We lost another one of the Greats - not just a great comic creator, but hermit, too.
Steve Ditko died on Friday, the 29th of June. He was discovered on July 1st, but word of his death was only released a week later.
I won't try to summarize Ditko's impact on the world of comics. Spider-Man and Doctor Strange by themselves give testament to his works, and they are but the tip of the iceberg. Ditko stood apart from the crowd - in nearly every way.
While Steve Ditko may not have technically been a hermit, he embraced the heart of hermitage - rejecting distracting attentions of the outside world, refusing to embrace madness for the sake of fitting in with the herd, adamantly standing by his beliefs even when it was arguably self-defeating to do so. For the last 50 years, Ditko avoided all press, preferring attention be paid to the work and the message, not the man. When his publisher at one point accepted an Inkpot Award on his behalf, Ditko was livid.
"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."
Steve Ditko was a "Man of Mystery" by his own acknowledgement, though not necessarily by active intent.
"It just happens because I'm a cartoonist in the comic book business, not a performer or personality in show business. When I do a job, it's not my personality that I'm offering the readers, but my art work. It's not what I'm like that counts what I did and how well it was done."Very simply, Ditko was Magic
I'll miss him.
In a time when going against the herd can get one crushed by the seething masses, we need him more than ever.
all art by Steve Ditko, of course
The different dates of his death doing the rounds are confusing. I'd read that he was found on the 29th, but probably died on the 27th, so now I'll have to do more research to find out which is more accurate. If you don't have the Ditko Dr. Strange Omnibus, 3, you should try and get your hands on a copy. Wall-to-wall Steve at his absolute best.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that the dates i gave are from the first article informing me of his passing. I didn't have the heart to read more, and so hadn't noticed or looked to confirm the date.
DeleteI haven't picked up any of the collections of old material since i've got the originals. There isn't any previously unpublished work hiding in the book, is there?
Nothing previously unpublished, but lots of covers from various reprints, handily collected in the back of the book. Also, various pin-ups of Dr. Strange by other artists that were included in the reprints over the years. It's a very nifty book and would save you having to dig out the originals to read. I'd certainly recommend it.
DeleteI'll try to check it out soon.
DeleteBeyond the previously noted reason, the new collections are also often on too-white, too-glossy, paper for my tastes. I very much dislike paper that has to be held at certain angles to avoid glare while trying to read, and a lot of the work looks garish on paper that's too white. But sometimes they do look great to my eye. I just rarely check these days.
As to digging out originals to read being trouble - i may collect, by i'm a comic Reader, not a Collector. I keep them easily accessible, and when i entertained visitors i kept rotating stacks of various titles out to encourage folks to read them. So it's not the difficult thing one might imagine to pull those old issues.
Yes, that glare annoys me too sometimes, but I don't think it's quite so bad in more recent editions. The Marvel Epic Collections are better as far as paper goes, so perhaps it might be better to wait until the Ditko tales are released in that format (if they're not out already).
DeleteGreat tribute to the point and contained info I was not aware of. I admire him even more for "knocking back" an award (as much as I hate these things I m weak and crave acceptance and would have accepted it lol)
ReplyDeleteAs you might have noticed, i admired him for that sort of thing as much as for the work he created. He was a singular individual.
DeleteI can't think of any greater praise for a man like Ditko.