Steve Ditko (b. 1927)

Born: 1927 November 2 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: 2018 June 29 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
via story credit search for "Steve Ditko" external links

Biography:

American comic book artist best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superheroes Spider-Man [Peter Parker] and Doctor Strange [Stephen Strange]. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man [Tony Stark], introducing the character's signature red and yellow design.

Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson (b. 1922) at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon (b. 1913) and Jack Kirby (b. 1917), beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin (b. 1916). During this time, he began his long association with Charlton, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom [Allen Adam] in 1960.

During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel, 1963 series), co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee (b. 1922). 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 (Marvel, 1951 series), Ditko left Marvel.

He continued to work for Charlton and also DC, including a revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle [Ted Kord] and creating or co-creating The Question [Vic Sage / Charles Victor Szasz], The Creeper [Jack Ryder], Rac Shade [DC, Shade the Changing Man], Nightshade [Charlton/DC, Eve Eden], and The Hawk and the Dove (English). Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A [Rex Graine], a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand (b. 1905)'s philosophy of Objectivism.

Notes:

To be confirmed against the Who's Who entry.

Steve Ditko's death date is June 29, 2018, the date his body was discovered. It is believed he probably actually died up to two days prior.

Name:

  • Steve Ditko
  • Type: Common Alternative Name
    Given name: Steve Family name: Ditko

Other Names:

  1. Ditko Type: Common Alternative Name
    Family name: Ditko
  2. S. Ditko Type: Common Alternative Name
    Given name: S. Family name: Ditko
  3. Stephen John Ditko Type: Name at Birth
    Given name: Stephen John Family name: Ditko
  4. J. Kodti Type: Pen Name
  5. Space Man Type: Pen Name
  6. Стив Дитко
View Change History
Creator at www.comics.org

Signatures:

  1. Ditko [generic]
  2. J. Kodti [generic]
  3. J. Kotdi [generic]
  4. Rebel [generic]
  5. S Ditko [generic]
  6. S. [generic]
  7. S. D. [generic]
  8. S. DITKO [generic]
  9. S. Ditko [generic]
  10. S. DITKO
  11. S. Ditko [sentence case]
  12. S. J. Ditko [generic]
  13. SD [generic]
  14. Space Mann [generic]
  15. SS [generic]
  16. Steve Ditko [generic]
  17. Steve Ditko [cursive]

Awards:

  1. 1985: Eagle Awards - Roll of Honour
  2. 1987: Inkpot Award - [no name]
  3. 1990: Harvey Award - The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
  4. 1991: UK Comic Art Award - Career Achievement Award
  5. 1994: Eisner Award - Hall of Fame
  6. 2015: Inkwell Awards - The Sinnott Hall of Fame Award

Awards for Issues:

  1. 1963: Alley Awards - Favorite Annual
    Fantastic Four Annual (1963 series) #1
  2. 1964: Alley Awards - Best Giant Comic
    The Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964 series) #1
  3. 2005: Quill Award - Graphic Novel
    Marvel 1602 (2004 series)
  4. 2013: Ghastly Awards - Best Archival Collection
    Ditko Monsters: Gorgo (2013 series)
  5. 2022: Eisner Award - Best Publication Design
    The Marvel Comics Library: Spider-Man (2022 series) #1 - 1962–1964

Awards for Stories:

  1. 1962: Alley Awards - Best Short Story
    Spider-Man! (Spider-Man) comic story, 11p

Relations:

  1. Employee of - Simon and Kirby Studio (b. 1941)
    Notes: Freelance penciler and inker 1953 to 1954.
  2. Employee of - Wally Wood Studio (b. 1964)
    Notes: Did pencils circa 1966.

Schools:

  1. Cartoonists and Illustrators School 1950 to 1952

Art Influences:

Steve Ditko (b. 1927) stated influences by:
  1. Mort Meskin (b. 1916)
  2. Ayn Rand (b. 1905)
  3. Jerry Robinson (b. 1922)
Influences by Steve Ditko (b. 1927) were stated by:
  1. Arthur Adams (b. 1963)
  2. Darren Auck (b. 1961)
  3. Joe Barney
  4. Terry Beatty (b. 1958)
  5. Cliff Biggers (b. 1953)
  6. Al Bradford (b. 1950)
  7. Pat Broderick (b. 1953)
  8. Steve Brooks (b. 1966)
  9. Frank Brunner (b. 1949)
  10. Butch Burcham (b. 1952)
  11. Nate Butler (b. 1954)
  12. John Byrne (b. 1950)
  13. Gerry Conway (b. 1952)
  14. Paris Cullins (b. 1960)
  15. David Marshall (b. 1962)
  16. Alan Davis (b. 1956)
  17. Dan Day (b. 1956)
  18. Dan Duncan (b. 1964)
  19. Dan Eiler (b. 1947)
  20. Danny Fingeroth (b. 1953)
  21. Jorge Fornés (b. 1974)
  22. Dennis Fujitake (b. 1947)
  23. Michael Gallagher (b. 1951)
  24. Kerry Gammill (b. 1954)
  25. Michael T. Gilbert (b. 1951)
  26. Tim Gula (b. 1957)
  27. Hugh Haynes
  28. Mark Heike (b. 1959)
  29. Fred Hembeck (b. 1953)
  30. Gilbert Hernandez (b. 1957)
  31. Jaime Hernandez (b. 1959)
  32. Klaus Janson (b. 1952)
  33. Gary Kato (b. 1949)
  34. Sam Kujava (b. 1954)
  35. Ken Landgraf (b. 1950)
  36. Batton Lash (b. 1953)
  37. Steve Lightle (b. 1959)
  38. Timothy Markin (b. 1968)
  39. Don Martinec (b. 1958)
  40. Todd McFarlane (b. 1961)
  41. Will Meugniot (b. 1951)
  42. Frank Miller (b. 1957)
  43. Dean Mullaney (b. 1954)
  44. Jim Ottaviani (b. 1963)
  45. George Pérez (b. 1954)
  46. Sergio Ponchione (b. 1975)
  47. Paul Pope (b. 1970)
  48. Carl Potts (b. 1952)
  49. Stan Sakai (b. 1953)
  50. Tim Sale (b. 1956)
  51. Bill Schelly (b. 1951)
  52. Ramon Schenk (b. 1977)
  53. Jim Shooter (b. 1951)
  54. Walter Simonson (b. 1946)
  55. Paul Smith (b. 1953)
  56. Robin Snyder (b. 1947)
  57. Jim Starlin (b. 1949)
  58. Joe Staton (b. 1948)
  59. Carl Taylor (b. 1954)
  60. Jim Valentino (b. 1952)
  61. Neil Vokes (b. 1954)
  62. Lee Weeks (b. 1962)
  63. Alan Weiss (b. 1948)
  64. Mark Wheatley (b. 1954)
  65. Bob Wiacek (b. 1953)
  66. Mike Zeck (b. 1949)
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