RIP Steve Ditko

Spiderman always existed in my life.  The cartoons were on the TV when I was a kid.  The dodgy live action TV series from the seventies was still on rotation.  The comic books were about.  It's hard to believe that anyone actually designed and created Spiderman.  But Steve Ditko did create Spiderman.

I think I first read some the early Ditko comics reprinted in UK hardcover Spiderman annuals and the piles of old paper Marvel UK comics that they had in the cupboards at my primary school. The drawings were primitive and nervy.  The character did not look too heroic or cool.  He looked like a misfit teenager, a proper target for bullies.

Ditko also created the weird psychedelic visuals of Dr Strange.  This was a bit at odds with what I understand about his personality.  Ditko was the anti-hippy, a devotee of Ayn Rand.  Eventually he fell out with Stan Lee and moved onto new work.

He did work for DC but he also created the remarkable Mr A, a judge, jury and executioner type who took a hard line on crime.  Alan Moore borrowed heavily from Mr A for Rorschach and even wrote a song about the character with the Emperors of Ice Cream.

I've picked up a few Mr A books over the years and I'd love to see a proper collection.  Ditko kept himself to himself and avoided fame and publicity.  He was probably ripped off by Marvel and never got the money he deserved.

He was an interesting man and we will probably never know much about him.