Presto-digitation Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 Got a chance to see this really cool BBC documentary about the ellusive (and reclusive) Spider-Man co-creator and legendary artist. At 80+ years of age, the man still has never granted a full fledged interview and never once on video. He's also never made a public speaking appearance...ever. In fact only 3 pictures of the man are even known to exist for public viewing. Interviews with Alan Moore, John Romita, Ralph Macchio (the old Marvel editor, not the actor), Stan Lee, and Neil Gaiman round out this thoroughly engrossing and very funny look into the career, influence, and strange and hermit-like legacy of Ditko. If you ever have the chance to see it, do yourself a favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaine mac Roth Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Now that is something I would certainly like to see. Although I'm not a fan of comic books as such, I love learning more about the characters behind the scenes and, if they're talking to Stan the Man, I'm certainly interested as he always seems to be a great interviewee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Aubrey Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 15 2010, 05:39 PM) Got a chance to see this really cool BBC documentary about the ellusive (and reclusive) Spider-Man co-creator and legendary artist. At 80+ years of age, the man still has never granted a full fledged interview and never once on video. He's also never made a public speaking appearance...ever. In fact only 3 pictures of the man are even known to exist for public viewing. Interviews with Alan Moore, John Romita, Ralph Macchio (the old Marvel editor, not the actor), Stan Lee, and Neil Gaiman round out this thoroughly engrossing and very funny look into the career, influence, and strange and hermit-like legacy of Ditko. If you ever have the chance to see it, do yourself a favor. Cool! As someone who grew up reading reprints of several Ditko comics I'm definitely interested in checking this out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 Same here Jack. I have a few early Spider-Man issues (3, 8...some in the late teens and early 20s), but mostly I grew up on the reprints as well. And while I don't think that Ditko is a great artist in general, NO ONE has ever done Spider-Man as perfectly as Steve. His is the quintessential look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. P. L. Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Spidey would not be the same without his creative input. Another thing, Ditko is an Objectivist. Years after Spiderman he created a superhero-vigilante character called Mr. A, based on Objectivist philosophy. http://schulzlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/witzendmra.jpg Years later, Alan Moore would mould his Rorschach on Ditko's creation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 19, 2010 Author Share Posted May 19, 2010 They spent a bit of time on that subject in the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchetaxe&saw Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 QUOTE (H. P. L. @ May 18 2010, 08:43 PM) Spidey would not be the same without his creative input. Another thing, Ditko is an Objectivist. Years after Spiderman he created a superhero-vigilante character called Mr. A, based on Objectivist philosophy. http://schulzlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/witzendmra.jpg Years later, Alan Moore would mould his Rorschach on Ditko's creation. Love this!!! An Objectivist Super-Hero!! Reckon we'll be waiting a while for the movie adaptation.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. P. L. Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ May 19 2010, 11:48 PM) Love this!!! An Objectivist Super-Hero!! Reckon we'll be waiting a while for the movie adaptation.... Then you might go crazy for this. It is my favourite page from Mr. A. Punching criminals with Ayn Rand's dialogue. http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/297/angel5_1967.gif Imagine Batman, written by Grant Morrison, fighting some thug saying "Your goals were never realistic!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 Neil Peart as a superhero...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 (edited) Edited May 20, 2010 by JohnnyBlaze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. P. L. Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 Now that you make me think about it, 40s Namor may be quite close to 70s Neil... Check this dialogue: http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/images/comics/namorlamor/mm12c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted May 20, 2010 Share Posted May 20, 2010 QUOTE (H. P. L. @ May 20 2010, 10:10 PM) Now that you make me think about it, 40s Namor may be quite close to 70s Neil... Check this dialogue: http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/images/comics/namorlamor/mm12c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 20, 2010 Author Share Posted May 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 23, 2010 Author Share Posted May 23, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. P. L. Posted May 24, 2010 Share Posted May 24, 2010 Don't forget his She-Hulk! Also, in the 90s, DC's Generations is still really an enjoyable read, I just gave it a try last week after lotsa time and it still rocks. http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/generations/1-1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted May 25, 2010 Author Share Posted May 25, 2010 I stopped liking his stuff once he started inking his own work primarily. His proportions have considerably grown out of whack. John Byrne was never better (IMO) than under the inks of Terry Austin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ May 26 2010, 12:59 AM) I stopped liking his stuff once he started inking his own work primarily. His proportions have considerably grown out of whack. John Byrne was never better (IMO) than under the inks of Terry Austin. Too right. He may not have created Wolverine but he sure as hell made him popular (with Terry Austin inking!). Many of those John Byrne XMEN stories were 'redone' over a decade later in the XMEN cartoon of the early 90s...not that I liked the cartoon BUT the comics were great and showed how influential they were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadave Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 i'm new to this forum but not to Rush obviously, and this isn't anything but providing some info and most of you probably won't believe me but Steve Ditko is my Uncle's brother (my mothers sisters husbands BROTHER). when i saw this thread, i had to post. the whole ditko family is very creative (architects/arts/photo/interior design, etc). i have met him on a couple occasions but that was a long time ago when i was very young, we had family get togethers. i don't know the last time he has visited but my sister knows him very well as she is married to someone related to his cousins (not my cousins). he is not comfortable around a lot of people that is obvious. my older brother, who just retired, has done a lot of research on him just because he has time and he knows him better than me (being older when we did get together). when i was a kid, i didn't know who he was or the significance other than i knew he was a comic guy and that he had drawn them. my best cousin (steve is his uncle), used to get drawings and comics that he designed and worked on, he has done other stuff obviously. anyway, the guy is still around, he lives a reclusive life and i am told that he never profited from spider man like he should have, it was never copyrighted and he never pressed it being the kind of guy he was. my personal opinion is i'm sure stan lee gave him something but probably the crumbs. stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. the story i heard was stan had this idea for a character in one of the meetings and steve took that converstion and came up with spiderman. back then, those guys created the dialouge too, not just the pictures, but the whole story so stan lee taking any credit at all is a joke really. ok, that's all i know for what it is worth. ciao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tick Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 QUOTE (ninjadave @ Jul 3 2010, 12:31 PM) i'm new to this forum but not to Rush obviously, and this isn't anything but providing some info and most of you probably won't believe me but Steve Ditko is my Uncle's brother (my mothers sisters husbands BROTHER). when i saw this thread, i had to post. the whole ditko family is very creative (architects/arts/photo/interior design, etc). i have met him on a couple occasions but that was a long time ago when i was very young, we had family get togethers. i don't know the last time he has visited but my sister knows him very well as she is married to someone related to his cousins (not my cousins). he is not comfortable around a lot of people that is obvious. my older brother, who just retired, has done a lot of research on him just because he has time and he knows him better than me (being older when we did get together). when i was a kid, i didn't know who he was or the significance other than i knew he was a comic guy and that he had drawn them. my best cousin (steve is his uncle), used to get drawings and comics that he designed and worked on, he has done other stuff obviously. anyway, the guy is still around, he lives a reclusive life and i am told that he never profited from spider man like he should have, it was never copyrighted and he never pressed it being the kind of guy he was. my personal opinion is i'm sure stan lee gave him something but probably the crumbs. stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. the story i heard was stan had this idea for a character in one of the meetings and steve took that converstion and came up with spiderman. back then, those guys created the dialouge too, not just the pictures, but the whole story so stan lee taking any credit at all is a joke really. ok, that's all i know for what it is worth. ciao. Cool! Welcome to the board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielmclark Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 QUOTE (ninjadave @ Jul 3 2010, 11:31 AM) stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. Clearly the thousands of people that have worked with him over the past half a century and the hundreds of thousands of fans, a ton of which he's interacted with at various events, are completely wrong. He's definitely a "f***ing asshole" because of some story you heard from your mother's cousin's sister's brother's step-sister-in-law's dog. Look, I'm just being sarcastic here, not mean, so take it in stride. I'm just saying, Stan Lee is a giant in the industry and someone that everyone that I've ever heard, seen or read respects. If Ditko wants to be a hermit, that's his choice. Lee chose to be a more public figure, and it worked out for him. Ditko could have done the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 QUOTE (danielmclark @ Jul 4 2010, 10:46 PM) QUOTE (ninjadave @ Jul 3 2010, 11:31 AM) stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. Clearly the thousands of people that have worked with him over the past half a century and the hundreds of thousands of fans, a ton of which he's interacted with at various events, are completely wrong. He's definitely a "f***ing asshole" because of some story you heard from your mother's cousin's sister's brother's step-sister-in-law's dog. Look, I'm just being sarcastic here, not mean, so take it in stride. I'm just saying, Stan Lee is a giant in the industry and someone that everyone that I've ever heard, seen or read respects. If Ditko wants to be a hermit, that's his choice. Lee chose to be a more public figure, and it worked out for him. Ditko could have done the same. Well, of the thousands of illustrators, writers, and fans that Stan Lee has met over the years, some are bound to think he's an asshole, etc. for reason X. In any case, he was destined for greatness as was Steve Ditko. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 QUOTE (ninjadave @ Jul 3 2010, 11:31 AM) i'm new to this forum but not to Rush obviously, and this isn't anything but providing some info and most of you probably won't believe me but Steve Ditko is my Uncle's brother (my mothers sisters husbands BROTHER). when i saw this thread, i had to post. the whole ditko family is very creative (architects/arts/photo/interior design, etc). i have met him on a couple occasions but that was a long time ago when i was very young, we had family get togethers. i don't know the last time he has visited but my sister knows him very well as she is married to someone related to his cousins (not my cousins). he is not comfortable around a lot of people that is obvious. my older brother, who just retired, has done a lot of research on him just because he has time and he knows him better than me (being older when we did get together). when i was a kid, i didn't know who he was or the significance other than i knew he was a comic guy and that he had drawn them. my best cousin (steve is his uncle), used to get drawings and comics that he designed and worked on, he has done other stuff obviously. anyway, the guy is still around, he lives a reclusive life and i am told that he never profited from spider man like he should have, it was never copyrighted and he never pressed it being the kind of guy he was. my personal opinion is i'm sure stan lee gave him something but probably the crumbs. stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. the story i heard was stan had this idea for a character in one of the meetings and steve took that converstion and came up with spiderman. back then, those guys created the dialouge too, not just the pictures, but the whole story so stan lee taking any credit at all is a joke really. ok, that's all i know for what it is worth. ciao. Awesome bit of sharing there...! Thanks. Have you seen the film by chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadave Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jul 7 2010, 01:44 PM)QUOTE (ninjadave @ Jul 3 2010, 11:31 AM) i'm new to this forum but not to Rush obviously, and this isn't anything but providing some info and most of you probably won't believe me but Steve Ditko is my Uncle's brother (my mothers sisters husbands BROTHER). when i saw this thread, i had to post. the whole ditko family is very creative (architects/arts/photo/interior design, etc). i have met him on a couple occasions but that was a long time ago when i was very young, we had family get togethers. i don't know the last time he has visited but my sister knows him very well as she is married to someone related to his cousins (not my cousins). he is not comfortable around a lot of people that is obvious. my older brother, who just retired, has done a lot of research on him just because he has time and he knows him better than me (being older when we did get together). when i was a kid, i didn't know who he was or the significance other than i knew he was a comic guy and that he had drawn them. my best cousin (steve is his uncle), used to get drawings and comics that he designed and worked on, he has done other stuff obviously. anyway, the guy is still around, he lives a reclusive life and i am told that he never profited from spider man like he should have, it was never copyrighted and he never pressed it being the kind of guy he was. my personal opinion is i'm sure stan lee gave him something but probably the crumbs. stan lee is f***ing asshole if you ask me, whether it is true or not. the story i heard was stan had this idea for a character in one of the meetings and steve took that converstion and came up with spiderman. back then, those guys created the dialouge too, not just the pictures, but the whole story so stan lee taking any credit at all is a joke really. ok, that's all i know for what it is worth. ciao. Awesome bit of sharing there...! Thanks. Have you seen the film by chance? I have not seen the film but my brother has, he was telling me about it. I need to watch it. its on my list..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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