Admiring Steve Ditko's Spider-Man

[TSwift25]

I may be remembering this completely incorrectly, but the costume design was all Ditko, Kirby never wanted the webbed design (and I think there was another design somewhere after the web-gun character, but still lacking).

 

Ultimately, the 'look' is mostly Ditko (with some Stan in there) and I think, without that, Spider-Man probably doesn't get to where he is now. So, hard to say that Kirby could have done the same or better.

[namisgr]

Ditko rendered battle scenes brilliantly in ASM, but his creativity came through when pencilling Dr. Strange stories:

 

[mar-vell]

My understanding was that Ditko was keeping Spiderman the loner with lots of problems. Stan Lee (and JR) wanted to move him to be more hip. Thus you get the hot girlfriend x 2, motorcycle, apartment (referred to as a pad) etc.

 

I'm not sure if Stan wouldn't let Ditko give up the ghost with MJ's face and Green Goblin identity leaving that for JR or if Ditko in his own right wanted to keep all that a mystery as long as possible.

 

Either way, Ditkos (and Stans) mastery of character and supporting cast as well as his drawing to go along with it is unparalleled. JR reaped the benefits IMO but he was pretty darn. The Kingpin storylines, intro of Joe Robertson as well as the Gwen Stacy relationship drama were all very good.

 

Another weird thing is that Ditkos interiors were far superior to his covers. I always thought the covers were cluttered and/or stiff like 4 5 6 7 14 17 19 22 although there are clear masterpieces like 2 11 23 28 33. But the interiors are just awesome as this pages shows.

 

JR I thought his interiors were rushed and could be flat, unless it was a fight scene or some other affect. His covers though were really pretty good from 39 41 43 46 48 50 55 60 67 69 72 and quite a few more.

 

Without getting into fanboy "who's better" I'd suggest that a cover like 64 with the Vulture compared to a similar cover like issue 2; issue 64 is going to be better for sales.

 

i always thought #3 and #20 were ditko's best spidey covers

[mar-vell]

Ditko rendered battle scenes brilliantly in ASM, but his creativity came through when pencilling Dr. Strange stories:

 

 

 

i love ditko doctor strange and it still remains either the most underrated marvel age run or the best kept secret of the marvel age. The dormammu saga are some of the greatest comic books ever made period.

 

As your pic shows some incredible artwork as well as stories in this run. Without Ditko the good doctor may never have been associated with the trippy psychedelic artwork he has been known for over the years. This is a character Ditko reallly made his own and i think if this run hadn't been done by him Strange would most likely be a vastly different character today.

[rodan57]

I think a Kirby Spider-man would have been interesting. I have no doubt that Spider-man would have still been a huge success as long as the title stuck with Stan's plot/scripts.

 

This gives the excuse to once again post this:

 

 

No, no, no...not the Simon/Kirby version of Spiderman (aka Silver Spider). I mean Spider-man as drawn by Kirby on the cover of AF15, with the same situation, cast of characters and plot/scripts by Stan.

 

This not Simon/Kirby. This is the Kirby design for Spiderman.

[VintageComics]

Ditko rendered battle scenes brilliantly in ASM, but his creativity came through when pencilling Dr. Strange stories:

 

 

 

i love ditko doctor strange and it still remains either the most underrated marvel age run or the best kept secret of the marvel age. The dormammu saga are some of the greatest comic books ever made period.

 

As your pic shows some incredible artwork as well as stories in this run. Without Ditko the good doctor may never have been associated with the trippy psychedelic artwork he has been known for over the years. This is a character Ditko reallly made his own and i think if this run hadn't been done by him Strange would most likely be a vastly different character today.

 

It's so "un-Stan Lee-like" that I can only think that because Strange was a B-list character that Stan Lee gave Ditko free reign on the title allowing Ditko to "make it his own".

 

In a strange kind of way, Ditko and Kirby both have some similarities when they were allowed a little more leeway, mostly with the psychedelic space stuff it seems.

[AtlasFan]

I think a Kirby Spider-man would have been interesting. I have no doubt that Spider-man would have still been a huge success as long as the title stuck with Stan's plot/scripts.

 

This gives the excuse to once again post this:

 

 

No, no, no...not the Simon/Kirby version of Spiderman (aka Silver Spider). I mean Spider-man as drawn by Kirby on the cover of AF15, with the same situation, cast of characters and plot/scripts by Stan.

 

This not Simon/Kirby. This is the Kirby design for Spiderman.

 

I guess the real question is: Was it Kirby or Ditko that designed the costume on the cover of AF15. I've seen the above sketch many times and it really looks like a touched up version of S&K's Silver Spider character (which later became Archie's THE FLY).

[Unca Ben]

I think a Kirby Spider-man would have been interesting. I have no doubt that Spider-man would have still been a huge success as long as the title stuck with Stan's plot/scripts.

 

This gives the excuse to once again post this:

 

 

No, no, no...not the Simon/Kirby version of Spiderman (aka Silver Spider). I mean Spider-man as drawn by Kirby on the cover of AF15, with the same situation, cast of characters and plot/scripts by Stan.

 

This not Simon/Kirby. This is the Kirby design for Spiderman.

Yep. Ol' Spidey would have ended up being a lot like the first few issues of Archies Comics the Fly.

[rodan57]

I wish I could remember form where I snagged the scan but I do recall that the source was authoritative.

 

I also recall that this drawing was said to be all that was left of the sample pages and work that Kirby did for Lee as the earliest representations of Spider-man. I think it's is pretty much cannon that Lee wanted something a bit more "teen-agey" and that Ditko had brought the resemblance to Simon/Kirby's earlier Silver Spider to Lee's attention.

 

Kirby had a habit of colouring some of his earlier works much later in his career, I tend to suspect that this was also the case with this drawing.

 

 

[trmoore54]

I wish I could remember form where I snagged the scan but I do recall that the source was authoritative.

 

I also recall that this drawing was said to be all that was left of the sample pages and work that Kirby did for Lee as the earliest representations of Spider-man. I think it's is pretty much cannon that Lee wanted something a bit more "teen-agey" and that Ditko had brought the resemblance to Simon/Kirby's earlier Silver Spider to Lee's attention.

 

Kirby had a habit of colouring some of his earlier works much later in his career, I tend to suspect that this was also the case with this drawing.

 

 

Pretty sure this is covered in the Kirby: King of Comics hardcover book...I'll check when I get home. Dude looks pretty Captain America-ish...

[batman_fan]

This is not mine, but I think it is a great splash from Ditko.

 

[rodan57]

Very nice. I am rather envious of those who are able through circumstance and ability to collect original art at such a rarified level.

[jimjum12]

I have a particular fondness for the Ditko interiors with 9 - 12 panels per page. These were more prevalent before Dr. Strange and an increased workload came into the "picture".....GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u