Comic Book Legend Steve Ditko

Doctor Strange, Hawk and Dove, The Creeper, Spider-Man, and The Question all spotlight  Steve Ditko's genius for comic book hero design.

A painted portrait of Steve Ditko by Drew Friedman.

From yee Wiki:

Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko (born November 2, 1927) is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist and co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin. During this time, he then began his long association with Charlton Comics, where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960.

During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics, a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel, including co-creating Spider-Man, who would become the company's flagship character. Additionally, he co-created the supernatural hero Doctor Strange and made important contributions to the Hulk and Iron Man. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the Doctor Strange feature in Strange Tales, Ditko left Marvel for reasons never specified.

Ditko continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics, making major contributions, including a revamp of the long-running character Blue Beetle, and creating or co-creating the Question, the Creeper, Shade, the Changing Man, and Hawk and Dove. Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A, a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Since the 1960s, Ditko has declined most interviews, stating that it is his work he offers readers, and not his personality.

Ditko was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994.

The Ditkophile: The Question - Charlton Comics

The Question was created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967) by Charlton Comics.

As conceived by Ditko, the Question was an adherent of Objectivism during his career as a Charlton action hero, following in the philosophical footsteps of Ditko's earlier, personal creation, Mr. A.

Based in Hub City, Vic Sage made his mark as a highly outspoken and aggressive investigative journalist. Not long after starting his TV appearances, he began to investigate Dr. Barby Twain.

Sage was approached by Aristotle Rodor, his former professor, currently a scientist. Rodor told Sage about an artificial skin he had co-developed with Dr. Twain called Pseudoderm. Pseudoderm was intended to work as an applied skin-like bandage with the help of a bonding gas, but it had an unforeseen toxicity which was sometimes fatal when applied to open wounds.

 Rodor and Twain agreed to abandon the project and parted ways, but Professor Rodor discovered that Dr. Twain had decided to proceed with an illegal sale of the invention to Third World nations, regardless of the risk to human health.

Sage resolved to stop him but had no way of going after Dr. Twain without exposing himself. Rodor suggested that Sage use a mask made of Pseudoderm to cover his famous features.

Armed with information, and more importantly a disguise, Sage eventually caught up with Dr. Twain, stopping the transaction and extracting a confession, then leaving Twain bound in Pseudoderm.

On television, Sage reported on Dr. Twain's illegal activities. Sage decided that this new identity would be useful for future investigations, and partnered with Professor Rodor, who supplied the Pseudoderm and eventually modified the bonding gas to change the color of Sage's hair and clothing. The two men became good friends, with Sage affectionately referring to Rodor as "Tot".

Compared to other superhero characters of the Silver Age of Comic Books, The Question was more harsh in his methods. For example, when he was fighting some criminals in a sewer and knocked them into a deep and fast moving water flow, he declined to pull them out despite their real danger of drowning. Instead, he left to notify the police to retrieve them in case they survived the ordeal.

The Question's most frequent foe was Max Bine (a.k.a. The Banshee). Introduced in Blue Beetle vol. 4 #2 (August 1967), Bine was the apprentice of a circus performer named the Flying Dundo.

Designing a cape that enabled the ability to fly, Dundo was slain by his pupil and Max Bine became the costumed Banshee using his mentor's invention to terrorize towns he crossed.

The Banshee would meet his Waterloo when he reached Crown City where he would spar with The Question on several occasions.

The Ditkophile: "The Destroyer of Heroes" from Blue Beetle #5, 1968

Blue Beetle #5 (1968) - "Blue Beetle Faces the Destroyer of Heroes"

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) must put an end to the crusade of Our Man, a delusional defeatist who believes that heroes are evil and all heroic artwork must be destroyed. Steve Ditko gives us a great cover and art in this issue, and he even injects some Objectivist philosophy into the story that give insight into his views of the nature of art and man.

Blue Beetle Faces the "Destroyer of Heroes" 1968

Blue Beetle #5, Charlton Comics, November 1968. Steve Ditko gives us a superb cover and art in this issue, and he injects some Objectivist philosophy into a story that gives insight into his views on the nature of art and man -- and all for only 12 cents, back in the day. A classic.

Steve Ditko's The Question

From Wiki:

The Question, created by writer-artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in Charlton Comics' Blue Beetle #1 (June 1967).

Based in Hub City, Vic Sage made his mark as a highly outspoken and aggressive investigative journalist. Not long after starting his TV appearances, he began to investigate Dr. Arby Twain.

Sage was approached by Aristotle Rodor, his former professor, currently a scientist. Rodor told Sage about an artificial skin he had co-developed with Dr. Twain, Pseudoderm. Pseudoderm was intended to work as an applied skin-like bandage with the help of a bonding gas, but it had an unforeseen toxicity, sometimes fatal when applied to open wounds.

Rodor and Twain agreed to abandon the project and parted ways, but Professor Rodor discovered that Dr. Twain had decided to proceed with an illegal sale of the invention to Third World nations, regardless of the risk to human health.

Sage resolved to stop him but had no way of going after Dr. Twain without exposing himself. Rodor suggested that Sage use a mask made of Pseudoderm to hide his famous features.

Armed with information, and now disguised, The Question catches Dr. Twain, stopping the transaction, and extracts a confession, leaving Twain bound in Pseudoderm.

Sage decided that this new identity would be useful for future investigations, and partnered with Professor Rodor, who supplied the Pseudoderm and eventually modified the bonding gas to change the color of Sage's hair and clothing.



Mr Doortree's Golden Age Comic Book Stories Web Site:

http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/2011/09/mr.html

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