Steve Ditko Appreciation Thread!

[delekkerste]

touche! I was resisting that remark out of courtesy. Somehow, I think Steve Ditko will be remembered long after Larry Hama is gone.

 

Yeah, but is Ditko the better artist? Looking at all the atrociously poor covers shown on this thread so far, you'd have a hard time convincing me of that. People love Spidey. Ditko was the first Spidey artist. People love Ditko. It's that simple. Some of his work was really good. Most of it was not, and this thread proves it. If the covers shown in this thread had been done by someone else, we would all be ripping on the hack artist who drew them. But, since it's Steve Ditko, oh no, we can't possibly criticize the guy who launched Spidey into super-stardom (which I give him full credit for, in his defense). People love Ditko's work for the nostalgia, but many feel they have to invent rationales about how great his linework was, etc. to justify it (and to justify spending $10K for one of his original Spidey panel pages).

 

As for my G.I. Joe art, I'm not going to try and convince anyone that it's outstanding artwork - its value is also derived purely from nostalgia and historical importance. The artwork is good, but isn't going to win any prizes on a standalone basis. And, by the way, owning one piece of G.I. Joe artwork doesn't make me a Larry Hama or G.I. Joe art collector. The artists I actively collect are Enric, Sanjulian, Jose Gonzalez and Boris Vallejo. All of whose artwork is far better than Ditko could ever hope to draw.

[g-man]

D,

i think the covers to 12,16,21,23 are some of the best......great action, crazy poses that illustrate the "look" of how spider-man moved. I will admit that some of the later books had better covers (#39,75,78 come to mind)....

[Red Hook]

Gene, just yankin' the chain a little. I honestly belief Ditko to be one of the great stylists ever to draw comics. Is he uneven? Yes. His weirdness, both artistically and personally make me think of Philip K. , the great SF novelist who was capable of creating worlds of supreme beauty on one hand and on the other, pure dreck!

 

Among the many things I could say about Ditko is that he is a true original. No one before or after him looks like Ditko. Sure he draws square shoes, but his fight scenes are pure ballet, and I still think the pages in ASM #33 where Spider-Man raises the huge piece of machinery he is pinned under, are some of the greatest in the history of sequential art. Period. I've included it in slide lectures I've given to my illustration students up at Syracuse University.

 

I value Ditko's work because it exudes an energy that is very personal. If you can appreciate the art of someone like Egon Schiele on one hand and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingre on the other, then you'll understand. Ditko can be rough around the edges. Are his heros handsome? Not unless you think Lee Van Cleef is a looker. Are his women beautiful? Well, if you answer yes, then Judy Davis probably gets you heated up.

 

Kirby's figures pound through the pages, Ditko's fly through. Sometimes they look awkward, but sometimes they are sublimely beautiful. I'm not claiming the Charlton covers are great covers, but I find them eye-catching. If you want surface slickness, Ditko is not your man. If you want art from the soul, take a closer look at Ditko.

[Norrin_Radd]

Are his heros handsome? Not unless you think Lee Van Cleef is a looker.

 

Hey! I like Lee Van Cleef. He has the quintessential bad guy face IMO.

 

 

[Aman619]

wow wow wow!

ditto ditto ditto

bravo Red Hook...

 

awesome summation. I was just thinking about this thread. I came up with something similar, but not nearly as head on. "Ditko's biggest hurdle for greatness was Ditko himself" His best work is as you say, but he also did so much average stuff, and given his radically stylized approach, his bad stuff looks truly awful to those who dont appreciate the best Ditko. One cannot convince another to appreciates tastes that just dont register for them. Your examples were excellent.

 

Art from the soul. I think I have that 8-track somewhere!! Funky Fischman, wasnt it???

[Norrin_Radd]

I am a Romita ASM fan, but even I have to give Ditko props for some of his work. Such as the cover of ASM #13 featuring Mysterio. It is an all-time classic.

 

 

 

 

 

BTW - nice analysis Red Hook.

[FFB]

Among the many things I could say about Ditko is that he is a true original. No one before or after him looks like Ditko.

 

Take another look at Ron Frenz's Spidey run starting with the second half of issue #248. It is eerily similar to Ditko.

[Norrin_Radd]

Among the many things I could say about Ditko is that he is a true original. No one before or after him looks like Ditko.

 

Take another look at Ron Frenz's Spidey run starting with the second half of issue #248. It is eerily similar to Ditko.

 

He copied Ditko?! Why not copy someone good?

 

 

[Red Hook]

Among the many things I could say about Ditko is that he is a true original. No one before or after him looks like Ditko.

 

Take another look at Ron Frenz's Spidey run starting with the second half of issue #248. It is eerily similar to Ditko.

 

I'll check it out, Scott.

 

And here's one of my favorite Ditko covers. No apologies on this one, I think it's BRILLIANT!

 

 

[Sal]

steve ditko is the ideal Spider-Man artist, and not just because he was the first. there's an active quality to his ASM work that many 'greater' artists just cannot do, especially in his fight scenes. the fight scenes in that Blue Beetle vs. the Squids up there are tremendous.

 

ditko's primary flaw, IMHO, is his staggering inability to draw women. they just don't look like people. the second being that all of his heroes have a slender look about them, with the exact same body type.

 

but saying you hate Jack Kirby is..it's just...well, it's just wrong and a bannable offense once i get the keys to the kingdom, i tell you what

[jimm94]

Nobody likes Ditko and Kirby because of great anatomy or ultra-realism. They like them BECAUSE of their quirks, but more importantly because their visual storytelling exhudes a level of creativity and imagination was unmatched by virtually every other artist to ever draw for the comics medium at the time. They were true innovators.

 

Is it nostalgia? Partially, but their work defined an entire era for Marvel comics. Beyond that, it forged a path for emulation and imitation by countless artists that followed. Emulation and imitation not of their drawing styles per se, but rather the emotion they were able to communicate with each cover and panel.

 

Long live Kirby and Ditko!

 

'nuff said.

[baklo]

That Spidey goes mad cover is one of my fav's too. Here's the only Ditko Dr Strange cover from his Strange Tales run:

[Sharkey]

 

Yeah, but is Ditko the better artist? Looking at all the atrociously poor covers shown on this thread so far, you'd have a hard time convincing me of that. People love Spidey. Ditko was the first Spidey artist. People love Ditko. It's that simple. Some of his work was really good. Most of it was not, and this thread proves it. If the covers shown in this thread had been done by someone else, we would all be ripping on the hack artist who drew them. But, since it's Steve Ditko, oh no, we can't possibly criticize the guy who launched Spidey into super-stardom (which I give him full credit for, in his defense). People love Ditko's work for the nostalgia, but many feel they have to invent rationales about how great his linework was, etc. to justify it (and to justify spending $10K for one of his original Spidey panel pages).

 

As for my G.I. Joe art, I'm not going to try and convince anyone that it's outstanding artwork - its value is also derived purely from nostalgia and historical importance. The artwork is good, but isn't going to win any prizes on a standalone basis. And, by the way, owning one piece of G.I. Joe artwork doesn't make me a Larry Hama or G.I. Joe art collector. The artists I actively collect are Enric, Sanjulian, Jose Gonzalez and Boris Vallejo. All of whose artwork is far better than Ditko could ever hope to draw.

 

 

First of all, to Red Hook, I agree with your summation about Ditko.

 

To the people here who want to come on the thread and bash him, that's your prerogative, but this thread was started by a Ditko fan (me) who likes his work and appreciates him for the reasons Red Hook outlined a few posts ago. It is an APPRECIATION thread.

 

I didn't come on and say Ditko is a better artist than ___ or whomever or to convince anyone he is a great artist because such things as art appreciation are very personal and vary from individual to individual. I like his work and I'm gonna show covers I like, and hope others will share in that.

 

You don't like him? Fine, I don't care. Stop [#@$%!!!] on my thread, go away and hate his work, and start your own appreciation thread of the people you happen to like.

 

[OldGuy]

 

That just rocks and I'm not a big Ditko fan.

[Sharkey]

 

(thumbsup

ASM 21 is my all-time fave cover. But I've posted it on 2 other threads so I thought I'd lay off for this one. What a sweet 9.4!!!

 

Here's another Blue Beetle. His work on this title tends to be forgotten, and in my opinion its among his better work, not only with BB but the backups with the Question too!

 

 

[Sal]

First of all, to Red Hook, I agree with your summation about Ditko.

 

To the people here who want to come on the thread and bash him, that's your prerogative, but this thread was started by a Ditko fan (me) who likes his work and appreciates him for the reasons Red Hook outlined a few posts ago. It is an APPRECIATION thread.

 

I didn't come on and say Ditko is a better artist than ___ or whomever or to convince anyone he is a great artist because such things as art appreciation are very personal and vary from individual to individual. I like his work and I'm gonna show covers I like, and hope others will share in that.

 

You don't like him? Fine, I don't care. Stop [#@$%!!!] on my thread, go away and hate his work, and start your own appreciation thread of the people you happen to like.

 

 

 

 

always dug the creeper. seems like the style ditko was born to draw

[Sharkey]

 

always dug the creeper. seems like the style ditko was born to draw

 

Nice! I agree; his work was strongest when he had control and little editorial dictation from others.

 

Here's one of my fave Spidey covers:

 

[Sal]

ditko's figurative drawing skills are, to me, most evident in the fight scenes...although i admit i was never a big fan of the starbursts he places in the action arc lines...

 

[Red Hook]

I like them.....indicates where his fist made contact with Electro's jaw in the arc of his swing.

[Aman619]

Ditko is not only an inteernationally recognized superstar, but also an intergalactic icon.

 

Why else would the alien in THE DAY THE ART STOOD STILL come here and say

 

"Klaatu barata Ditko!!!!"

 

 

I rest my case.