Editing Steve Ditko (section)

====Creation of Spider-Man====
After Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee obtained permission from publisher [[martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]] to create a new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man",<ref>Lee, Stan, and Mair, George. ''Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee'' (Fireside, 2002), p.130. {{ISBN|0-684-87305-2}}</ref> Lee originally approached his leading artist, [[Jack Kirby]]. Kirby told Lee about his own 1950s character conception, variously called the Silver Spider and Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy finds a magic ring that gives him super powers. Comics historian [[Greg Theakston]] says Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out the character and draw some pages. "A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly&nbsp;— it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic".<ref>Theakston, Greg. ''The Steve Ditko Reader'' (Pure Imagination, Brooklyn, New York, 2002; {{ISBN|1-56685-011-8}}), p. 12 (unnumbered)</ref>

Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory,<ref>[[Tom DeFalco|DeFalco, Tom]] "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 87: "Deciding that his new character would have spider-like powers, [Stan] Lee commissioned Jack Kirby to work on the first story. Unfortunately, Kirby's version of Spider-Man's alter ego Peter Parker proved too heroic, handsome, and muscular for Lee's everyman hero. Lee turned to Steve Ditko, the regular artist on Amazing Adult Fantasy, who designed a skinny, awkward teenager with glasses."</ref> although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said, "The Spider-Man pages Stan showed me were nothing like the (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash <nowiki>[</nowiki>i.e., page 1] and at the end [where] Kirby had the guy leaping at you with a web gun... Anyway, the first five pages took place in the home, and the kid finds a ring and turns into Spider-Man."<ref>Theakston, ''Steve Ditko Reader'', p. 13</ref>
Ditko also recalled that, "One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of the character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character...."<ref>Ditko, Steve. "Jack Kirby's Spider-Man", ''Robin Snyder's History of Comics'' #5 (May 1990). Reprinted in [[Roy Thomas|Thomas, Roy]], ed., ''Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection''. Raleigh, North Carolina: [[TwoMorrows Publishing]], 2001, p. 56. {{ISBN|978-1-893905-06-1}}</ref>

Much earlier, in a rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in ''Comic Fan'' #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". He added he would continue drawing Spider-Man "[i]f nothing better comes along."<ref name=comicfan2>{{cite web|archive-date=April 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430081615/http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arcomicf.html |author=Ditko interview |title=Steve Ditko – A Portrait of the Master |url=http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arcomicf.html |publisher=Comic Fan #2 (Larry Herndon, pub.) via Ditko.Comics.org (Blake Bell, ed.) |date=Summer 1965 |access-date=April 3, 2008 |url-status=dead}} Additional, February 28, 2012.</ref> That same year, he expressed to the fanzine ''Voice of Comicdom'', regarding a poll of "Best Liked" fan-created comics, "It seems a shame, since comics themselves have so little variety of stories and styles that you would deliberately restrict your own creative efforts to professional comics['] shallow range. What is 'Best Liked' by most readers is what they are most familiar in seeing and any policy based on readers likes has to end up with a lot of look-a-like ([[sic]]) strips. You have a great opportunity to show everyone a whole new range of ideas, unlimited types of stories and styles—why FLUB it!"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arvoc4le.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227184226/http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arvoc4le.html |archive-date=December 27, 2007 |first=Steve |last=Ditko |title=Editor's Mailbox |publisher=Voice of Comicdom #4 (Bob Metz, ed.) via Ditko.Comics.org (Blake Bell, ed.) |date=April 1965 |url-status=dead}} Punctuation verbatim. Additional, September 23, 2010.</ref>

From 1958 to 1968,<ref>Pérez Seves, ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground,'' p. 213.</ref> Ditko shared a [[Manhattan]] studio at 43rd Street and [[Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)|Eighth Avenue]] with noted fetish artist [[Eric Stanton]], an art-school classmate. When either artist was under deadline pressure, it was not uncommon for them to pitch in and help the other with his assignment.<ref name=ditkostanton>{{cite web|last=Bell |first=Blake |url=http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/crea/crerstan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501191157/http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/crea/crerstan.html |archive-date=May 1, 2008 |title=Ditko & Stanton |publisher=Ditko Looked Up |url-status=dead}} Additional .</ref><ref>Theakston, ''The Steve Ditko Reader'', pp. 13–15 (unnumbered, pp. 14–15 misordered as pp. 16 & 14)</ref> Ditko biographer Blake Bell, without citing sources, said, "At one time in history, Ditko denied ever touching Stanton's work, even though Stanton himself said they would each dabble in each other's art; mainly spot-inking",<ref name=ditkostanton /> and the introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in [[India ink]], and they were then hand-coloured<!--as spelled in source--> by Ditko".<ref>{{cite book | last = Riemschneider | first = Burkhard | title = Eric Stanton: For the Man Who Knows His Place | publisher = [[Taschen|Benedikt Taschen Verlag]] | year = 1997|location= Cologne, Germany| page = 4 (unnumbered) | isbn = 978-3-8228-8169-9}}</ref> In a 1988 interview with Theakston, Stanton recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added the business about the webs coming out of his hands".<ref name=theakston-reader-p14>Theakston, ''Steve Ditko Reader'', p. 14 (unnumbered, misordered as page 16)</ref>

Spider-Man debuted in ''[[Amazing Fantasy]]'' #15 (Aug. 1962), the final issue of that science-fiction/fantasy anthology series. When the issue proved to be a top seller, Spider-Man was given his own series, ''[[The Amazing Spider-Man]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rhoades|first=Shirrel|page=81|title=A Complete History of American Comic Books|publisher= [[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang Publishing]]|year=2008|location= Pieterlen and Bern, Switzerland|isbn=978-1-4331-0107-6}}</ref><ref>DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 91: "Thanks to a flood of fan mail, Spider-Man was awarded his own title six months after his first appearance. ''Amazing Spider-Man'' began as a bimonthly title, but was quickly promoted to a monthly."</ref> Lee and Ditko's collaboration on the series saw the creation of many of the character's best known antagonists including [[Doctor Octopus]] in issue #3 (July 1963);<ref>DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 93: "Dr. Octopus shared many traits with Peter Parker. They were both shy, both interested in science, and both had trouble relating to women...Otto Octavius even looked like a grown up Peter Parker. Lee and Ditko intended Otto to be the man Peter might have become if he hadn't been raised with a sense of responsibility"</ref> the [[Sandman (Marvel Comics)|Sandman]] in #4 (Sept. 1963);<ref>{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Matthew K. |editor-last=Gilbert |editor-first=Laura |chapter=1960s |title=Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2012 |location=London |page=20 |isbn=978-0756692360 |quote=In this installment, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko introduced Sandman&nbsp;— a super villain who could turn his entire body into sand with a single thought.}}</ref> the [[Lizard (character)|Lizard]] in #6 (Nov. 1963);<ref>Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 20: "''The Amazing Spider-Man''s sixth issue introduced the Lizard."</ref> [[Electro (comics)|Electro]] in #9 (March 1964);<ref>Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 24: "Electro charged into Spider-Man's life for the first time in another [Stan] Lee and [Steve] Ditko effort that saw Peter Parker using his brilliant mind to outwit a foe."</ref> and the [[Green Goblin]] in #14 (July 1964).<ref>Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 26: "Spider-Man's arch nemesis, the Green Goblin, as introduced to readers as the 'most dangerous foe Spidey's ever fought.' Writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko had no way of knowing how true that statement would prove to be in the coming years."</ref> Increasingly irritated by his perception that he was not receiving his due or proper compensation, Ditko demanded credit for the plotting he was contributing under the [[Marvel Method]]. Lee acquiesced, and starting with #25 (June 1965), Ditko received plot credit for the stories.<ref>{{cite news | author = Kraft, David Anthony | author2 = Slifer, Roger | author-link = David Anthony Kraft | author-link2 = Roger Slifer | date = April 1983 | title = Mark Evanier | work = [[Comics Interview]] | issue = 2 | pages = 23–34 | publisher = [[Fictioneer Books]]}}</ref>

One of the most celebrated issues of the Lee-Ditko run is #33 (Feb. 1966), the third part of the story arc "[[If This Be My Destiny...!]]", and featuring the dramatic scene of Spider-Man, through force of will and thoughts of family, escaping from being pinned by heavy machinery. Comics historian [[Les Daniels]] noted, "Steve Ditko squeezes every ounce of anguish out of Spider-Man's predicament, complete with visions of the uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save."<ref name=DanielsMarvel>{{Cite book|last=Daniels|first=Les|author-link = Les Daniels|title= Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics |publisher= [[Abrams Books|Harry N. Abrams]]|year= 1991|location= New York, New York
|page= 129|isbn= 9780810938212}}</ref> [[Peter David]] observed, "After his origin, this two-page sequence from ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #33 is perhaps the best-loved sequence from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era."<ref>{{cite book|last1 = David|first1 = Peter|author-link = Peter David|last2 = Greenberger|first2 = Robert|author2-link = Robert Greenberger|title = The Spider-Man Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles Spun from Marvel's Web|publisher = [[Running Press]]|year = 2010|location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|page = [https://archive.org/details/sinatrahollywood0000knig/page/29 29]|isbn = 978-0762437726|url = https://archive.org/details/sinatrahollywood0000knig/page/29}}</ref> Steve Saffel stated the "full page Ditko image from ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #33 is one of the most powerful ever to appear in the series and influenced writers and artists for many years to come."<ref name=saffel>{{cite book|last=Saffel|first=Steve|title= Spider-Man the Icon: The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon|publisher=[[Titan Books]]|year= 2007|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-1-84576-324-4|chapter= A Legend Is Born|page= 22}}</ref> Matthew K. Manning wrote that "Ditko's illustrations for the first few pages of this Lee story included what would become one of the most iconic scenes in Spider-Man's history."<ref>Manning "1960s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 34</ref> The story was chosen as #15 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor [[Robert Greenberger]] wrote in his introduction to the story, "These first five pages are a modern-day equivalent to Shakespeare as Parker's soliloquy sets the stage for his next action. And with dramatic pacing and storytelling, Ditko delivers one of the great sequences in all comics."<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Greenberger |editor-first=Robert |title=100 Greatest Marvels of All Time |publisher=Marvel Comics |date=December 2001 |page=67}}</ref>

In this series, Ditko also had a lasting effect on Marvel's [[Branding (promotional)|branding]] when he inserted a small box on the upper left-hand corner of issue #2 that featured a picture of Spider-Man's face along with the company name and price. Stan Lee approved of this visual motif and soon made it a standard feature on all of Marvel's subsequent comic books that would last for decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Branding Failure: The Rise and Fall of Marvel's Corner Box Art |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sk7BAuUCFc  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/6sk7BAuUCFc| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|website=YouTube | date=August 31, 2021 |publisher=ComicTropes |access-date=13 September 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Two of the most sought-after Spider-Man collectibles during Ditko's time on the series were mail-away items ordered through comic book ads. Ditko art was featured on a very popular t-shirt and on a 6' tall poster.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-12 |title=Spidey-Stash # 2: Mail Away Items - Spider Man Crawlspace |url=https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2021/04/spidey-stash-2-mail-away-items/ |access-date=2024-05-05 |language=en-US |archive-date=May 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526032923/https://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/2021/04/spidey-stash-2-mail-away-items/ |url-status=live }}</ref>