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Why is Steve Ditko in Hiding???

Started by Yannis,

121 posts in this topic

silverweb

silverweb

Posted
Posted

80 is pretty old. He may be physically older than he is chronologically. Maybe he might have had a stroke or has some other kind of medical issue. I am appreciative of his great artwork but do respect his desire for privacy.

 

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seanfingh

seanfingh

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Posted
He owes the fans something for keeping his character alive!

 

I vehemently disagree with this statement. He owes no one anything. Do you owe the consumers of whatever you do for a living anything, forty years after they have consumed whatever it is you produce? Why should artists be held to higher standard than the rest of us? I would love to have Ditko SS, but he doesn't owe it to me.

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cd4ever

cd4ever

Posted
Posted
He owes the fans something for keeping his character alive!

 

I vehemently disagree with this statement. He owes no one anything. Do you owe the consumers of whatever you do for a living anything, forty years after they have consumed whatever it is you produce? Why should artists be held to higher standard than the rest of us? I would love to have Ditko SS, but he doesn't owe it to me.

 

Ditto. It's a ridiculous notion that he owes comic buyers anything.

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Dollarbill

Dollarbill

Posted
Posted
He owes the fans something for keeping his character alive!

 

I vehemently disagree with this statement. He owes no one anything. Do you owe the consumers of whatever you do for a living anything, forty years after they have consumed whatever it is you produce? Why should artists be held to higher standard than the rest of us? I would love to have Ditko SS, but he doesn't owe it to me.

:applause: Couldn't have said it better myself.

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Mac Man

Mac Man

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The other thing we have to take into consideration is that AT THE TIME comic creators were not taken seriously. In fact, they were often scorned or looked down upon for working on comic strips and funny books. Listen to Stan Lee speak about this in the History Channel's documentary--these people didn't really explode amongst the masses until later in the 60s (growing out of the college circles). While I'm sure Steve received some positive responses, I'm equally sure he felt some of the negative side effects of working in this business early on in his career.

 

Frankly, for all he's done for us nerds he deserves the well-earned R & R!

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comicartcom

comicartcom

Posted
Posted

without reading the second page o fthis string I need to bring up a handful of comments

 

#1 the first actual comic convention in NYC was in 1968. Prior to 1968 there was a meeting in 1964 at a union hall arranged by Phil Seuling. I was at every one of these conventions until they ended except for 1976 & 77. Ditko never appeared at any of Phils conventions to my recollection and if he was there, believe me I would recollect it. he also never appeared at any Creation Con in NYC. After the 1970s, he would have had as much interest in going to a convention as he would have had in getting run down by a bus on Second Ave.

 

#2 I do not believe Ditko ever appeared at an SDCC

 

#3 Ditko doesn't like fanboys in general and has wanted as little to do with comics collectors as possible, especially seeing as he feels he was totally screwed by fans who, from his perspective, stole all that great Spidey art that was taken from the Marvel warehouse and from which he did not get one thin dime

 

#4 finally, Steve has no responsibility to do anything for the comics field or hobby. He did work, was paid and as far as he was always concerned - that was that. Just because you think he should appear so he can be honored and dribbled on by fans does not make it so. He is living his life as best he can and he doesn't want to be bothered.

 

.....

For my money, I appreciate what Steve has done as an artist and if he wants to maintain his privacy, that's his business. I did speak to him once in the 1980s - a rather short conversation - and he was a gentleman and asked to be left alone. He took my phone number and said if he ever wanted to call he would.. He never called.. and I'm not mad.

 

 

 

 

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trmoore54

trmoore54

Posted
Posted
without reading the second page o fthis string I need to bring up a handful of comments

 

#1 the first actual comic convention in NYC was in 1968. Prior to 1968 there was a meeting in 1964 at a union hall arranged by Phil Seuling. I was at every one of these conventions until they ended except for 1976 & 77. Ditko never appeared at any of Phils conventions to my recollection and if he was there, believe me I would recollect it. he also never appeared at any Creation Con in NYC. After the 1970s, he would have had as much interest in going to a convention as he would have had in getting run down by a bus on Second Ave.

 

#2 I do not believe Ditko ever appeared at an SDCC

 

#3 Ditko doesn't like fanboys in general and has wanted as little to do with comics collectors as possible, especially seeing as he feels he was totally screwed by fans who, from his perspective, stole all that great Spidey art that was taken from the Marvel warehouse and from which he did not get one thin dime

 

#4 finally, Steve has no responsibility to do anything for the comics field or hobby. He did work, was paid and as far as he was always concerned - that was that. Just because you think he should appear so he can be honored and dribbled on by fans does not make it so. He is living his life as best he can and he doesn't want to be bothered.

 

.....

For my money, I appreciate what Steve has done as an artist and if he wants to maintain his privacy, that's his business. I did speak to him once in the 1980s - a rather short conversation - and he was a gentleman and asked to be left alone. He took my phone number and said if he ever wanted to call he would.. He never called.. and I'm not mad.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the post...interesting background. So Steve's a loner...no matter what a person does that equates to them becoming known, or God forbid, famous, is completely their personal choice of maintaining their privacy or seeking adualtion and interaction from the "fans"... 2c

 

(You've always been #1 (or #2 behind Kirby) in my book!)

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ComicBookGuy

ComicBookGuy

Posted
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Corrections on the con information.

 

The first comic convention ever was in New York City on July 27, 1964. It was organized by Bernie Bubnis and Ron Fradkin. Kirby was to attend initially, according to the progress report, but Ditko showed up instead. In fact, Ditko drew the cover to the 1964 program and did some art for the interior as well. There's a good picture of the Ditko cover on my friend Brian Franczak's excellent site Ditko-Fever. Dave Twedt represented Marvel at the con and did a talk, and he was joined by Stan's secretary Flo Steinberg. Ditko answered questions but did not do a presentation. It is a fact that this was the first and only con Ditko ever attended. I was speaking on the phone with Flo Steinberg just last weekend and she was telling me about the 1964 convention and Ditko's attendance there. Phil Seuling was in attendance but only as a dealer and provider of root beer. Dave Kaler and John Benson organized different NYC cons in 65, 66, and 67, and the late Phil Seuling took over the NYC con in 68.

 

Ditko is NOT hiding. He's just not interested in comic fandom. Every time he put himself out there, he got screwed somehow, and he decided enough was enough. Which is really a shame, cause if he did decide to do a big show, he would be honored like it was the second coming, or at least to the extent that Stan is deified.

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Yannis

Yannis

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Taterdemalion , lol cool comment. Man I didnt expect such an outburst for a simple question about Steve. I am not complaining about him as a person directly, only wondering why he stayed out of site. As for someone saying that he is 80 + , well so are Jerry Robinson, Stan lee, and Joe Simon. And I see them at quite a few conventions. Great guys. Never had a problem signing stuff (even with CGC). As for someone saying no one expected any type of fame is untrue. From the 40s comics were a huge success. It brought us movie animations that cost millions (check the Superman animation costs back in 41). The Batman serials. Captain America serial. Superman man tv shows. I could make a pretty good bet that comics were HUGE before even the 60s.

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trmoore54

trmoore54

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Posted
Taterdemalion , lol cool comment. Man I didnt expect such an outburst for a simple question about Steve. I am not complaining about him as a person directly, only wondering why he stayed out of site. As for someone saying that he is 80 + , well so are Jerry Robinson, Stan lee, and Joe Simon. And I see them at quite a few conventions. Great guys. Never had a problem signing stuff (even with CGC). As for someone saying no one expected any type of fame is untrue. From the 40s comics were a huge success. It brought us movie animations that cost millions (check the Superman animation costs back in 41). The Batman serials. Captain America serial. Superman man tv shows. I could make a pretty good bet that comics were HUGE before even the 60s.

 

Yeah...but they only cost 10-cents... :insane:lol

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comicartcom

comicartcom

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Posted

Tim I believe you are correct on stamps & gas was certainly at that level..

 

concerning ComicBookGuy's response

 

the 1964 thing probably qualifies as a real convention. However the 1965-66-67 gatherings have more in common with a business meeting at a hotel today than they do with a real convention.

 

as a matter of fact I think that some of those took place in the basement of someone's store or warehouse. I used to know exactly where.. but have since forgotten and seeing as almost no one is around who went to them, and they all live in NYC where I haven't lived for quite some time so I haven't even spoken to the guys I could ask for more than 20 years. Of course of everyone, I believe Dave Kaler has been dead many years.. but John Benson would definitely be the answer man (man it's fun to hear some names.. I haven't heard Dave's name in 20 years)

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