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74-557: Ghostly Tales was part of a wave of new horror and suspense comics published by Charlton during this period. Its sister titles, with many of the same creators, were the Charlton anthologies The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves (with host Dr. M. T. Graves), Haunted (with hosts Impy and then Baron Weirwulf), Ghost Manor (with host Mr. Bones), and Ghostly Haunts (with host Winnie the Witch). Ghostly Tales debuted with issue #55, taking over

148-471: 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

222-437: A Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck , Paul Reinman , or Joe Sinnott , all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-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

296-466: A boy's sensibility because there was so much raw power, Ditko's work was really delicate and cartoony. There was a sense of design to it. You can always recognize anything that Ditko designed because it's always flowery. There is a lot of embroidered detail in the art, which is almost psychedelic. In addition to Dr. Strange, Ditko in the 1960s also drew comics starring the Hulk and Iron Man. He penciled and inked

370-566: 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 , drawing, among others, issues of Magnus, Robot Fighter , Solar, Man of the Atom and X-O-Manowar . In 1992 Ditko worked with writer Will Murray to produce one of his last original characters for Marvel Comics,

444-832: A decision which garnered a mixed reaction from the title's readership. Ditko also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman in Adventure Comics #467–478 (1980). He then decamped to do work for a variety of publishers, briefly contributing to DC again in the mid-1980s, with four pinups of his characters for Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe and a pinup for Superman #400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio. Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man , drawing The Micronauts and Captain Universe , and continuing to freelance for

518-635: A few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry -type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the " Marvel Method " of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect." After Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee obtained permission from publisher Martin Goodman to create

592-635: 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 studio at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton , an art-school classmate. When either artist was under deadline pressure, it was not uncommon for them to pitch in and help the other with his assignment. 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

666-656: A handful of the Fly , Flygirl and Jaguar stories for The Fly #2–8 (July 1983 – Aug. 1984), for Archie Comics ' short-lived 1980s superhero line; in a rare latter-day instance of Ditko inking another artist, he inked penciler Dick Ayers on the Jaguar story in The Fly #9 (Oct. 1984). Western Publishing 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 ,

740-640: A long association with the Derby, Connecticut , publisher Charlton Comics , a low-budget division of a company best known for song-lyric magazines. Beginning with the cover of The Thing! #12 (Feb. 1954) and the eight-page vampire story "Cinderella" in that issue, Ditko would continue to work intermittently for Charlton until the company's demise in 1986, producing science fiction, horror and mystery stories, as well as co-creating Captain Atom , with writer Joe Gill , in Space Adventures #33 (March 1960). Ditko

814-493: A new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man", Lee originally approached his leading artist, Jack Kirby . Kirby told Lee about his own 1950s character conception, variously called the Silver Spider and Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy finds a magic ring that gives him super powers. Comics historian Greg Theakston says Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out

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888-415: 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 ) strips. You have

962-452: A rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". He added he would continue drawing Spider-Man "[i]f nothing better comes along." That same year, he expressed to the fanzine Voice of Comicdom , regarding

1036-646: A revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating The Question , The Creeper , Shade, the Changing Man , Nightshade , and Hawk and Dove . Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A , a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand 's philosophy of Objectivism . 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

1110-543: Is Haunted — whose rights Charlton owned). Altogether, Ghostly Tales published 115 issues. Regular contributors to the book included Pat Boyette , Steve Ditko , Wayne Howard , Russ Jones & Bhob Stewart , and Rocke Mastroserio . Over the course of its 18-year run, Ghostly Tales was edited by Pat Masulli , Sal Gentile , and George Wildman . Wildman edited the title for more than twelve years, from issue #97 (August 1972) until its cancellation with issue #169 (Oct. 1984). Horror comics in general were in decline in

1184-566: The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers . The last mainstream character he created was Marvel's Longarm in Shadows & Light #1 (Feb. 1998), in a self-inked, 12-page Iron Man story "A Man's Reach....", scripted by Len Wein . His final mainstream work was a five-page New Gods story for DC Comics, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 Orion series but not published until

1258-474: The Blue Beetle (1967–1968), the Question (1967–1968), and Captain Atom (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 's horror-comic magazines Creepy and Eerie , generally using an ink-wash technique. In 1967, Ditko gave his Objectivist ideas ultimate expression in

1332-552: 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 . 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

1406-600: The Iron Man feature in Tales of Suspense #47–49 (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1964), with various inkers. The first of these debuted the initial version of Iron Man's modern red-and-golden armor. Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and anxiety , found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled personal life meshed well with Ditko's own interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving

1480-615: The Sandman in #4 (Sept. 1963); the Lizard in #6 (Nov. 1963); Electro in #9 (March 1964); and the Green Goblin 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 . Lee acquiesced, and starting with #25 (June 1965), Ditko received plot credit for

1554-400: The (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash [i.e., page 1] and at the end [where] Kirby had the guy leaping at you with a web gun... Anyway, the first five pages took place in the home, and the kid finds a ring and turns into Spider-Man." Ditko also recalled that, "One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of

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1628-774: The 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics , beginning with the four-page "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in Journey into Mystery #33 (April 1956); this debut tale would be reprinted in Marvel's Curse of the Weird #4 (March 1994). In 1957, Atlas switched distributors to the American News Company , which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit 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

1702-597: 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 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 ,

1776-548: 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 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 observed that Ditko's art on

1850-482: The Mysterious Traveler and This Magazine is Haunted . During the summer of 1958, writer-editor Stan Lee 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 and the newly launched Amazing Adventures , Strange Worlds , Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish , issues of which would typically open with

1924-647: The U.S. Army on October 26, 1945, and did military service in Allied-occupied Germany , where he drew comics for an Army newspaper. Following his discharge, Ditko learned that his idol, Batman artist Jerry Robinson , was teaching at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the School of Visual Arts ) in New York City. Moving there in 1950, he enrolled in the art school under the G.I. Bill . Robinson found

1998-460: The Witch); Ghostly Tales (with host Mr. L. Dedd, later I. M. Dedd); and Haunted (with hosts Impy and then Baron Weirwulf). The series won the 1967 Alley Award for Best Fantasy/SF/Supernatural Title. Following his introduction as Dr. M. T. Graves in Charlton Comics ' Ghostly Tales #55 ( cover-dated May 1966) in the three-page story "The Ghost Fighter" by writer-artist Ernie Bache,

2072-439: 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

2146-509: The business about the webs coming out of his hands". Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), the final issue of that science-fiction/fantasy anthology series. When the issue proved to be a top seller, Spider-Man was given his own series, The Amazing Spider-Man . Lee and Ditko's collaboration on the series saw the creation of many of the character's best known antagonists including Doctor Octopus in issue #3 (July 1963);

2220-470: 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

2294-443: The character went on to host his own anthology title, The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves . The series ran 72 issues (May 1967 - May 1982), generally published bimonthly. In issue #5, the fourth-wall-breaking story "Best of All Possible Worlds" by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo involved a reader who's pulled into the pages of the comic book, and has to decide whether to venture back to the real world. Following issue #60 (Jan. 1977),

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2368-402: 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

2442-633: The company into the late 1990s. Starting in 1984, he penciled the last two years of the space-robot series Rom . A Godzilla story by Ditko and Marv Wolfman was changed into a Dragon Lord story published in Marvel Spotlight . Ditko and writer Tom DeFalco 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

2516-449: The cosmos. As historian Bradford W. Wright describes, Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange's adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. ... Inspired by the pulp-fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture. Dr. Strange remarkably predicted

2590-544: The crabbed Objectivist screeds he published with tiny presses. And boy, could Ditko hack: seeing samples of his Transformers coloring book and his Big Boy comic is like hearing Orson Welles sell frozen peas." Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998. His later work for Marvel and DC included such established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in Marvel Comics Presents ) and newer, licensed characters such as

2664-403: The earliest professional works of John Byrne . Writers on the title included Ditko, Steve Skeates , Mike Pellowski, and the prolific, generally uncredited staff writer Joe Gill . The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves won the 1967 Alley Award for Best Fantasy/SF/Supernatural Title. Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko ( / ˈ d ɪ t k oʊ / ; November 2, 1927 – June 29, 2018)

2738-408: The early 1980s, and Charlton in particular was suffering financially. In October 1984, Charlton suspended publication, and Ghostly Tales ended its run, although the company did release several additional horror reprint issues under different titles through 1986. The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves is an American supernatural - anthology comic book that

2812-581: The early independent comics label Pacific Comics , beginning with Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #6 (Sept. 1982), in which he introduced the superhero Missing Man, with Mark Evanier scripting to Ditko's plot and art. Subsequent Missing Man stories appeared in Pacific Presents #1–3 (Oct. 1982 – March 1984), with Ditko scripting the former and collaborating with longtime friend Robin Snyder on

2886-408: The feature a favorite of college students. "People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms . But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do." Ditko, "always the most straight-laced man in comics",

2960-450: The final issue of The Incredible Hulk (#6, March 1963), then continued to collaborate with writer-editor Lee on a relaunched Hulk feature in the omnibus Tales to Astonish , beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by George Roussos , penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the Leader , in #63 (Jan. 1965). Ditko also penciled

3034-534: 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 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

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3108-606: The form of Mr. A , published in Wally Wood 's independent title witzend # 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

3182-420: The great sequences in all comics." In this series, Ditko also had a lasting effect on Marvel's branding 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

3256-454: The introduction of the superhero Batman in 1939, and by Will Eisner '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 aircraft-spotters. Upon graduating from Greater Johnstown High School in 1945, he enlisted in

3330-453: The introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in India ink , and they were then hand-coloured by Ditko". In a 1988 interview with Theakston, Stanton recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added

3404-532: The long-held belief that the disagreement was over the true identity of the Green Goblin : "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] Sol Brodsky took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues". Spider-Man successor artist John Romita , in

3478-732: The mid-1970s, Ditko worked exclusively for Charlton and various small press/independent publishers. Frank McLaughlin , Charlton's art director during this period, describes Ditko as living "in a local hotel in Derby for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts". For Charlton in 1974 he did Liberty Belle backup stories in E-Man and conceived Killjoy. Ditko produced much work for Charlton's science-fiction and horror titles, as well as for former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman 's start-up line Atlas/Seaboard Comics , where he co-created

3552-659: 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. Ditko created the supernatural hero Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #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 mystical landscapes and increasingly psychedelic visuals that helped make

3626-497: The numbering of Blue Beetle vol. 3 (which itself had continued the numbering of Unusual Tales ). Ghostly Tales was predominantly bimonthly during its run; it went on a publishing hiatus between issues #124 and #125 from January to August 1977. It became primarily a reprint title with issue #127 (Jan. 1978), republishing material from its own archives as well as those of its sister titles (and some Golden Age material from titles like Unusual Tales and Fawcett's This Magazine

3700-668: The same feelings for the character that he once had. In 1993, he did the Dark Horse Comics one-shot The Safest Place in the World . For the Defiant Comics series Dark Dominion , he drew issue #0, which was released as a set of trading cards . In 1995, he pencilled a four-issue series for Marvel based on the Phantom 2040 animated TV series. This included a poster that was inked by John Romita Sr. Steve Ditko's Strange Avenging Tales

3774-737: The script for the latter two. Ditko also created The Mocker for Pacific, in Silver Star #2 (April 1983). For Eclipse Comics , he contributed a story featuring his character Static (no relation to the later Milestone Comics character) in Eclipse Monthly #1–3 (Aug.–Oct. 1983), introducing supervillain the Exploder in #2. With writer Jack C. Harris, Ditko drew the backup feature "The Faceless Ones" in First Comics ' Warp #2–4 (April–June 1983). Working with that same writer and others, Ditko drew

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3848-487: 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

3922-474: The studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin . During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics , where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960. 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

3996-479: 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 and the third issue of Morlock 2001 , with Bernie Wrightson inking. Ditko returned to DC Comics in 1975, creating a short-lived title, Shade, the Changing Man (1977–1978). Shade

4070-540: The superheroine Squirrel Girl , who debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2, #8, a.k.a. Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special (Jan. 1992). 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 the should do a Spider-Man graphic novel together, he declined that too, claiming he no longer had

4144-464: 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." Back at Charlton—where the page rate was low but creators were allowed greater freedom—Ditko worked on such characters as

4218-792: The title went on hiatus for seven months until issue #61 (Aug. 1977) before being canceled with #65 (May 1978). Charlton revived the title three years later with #66 (May 1981) before canceling it once more six issues later. Three additional issues consisting solely of reprints, and titled simply Dr. Graves , were published as issues #73-75 (Sept. 1985 - Jan. 1986). Among the artists whose work appeared were Steve Ditko , following his falling-out with Marvel Comics ; newcomer Jim Aparo , later to be one of Batman 's signature artists; regular Charlton talents including Vince Alascia , Pat Boyette , Pete Morisi , Rocke Mastroserio , and Charles Nicholas ; and such others as Rich Larson, Don Newton and Tom Sutton . The cover of issue #54 (Dec. 1975) marks one of

4292-543: The uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save." Peter David 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

4366-589: The young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing" and someone who "could work well with other writers as well as write his own stories and create his own characters", and he helped Ditko acquire a scholarship for the following year. "He was in my class for two years, four or five days a week, five hours a night. It was very intense." Robinson, who invited artists and editors to speak with his class, once brought in Stan Lee , then editor of Marvel Comics ' 1950s precursor Atlas Comics and, "I think that

4440-425: The youth counterculture 's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia . Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare. The cartoonist and fine artist Seth in 2003 described Ditko's style as: ...oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to

4514-898: Was allowed a great deal of creative freedom at Charlton due to very little editorial interference. However, the Comics Code Authority 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 and returned to his parents' home in Johnstown to recuperate. After he recovered, Ditko had originally intended to return to Charlton, but Charlton's office had been flooded by Hurricane Diane 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 ,

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4588-479: Was an American comic book writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange . He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man , introducing the character's red and yellow design. Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in

4662-421: Was an artistically talented master carpenter at a steel mill and his mother, Anna ( née 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 , particularly Hal Foster 's Prince Valiant , Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by

4736-486: Was announced as a quarterly series from Fantagraphics Books , although it only ran one issue (Feb. 1997) due to publicly unspecified disagreements between Ditko and the publisher. The New York Times assessed in 2008 that, "By the '70s he was regarded as a slightly old-fashioned odd-ball; by the '80s he was a commercial has-been, picking up wretched work-for-hire gigs. ...following the example of [Ayn] Rand's John Galt, Ditko hacked out moneymaking work, saving his care for

4810-480: Was deeply offended by the suggestion that he used psychedelic drugs 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 , who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with

4884-722: Was fabulous," Ditko once recalled. "I couldn't believe the ease with which he drew: strong compositions, loose pencils, yet complete; detail without clutter. I loved his stuff". Ditko's known assistant work includes aiding inker Meskin on the Jack Kirby pencil work of Harvey Comics ' Captain 3-D #1 (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 imprint Prize Comics . Ditko then began

4958-606: 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 and Jack Kirby , who had created Captain America and other characters. Beginning as an inker on backgrounds, Ditko was soon working with and learning from Mort Meskin , an artist whose work he had long admired. "Meskin

5032-600: Was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2024, Ditko was named a Disney Legend for his contributions to Publishing. Stephen John Ditko was born on November 2, 1927, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania . His parents were second-generation Americans: children of Rusyn Byzantine Catholic immigrants from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Slovakia ). His father, Stefan ("Stephen"),

5106-676: Was later revived, without Ditko's involvement, in DC's mature-audience imprint Vertigo . With writer Paul Levitz , he co-created the four-issue sword and sorcery series Stalker (1975–1976). Ditko and writer Gerry Conway produced the first issue of a two-issue Man-Bat series. He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short Demon backup series in 1979, created The Odd Man and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. Editor Jack C. Harris hired Ditko as guest artist on several issues of The Legion of Super-Heroes ,

5180-439: Was published by Charlton Comics , often featuring stories by writer-artist Steve Ditko . The eponymous Dr. M. T. Graves was a fictional character who hosted the stories in each issue of this title, and very occasionally took part in a tale. Sister titles, with many of the same creators, particularly Ditko, were the Charlton anthologies Ghost Manor (with host Mr. Bones) and its successor, Ghostly Haunts (with host Winnie

5254-422: 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

5328-426: Was short—he would work on all six issues of the Creeper's own title, Beware the Creeper (June 1968 – April 1969), though leaving midway through the final one—and the reasons for his departure uncertain. But while at DC, Ditko recommended Charlton staffer Dick Giordano to the company, who would go on to become a top DC penciller, inker, editor, and ultimately, in 1981, the managing editor. From this time up through

5402-436: Was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man , co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee . Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales , Ditko left Marvel. He continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics , including

5476-517: Was when Stan first saw Steve's work." Ditko began professionally illustrating comic books in early 1953, drawing writer Bruce Hamilton's science-fiction story "Stretching Things" for the Key Publications imprint Stanmor Publications , which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell , where it finally found publication in Fantastic Fears #5 ( cover-dated February 1954). Ditko's first published work

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