12 Blog Posts of December Day 8: My Tribute to Steve Ditko

On the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee my excitement over being City Watch. On the second day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee, the joy of the mending cantrip. On the third day, I gave to thee my satisfaction being able to cast Darkvision! On the fourth day I gave to thee, a non-seasonal X-mas compilation. On the fifth day, I gave to thee a Christmas Eve full of Baum! On the sixth day, I gave to thee a shoutout to Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary! On the Seventh Day of my 12 Blog Posts of December, I gave to thee my adaptation of Elf class in D&D 5E!


That little opening is about as seasonal as I'm getting tonight.


When I declared I would do my 12 Blog Posts of December, I announced it wouldn't all Christmas posts. Among them would be end-of-the-year type posts. The type of posts that lose meaning if posted next year.


For instance, 2018 is year both of Spider-Man's creators passed away.


Sorry, Jack Kirby advocates I don't consider the 'King' a full on creator of Spider-Man. What can I say old habits die hard. I will allow the Kirby may very well have created the initial design for Spider-Man, which is very, very close to Ditko's. However, the soul of Spider-Man. What made him a pop cultural phenomenon was designed by Steve Ditko.


Disclaimer: no pictures will be included so sorry no examples of Steve Ditko art,


Yes, both Stan Lee and Steve Ditko passed away during the year 2018. The creators who were the genesis of the pop cultural juggernaut that was Spider-Man departed mortal coils this year. They also created a little known Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange, Perhaps you heard of them.


However, tonight is my tribute to Steve Ditko.


I can blog about Lee in a number of ways.


Really can't with Ditko. A shame really.


I've read the thirty-eight issues of Amazing Spider-Man he co-created. Only read a couple issues of Doctor Strange with Ditko as a creator although I got the impression the Master of the Mystic Arts was more of a product of Ditko than Lee. Read a couple of Speedball stories by him. Did you know Steve Ditko created Speedball?


Steve Ditko also had a hand creating Squirrel Girl, Ted Kord Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Creeper, and the Question. Read comics featuring those characters post-Ditko. While I own collection of his Charlton Comics work (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question), I have yet to peruse them.


Heck, there's a number of Steve Ditko's creation I only heard about after his passing. How many knew he was creating until his passing? Not this guy.


Only knew Steve Ditko was pushed out of the limelight.


Was it his Objectionist politics? Possibly.


Was it his intense desire for privacy? Possibly.


Was it his desire to let his work speak for itself? Probably.


Was it because his art style was too quirky for its time? A little more than probably.


When I was first exposed to Steve Ditko, I... didn't care for it. The art didn't match the John Romita-influenced art I was accustomed too. Just wasn't glamorous enough. Then I funny thing happened. Over the course of reading 38 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, I realized I had grown to love his art. What really drove the realization home? When I recognized his art in a Speedball story within the pages of an Amazing Spider-Man (we're talking early 90's here) Annual. Then I put two-and-two together and spotted his work on a Solo short within another Spider-Man annual. I didn't go 'hey this art sucks!' Ditko's art had become an art style I embraced.


By the time, I read Amazing Spider-Man 39 within a Marvel Masterwork, I wondered What if Ditko had stayed? A far cry from when I saw his art earlier.


Then there were the stories. Towards the end of his time on Amazing Spider-Man, Steve Ditko was credited as co-plotter. Meaning what you saw visually was created by Steve Ditko. The scene with Spider-Man trapped by debris? Steve Ditko imagined that. One of my favorite scenes in Spider-Man history was created by Steve Ditko.


I could go on; but a better way to appreciate Steve Ditko is by reading his comic book work. After all, he wanted to judged by his work alone.


Hope everyone is having a great season.


Only 4 more days to go!


Next time.