Книга: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko «Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange: Volume 1»

Stan Lee

Lee introduced the practice of including a credit panel on the splash page of each story, naming not just the writer and penciller but also the inker and letterer. Regular news about Marvel staff members and upcoming storylines was presented on the Bullpen Bulletins page, which (like the letter columns that appeared in each title) was written in a friendly, chatty style.

Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed, and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called "Stan's Soapbox", and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark phrase "Excelsior!" (which is also the New York state motto). To maintain his taxing workload, yet still meet deadlines, he used a system that was used previously by various comic-book studios, but due to Lee's success with it, became known as the "Marvel Method" or "Marvel style" of comic-book creation. Typically, Lee would brainstorm a story with the artist and then prepare a brief synopsis rather than a full script. Based on the synopsis, the artist would fill the allotted number of pages by determining and drawing the panel-to-panel storytelling. After the artist turned in penciled pages, Lee would write the word balloons and captions, and then oversee the lettering and coloring. In effect, the artists were co-plotters, whose collaborative first drafts Lee built upon.

Because of this system, the exact division of creative credits on Lee's comics has been disputed, especially in cases of comics drawn by Kirby and Ditko. Similarly, Lee shares co-creator credit with Kirby on the two "Fantastic Four" films, while also sharing the same credit with Ditko with the "Spider-Man" feature film series.

In 1971, Lee indirectly reformed the Comics Code. The US Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked Lee to write a story about the dangers of drugs and Lee wrote a story in which Spider-Man's best friend becomes addicted to pills. The three-part story was slated to be published in "Amazing Spider-Man" #96-98, but the Comics Code Authority refused it because it depicted drug use; the story context was considered irrelevant.Fact|date=August 2008 With his publisher's approval, Lee published the comics without the CCA seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts.Fact|date=August 2008 The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.Fact|date=August 2008

Lee also supported using comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry. "Stan's Soapbox", besides promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice.Fact|date=August 2008 In addition, Lee took to using sophisticated vocabulary for the stories' dialogue to encourage readers to learn new words. Lee has justified this by saying: "If a kid has to go to a dictionary, that's not the worst thing that could happen."Fact|date=August 2008

Later career

In later years, Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions, and by now owning a vacation home on Cutler Lane in Remsenburg, New York [ [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/09/04/realestate/keymagazine/20070909STANLEE_9.html Lewine, "The New York Times", Image 8] ] and, from 1975 to 1980, a two-bedroom condominium on the 14th floor of 220 East 63rd Street in Manhattan. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/09/04/realestate/keymagazine/20070909STANLEE_11.html Lewine, "The New York Times", Image 10] ] He moved to California in 1981 to develop Marvel's TV and movie properties. He has been an executive producer for, and has made cameo appearances in Marvel film adaptations and other movies. He and his wife bought a home in West Hollywood, California previously owned by comedian Jack Benny's radio announcer, Don Wilson. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/09/04/realestate/keymagazine/20070909STANLEE_12.html Lewine, "The New York Times", Image 11] ] Lee was briefly president of the entire company, but soon stepped down to become publisher instead, finding that being president was too much about numbers and finance and not enough about the creative process he enjoyed.

Lee also published two novels: "Dunn's Conundrum" [(Harper & Row, 1985, ISBN 0718125134, ISBN 978-0718125134)] and "The God Project". [(Grove/Atlantic, 1990, ISBN 0802111289, ISBN 978-0802111289)] In "Dunn's Conundrum", a group of American Cold War intelligence specialists called The Librarians are led by Harry Dunn. When the team investigates a leak of U.S. defense information, Dunn begins questioning the entire intelligence system and begins to wonder who the enemy truly is. As the U.S. and the Soviet Union approach the brink of nuclear war, Dunn must choose whether or not to release sensitive information. In "The God Project" presidential aide Malcom Keyes must investigate rumors of the CIA's titular secret weapon.

Later in the 1990s, Lee befriended former lawyer Peter Paul, who supervised the negotiation of a non-exclusive contract with Marvel Comics for the first time in Lee's lifetime employment with Marvel.Fact|date=August 2008 This enabled Paul and Lee to start a new Internet-based superhero creation, production and marketing studio, Stan Lee Media, in 1998. It grew to 165 people and went public, but near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon. [SEC Litigation Release No. LR-18828, August 11, 2004.] Stan Lee Media filed for bankruptcy in February 2001, and Paul fled to São Paulo, Brazil."Stan Lee Holder Peter Paul Flees to South America, According to Cohort's Affidavit", "Inside.com", March 5, 2001] ["Accusations Against Peter Paul Retracted and Corrected in Court Filing", "MarketWatch.com", May 7, 2001] He was extradited back to the U.S., and pled guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading of his stock in Stan Lee Media.United States Attorney's Office, [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nye/pr/2005mar8.htm "Peter Paul, co-founder of Stan Lee Media, Inc., pleads guilty to securities fraud; Fraud scheme caused $25 million in losses to investors and financial institutions"] , press release, March 8, 2005. ] April Witt, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/04/AR2005100401150.html "House Of Cards: What do Cher, a Hollywood con man, a political rising star and an audacious felon have in common? Together they gave Bill and Hillary Clinton a night they'll never forget – no matter how hard they may try"] , "The Washington Post", October 9, 2005, p. W10] Lee was never implicated in the scheme.

Some of the Stan Lee Media projects included the animated Web series "The 7th Portal" where he voiced the character Izayus; "The Drifter"; and "The Accuser". The "7th Portal" characters were licensed to an interactive 3-D movie attraction in four Paramount theme parks.

In the 2000s, Lee did his first work for DC Comics, launching the "Just Imagine..." series, in which Lee reimagined the DC superheroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash.

Lee created the risqué animated superhero series "Stripperella" for Spike TV. In 2004, he announced plans to collaborate with Hugh Hefner on a similar superhero cartoon featuring Playboy Playmates.Fact|date=February 2007 He also announced a superhero program that would feature Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, as the lead character.cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4212335.stm | title=Ringo Starr to become superhero | publisher=BBC | work=| date=2004-08-06 | author= ] Additionally, in August of that year, Lee announced the launch of Stan Lee's Sunday Comics, [cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/08/06/Arts/lee040806.html | title=Stan Lee Launches New Online Comic Venture | publisher=CBC | work=| date=2004-08-06 | author= ] hosted by Komikwerks.com, where monthly subscribers could read a new, updated comic and "Stan's Soapbox" every Sunday. The column has not been updated since Feb. 15, 2005.

In 2005, Lee, Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman formed POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment to develop film, television and video game properties. The first film produced by POW! was the TV movie "Lightspeed" (also advertised as "Stan Lee's Lightspeed"), which aired on the Sci Fi Channel on July 26, 2006.Fact|date=August 2008 POW! president and CEO Champion said in 2005 that Lee was creating a new superhero, Foreverman, for a Paramount Pictures movie, in tandem with producer Robert Evans and Idiom Films, with Peter Briggs hired to collaborate with Lee on the screenplay. [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000819063 "The Hollywood Reporter" (March 1, 2005): "Lee, Evans' POW! fields 'Foreverman'", by Liza Foreman] ]

In 2005, Lee filed a lawsuit against Marvel for his unpaid share of profits from Marvel movies, winning a settlement of more than $10 million.Fact|date=August 2008

In 2006, Marvel commemorated Lee's 65 years with the company by publishing a series of one-shot comics starring Lee himself meeting and interacting with many of his creations, including Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, The Thing, Silver Surfer and Dr. Doom. These comics also featured short pieces by such comics creators as Joss Whedon and Fred Hembeck, as well as reprints of classic Lee-written adventures.

In 2007, POW! Entertainment started a series of direct-to-DVD animated films under the "Stan Lee Presents" banner. Each film focuses on a new superhero, created by Stan Lee for the series. The first two releases were "Mosaic" and "The Condor".

In June 2007, Walt Disney Studios entered into an exclusive multi-year first look deal with Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment. "It's like the realization of a dream. Ever since I was a young boy, Disney represented the best and most exciting film fare to me. ... I look forward with indescribable enthusiasm to being a part of that world and contributing whatever I can to keep the legend alive and growing," said Lee. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Disney Studios Signs Exclusive Deal With Stan Lee | date= | publisher=Magical Mountain | url =http://www.magicalmountain.net/WDWNewsDetail.asp?NewsID=1569 | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2007-06-15 | language = ]

On March 15, 2007, Stan Lee Media's new President Jim Nesfield filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment for $5 billion, claiming that the company is co-owner of the characters that Lee created for Marvel. [ cite web |url=http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=21665&hed=Stan+Lee+Media+Sues+Marvel:+$5B |title=Stan Lee Media Sues Marvel|accessdate= |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format=html |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl=http://strange.commongate.com/post/Stan_Lee_Media_Sues_Marvel_5B |archivedate=2007-09-22 |quote= ]

On June 9, 2007, Stan Lee Media sued Stan Lee, his newer company, POW Entertainment, subsidiary QED Entertainment, and other former Stan Lee Media staff at POW. [ cite web |url=http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/june_9_stan_lee_media_inc_files_aggressive_lawsuit_against_stan_lee/ |title=June 9: Stan Lee Media, Inc. Files Expected Lawsuit Against Stan Lee
accessdate=2007-09-22 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format=html |work=Daily Blog |publisher=The Comic Reporter |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

In 2008, Lee wrote humorous captions for the political fumetti book "Stan Lee Presents Election Daze: What Are They Really Saying?". [(Filsinger Publishing, ISBN 0970263155; ISBN 978-0970263155)]

In April 2008, at the NYCC, Viz Media announced that their parent company Shueisha would be debuting the prologue chapter of "Karakuridôji Ultimo", a collaborative effort between Stan Lee and "Shaman King" creator Hiroyuki Takei. [ cite web |url=http://comics.ign.com/articles/864/864777p1.html |title=NYCC 08: Stan Lee Dives Into Manga
accessdate=2008-04-08 |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format=html |work= |publisher=IGN |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Animation announced in April 2008 a partnership with Lee's POW! Entertainment to produce a CGI film series, "Legion of 5". [cite web|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=44144|title=Stan Lee Launching Legion of 5|accessdate=2008-04-16|publisher=ComingSoon.net] That same month, Virgin Comics announced Lee would create a line of superhero comics for that company. [ [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-virgin19apr19,1,7072456.story Stan Lee to oversee Virgin Comics' superheroes] , "LA Times", April 19, 2008]

Personal life

On December 5, 1947, Lee married Joan Clayton. Joan Lee gave birth to Stan's two daughters: Joan Celia "J.C." Lee in 1950 and Jan Lee, who died three days after delivery in 1953.

Interests

Lee's favorite authors include Stephen King, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Harlan Ellison. ["Stan's Soapbox, Bullpen Bulletins", October 1998]

Awards and honors

Lee has received several awards for his work, including being formally inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

He is among the celebrities scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. [ [http://www.justpressplay.net/movies/spider-man-3/news/stan-lee-gets-a-star-on-walk-of-fame.html JustPressPlay.net (July 22, 2007): "Stan Lee Gets a Star on Walk of Fame!", by Arya Ponto] ]

Fictional portrayals

Stan Lee and his collaborator Jack Kirby appear as themselves in "The Fantastic Four" #10 (Jan. 1963), the first of several appearances within the fictional Marvel Universe. The two are depicted as similar to their real-world counterparts, creating comic books based on the "real" adventures of the Fantastic Four.

Kirby, during his years of working for DC Comics in the 1970s, created the character Funky Flashman as a possible parody of Stan Lee. With his hyperbolic speech pattern, gaudy toupee, and hip '70s-Manhattan style beard (as Lee sported at the time) this ne'er-do-well charlatan first appeared in the pages of "Mister Miracle".

Kirby later portrayed himself, Lee, production executive Sol Brodsky, and Lee's secretary Flo Steinberg as superheroes in "What If #11", "What If the Marvel Bullpen Had Become the Fantastic Four?", in which Lee played the part of Mister Fantastic. Lee has also made numerous cameo appearances in many Marvel titles, appearing in audiences and crowds at many characters' ceremonies and parties, and hosting an old-soldiers reunion in "Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos" #100 (July 1972). Lee appeared, unnamed, as the priest at Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding in "New Avengers Annual" #1. He pays his respects to Karen Page at her funeral in the "Daredevil" "Guardian Devil" story arc,issue and appears in "The Amazing Spider-Man" (June 1977).

In Alan Moore's satirical miniseries "1963", based on numerous Marvel characters of the 1960s, Moore's alter ego "Affable Al" parodies Lee and his allegedly unfair treatment of artists.

The "Young Dan Pussey" stories by Daniel Clowes, collected in "Pussey!", feature an exploitative publisher who relies on Lee's gung-ho style and "Bullpen" mythology to motivate his stable of naive and underpaid creators; the stories mainly satirize the state of mainstream comics in the 1990s, but also the subculture of young superhero fans that Lee helped to create.

In Marvel's 1991 comic book adaptation of game "Double Dragon", a character modeled after Stan Lee was specifically created for the comic and is introduced as the father of the protagonists, Billy and Jimmy Lee. The character is only referred by his first name, Stan, although the play on his name is obvious when one considers the Lee brothers' surname.

In "X-Play" on the cable network G4, the character "Roger, the Stan Lee Experience" - dubbed "the fifth-best-thing next to Stan Lee" - is a foul-mouthed, perverted stand-up comic parody of Lee. Roger's segments normally consist of him describing details of numerous unspeakable adult encounters, usually involving the wife of another Marvel veteran, Jack Kirby, with each encounter somehow leading to the creation of a well-known Marvel character.

In Marvel's July 1997 "Flashback" event, a top-hatted caricature of Lee as a ringmaster introduced stories which detailed events in Marvel characters' lives before they became superheroes, in special "-1" editions of many Marvel titles. The "ringmaster" depiction of Lee was originally from "Generation X" #17 (July 1996), where the character narrated a story set primarily in an abandoned circus. Though the story itself was written by Scott Lobdell, the narration by "Ringmaster Stan" was written by Lee himself, and the character was drawn in that issue by Chris Bachalo. Bachalo's depiction of "Ringmaster Stan" was later used in the heading of a short-lived revival of the "Stan's Soapbox" column, which evolved into a question & answer format.

In his given name of Stanley Lieber, Stan Lee appears briefly in Paul Malmont's 2006 novel "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril".

Lee and other comics creators are mentioned in Michael Chabon's 2000 novel about the comics industry "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay".

On one of the last pages of "Truth: Red, White, and Black", Lee appears in a real photograph among other celebrities on a wall of the Bradley home.

In Ultimate X-Men #20, a caricature of Lee appears as a photograph next to the letter Xavier leaves for his students.

In Stan Lee Meets Superheroes, Stan Lee comes in to contact with some of his favorite creations. The series was written by Lee himself.

Film and television appearances

Marvel film properties

Stan Lee appeared in cameos as one-scene characters in many (but not all) movies based on Marvel Comic characters he helped create.

* In the TV-movie "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (1989), Lee's first appearance in a Marvel movie or TV project is as jury foreman in the trial of Dr. Bruce Banner.
*Lee has cameo roles in the Fox Broadcasting Company telefilms "Generation X" (1996) and "" (1998)
*In "X-Men" (2000), Lee appears as a customer at a hotdog stand on the beach when Senator Kelly emerges naked onshore after escaping from Magneto.
*In "Spider-Man" (2002), he appeared during Spider-Man's first battle with the Green Goblin, pulling a little girl away from falling debris.
*In "Daredevil" (2003), as a child, Matt Murdock stops Lee from crossing the street and getting hit by a car.
*In "Hulk" (2003), he appears walking alongside former TV-series Hulk Lou Ferrigno in an early scene, both as security guards at Bruce Banner's lab. It was his first speaking role in a film based on one of his characters.
*In "Spider-Man 2" (2004), Lee again pulls an innocent person away from danger during Spider-Man's first battle with Doctor Octopus.
*In "Fantastic Four" (2005), Lee appears for the first time as a character from the comics, in a role credited as Willie Lumpkin, the mail carrier who greets the Fantastic Four as they enter the Baxter Building.
*In "" (2006), Lee and Chris Claremont appear as two of Jean Grey's neighbors in the opening scenes set 20 years ago. Lee, credited as "Waterhose man," is watering the lawn when Jean telekinetically redirects the water from the hose into the air.
*In "Spider-Man 3" (2007), Lee appears in a credited role as "Man in Times Square". He stands next to Peter Parker, both of them reading a news bulletin, and commenting to Peter that, "You know, I guess one person can make a difference". He then says his catchphrase, "'Nuff said."
*In "" (2007), Lee appears as himself at Reed Richards' and Susan Storm's first wedding, being turned away by a security guard for not being on the guest list. In "Fantastic Four Annual" #3 (1965), in which the couple married, Lee and Jack Kirby are similarly turned away.
*In "Iron Man" (2008), Lee (credited as "Himself") appears at a gala cavorting with three blond women, where Tony Stark mistakes him for Hugh Hefner. [cite news |author=Eric Goldman |title=Stan Lee's Further Superhero Adventures |publisher=IGN |date=2007-05-04 |url=http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/785/785824p3.html |accessdate=2007-05-14] In the theatrical release of the film, Stark simply greets Lee as "Hef" and moves on without seeing Lee's face; another version of the scene was filmed where Stark realizes his mistake, but Lee graciously responds, "That's okay, I get this all the time." ["Iron Man" Ultimate 2-Disc Edition DVD, disc 2, "I Am Iron Man" documentary]
*In "Incredible Hulk" (2008), Lee appears as a hapless citizen who accidentally ingests a soft drink mixed with Bruce Banner's blood, leading to the discovery of Dr. Banner's location in a bottling plant in Brazil.

Warner/DC properties

* In the original broadcast airing of the "" episode "Apokolips... Now! Part 2", an animated Stan Lee was planned to be visible mourning the death of Daniel "Terrible" Turpin, a character based on Lee's collaborator Jack Kirby. The scene would also have included such Marvel characters as the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury, and Peter Parker, as well as such Kirby DC characters as Big Barda, Scott Free, and Orion. This shot appeared in the completed episode and was aired in 7 February 1998 in WB Kids, but was later removed in the DVD release of the episode. [The original sketches for this scene appear in the book "The Krypton Companion" (TwoMorrows Publishing)]

Other film, TV and video

* Lee appears with director Kevin Smith and 2000s Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada in the DVD program "Marvel Then & Now: An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith". [ [http://www.thenandnowdvd.org Then And Now] ]

*Lee narrated the 2000 film "", under the pseudonym "Peter Parker."

*One of Lee's earliest contributions to animation based on Marvel properties was narrating the 1980s "Incredible Hulk" animated series, always beginning his narration with a self-introduction and ending with "This is Stan Lee saying, "Excelsior"!" Lee had previously narrated the "Seven Little Superheroes" episode of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends", which the "Hulk" series was paired with for broadcast.

*Lee did the narration for the original 1989 X-Men animated series pilot titled "Pryde of the X-Men".

*Lee was executive producer of a 1990s animated TV series, titled "". He appeared, as animated character (and with his voice), in the series finale episode titled "Farewell, Spider-Man". Spider-Man was teleported into the "real" world where he is a comic book hero. He swings Stan Lee around and drops him off on top of a building. Realizing he is stuck on a roof, Lee muses "Maybe the Fantastic Four will pop up and get me down."

*He also voices the character "Frank Elson" in an episode of "" series broadcast by MTV in 2003, and titled "Mind Games" (Parts 1 & 2, originally aired in Aug. 15 & 22, 2003).

*Lee has an extensive cameo in the Kevin Smith film "Mallrats". He once again plays himself, this time visiting "the" mall to sign books at a comic store. Later, he takes on the role of a sage-like character, giving Jason Lee's character, Brodie Bruce (a longtime fan of Lee's), advice on his love life. He also recorded interviews with Smith for the non-fiction video "Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels" (2002).

*Lee appeared as himself in an extended self-parodying sketch on the episode "Tapping a Hero" of "Robot Chicken"

*Lee appears as himself in writer-director Larry Cohen's "The Ambulance" (1990), in which Eric Roberts plays an aspiring comics artist.

*In "The Simpsons" episode "I Am Furious Yellow" (April 28, 2002), Lee voices the animated Stan Lee, who is a prolonged visitor to Comic Book Guy's store ("Stan Lee came back?" "Stan Lee never left. I am starting to think his mind is no longer in mint condition.") He asks if Comic Book Guy is the stalker of Lynda Carter - the star of the 70s show "Wonder Woman" - and shows signs of dementia, such as breaking a customer's toy Batmobile by trying to cram a The Thing action figure into it (claiming that he "made it better"), hiding DC comics behind Marvel comics, and believing that he is the Hulk (and fails trying to become the Hulk, while Comic Book Guy comments he couldn't even change into Bill Bixby). In a later episode, Lee's picture is seen next to several others on the wall behind the register, under the heading "Banned for life".

*Lee also appears as himself in the Mark Hamill-directed ' (2004), a direct-to-video mockumentary primarily filmed at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con. He appeared in ' (2004) as the "Three Stooges Wedding Guest", a Spaniard who learns English from watching Three Stooges shorts.

*Stan Lee narrates the 2000 video game "Spider-Man" and the 2001 sequel "".

*Lee is producer and host of the reality-TV show "Who Wants to Be a Superhero?", which premiered on the Sci Fi Channel July 27, 2006, and had its second season in summer, 2007.

*Lee has made two appearances as a subject on "To Tell the Truth": first in 1970, and again in 2001.

*Lee also made an appearance on December 21, 2006, on the NBC game show "Identity".
*Lee voices characters in POW! Entertainment's direct-to-DVD "Stan Lee Presents" line of animated features. In "Mosaic" he voices the security guard Stanley at Interpol, and in "The Condor" he voices a candy-store owner whose granddaughter the Condor saves.

*In the "Unexpected" episode of the TV science-fiction drama "Heroes" (2006), Lee appears as a bus driver kindly greeting Hiro Nakamura.

Radio

*Lee recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's "Hip-Hop Literacy" campaign

Action figure

At the 2007 Comic-Con International, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure. The body beneath the figure's removable cloth wardrobe is re-used from the mold of a previously released Spider-Man action figure, with only minor changes. [ [http://www.oafe.net/yo/mlh2_sl.php OAFE - ML: Stan Lee exclusive review] ]

elected bibliography

Comics that Stan Lee has written or co-written include:

*"The Amazing Spider-Man" (Vol. 1): #1-100, 105-110, 116-118
*"The Avengers" (Vol. 1): #1-34
*"Captain America" (Vol. 1) #100-109, 112, 114-141
*"Daredevil" (Vol. 1): #1-9, 11-50, 53, 81
*"Fantastic Four" (Vol. 1): #1-115, 120-125, 154, 180, 189, 236, 296
*"Journey into Mystery" (Vol. 1): #1, 3, 55, 62, 64, 71-79, 83-125
*"Ravage 2099"
*"Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos": #1-28
*"The Silver Surfer" (Vol. 1): #1-18
*"Solarman" 1-2
*"Strange Tales" (Vol. 1): #1, 9, 11, 67, 73-74, 78-86, 88-89, 91-95, 97-98, 100-147, 150-157, 174, 182-188
*"Tales to Astonish" (Vol. 1): #1, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 24-33, 35-101
*"Tales of Suspense" (Vol. 1): #7, 9, 16, 22, 27, 29-30, 39-99
*"The Mighty Thor" (Vol. 1): #126-194, 200, 254, 385, 432, 450
*"The X-Men" (Vol. 1): #1-21

Footnotes

References

* Lee, Stan, "Origins of Marvel Comics" (Simon and Schuster, 1974; Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue, ISBN 0-7851-0551-4)
* Lee, Stan, and Mair, George. "Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee" (Fireside, 2002) ISBN 0-684-87305-2
* Ro, Ronin. "Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution" (Bloomsbury USA, 2005 reissue) ISBN 1-58234-566-X
* Raphael, Jordan, and Spurgeon, Tom. "Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book" (Chicago Review Press, 2003) ISBN 1-55652-506-0
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/NAML8.HTM#N162 Stan Lee] at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
* [http://powentertainment.com/ POW! Entertainment] (official site)
* [http://www.stanleeweb.com Stan Lee Web] (fan site)

External links

* [http://www.folkstory.com/articles/spiderman.html Framingham, Mass., "Daily News" (May 5, 2002): "Myth and the Hero's Journey: Big Screen Blockbusters - Star Wars, Spider-Man Tell Timeless Tales", by Chris Bergeron]
*"Newsday" (April 1, 2007): "Fast Chat: Stan Lee"
* [http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/886 Stan Lee: Conversations (University Press of Mississippi)]

Audio/Video

* [http://209.51.142.186/~dogatco/mmms/mmms65.mp3 Audio of Merry Marvel Marching Society record] , including voice of Stan Lee
* (autobiographical)
* [http://www.chriscomerradio.com/stan_lee/stan_lee4-1-05.htm Chris Comer Radio Interviews: "Stan Lee"] , April 1, 2005
* [http://www.comicgeekspeak.com/episodes/comic_geek_speak-111.php Comic Geek Speak: Episode 83] - Stan Lee interview podcast, December 12, 2005
* [http://daily.mahalo.com/2008/01/28/md044-stan-lee-interview/ Mahalo Daily with Veronica Belmont: "MD044 - Stan Lee Interview"] , January 28, 2008
* [http://www.truegameheadz.com/blogheadz/stan-lee-the-man/ Stan Lee receives 1st New York comics legend award] April 17 2008

Источник: Stan Lee

Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko
Ditko photographed at his studio in 1959.
Born	Stephen J. Ditko November 2, 1927 (1927-11-02) (age 84) Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works	The Amazing Spider-Man Creeper Doctor Strange Hawk and Dove Mr. A Question

Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko^[1] (born November 2, 1927)^[2] is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

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 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 then 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.

Ditko then drew for Atlas Comics, the 1950s forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel, including co-creating Spider-Man, who would become the company's flagship character. Additionally, he co-created the supernatural hero Doctor Strange and made important contributions to the Hulk and Iron Man. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel for reasons never specified.

Ditko then worked for Charlton and DC Comics, making major contributions, including a revamp of long-running character Blue Beetle, and creating or co-creating the Question, the Creeper, 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 Objectivism philosophy. Since the 1960s, Ditko has declined most interviews, stating that it is his work he offers readers, and not his personality.

Ditko 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.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life and career 1.2 Marvel Comics 1.2.1 Creation of Spider-Man 1.2.2 Doctor Strange and other characters 1.3 Charlton and DC Comics 1.4 Latter-day Ditko 2 Personal life 3 Awards and honors 4 BBC Documentary 5 Selected bibliography 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External links

Biography

Early life and career

The Thing #12 (Feb. 1954), Ditko's first published comic-book cover

Stephen J. Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the son of first-generation Americans of Czechoslovakian^[3] descent: Stephen Ditko, an artistically talented master carpenter at a steel mill, and Anna, a homemaker. The second-eldest child in a working-class family, he was preceded by sister Anna Marie^[3] and followed in uncertain order by sister Betty and brother Patrick.^[1] Inspired by his father's love of newspaper comic strips, particularly Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by the introduction of superhero Batman in 1940, and by Will Eisner's The Spirit, which appeared in a tabloid-sized comic-book insert in Sunday newspapers.^[4]

Self-portrait of Steve Ditko, dating to 1964.

Good with his hands, 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.^[4] Upon graduating from Johnstown High School in 1945,^[4] he enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 26, 1945,^[3] and did military service in postwar Germany, where he drew comics for an Army newspaper.^[4]

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.^[5] Robinson found the young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing"^[6] and someone who "could work well with other writers as well as write his own stories and create his own characters",^[6] and he helped Ditko acquire a scholarship for the following year.^[7] "He was in my class for two years, four or five days a week, five hours a night. It was very intense."^[8] 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 was when Stan first saw Steve's work."^[8]

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 (Feb. 1954).^[9][10] Ditko's first published work was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in Daring Love #1 (Oct. 1953),^[9] published by the Key imprint Gillmor Magazines.^[11]

Shortly afterward, Ditko found work at the studio of celebrated writer-artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who had created Captain America and other characters and had instituted numerous industry innovations. 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 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".^[12] Ditko's known assistant work includes aiding inker Meskin on the Jack Kirby pencil work of Harvey Comics' Captain 3-D #1 (Dec. 1953).^[13] For his own third published story, Ditko penciled and inked the six-page "A Hole in His Head" in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (Dec. 1953), published by Simon & Kirby's Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics.^[14]

Ditko then began 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 1960. 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.^[15]

Marvel Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964). Cover art by Ditko, featuring a rogue's gallery of supervillains he co-created

After he recovered and moved back to New York City in late 1955,^[15] Ditko began drawing for Atlas Comics, 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). 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 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-reflexive short by Ditko and writer-editor Stan Lee.

These bagatelles 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" 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."^[16]

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",^[17] 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 superpowers. Comics historian Greg Theakston 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".^[18]

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 [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."^[19]

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...."^[20]

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 "[i]f nothing better comes along."^[21] 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 strips. You have a great opportunity to show everyone a whole new range of ideas, unlimited types of stories and styles---why FLUB it!"^[22]

From 1958 to either 1966 or 1968 (accounts differ), 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,^[23][24] and 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".^[25] 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".^[26]

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.^[27]

Doctor Strange and other characters

Dormammu attacks Eternity in a Ditko "Dr. Strange" panel from Strange Tales #146 (July 1966).

After drawing the final issue of The Incredible Hulk (#6, March 1963), Ditko co-created with Lee the supernatural hero Doctor Strange, in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963). Ditko and Lee shortly thereafter relaunched a Hulk series as a short feature in the anthology 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 #62 (Dec. 1964).

Ditko also penciled 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, though whether Ditko or cover-penciler and principal character designer Jack Kirby designed the costume is uncertain.

Though often overshadowed by his Amazing Spider-Man work, Ditko's "Doctor Strange" stories have been equally acclaimed, for their surrealistic 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.g. 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."^[28]

Eventually, as co-plotter and later sole plotter, in the "Marvel Method", Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130-146 (July 1965 - July 1966), Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity, who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos.^[29] 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 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.^[30]

The cartoonist and fine artist Seth in 2003 described Ditko's style as "oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to 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."^[31]

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 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.^[32] The details of the rift remain uncertain, even to Lee, who confessed in 2003, "I never really knew Steve on a personal level."^[32] Ditko later claimed it was Lee who broke off contact and disputed the long-held belief^[33] 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".^[34] 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...."^[35]

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."^[36]

Comics historian Greg Theakston, who visited Ditko on occasion, theorized Ditko saw The Amazing Spider-Man as semi-autobiographical: "Spider-Man was the culmination of everything Ditko was up until that moment. Ditko had personal ties to the character. When people started to 'manipulate him' into bringing in more romance into the strip and changing the direction, Ditko felt slighted, crushed ... they were telling him how to do it. He wouldn't be told".^[34]

Writer and then future Marvel editor Roy Thomas said of that time, "I'll never forget the day I walked into one Marvel office not long after Ditko quit, and here's John Romita [Sr.] drawing Amazing Spider-Man and Larry [Lieber] drawing the Spider-Man Annual and Marie Severin drawing 'Dr. Strange', and I joked, 'This is the Steve Ditko Room; it takes three of you to do what Steve Ditko used to do'".^[37]

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 Blue Beetle (1967–1968), the Question (1967–1968), Captain Atom (1965–1967), returning to the character he'd co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966–1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by Archie Goodwin for Warren Publishing's horror comic magazines Creepy and Eerie, most of which were done using ink-wash.^[38]

In 1967, Ditko gave his conservative ideas ultimate expression in the form of Mr. A, published in Wally Wood's independent title witzend # 3. Ditko's hard line against criminals was controversial^{[citation needed]} and he continued to produce Mr. A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s.^{[citation needed]} Ditko returned to Mr. A in 2000 and in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

A panoply of Ditko DC Comics characters, from "DC Profiles" biographical page appearing in comics cover-dated April 1980, including Batman #322 and The Legion of Super-Heroes #262. From left: the Creeper, Hawk and Dove, Stalker, the Odd Man, Shade, the Changing Man, Starman.

Ditko moved to DC Comics in 1968, where he created the Creeper in Showcase #73 (April 1968) with scripter Don Segall, under editor Murray Boltinoff. Ditko created the quirky 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).^[39]

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 to the company,^[40] 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 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".^[41]

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 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 fellow comics legend Wally Wood. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of Tiger-Man and the third issue of Morlock 2001, with Bernie Wrightson inking.^[39]

Latter-day Ditko

Ditko returned to DC Comics in 1975, creating a short-lived title, Shade, the Changing Man (1977–1978).^[39][42] Shade 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)^[43]. He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short Demon backup series in 1979, work on Legion of Superheroes in 1980–1981, and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. He also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman in Adventure Comics #467–478 (1980).^[39] 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 in the DC Universe and a pinup for Superman #400 (Oct. 1984)^[44] and its companion portfolio.^{[citation needed]}

Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man, drawing The Micronauts, co-creating Captain Universe, and continuing to freelance for the company into the late 1990s. In 1982, he also began freelancing for 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 the script for the latter two. Ditko also created the Mocker for Pacific, in Silver Star #2 (April 1983).^[39]

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 a handful of the Fly, Fly-Girl 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).^[39]

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 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 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."^[45]

Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998.^[46] His later work for Marvel and DC included established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in Marvel Comics Presents) and newer, licensed characters such as 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, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 Orion series^[47] but not published until the 2008 trade paperback Tales of the New Gods.^[47]

Since then, Ditko's solo work has been published intermittently by 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.^[39]

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, introducing such new characters as the Hero. In January 2009 Ditko Continued was released, featuring, amongst other material, the first part of a new Mr. A story, followed by Oh, No! Not Again, Ditko!, Ditko Once More, Ditko Presents, A Ditko Act Two, A Ditko Act 3 and Act 4 in the same format. In late 2009, Ditko and Snyder published a reprint of the 1973 Mr. A comic.^[39]

Personal life

Ditko resides and continues to work from an office in New York City.^[48] He has refused to give interviews or make public appearances since the 1960s, 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".^[49] He has, however, contributed numerous essays to Snyder's fanzine The Comics.^{[citation needed]}

Ditko is an ardent supporter and advocate of the philosophy of Objectivism.^[50][51]

He has an artist nephew also named Steve Ditko.^[32] According to Will Eisner, Ditko has one son.^[52]

Awards and honors

• 1962 Alley Award for Best Short Story: "Origin of Spider-Man" by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko, Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel Comics).
• 1963 Alley Award for Best Adventure Hero Comic Book: The Amazing Spider-Man
• 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^[53]

• In 1987, Ditko was presented a Comic-Con International Inkpot Award in absentia, accepted on his behalf by Renegade Press publisher Deni Loubert, 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.^[54]

• Ditko was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.

BBC Documentary

In September 2007, Jonathan Ross hosted a one-hour documentary for the UK arts channel BBC Four, 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 Alan Moore, Mark Millar, Jerry Robinson and Stan Lee, among others. Ross, accompanied by Neil Gaiman, met Ditko at his New York office but he declined to be filmed, interviewed and photographed for the show. He did however, give the two a selection of some comic books. At the end of the show, Ross said he has since spoken to Ditko on the telephone and continued to say, as a joke, that he was now on first name terms with him.^[33]

Selected bibliography

Strange Suspense Stories #75 (June 1965), reprinting Captain Atom stories from Space Adventures #33, 34 & 36. Cover art by Ditko.

As penciler (generally but not exclusively self-inked), unless otherwise noted

Marvel

• Amazing Adventures #1–6; becomes

Amazing Adult Fantasy #7–14; becomes

Amazing Fantasy #15

• The Amazing Spider-Man #1–38
• The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1–2
• The Avengers Annual #13,15
• Strange Tales #110–111, 114–146 (Doctor Strange)
• Strange Tales Annual #2
• The Fantastic Four #13 (inking Jack Kirby)
• The Incredible Hulk #2 (inking Jack Kirby), #6
• Phantom 2040 #1–4 (The Phantom)
• Tales of Suspense #47–49 (Iron Man)
• Tales to Astonish #60–67 (The Hulk in #60–67, Giant Man in #61)
• Speedball #1–10
• ROM Spaceknight #59–75, Annual #4
• Saban's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 (Nov. 1995)

DC

• Strange Adventures #188-189
• Showcase #73 (debut, the Creeper)' #75 (debut, The Hawk and the Dove)
• Beware the Creeper #1–6
• The Hawk and the Dove #1–2
• 1st Issue Special #7 (Creeper)
• Shade, the Changing Man #1–8
• World's Finest Comics #249–255 (script & art, Creeper series)
• Detective Comics #483-485 (The Demon)
• Detective Comics #487 (Odd Man—debut, originally planned for Shade, the Changing Man #9^[55])
• Legion of Super-Heroes #267, 268, 272, 274, 276, 281
• Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1, 2, a 25-page Creeper story planned for Showcase #106; and the aforementioned Shade, the Changing Man #9

Charlton

• Blue Beetle #1–5
• Mysterious Suspense #1
• Strange Suspense Stories #75–89 (Captain Atom)
• Captain Atom #78–89
• Ghostly Haunts, Ghostly Tales, The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves (most issues)

Warren

• Eerie #3–10 (1966–1967)
• Creepy #9–16 (1966–1967)

Atlas/Seaboard

• The Destructor #1–4 (1975)
• Morlock 2001 #3
• Tiger-Man #2, 3

Independent

• Avenging World (1973) (written, pencilled, inked, and lettered by Ditko. Note that the 2002 Avenging World is a collection of Ditko works including the 1973 comic of that name)

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} Bell, Blake. Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko (Fantagraphics Books, Seattle, Washington, 2008), p.14. ISBN 9781560979310
2. ^ Comics Buyers Guide #1636 (December 2007) p. 135
3. ^ ^{a b c} Bell, Strange and Stranger, Endnotes, p.1, citing 1920 and 1930 U.S. Census data. The family lists itself as Czechoslovakian in the latter census, following the dissolution of Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918. The surname "Ditko" itself is of Slavic origin.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Bell, Strange and Stranger, p. 15
5. ^ Bell, Strange and Stranger, p. 16
6. ^ ^{a b} Jerry Robinson interview, Alter Ego #38 (Aug. 2004), p. 9
7. ^ Bell, Strange and Stranger, p. 19
8. ^ ^{a b} Robinson, Jerry, "Student and Teacher", in Yoe, Craig, ed. The Art of Ditko (IDW Publishing, January 2010), ISBN 978-1-6001-0542-5, p. 54
9. ^ ^{a b} Bell, Strange and Stranger, p. 20
10. ^ Fantastic Fears #5 at the Grand Comics Database
11. ^ Daring Love #1 at the Grand Comics Database
12. ^ Theakston, Steve Ditko Reader, p. 3 (unnumbered)
13. ^ Captain 3-D #1 (Dec. 1953) at the Grand Comics Database
14. ^ Black Magic vol. 4, #3 [27] (Dec. 1953) at the Grand Comics Database
15. ^ ^{a b} Bell, Blake, ed. Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1 (Fantagraphics Books, 2009), p. 10. ISBN 978-1606992890
16. ^ Lee, Stan, "Introduction", in Yoe, p. 9
17. ^ Lee, Stan, and Mair, George. Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (Fireside, 2002), p.130. ISBN 0-684-87305-2
18. ^ Theakston, Greg. The Steve Ditko Reader (Pure Imagination, Brooklyn, NY, 2002; ISBN 1-56685-011-8), p. 12 (unnumbered)
19. ^ Theakston, Steve Ditko Reader, p. 13
20. ^ Ditko, Steve. "Jack Kirby's Spider-Man", Robin Snyder's History of Comics #5 (May 1990). Reprinted in Thomas, Roy, ed., Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2001), p. 56. ISBN 9781893905061
21. ^ Archive of "Steve Ditko - A Portrait of the Master." Comic Fan #2, Summer 1965. Published by Larry Herndon. Via Ditko Looked Up. WebCitation archive.
22. ^ Archive of Steve Ditko letter-to-the-editor, Voice of Comicdom #4, April 1965. Punctuation verbatim. Via Ditko Looked Up. WebCitation archive.
23. ^ Bell, Blake. Archive of "Ditko & Stanton" at Ditko Looked Up. WebCitation archive.
24. ^ Theakston, The Steve Ditko Reader, pp. 13–15 (unnumbered, pp. 14–15 misordered as pp. 16 & 14)
25. ^ Riemschneider, Burkhard. Eric Stanton: For the Man Who Knows His Place (Benedikt Taschen Verlag "Amuse-Guele", 1997), p.4 (unnumbered) ISBN 978-3822881699
26. ^ Theakston, Steve Ditko Reader, p. 14 (unnumbered, misordered as page 16)
27. ^ Rhoades, Shirrel (2008). A Complete History of American Comic Books. Peter Lang Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-1433101076. 
28. ^ Green, Robin (September 16, 1971). "Face Front! Clap Your Hands, You're on the Winning Team!". Rolling Stone (via fan site Green Skin's Grab-Bag) (91): page 31 of print version. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. http://www.reocities.com/area51/Chamber/8346/rs91.facefront.1.html. Retrieved September 14, 2011. 
29. ^ 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)".
30. ^ Wright, Bradford W. Comic Book Nation: Transformation of a Youth Culture, Johns Hopkins, 2001. ISBN 0-8018-7450-5. p. 213
31. ^ Heer, Jeet. "Steve Ditko", The National Post, May 3, 2003, via JeetHeer.com. WebCitation archive.
32. ^ ^{a b c} Sinclair, Tom. "Still a Marvel!", Entertainment Weekly June 20, 2003. WebCitation archive.
33. ^ ^{a b} Jonathan, Ross, In Search of Steve Ditko, BBC Four
34. ^ ^{a b} Lawrence, Christopher, "Who Is Steve Ditko?", Wizard #124 (Jan. 2002)
35. ^ "Confidential Videotaped Deposition of John V. Romita". Garden City, New York: United States District Court, Southern District of New York: "Marvel Worldwide, Inc., et al., vs. Lisa R. Kirby, et al.". October 21, 2010. p. 45. https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_lZovnpi13JNWQ5MDJmOTgtZDMzYy00MzI3LTllYjctNmM0ZWE4NjgyOWEx&hl=en_US. 
36. ^ "Excelsior! Stan Lee speaks", CraveOnline July 31, 2007. WebCitation archive.
37. ^ "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas", Comic Book Artist  #2 (Summer 1998). WebCitation archive.
38. ^ Spurlock, J. David (2011). How to Draw Chiller Monsters, Werewolves, Vampires, and Zombies. Watson-Guptill. p. 32. ISBN 0823095320. http://books.google.com/books?id=LkU3Qs66GlwC&pg=PA32&dq=Steve+Ditko+Warren+ink-wash&hl=en&ei=Ir-sTvuEDYrk0QGV-6CyDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Steve%20Ditko%20Warren%20ink-wash&f=false. Retrieved October 29, 2011. "The tonal ink-wash drawings he did for Creepy and Eerie magazines afforded him unique opportunities to exercise his mysterious prowess." 
39. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Steve Ditko at the Grand Comics Database
40. ^ Evanier, Mark (September 11, 2007). "Ditko Doc". "P.O.V. Online" (column). http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_09_11.html#013999. Retrieved 2010-04-27. . WebCitation archive.
41. ^ Cooke, Jon B., & Christopher Irving. "The Charlton Empire: A Brief History of the Derby, Connecticut Publisher", Comic Book Artist  #9, August 2000. Access date 2010-04-27. WebCitation archive.
42. ^ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "Steve Ditko returned to mainstream comics with Shade, the Changing Man. Joined by writer Michael Fleisher, Ditko unveiled the story of Rac Shade, a secret agent-turned-fugitive from the extra-dimensional world of Meta." 
43. ^ Stalker at the Grand Comics Database
44. ^ Superman #400 at the Grand Comics Database
45. ^ Wolk, Douglas. Sunday Book Review: "From Spider-Man to Ayn Rand", The New York Times August 15, 2008. WebCitation archive.
46. ^ Bell, Blake. Archive of Ditko News, December 6, 1998 (requires scrolling down), Ditko Looked Up. Entry refers to Ditko's final mainstream comics work, a New Gods story that would remain unpublished for 10 years. WebCitation archive.
47. ^ ^{a b} Franczak, B.. "Tales of the New Gods". Ditko-Fever.com. http://www.ditko-fever.com/totngtp.html. Retrieved 2010-04-27.  WebCitation archive of page. WebCitation archive of main page.
48. ^ "The unsung hero behind Spider-Man". The Guardian. 2007-09-13. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/sep/14/art.usa. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
49. ^ Ditko interview in Masters of Imagination: The Comic Book Artists Hall of Fame by Mike Benton (Taylor Publishing, 1994, ISBN 978-0878338597), quoting from fanzine Marvel Main #4 (1969), published by Mike Howell and Richard Howell
50. ^ Wolk, Douglas. "The Amazing Steve Ditko", Salon.com, June 3, 2005, p. 2. WebCitation archive.
51. ^ Young, Thom. "Ditko Shrugged". Part 1: Ayn Rand's Influence on Steve Ditko's Craft, Commerce, and Creeper (WebCitation archive); Part 2: Apollonian and Dionysian Conflicts in The Hawk and the Dove and Beware the Creeper; Part 3: Did Neal Adams Work on Beware the Creeper #5?; and Part 4: After Ditko, the Drought, Comics Bulletin, September 11–22, 2007
52. ^ Eisner/Miller, Dark Horse Books, 2005, p.128
53. ^ Bails, Jerry, and Hames Ware, eds.. "Who's Who of American Comics Books, 1928–1999". BailsProjects.com. http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(b2pprd5524b5xe55dsglot55))/bio.aspx?Name=DITKO%2c+STEVE. Retrieved 2010-04-27.  WebCitation archive.
54. ^ Bell, Strange and Stranger, pp. 165–166
55. ^ Detective Comics #487 at the Grand Comics Database

References

• The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• Steve Ditko at the Comic Book DB

External links

• Steve Ditko at the Internet Movie Database
• Hart, Hugh. "Strange and Stranger Salutes Spider-Man Artist Steve Ditko", Wired Magazine, August 21, 2008. WebCitation archive.
• Jonathan, Ross. "The Unsung Hero Behind Spider-Man", The Guardian 14 September 2007. WebCitation archive.
• Archive of McQuarrie, Jim, "Fantastic Giants, Vol. 2, No. 24", "Oddball Comics" (column), #1146, March 5, 2007
• Steve Ditko.com (fan site)

v · d · eDoctor Strange Creators Stan Lee • Steve Ditko Supporting characters Agamotto • Ancient One • Clea • Wong Villains Baron Mordo • Dormammu • Nightmare • Satannish • Shuma-Gorath • Umar In other media Dr. Strange • "Doctor Strange" • Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme Related articles Alternative versions of Doctor Strange • Book of the Vishanti • Cloak of Levitation • Eye of Agamotto • Orb of Agamotto • Sanctum Sanctorum • Doctor Strange: The Oath

v · d · eSpider-Man Created by: Stan Lee • Steve Ditko Spider-Man family Spider-Man (Peter Parker) • Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly) • Kaine • Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon) • Anti-Venom (Eddie Brock) Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew • Julia Carpenter • Mattie Franklin) • Toxin Supporting characters May Parker • Ben Parker • Mary Jane Watson • J. Jonah Jameson • Harry Osborn • Gwen Stacy • George Stacy • Black Cat • Flash Thompson • Betty Brant • Debra Whitman • Ben Urich • Richard and Mary Parker • Robbie Robertson • Glory Grant • Liz Allan • Prowler • Randy Robertson • Ned Leeds • Anna Watson • Jean DeWolff • Silver Sable • Madame Web • John Jameson • Rocket Racer • Carlie Cooper Villains Beetle (Abner Jenkins) • Big Wheel • Boomerang • Burglar • Carnage • Chameleon • Doctor Octopus • Electro • Enforcers • Green Goblin • Hammerhead • Hobgoblin • Hydro-Man • Jackal • Kingpin • Kraven the Hunter • Lizard • Molten Man • Morbius • Mysterio • Rhino • Sandman • Scorpion • Shocker • Silvermane • Sinister Six • Alistair Smythe • Spencer Smythe • Spider-Slayer (List) • Spot • Swarm • Symbiote • Tinkerer • Tombstone • Venom (Eddie Brock) • Vulture Locations Daily Bugle • Empire State University Other topics Powers and equipment • Alternative versions • In other media (Film • Television • Video games) • Publications (Storylines) See also: Alternative versions of Mary Jane Watson • Alternative versions of the Green Goblin • Alternative versions of Venom

v · d · eSinister Six Creators Stan Lee · Steve Ditko Members Original members Doctor Octopus · Electro · Kraven the Hunter · Mysterio · The Sandman · The Vulture Other members Beetle · Boomerang · Chameleon · Gog · Green Goblin · Grim Reaper · Hammerhead · Hobgoblin · Hydro-Man · Kraven the Hunter  · Lizard · Mac Gargan · Rhino · Scorpia · Shocker · Tombstone · Trapster · Venom In other media "Insidious Six/Battle of the Insidious Six" · Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six · Spider-Man 2: The Sinister Six Other Ultimate Six · Sinister Syndicate

Persondata
Name	Ditko, Stephen J.
Alternative names
Short description	American comic book artist
Date of birth	November 2, 1927
Place of birth	Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death

Источник: Steve Ditko