Editing Steve Ditko (section)

====Doctor Strange and other characters====
[[File:DitkoEternity.jpg|thumb|right|280px|[[Dormammu]] attacks [[Eternity (Marvel Comics)|Eternity]] in a Ditko "Dr. Strange" panel from ''Strange Tales'' #146 (July 1966).]]
Ditko created<ref>{{cite comic| story = "Toyland": "Martin Goodman/Stan Lee"| title= The Avenging Mind| publisher= Robin Snyder and Steve Ditko.| date=April 2008| writer= Ditko, Steve}}</ref><ref>In a 1963 letter to [[Jerry Bails]], Marvel writer-editor Stan Lee called the character Ditko's idea, saying, "The first story is nothing great, but perhaps we can make something of him-- 'twas Steve's idea and I figured we'd give it a chance, although again, we had to rush the first one too much. Little sidelight: Originally decided to call him Mr. Strange, but thought the 'Mr.' bit too similar to [[Mr. Fantastic]]...."{{cite web|url=http://themarvelageofcomics.tumblr.com/post/16306907460/a-letter-written-by-stan-lee-to-super-fan-dr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409065636/http://themarvelageofcomics.tumblr.com/post/16306907460/a-letter-written-by-stan-lee-to-super-fan-dr |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 9, 2014 |title=The Marvel Age of Comics, A letter written by Stan Lee to super-fan Dr |date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=January 23, 2017}}</ref> the [[supernatural]] hero [[Doctor Strange]] in ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #110 (July 1963).<ref>DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 93: "When Dr. Strange first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110, it was only clear that he dabbled in black magic and had the ability to project his consciousness into an astral form that could leave his physical body."</ref> Ditko in the 2000s told a visiting fan that Lee gave Dr. Strange the first name "Stephen".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://popculturesquad.com/2019/03/16/steve-ditko-inside-his-studio-sanatorium|title=Steve Ditko: Inside His Studio Sanctum Sanctorum|publisher=Pop Culture Squad|date= March 16, 2019|first= Russ|last=Maheras|access-date=October 16, 2019|archive-date=August 21, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190821214750/https://popculturesquad.com/2019/03/16/steve-ditko-inside-his-studio-sanatorium/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Though often overshadowed by his Spider-Man work, Ditko's Doctor Strange artwork has been equally acclaimed for its [[surrealism|surrealistic]] mystical landscapes and increasingly psychedelic visuals that helped make the feature a favorite of college students. "People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer [[Roy Thomas]] in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on [[Psilocybin mushroom|mushrooms]]. But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do."<ref>{{cite magazine |author-link=Robin Green (producer) |last=Green |first=Robin |url=http://www.reocities.com/area51/Chamber/8346/rs91.facefront.1.html |title=Face Front! Clap Your Hands, You're on the Winning Team! |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=91 |date=September 16, 1971 |publisher=via fan site Green Skin's Grab-Bag |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007234130/http://www.reocities.com/area51/Chamber/8346/rs91.facefront.1.html |page=31 |archive-date=October 7, 2010 |access-date=September 14, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Ditko, "always the most straight-laced man in comics", was deeply offended by the suggestion that he used [[psychedelic drug]]s to create the worlds of ''Dr. Strange''.{{sfn|Bell|2008|p=78}}

Eventually Lee & Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in ''Strange Tales'' #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Lee and Ditko introduced the cosmic character [[Eternity (Marvel Comics)|Eternity]], who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with the cosmos.<ref name=st134>[http://www.comics.org/issue/19306/ ''Strange Tales'' #134] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220104234/http://www.comics.org/issue/19306/ |date=December 20, 2014 }} at the Grand Comics Database: "Indexer Notes: Part 5 of 17. First mention of Eternity. Strange would finally find it in ''Strange Tales'' #138 (November 1965)".</ref> As historian Bradford W. Wright describes,

{{blockquote|Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange's adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled [[Salvador Dalí]] paintings. ... Inspired by the pulp-fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary [[Beat Generation|Beat]] culture. Dr. Strange remarkably predicted the youth [[counterculture]]'s fascination with Eastern mysticism and [[psychedelia]]. Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare.<ref>Wright, Bradford W. ''Comic Book Nation: Transformation of a Youth Culture'', Baltimore, Maryland: [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], 2001. {{ISBN|0-8018-7450-5}}. p. 213</ref>}}

The [[cartoonist]] and [[fine artist]] [[Seth (cartoonist)|Seth]] in 2003 described Ditko's style as: {{blockquote|...oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to a boy's sensibility because there was so much raw power, Ditko's work was really delicate and cartoony. There was a sense of design to it. You can always recognize anything that Ditko designed because it's always flowery. There is a lot of embroidered detail in the art, which is almost psychedelic.<ref>Heer, Jeet. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050727080557/http://www.jeetheer.com/comics/ditko.htm "Steve Ditko"]}}, ''[[The National Post]]'', May 3, 2003, via JeetHeer.com. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091224152547/http://www.jeetheer.com/comics/ditko.htm WebCitation archive]}}.</ref>}}

In addition to Dr. Strange, Ditko in the 1960s also drew comics starring the Hulk and Iron Man. He penciled and inked the final issue of ''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' (#6, March 1963), then continued to collaborate with writer-editor Lee on a relaunched [[Hulk]] feature in the omnibus ''[[Tales to Astonish]]'', beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by [[George Roussos]], penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the [[Leader (character)|Leader]], in #63 (Jan. 1965).<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=211}}</ref>

Ditko also penciled the [[Iron Man]] feature in ''[[Tales of Suspense]]'' #47–49 (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1964), with various inkers. The first of these debuted the initial version of Iron Man's modern red-and-golden armor.{{sfn|Daniels|1991|p=99}}

Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]], found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled personal life meshed well with Ditko's own interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving the artist plotting credits on the latter part of their 38-issue run. But after four years on the title, Ditko left Marvel;<ref>DeFalco "1960s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 117: "To this day, no one really knows why Ditko quit. Bullpen sources reported he was unhappy with the way Lee scripted some of his plots, using a tongue-in-cheek approach to stories Ditko wanted handled seriously."</ref> he and Lee had not been on speaking terms for some time, with art and editorial changes handled through intermediaries.<ref name=tomsinclair>{{cite magazine |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/2003/06/20/meet-stan-lee-mind-behind-spider-man-and-hulk/ |title=Still a Marvel! |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=June 20, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007142441/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,458355_2,00.html |archive-date=October 7, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The details of the rift remain uncertain, even to Lee, who confessed in 2003, "I never really knew Steve on a personal level."<ref name=tomsinclair /> Ditko later claimed it was Lee who broke off contact and disputed the long-held belief<ref name=ross>[[Jonathan Ross|Ross, Jonathan]], ''In Search of Steve Ditko'', [[BBC Four]]</ref> that the disagreement was over the true identity of the [[Green Goblin]]: "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] [[Sol Brodsky]] took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues".<ref name=wiz>Lawrence, Christopher, "Who Is Steve Ditko?", ''Wizard'' #124 (Jan. 2002)</ref> Spider-Man successor artist [[John Romita Sr.|John Romita]], in a 2010 [[Deposition (law)|deposition]], recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters. ..."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_lZovnpi13JNWQ5MDJmOTgtZDMzYy00MzI3LTllYjctNmM0ZWE4NjgyOWEx&hl=en_US |title=Confidential Videotaped Deposition of John V. Romita |publisher=United States District Court, Southern District of New York: "Marvel Worldwide, Inc., et al., vs. Lisa R. Kirby, et al." |page=45 |location=Garden City, New York |date=October 21, 2010 |access-date=August 9, 2011 |archive-date=February 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205192530/https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_lZovnpi13JNWQ5MDJmOTgtZDMzYy00MzI3LTllYjctNmM0ZWE4NjgyOWEx/view |url-status=live }}</ref> A friendly farewell was given to Ditko in the "[[Bullpen Bulletins]]" of comics cover-dated July 1966, including ''Fantastic Four'' #52: "Steve recently told us he was leaving for personal reasons. After all these years, we're sorry to see him go, and we wish the talented guy success with his future endeavors."<ref>"Bullpen Bulletins", ''Fantastic Four'' #52 (July 1966). Marvel Comics.</ref>

Regardless, said Lee in 2007, "Quite a few years ago I met him up at the Marvel offices when I was last in New York. And we spoke; he's a hell of a nice guy and it was very pleasant. ... I haven't heard from him since that meeting."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/comics/article/excelsior-stan-lee-speaks-64443 |title=Excelsior! Stan Lee speaks |publisher=[[CraveOnline.com]] |date=July 31, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807145133/http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/comics/article/excelsior-stan-lee-speaks-64443 |archive-date=August 7, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>