Editing Steve Ditko (section)

===Charlton and DC Comics===
Back at Charlton—where the page rate was low but creators were allowed greater freedom—Ditko worked on such characters as the [[Blue Beetle]] (1967–1968),<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 123: "After Ted Kord assumed the scarab as Blue Beetle in a back-up feature of ''Captain Atom'' #83, writer/artist Steve Ditko and co-writer 'D.C. Glanzman' (who was actually Ditko) launched the Blue Beetle into his own series."</ref> the [[Question (comics)|Question]] (1967–1968),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Irvine |first2=Alex |last3=Korte |first3=Steve |last4=Manning |first4=Matt |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |last6=Wilson |first6=Sven |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe |date=2016 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-5357-0 |page=241}}</ref> and [[Captain Atom]] (1965–1967), returning to the character he had co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966 and 1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by [[Archie Goodwin (comics)|Archie Goodwin]], for [[Warren Publishing]]'s horror-comic magazines ''[[Creepy (magazine)|Creepy]]'' and ''[[Eerie (magazine)|Eerie]]'', generally using an [[wash (visual arts)|ink-wash]] technique.<ref>{{cite book|title= How to Draw Chiller Monsters, Werewolves, Vampires, and Zombies|last= Spurlock|first= J. David|author-link= J. David Spurlock|year= 2011|location= New York, New York|publisher= [[Watson-Guptill]]|isbn= 978-0-8230-9532-2|page= 32|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LkU3Qs66GlwC&q=Steve+Ditko+Warren+ink-wash&pg=PA32|access-date= October 29, 2011|quote= The tonal ink-wash drawings he did for ''Creepy'' and ''Eerie'' magazines afforded him unique opportunities to exercise his mysterious prowess.|archive-date= May 26, 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240526032850/https://books.google.com/books?id=LkU3Qs66GlwC&q=Steve+Ditko+Warren+ink-wash&pg=PA32|url-status= live}}</ref>

In 1967, Ditko gave his Objectivist ideas ultimate expression in the form of [[Mr.&nbsp;A]], published in [[Wally Wood]]'s independent title ''[[witzend]]'' #&nbsp;3, an underground anthology comic in black and white that avoided the Comics Code Authority by being published in magazine format and only being available by subscription, and whose editorial policy was to allow artistic freedom without any editorial interference.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.enotes.com/topics/comic-books/critical-essays/underground-comix |title=Comic Books Underground Comix – Essay – eNotes.com |access-date=July 11, 2023 |archive-date=May 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526032858/https://www.enotes.com/topics/comic-books/critical-essays/underground-comix |url-status=live }}</ref> Mr.&nbsp;A is a similar character to the Question, but without being restricted by the Comics Code.{{sfn|Bell|2008|p=110}} Ditko's hard line against criminals was controversial<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/question-ditko-debut-mr-a-blue-beetle/ |title=The Strange Background Behind the Creation of the Question |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=November 15, 2019 |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=November 15, 2019 |archive-date=May 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526032852/https://www.cbr.com/question-ditko-debut-mr-a-blue-beetle/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and he continued to produce Mr.&nbsp;A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s.{{sfn|Bell|2008|p=136}} Ditko returned to Mr.&nbsp;A in 2000 and in 2009.<ref>''Steve Ditko's 176-Page, Heroes Package'', Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2000</ref><ref>''Ditko Continued'', Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2009 and ''Oh, No! Not Again, Ditko!'', Robin Snyder & Steve Ditko, 2009</ref> [[File:Ditko-DC-characters.jpg|thumb|300px|A panoply of Ditko [[DC Comics]] characters, from a "DC Profiles" biographical page appearing in comics [[cover-date]]d April 1980, including ''Batman'' #322 and ''The Legion of Super-Heroes'' #262. From left: the [[Creeper (comics)|Creeper]]; [[Hawk and Dove]]; [[Stalker (comics)|Stalker]]; the [[Odd Man (comics)|Odd Man]]; [[Shade, the Changing Man]]; [[Starman (comics)#Prince Gavyn|Starman]].]]
Ditko moved to [[DC Comics]] in 1968, where he co-created the [[Creeper (comics)|Creeper]] in ''[[Showcase (comics)|Showcase]]'' #73 (April 1968) with Don Segall, under editor [[Murray Boltinoff]].<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 129 "Writer/artist Steve Ditko and co-scripter Don Segall gave [character Jack Ryder] more than the last laugh as the garishly garbed Creeper, one of DC's quirkiest protagonists."</ref> DC Comics writer and executive [[Paul Levitz]] observed that Ditko's art on the ''Creeper'' stories made "them look unlike anything else being published by DC at the time."<ref>{{cite book|author-link= Paul Levitz|last=Levitz|first= Paul|chapter= The Silver Age 1956–1970|title= 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking|publisher= [[Taschen]]|year=2010|location= Cologne, Germany|isbn= 9783836519816|page= 268}}</ref> Ditko co-created the team [[Hawk and Dove]] in ''Showcase'' #75 (June 1968), with writer [[Steve Skeates]].<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 130 "Brothers Hank and Don Hall were complete opposites, yet writer/artist Steve Ditko with scripter Steve Skeates made sure the siblings shared a desire to battle injustice as Hawk and Dove."</ref> Around this time, he penciled the lead story, written and inked by Wally Wood, in Wood's early mature-audience, [[Alternative media|independent-comics]] publication ''[[Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon]]'' (1969).<ref name=gcd />

Ditko's stay at DC was short—he would work on all six issues of the Creeper's own title, ''Beware the Creeper'' (June 1968 – April 1969), though leaving midway through the final one—and the reasons for his departure uncertain. But while at DC, Ditko recommended Charlton staffer [[Dick Giordano]] to the company,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_09_11.html |author-link=Mark Evanier |last=Evanier |first=Mark |title=Ditko Doc |date=September 11, 2007 |publisher="P.O.V. Online" (column) |access-date=April 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213160657/http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_09_11.html |archive-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> who would go on to become a top DC penciller, inker, editor, and ultimately, in 1981, the managing editor.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Jack Adler Retires, Dick Giordano Promoted |journal=The Comics Journal |issue=67 |page=15 |publisher=Fantagraphics Books |date=October 1981}}</ref>

From this time up through the mid-1970s, Ditko worked exclusively for Charlton and various [[alternative comics|small press/independent]] publishers. [[Frank McLaughlin (artist)|Frank McLaughlin]], Charlton's art director during this period, describes Ditko as living "in a local hotel in [[Derby, Connecticut|Derby]] for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts".<ref name="CBA9">Cooke, Jon B., & Christopher Irving. [http://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/09empire.html "The Charlton Empire: A Brief History of the Derby, Connecticut Publisher"], ''[[Comic Book Artist]]'' &nbsp;#9, August 2000. Access date April 27, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100614062925/http://twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/09empire.html WebCitation archive].</ref>

For Charlton, in 1974, he did [[Liberty Belle (comics)#Charlton Comics|Liberty Belle]] backup stories in ''[[E-Man]]'' and conceived Killjoy.<ref>{{cite journal |editor-last=Sinkovac |editor-first=Jerome |date=November 1973 |journal=The Comic Reader |issue=101 |title=Charlton News |location=Brooklyn, New York, United States |publisher=TCR Publications}}</ref> Ditko produced much work for Charlton's science-fiction and horror titles, as well as for former Marvel publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]]'s start-up line [[Atlas/Seaboard Comics]], where he co-created the superhero the Destructor with writer Archie Goodwin, and penciled all four issues of the namesake series (Feb.–Aug. 1975), the first two of which were inked by Wally Wood. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of ''[[Tiger-Man]]'' and the third issue of ''Morlock 2001'', with [[Bernie Wrightson]] inking.<ref name=gcd />