact on the Disney legacy." The honor was established in 1987, and was traditionally awarded annually during a speci ...
for his contributions to Marvel, and by extension
the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
, at the 2024 D23 Expo.


Artistic style

Ditko preferred to introduce characters before giving them a proper origin story (which he called "legends"), believing that a character should first be proven worthy of having their origins told. For example,
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
first appeared abruptly in ''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'' #110 before his origin was revealed in issue #115, which Stan Lee attributed to the pair forgetting to tell but was in fact intentional.


Awards and honors

* 1962 Alley Award for Best Short Story: "Origin of
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
" by
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and Steve Ditko, ''
Amazing Fantasy ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'', retitled ''Amazing Fantasy'' in its final issue, is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, with the latter title revived with superhero features in 1995 and in the 20 ...
'' #15 (Marvel Comics). * 1963 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero Comic Book: ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'' * 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 Annual'' #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 International San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...
in absentia, accepted on his behalf by
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 included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and ''normalman''. History Loubert was publ ...
publisher
Deni Loubert Denise "Deni" Loubert (born September 30, 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" '' Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed July 19, 2011WebCitation archive is a Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim, a ...
, 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. * 1991 UK Comic Art Award Career Achievement Award"British Awards Announced," ''The Comics Journal'' #142 (June 1991), p. 17. * Ditko was inducted into the
Jack Kirby Hall of Fame The following is a list of winners of the Harvey Award, sorted by category. In 2017, the Harvey Awards decided to skip the 2017 awards ceremony and to reboot the ceremony for 2018 in order to give fewer awards by focusing on works instead of indiv ...
in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. * 2015 Inkwell Awards Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award


BBC documentary

In September 2007, presenter
Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...
hosted a one-hour documentary for
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
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 writers and artists
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...
,
Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...
, Jerry Robinson and Stan Lee, among others. Ross, accompanied by writer
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
, met Ditko briefly at his New York office, but he declined to be filmed, interviewed or photographed. He did, however, give the two a selection of some comic books. At the end of the show, Ross said he had since spoken to Ditko on the telephone and, as a joke, that he was now on first name terms with him.


Bibliography

As penciler (generally but not exclusively self-inked), unless otherwise noted Farrell Publications *'' Strange Fantasy'' #2–14 (1952–1954) *''Fantastic Fears'' #5 (1954)
Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...
*'' Captain 3-D'' #1 (inks assist to
Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an 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 li ...
) (1953)
Key Publications Key Publications was an American comic-book company founded by Stanley P. Morse that published under the imprint (trade name), imprints Aragon Magazines, Gillmor Magazines, Medal Comics, Media Publications, S. P. M. Publications, St ...
*''Daring Love'' #1 (1953) *''Blazing Western'' #1 (1954)
Prize Comics A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
* ''Black Magic'' #27–29, 47 (1953–1961)
Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...
*'' The Thing!'' #12–15, 17 (1954) *'' This Magazine is Haunted'' #16–19, 21 (1954) *''Crime and Justice'' #18 (1954) *''Racket Squad in Action'' #11–12 (1954) *''
Strange Suspense Stories ''Strange Suspense Stories'' is a comic book that was published in two volumes by Fawcett Comics and Charlton Comics in the 1950s and 1960s. Starting out as a Horror comic, horror/Suspense (genre), suspense title, the first volume gradually moved ...
'' #18–22, 31–37, 39–41, 45, 47–48, 50–53 (1954–1961) *''
Space Adventures Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spacefl ...
'' #10–12, 24–27, 31–40, 42 (#33 debut
Captain Atom Captain Atom is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books, initially owned by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. All possess some form of energy-manipulating abilities, usually relating to nuc ...
) (1954–1961) *''From Here to Insanity'' #10 (1955) *'' Tales of the Mysterious Traveler'' #2–11 (1957–1959) *''Out of this World'' #3–12, 16 (1957–1959) *''Cheyenne Kid'' #10 (1957) *''This Magazine is Haunted'' vol. 2 #12–14, 16 (1957–1958) *''From Here to Insanity'' vol. 3 #10 (1957) *''Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds'' #3–12, 19, 21–24, 26 (1957–1961) *''Texas Rangers in Action'' #8, 77 (1957–1970) *''Unusual Tales'' #6–12, 14–15, 22–23, 25–27, 29 (1957–1961) *'' Fightin' Army'' #20, 89–90, 92 (1957–1970) *''Outer Space'' #18–21 (1958) *''Robin Hood and his Merry Men'' #38 (1958) *''Rocky Lane's Black Jack'' #24–28 (1958–1959) *'' Black Fury'' #16–18 (1958–1959) *''Outlaws of the West'' #18, 80–81 (1959–1970) *''Gorgo'' #1–4, 11, 13–16, ''The Return of Gorgo'' #2–3 (1960–1964) *''Konga'' #1, 3–15, ''Konga's Revenge'' #2 (1960–1963) *''Space War'' #4–6, 8, 10 (1960–1961) *''Mad Monsters'' #1 (1961) *''Captain Atom'' #78–89 (1965–1967) *''Fantastic Giants'' #64 (1966) *''Shadows from Beyond'' #50 (1966) *'' Ghostly Tales'' #55–58, 60–61, 67, 69–73, 75–90, 92–97, 99–123, 125–126 (1966–1977) *'' The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves'' #1, 7, 9, 11–13, 15–18, 20–22, 24, 26–35, 37–38, 40–43, 47–48, 51–56, 58, 60–62 (1967–1977) *''
Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three superheroes appearing in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the rights to the ...
'' #1–5 (1967–1968) *'' Mysterious Suspense'' #1 ( The Question) (1968) *''Outer Space'' vol. 2 #1 (1968) *''Strange Suspense Stories'' vol. 2 #2 (1968) *''Charlton Premiere'' #4 (1968) *''Time for Love'' #13 (1969) *''Space Adventures'' vol. 3 #2, 5–6, 8 (1968–1969) *'' Jungle Jim'' #22, 27–28 (1969–1970) *'' Ghost Manor'' #13–16, 18–19 (1970–1971) *''Phantom'' #36, 39 (1970) *''Romantic Story'' #107 (1970) *''Just Married'' #79 (1971) *'' I Love You'' # 91 (1971) *'' Haunted'' #1–8, 11–16, 18, 23–25, 28, 30 (1971–1976) *''Ghost Manor'' vol. 2 #1–18, 20–22, 24–26, 28–31, 37 (1971–1978) *'' Ghostly Haunts'' #22–34, 36–40, 43–48, 50, 52, 54 (1972–1977) *'' Haunted Love'' #4–5 (1973) *'' E-Man'' #2, 4 (Killjoy), #5 (intro Liberty Belle II) (1973–1974) *'' Midnight Tales'' #12 (1975) *''Scary Tales'' #3, 5, 7–8, 11–12, 14–15 (1975–1978) *''Beyond the Grave'' #1–6 (1975–1976) *''Monster Hunters'' #2, 4, 6, 8, 10 (1975–1977) *''Creepy Things'' #3, 5 (1975–1976) *'' Doomsday +1'' #5 (1976)
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
*''2-Gun Western'' #4 (1956) *''
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 h ...
'' #1–6 (1961); becomes ::'' Amazing Adult Fantasy'' #7–14 (1961–1962); becomes :::''
Amazing Fantasy ''Amazing Adult Fantasy'', retitled ''Amazing Fantasy'' in its final issue, is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, with the latter title revived with superhero features in 1995 and in the 20 ...
'' #15 (debut
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
) (1962) *''
Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'' #1–38, ''Annual'' #1–2 (1963–1966) *''Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #22 (debut Speedball), #24–25 (1988–1991) *''Astonishing'' #53 (1956) *'' Avengers Annual'' #13, 15 (1984–1986) *''Battle'' #63, 68, 70 (1958–1960) *''Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos'' 1–3 (1987) *'' Crazy Magazine'' #68 (1980) *'' Daredevil'' #162, 234–235, 264 (1980–1989) *''Destroyer, The'' #4 (1990) *''Destroyer, The'' vol. 2 #1 (1991) *'' The Fantastic Four'' #13 (inking Jack Kirby) (1963) *''Fantastic Four Annual'' #16 (1981) *'' Gunsmoke Western'' #56, 66 (1960–1961) *''Heroes & Legends'' #1 (1997) *'' The Incredible Hulk'' #2 (inking
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
), #6 (1962–1963) *''The Incredible Hulk'' #249, ''Annual'' #9 (1980) *''Incredible Hulk and the Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault'' #1 (story created in the 1980s) (2011) *'' The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones'' #21, 25–28, 32–34 (1984–1986) *''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' #160 (1982) *''Iron Man Annual'' #11 (1990) *''
Journey into Mystery ''Journey into Mystery'' is an American comic book series initially published by Atlas Comics, then by its successor, Marvel Comics. Initially a horror comics anthology, it changed to giant-monster and science fiction stories in the late 1950s ...
'' #33, 38, 50–96 (1956–1963) *''
Machine Man Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for '' 2001: A ...
'' #10–19 (1979–1981) * ''Journey Into Unknown Worlds'' #45, 51 (1956) *''
Marvel Age ''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as i ...
Annual'' #4 (Speedball) (1988) *''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...
'' #7, 10, 14, 54, 56, 58, 80–81, 83 (1988–1991) *''Marvel Legacy'' Doctor Strange #381 *'' Marvel Preview'' #21 (
Shroud Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the Jewish '' ...
) (1980) *''
Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series or ...
'' vol. 2 #4 ( Captain Marvel), #5 (
Dragon Lord ''Dragon Lord'' (also known as ''Dragon Strike'', ) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang and Barry Wong. It was originally supposed to be a sequel t ...
), #9–11 (
Captain Universe Captain Universe is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden, the character first appeared in '' Micronauts'' #8 (August 1979). Captain Universe is the guardian and prote ...
) (1980–1981) *'' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #1–3, #5–8 (#8 debut Squirrel Girl) (1990–1992) *'' Marvel Tales'' #147 (1956) *''
Marvel Team-Up ''Marvel Team-Up'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story. The series was originally published from March 1972 through February 1985, and featured Spider-Man as ...
'' #101 (1981) *''
Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the '' Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974 ...
'' #39, ''Annual'' #1–2 (1979–1982) *''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...
'' #2, 4 (1995–1996) *''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Ninja Rangers/VR Troopers'' #4–5 (1996) *''Mystery Tales'' #40, 45, 47 (1956) *'' Phantom 2040'' #1–4 (1995) *'' Speedball'' #1–10 (1988–1989) *'' Rom Spaceknight'' #59–75, ''Annual'' #4 (1984–1986) *''Spellbound'' #29 (1956) *'' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' #15 (inking
Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was 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 s ...
) (1965) *''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
'' #46, 50, 67–146 (
Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
in #110–111, 114–146), ''Annual'' #2 (inking Jack Kirby) (1956–1966) *''Shadows & Light'' #1 (Iron Man) (1998) *''Strange Tales of the Unusual'' #5 (1956) *'' Strange Worlds'' #1–5 (1958–1959) *''
Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...
'' #1–48, 60–67 (
The Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...
in #60–67, Giant Man in #61) (1959–1965) *''
Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...
'' #1–49 (
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
in #47–49) (1959–1964) *''
Tomb of Dracula ''The Tomb of Dracula'' is an American Horror comics, horror comic book series published by Marvel Comics from April 1972 to August 1979. The 70-issue series featured a group of vampire hunters who fought Dracula (Marvel Comics), Count Dracula a ...
'' magazine #2 (1979) *'' Tower of Shadows'' #6, 8–9 (1970–1971) *'' U.S.1'' #12 (1984) *''
Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...
Annual'' #5 (Captain Universe) (1989) *'' What If?'' #35 (
Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Roy Thomas and artist Wally Wood (Marie Severin was then brought in to help layout the art), with her early adventur ...
) (1982) *''What If Special'' #1 (Iron Man) (1988) *''
What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe as well as characters from the DC Comics Universe. Similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh'', it was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayh ...
'' #1 (1988) *'' World of Fantasy'' #16–19 (1959) *''World of Mystery'' #3, 6 (1956–1957) St. John Publications *''Do You Believe in Nightmares'' #1 (1957)
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
*''
Strange Adventures ''Strange Adventures'' is a series of American comic books published by DC Comics, the first of which was August–September 1950, according to the cover date, and published continuously until November 1973. Original series ''Strange Adventure ...
'' #188–189 (1966) *'' Showcase'' #73 (debut, the Creeper) #75 (debut, The Hawk and the Dove) (1968) *'' Beware the Creeper'' #1–6 (1968–1969) *'' The Hawk and the Dove'' #1–2 (1968) *''
Stalker Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring t ...
'' #1–4 (1975–1976) *''
House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...
'' #236, 247 (1975–1976) *'' 1st Issue Special'' #7 (Creeper) (1975) *''
Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...
'' #1 (1975) *'' Plop!'' #16 (1975) *'' House of Secrets'' #139 (1976) *'' Weird War Tales'' #46, 49, 95, 99, 104–106 (1976–1981) *'' Amazing World of DC Comics'' #13 (1976) *''
Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...
'' #1–8 (1977–1978) *'' Secrets of Haunted House'' #9, 12, 41, 45 (1977–1982) * ''DC Special Series #9: Wonder Woman Spectacular'' (1978) *''
World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is 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 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
'' #249–255 (Creeper) (1978–1979) *''
Cancelled Comic Cavalcade The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...
'' #2 (two stories planned for ''Shade, the Changing Man'' #9) (1978) *''
Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
'' #77, 111 (1979–1982) *'' Time Warp'' #1–4 (1979–1980) *''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...
'' #483–485 ( The Demon), #487 ( Odd Man debut, revised story, originally planned for ''Shade, the Changing Man'' #9) (1979) *'' Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes'' #257 (1979) *''Unexpected'' #189–190, 221 (1979–1982) *''
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
'' vol. 2 #267, 268, 272, 274, 276, 281 (1980–1981) *''
Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
'' #467–478 ( Starman) (1980) *''
Mystery in Space ''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...
'' #111, 114–16 (1980–1981) *'' The Outsiders'' #13 (1986) *'' Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #19–22 (1986) *''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
Weekly'' #642 (among other artists) (1989) *''Legends of the DC Universe 80-Page Giant'' #1 (1998) *'' Tales of the New Gods'' TPB (story originally planned for the '' Orion'' series) (2008) *''The Creeper by Steve Ditko'' HC (includes 25-page Creeper story originally planned for '' Showcase'' #106) (2010) *''The Steve Ditko Omnibus'' Vol. 1 HC (includes story originally planned for ''Shade, the Changing Man'' #9) (2011) ACG *''
Adventures into the Unknown ''Adventures Into the Unknown'' was an American comic-book magazine series best known as the medium's first ongoing horror-comics title. Published by the American Comics Group, initially under the imprint B&I Publishing, it ran 174 issues (cove ...
'' #168 (1966) *'' Forbidden Worlds'' #137–138, 140 (1966) *''Unknown Worlds'' #49–50, 54 (1966–1967)
Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
*''
Nukla Nukla is a fictional character published by Dell Comics in the mid-1960s. He was created by writer Joe Gill and artist Sal Trapani (with uncredited assistance from others artists, including Dick Giordano). The character made his debut in ''Nukla' ...
'' #4 (1966) *''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
'' #2–3 (1966) *''
Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a Prisoner-of-war camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoner ...
'' #3 (1966)
Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...
*''
Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...
'' #3–10 (1966–1967) *''
Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...
'' #9–16 (1966–1967) Tower Comics *'' T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'' #6–7, 12, 14, 16, 18 (1966–1968) *''Dynamo'' #1, 4 (1966–1967) Independent *''
Witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comix, underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the wri ...
'' #3, 4, 6, 7 ( Wallace Wood) (1967–1969) *''Heroes, Inc.'' #1 (Wallace Wood) (1969) *''Mr. A.'' (Comic Art Publishers) (1973) *''Avenging World'' ( Bruce Hershenson) (1973) (Note that the 2002 ''Avenging World'' is a collection of Ditko works including the 1973 comic) *''...Wha..!?'' (Bruce Hershenson) (1975) *''Mr. A.'' (Bruce Hershenson) (1975) Atlas/Seaboard *''The Destructor'' #1–4 (1975) *''Morlock 2001'' #3 (1975) *''
Tiger-Man Tiger-Man is a tiger-themed superhero who appeared in a self-titled series published by Atlas/Seaboard Comics in 1975. Publication history The first appearance of "Tiger-Man" was in the first issue of ''Thrilling Adventure Stories'', February 19 ...
'' #2–3 (1975) CPL Gang *'' Charlton Bullseye'' #1–2 (1975) Star*Reach Productions *''Imagine'' #4 (1978) M W Communications *''Questar'' #1–5 (1978–1979)
Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...
*'' Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers'' #6 (Missing Man) (1981) *''Pacific Presents'' #1–3 (Missing Man) (1982–1984) *''
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...
'' #2 ( The Mocker) (1983)
New Media Publishing New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor o ...
*''Fantasy Illustrated'' #1 (1982)
First Comics First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present (stylized as 1First Comics), known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' ...
* ''Warp'' #2–4 (1983)
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 store, comic book specialty stor ...
*'' Eclipse Monthly'' #1–3 ( Static) (1983)
Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of American publishing company Marvel Comics, active from 1982 to ...
*''
Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
'' #7–10 (The Djinn) (1984–1985)
Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...
* ''The Fly'' #2–4, #5–8, #9 (inking
Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was 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 s ...
) (1983–1986) *'' Blue Ribbon Comics'' #12 (1984) Deluxe Comics * '' Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'' #3–4 (1985–1986)
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 included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and ''normalman''. History Loubert was publ ...
*''Revolver'' #1–5, ''Annual Frisky Frolics'' #1 (1985–1986) *''Ditko's World featuring...Static'' #1–3 (1986) *''Murder'' #1–3 (1986) Globe Communications *'' Cracked'' #218–223, 225–227, 231 (1986–1987) *''Monsters Attack'' #1–5 (1989–1990) *''Cracked Collector's Edition'' #86 (1991) Ace Comics *'' What Is...the Face?'' #1–3 (1986–1987) *'' Return of the Skyman'' #1 (1987) 3-D- Zone *''3-D Substance'' #1–2 (1990)
Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...
*''
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
: Lifestyles of the Brutal and Infamous'' (1991) *''World Wrestling Federation: Out-of-the-Ring Challenges'' (1991) *''World Wrestling Federation: When I Get My Hands...'' (1991) *''WWF Battlemania'' #5 (1991) *'' X-O-Manowar'' #6 (1992) *'' Shadowman'' #6 (1992) *''
Solar, Man of the Atom Solar is an American fictional comic book superhero created by writer Paul S. Newman, editor Matt Murphy, and artist Bob Fujitani. The character first appeared in ''Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom'' #1 in 1962 by Gold Key Comics and has since appea ...
'' #14–15 (1992) *''
Magnus, Robot Fighter Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional superhero who battles rogue robots in the year 4000, appearing in comic books created by writer/artist Russ Manning in 1963.Steve Holland, ''Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History''. Lewes: ILEX, 2009. . .pp. 102–1 ...
'' #18–19 (1992)
Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...
*''
Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...
'' #4 (1992)
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
*''The Safest Place...'' (1993) Defiant Comics *'' Dark Dominion'' #0 (1993) Topps Comics *''Captain Glory'' #1 (1993) *'' Satan's Six'' #1 (inking Batton Lash) (1993) *'' Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga'' #1–4 (1993) Yoe! Studio * ''Big Boy Magazine'' #470 (promo) (1997)
Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
*''Steve Ditko's Strange Avenging Tales'' #1 (1997)
AC Comics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.
*''AC Retro Comics'' #5 (1998) Robin Snyder *''Ditko Package'' (1989) *''The Mocker'' (1990) *''Ditko Public Service Package'' (1991) *''The Ditko Package series:'' :''Steve Ditko's 160-Page Package'' (1999) :''Steve Ditko's 80-Page Package: The Missing Man'' (1999) :''Steve Ditko's 160-Page Package: From Charlton Press'' (1999) :''Steve Ditko's 176-Page Package: Heroes'' (2000) :''Steve Ditko's 32-Page Package: Tsk! Tsk!'' (2000) *''Steve Ditko's Static: Chapters 1 to 14 plus...'' (2000) *''Avenging World'' (2002) (240-page expanded version of 1973 edition) *''Mr. A.'' (2010) (Revised and reformatted reprint of the 1973 edition) *''Mr. A. #15'' (2014) (Contains two stories originally intended for the first issue of a Mr. A. series solicited but unpublished by AAA ) *''The Four-Page Series'' (essays) #1–9 (2012–2015) *''The 32-page Series:'' :''The Avenging Mind'' (2008) :''Ditko, etc...'' (2008) :''Ditko Continued...'' (2008) :''Oh, No! Not Again, Ditko'' (2009) :''Ditko Once More'' (2009) :''Ditko Presents'' (2009) :''A Ditko Act Two'' (2010) :''A Ditko Act 3'' (2010) :''Act 4'' (2010) :''Act 5'' (2010) :''Act 6'' (2011) :''Act 7, Seven, Making 12'' (2011) :''Act 8, Making Lucky 13'' (2011) :''A Ditko #14'' (2011) :''A Ditko #15'' (2011) :''#16: Sixteen'' (2012) :''#17: Seventeen'' (2012) :''Ate Tea N: 18'' (2013) :''#9 Teen'' (2014) :''#20'' (2014) :''#2oww1'' (2014) :''#22'' (2015) :''#23'' (2015) :''#24'' (2016) :''#25'' (2016) :''#26'' (2018) :''Down Memory Lane'' (2019) *''The 32 Series by Ditko:'' (each collecting 5–6 issues from the 32-page series) :''Vol. I: Overture'' (2019) collecting 5 issues: ''Avenging Mind'' through ''Ditko Once More'' :''Vol. II: Opening Acts'' (2019) collecting 5 issues: ''Ditko Presents'' through ''Act 5'' :''Vol. III: Character Twists'' (2019) collecting 5 issues: ''Act 6'' through ''A Ditko #15'' :''Vol. IV: Postshadowing'' (2019) collecting 6 issues: ''#16: Sixteen'' through ''#2oww1'' :''Vol. V: Curtain'' (2019) collecting 6 issues: ''#22'' through ''Down Memory Lane''


Notes


References


Sources

* *


External links

*
Steve Ditko
Ditko Looked Up (archived website) * * Hart, Hugh
"Strange and Stranger Salutes Spider-Man Artist Steve Ditko"
''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'', August 21, 2008
WebCitation archive
* Steve Ditko interviewed in {{DEFAULTSORT:Ditko, Steve 1927 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers American comics artists American comics writers American people of Rusyn descent American people of Slovak descent Artists from Pennsylvania Atlas Comics Charlton Comics DC Comics people Disney Legends Golden Age comics creators Inkpot Award winners Marvel Comics people Objectivists People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania School of Visual Arts alumni Silver Age comics creators United States Army soldiers Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Writers from Pennsylvania American atheists