Steve Ditko, RIP

Another legend passes:

Artist Steve Ditko, who co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee, has died at age 90. ... In 1961, Ditko and Lee created Spider-Man. Lee, the editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, gave Ditko the assignment after he wasn't satisfied with Jack Kirby's take on the idea of a teen superhero with spider powers. The look of Spider-Man — the costume, the web-shooters, the red and blue design — all came from Ditko. ...

The reclusive Ditko was known as the "J.D. Salinger" of comics. From the 1970s on, he rarely spoke on the record, declining almost every interview request. ...

Ditko left Marvel in 1966, allegedly over frustrations with Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee. Ditko, like other visual artists in comics (and other media), felt that many of his contribution got short shrift.

Mr. Ditko maintained a New York City studio until the end of his life. He was discovered dead in his apartment on June 29th, but likely died two days earlier.

Add On: The New Republic points out Ditko's formidable chops.

... Ditko was the only Marvel artist given the licence to not draw like Kirby because his signature style -- moody, off-kilter, wirey, and sometimes psychedelic -- possessed an originality that couldn’t be streamlined. Ditko, in the words of historian Sean Howe, “imbued Spider-Man with melancholy soul and Doctor Strange with hallucinatory verve.” At Marvel, Lee brought jazzy verve with his dialogue, Kirby a promethean cosmic imagination, and Ditko an idiosyncratic visual elan.

Marvel Comics had a unique production method. Artists didn’t work from a script, but rather were expected to draw out an issue (sometimes after a discussion with writer/editor Lee) to which dialogue was added after the fact. Especially after the first few issues, Ditko and Kirby were effectively the co-writers, coming up with the story and often providing detailed notes for Lee’s dialogue.

Ditko and Kirby increasingly felt that they were being taken advantage of by Lee and by Marvel Comics, since they were not just denied acknowledgement of their role as co-creators but also not given any royalties as Marvel Comics became a licensing bonanza. Ditko and Kirby were mere freelancers as they created characters and stories that would go on to make hundreds of billions of dollars for other people. ...

"Taken advantage of." Who would have thought?