# R.I.P. Steve Ditko, one of the greatest comics creators of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [July 7, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442 "2018-07-07T00:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![irritant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@irritant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irritant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/1 "2018-07-07T00:24:51Z")
[Dead at the age of 90.](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/steve-ditko-dead-spider-man-creator-was-90-1125489?utm_source=Direct) Creator or co-creator of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Question, Squirrel Girl, and a hell of a lot of other characters that made everybody but him a ton of money. Always loved his work, even his later stuff with characters like Mr. A that reflected a philosophical and political worldview that I fundamentally disagreed with. His best work is some of the greatest comics of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/2 "2018-07-07T00:31:12Z")
Sorry to hear this; he had a huge, out-sized effect on the popular culture. (Sorry,also, to hear that his work wasn’t financially rewarded.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/3 "2018-07-07T01:34:57Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sorry to hear this; he had a huge, out-sized effect on the popular culture. (Sorry,also, to hear that his work wasn’t financially rewarded.) [CelebrityNetWorth.com](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/authors/steve-ditko-net-worth/) estimates his net worth at $5 million. That sounds suspiciously high, but would make him among the higher-compensated comic book artists ever.(Less than Todd MacFarlane or Bob Kane, but more than John Byrne or John Buscema). I’m guessing there were some payouts to clear title for the Spider-Man movies or something. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/4 "2018-07-07T03:46:06Z")
RIP, Steve. You created one of the most famous and popular comic book characters all time. And Peter Parker was the character as much as his web-slinging alter-ego. He started as a nerdy angst-ridden teenager with troubles the readers could relate to. He was part of the move to make superheroes real people with problems in life. Make Mine Marvel! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/5 "2018-07-07T04:06:53Z")
RIP, Mr. Ditko. Not only will you be remembered for Spider-Man, but your Dr. Strange issues were the best ever. You brightened my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/6 "2018-07-07T04:10:24Z")
I know of his work only by reputation. But man, what a reputation! ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/7 "2018-07-07T04:28:06Z")
He also created, during his DC years, one of my favorite characters of all time.-The Creeper. > **[SHOWCASE #73 FN+ ORIGIN\\/1ST APPEARANCE CREEPER STEVE DITKO COVER\\/ART](https://www.silveragecomics.com/showcase-73-fn-origin-1st-appearance-creeper-steve-ditko-cover-art.htm)** > > SHOWCASE #73 FN+ ORIGIN\\/1ST APPEARANCE CREEPER STEVE DITKO COVER\\/ART I did a diorama for inspired by the cover as a base for an action figure. [![](https://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd396/EmsleyWyatt/Project%20X/IMG_1874_zpsrqc6ycj5.jpg) ](https://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd396/EmsleyWyatt/Project%20X/IMG_1874_zpsrqc6ycj5.jpg) I am very saddened to hear this. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/8 "2018-07-07T07:09:03Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3gwDnhMO8is/hqdefault.jpg "In Search Of Steve Ditko (2007)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwDnhMO8is) Fascinating documentary on Ditko. I enjoyed the surreal imagery in the Doctor Strange film which must have been inspired by Ditko. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/9 "2018-07-07T08:12:34Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Sorry to hear this; he had a huge, out-sized effect on the popular culture. (Sorry,also, to hear that his work wasn’t financially rewarded.) He was paid for his work. The thing is, in comics the work was (and probably largely still is) “work for hire”. You’re hired to do the work, but retain no copyright because the character is owned by the company. You know this going in, it’s not a surprise. You’re literally a hired hand, not an owner. Of course, no one back then ever expected comics to turn into a multi-billion dollar industry what with movies and licensed merchandise and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/10 "2018-07-07T10:28:18Z")
He was a titan. I always preferred his style to Jack Kirby’s and thought Ditko the greater comic-book artist. RIP, Steve. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/11 "2018-07-07T14:11:52Z")
I always hated his style but there is no denying the influence and effect he had on the genre for decades. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/12 "2018-07-07T16:54:16Z")
I was always kind of amused at his wavery thin-lined drawing style. Jack Kirby was so…muscular, bulging muscles of grimacing body-builders. Steve Ditko seemed to draw his creatures with a very fine point pen with shaky hands. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/13 "2018-07-07T18:15:22Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I was always kind of amused at his wavery thin-lined drawing style. Jack Kirby was so…muscular, bulging muscles of grimacing body-builders. Steve Ditko seemed to draw his creatures with a very fine point pen with shaky hands. True, Kirby could never have drawn Peter Parker as skinny and nebbish-y as Ditko. Part of why I was blown away by Spider-Man after being saturated as a kid in muscular DC heroes. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/14 "2018-07-07T19:47:31Z")
Never a big fan of Mr. Ditko’s artwork, though his style was unique and instantly recognizable as his. I recall liking some of his weird, mysterious stories published by Atlas and early Marvel; they would typically revolve around obsessed protagonists who went “too far.” While credit must be given to Mr. Ditko for co-creating Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, I think other artists did a better job on them. That said, his Objectivist zealotry overtook his talent, resulting in comics that were both hilarious(ly bad) and nearly unreadable. There is perhaps no greater example of this than _Blue Beetle_ #5 (Charlton, 1968), probably the most Objectivist comic ever printed by a mainstream comic book publisher. > **[Objectivism – The Time Bullet](https://timebulleteer.wordpress.com/tag/objectivism/)** > > Posts about Objectivism written by Marc Burkhardt Notwithstanding the popularity and influence of Ditko’s work for Marvel, I have always felt Mr. A represented his most iconic, best and purest work. > **[Mr. A (Comic Book) - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/MrA)** > > Born in 1967 of Steve Ditko's fascination with Objectivism, Mr. A is a "superhero" without observable powers aside from his steel gloves and mask, similar to the first incarnations of The Question. Philosophical elements aside, Mr. A marked Ditko … It might have been interesting to see a Mr. A movie starring Clint Eastwood in the title role. Then again, the monotony of the character and concept probably would not have been endurable after more than 20 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/15 "2018-07-07T20:11:43Z")
Just thought I’d give a shout out also to an earlier comic-book artist who very much inspired Ditko. Just look at some of the faces in [Joe Kubert’s work](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=joe+kubert&num=100&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipjYiz5I3cAhXJAMAKHYE4C5UQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=645#imgrc=AB4fMTi5rFiKzM:) and you’ll see the influence straight away. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/16 "2018-07-07T21:09:44Z")
Almost forgot this: "Ditko attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where he made friends with another budding cartoonist, Eric Stanton (1926– 1999). He and Ditko shared a studio on 8th Avenue from 1958 to 1966. Stanton had a specialty, though — kinky sado-maso bondage comics… The two cartoonists had superficially similar styles, and were given to helping each other out with deadlines… When asked by Greg Theakston about the extent of his contribution to Spider-Man, Stanton replied: ``` 'Almost nil…. I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands.'" ``` [http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2013/03/steve-ditko-oddity/](http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2013/03/steve-ditko-oddity/) Link contains some fetish illustrations, but no nudity. Viewer discretion is advised. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/17 "2018-07-07T22:01:53Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > [CelebrityNetWorth.com](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/authors/steve-ditko-net-worth/) estimates his net worth at $5 million. That sounds suspiciously high, but would make him among the higher-compensated comic book artists ever.(Less than Todd MacFarlane or Bob Kane, but more than John Byrne or John Buscema). I’m guessing there were some payouts to clear title for the Spider-Man movies or something. Well, that does sound reasonable. As I recall the creators of Superman came closer to the ‘everyone but them made money’ narrative. A bit of recognition came (if grudgingly) when the Christopher Reeve movie was so successful: > [@](#): > > DC Comics ceased giving him work him in 1966, when the company learned Siegel and Shuster were planning a second lawsuit to reclaim the copyright to Superman. … > > Siegel again fell into hard financial times after this second dismissal, as he was unable to find regular writing work. In 1975, upon hearing that Warner Bros. was producing a Superman movie, Siegel alerted the press to his condition. In response, Warner Bros, agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a lifetime stipend of $20,000 a year, later increased to $30,000, in exchange for never again contesting ownership of the copyright to Superman. [Jerry Siegel - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Siegel) Probably Ditko did better than that. > [@Broomstick](#): > > …Of course, no one back then ever expected comics to turn into a multi-billion dollar industry what with movies and licensed merchandise and so forth. Very true! ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/18 "2018-07-07T22:08:47Z")
Ditko and Kirby were two people who had to be dealt with before they could exploit the universe fully in films. They had created famous characters but only under contract, as we know. I’m glad he was wealthy at the end. Before the movies it looked very grim for the creators like Kirby and Ditko. But when it became a matter of little kids going to movies, Marvel wanted the “look” to be better and more humane, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/19 "2018-07-07T23:56:19Z")
There was also the matter of there being _more money_ when the movies got big - when Marvel was _just_ publishing comic books there really wasn’t that much profit, not for decades. When a generous payout of a couple million becomes a rounding error compared to the _billions of dollars_ generated it becomes a lot easier to hand that sort of money out to people as a way of settling potential or ongoing lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442/20 "2018-07-08T01:41:15Z")
What? No love for Speedball? Shame what marvel eventually wound up doing to the character, no matter how outdated and out of time he seemed for when he was created… But marvel’s pretty much ruined everything the last decade or so… rip ditko [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-steve-ditko-one-of-the-greatest-comics-creators-of-all-time/817442.md?page=2)