Steve Ditko has passed.... 0

[Funnyslover]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44748923

[silverweb]

13 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

Thanks for sharing this. The picture of SD looks very much like Peter Parker minus the widow's peak.

Rest in Peace , Steve Ditko. Loved your Spider-Man work.  

Edited July 7, 2018 by silverweb

[drdroom]

8 hours ago, grapeape said:

Enigma. Abundance of creativity. R I P Steve Ditko I came home from work one day and my wife says, " you have a letter on your desk from Steve Ditko."

That's a remarkably long reply for Steve, and tells us a lot about where he was in his thinking in this final year. RIP

[drdroom]

4 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

Nope. That line was all Stan Lee. An Objectivist would never say that. (Not sure Ditko was one by that point, anyway). 

Yes, "With great power...." is almost a perfect ANTI-Randian assertion. 

[jjonahjameson11]

Without Steve Ditko’s Spidey, I wouldn’t give a rat’s Azz about Marvel Comics, and comics in general so a hearty thanks to Mr Ditko for instilling me with a wonderful pastime, and expensive hobby! ?

[The Voord]

13 hours ago, grapeape said:

Enigma. Abundance of creativity. R I P Steve Ditko I came home from work one day and my wife says, " you have a letter on your desk from Steve Ditko."

As a self-confessed atheist, I totally agree with Ditko's observation on religion.  Peaceful faiths, they ain't . . .

[PunisherPunisherPunisher]

RIP....such sad news

[SquareChaos]

13 hours ago, The Voord said:

Sad times.  One of my heroes, Harlan Ellison, passed away in recent weeks . . . now Steve Ditko.  

Link to an array of photographs I took of the Steve Ditko Artwork Exhibition in Palma, Spain, during 2016:

http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=178300

Dammit, more bad news. I've been so busy lately, I somehow hadn't heard about Harlan passing. Equally depressing to me, two great creators.

[alxjhnsn]

Best three page sequence in comic? I think this is it (from the collection of Mike Burkey)

[drdroom]

48 minutes ago, alxjhnsn said:

Best three page sequence in comic? I think this is it (from the collection of Mike Burkey)

Also part of the best 5-page sequence!

[drdroom]

2 hours ago, The Voord said:

As a self-confessed atheist, I totally agree with Ditko's observation on religion.  Peaceful faiths, they ain't . . .

I disagree, respectfully of course, with Ditko's implied equivalence between the three. Judaism was warlike in ancient times, before the other two existed, but has been largely self-defense oriented for a few thousand years. Christianity today is far more peaceful than it was a thousand years ago, and it seems that Islam, the youngest of the three, is involved in the highest number of contemporary conflicts. Faiths mature as humans do.

[theflashunc]

9 hours ago, drdroom said:

Yes, "With great power...." is almost a perfect ANTI-Randian assertion. 

 

14 hours ago, PhilipB2k17 said:

Nope. That line was all Stan Lee. An Objectivist would never say that. (Not sure Ditko was one by that point, anyway). 

Sorry guys, agreeing to disagree on this one. 

The kid with great power who cuts corners for personal wealth at the expense of what he views as his core self. The kid held back by "the system" at every turn, whether its craven media, school or just suburban life in Queens? Its the rejection of the hedonistic selfishness that Rand differentiated from her espoused rational selfishness. I don't see how you can read those Spiderman issues and say he wasn't on that Objectivist path by that point. 

Course, it comes down to personal interpretation (especially since we'll never get the truth), but I very much take "with great power comes great responsibility" to be a self-directed, rather than societal mandate in the book. That, and its so different than any other Stan dialogue of the era. Ditko-era Spiderman just read different than every other Marvel book, and I chalk that entirely up to Steve. He got co-plotting credit for a reason.

[tth2]

RIP.  One of the true immortals of comic-dom.

[The Voord]

14 hours ago, drdroom said:

I disagree, respectfully of course, with Ditko's implied equivalence between the three. Judaism was warlike in ancient times, before the other two existed, but has been largely self-defense oriented for a few thousand years. Christianity today is far more peaceful than it was a thousand years ago, and it seems that Islam, the youngest of the three, is involved in the highest number of contemporary conflicts. Faiths mature as humans do.

It's the maturing period that worries me

 

[The Voord]

Not something I would have disclosed while Mr Ditko was still with us but now I see no harm in telling folks about my 'Steve Ditko letter'.  Link to the story:

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1484045

Edited July 8, 2018 by The Voord

[drdroom]

14 hours ago, theflashunc said:

 

Sorry guys, agreeing to disagree on this one. 

The kid with great power who cuts corners for personal wealth at the expense of what he views as his core self. The kid held back by "the system" at every turn, whether its craven media, school or just suburban life in Queens? Its the rejection of the hedonistic selfishness that Rand differentiated from her espoused rational selfishness. I don't see how you can read those Spiderman issues and say he wasn't on that Objectivist path by that point. 

Course, it comes down to personal interpretation (especially since we'll never get the truth), but I very much take "with great power comes great responsibility" to be a self-directed, rather than societal mandate in the book. That, and its so different than any other Stan dialogue of the era. Ditko-era Spiderman just read different than every other Marvel book, and I chalk that entirely up to Steve. He got co-plotting credit for a reason.

Hmm. That's interesting, about it being inconsistent with Stan's other dialog from the time. I don't have a counter-example offhand so I'll take your word, but it is very consistent with Stan's later work, so maybe that's just his breakthrough moment. 

I'm having trouble following your philosophical argument. So if [great power] then [great responsibility] has a Randian interpretation, what is Peter's responsibility? Doesn't AF15, and the whole arc of the series, make clear that Peter must henceforth act unselfishly, sacrificing personal gain and happiness to the greater societal good? 

[PhilipB2k17]

8 hours ago, drdroom said:

Hmm. That's interesting, about it being inconsistent with Stan's other dialog from the time. I don't have a counter-example offhand so I'll take your word, but it is very consistent with Stan's later work, so maybe that's just his breakthrough moment. 

I'm having trouble following your philosophical argument. So if [great power] then [great responsibility] has a Randian interpretation, what is Peter's responsibility? Doesn't AF15, and the whole arc of the series, make clear that Peter must henceforth act unselfishly, sacrificing personal gain and happiness to the greater societal good? 

That’s not an objectivist point of view. “Responsibility” is only to one’s self, not to others. An Objectivist would not have been upset that a criminal he failed to stop killed his uncle Ben. Or rather, he would be upset, but he would not blame himself for it. 

And while Ditko plotted the books for a good portion of his run, Stan wrote the dialogue. 

Edited July 9, 2018 by PhilipB2k17

[Endymion]

There have been some nice tribute pieces floating around, but this would be my personal favourite so far. By Gabriel Hardman. 

[otherworldsj331]

On 7/7/2018 at 6:03 PM, The Voord said:

As a self-confessed atheist, I totally agree with Ditko's observation on religion.  Peaceful faiths, they ain't . . .

It's the people that are not peaceful. Most religions preach peace. If the members don't adhere to it...

[zhamlau]

On 7/7/2018 at 4:37 AM, grapeape said:

Enigma. Abundance of creativity. R I P Steve Ditko I came home from work one day and my wife says, " you have a letter on your desk from Steve Ditko."

wow...nailed it on a lot of levels. So he was very engaged and capable through out his entire life...what a blessing, we should all be so lucky. Rest in Peace.