In Search of Steve Ditko

[David]

As mentioned at the end of 134, I finally watched In Search of Steve Ditko (thanks again, Mr. Raker!!!) and I plan on talking about it with the boys.

But it might help if others know what we're talking about while we're blathering on.  Currently, on YouTube, the documentary has been cut into seven bite-size chunks.  They can be seen here:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/NfxVO0fLHvA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/NfxVO0fLHvA&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/IA3vS1Q0zi4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/IA3vS1Q0zi4&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/__vRJvPP3cU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/__vRJvPP3cU&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/orhu7_rmmvs&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/orhu7_rmmvs&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/L5kPNfUAC3I&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/L5kPNfUAC3I&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/L7CNGzsR1D8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/L7CNGzsR1D8&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/iUJyU29XhSU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/iUJyU29XhSU&rel=1</a>

Enjoy.

[InspectorSpacetime]

i saw it last year. its really really good.

[Steve-t]

I really enjoyed this documentary too. Jonathan Ross is a true geek who understands the history of comics and has the influence to spread the word. Unfortunately with him having left the BBC he may also have left the only outlet that would have been prepared to outlay the money for this kind of "niche" project.

[zack kruse]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing these with everyone, David! I had such a hard time tracking it down a few years ago. I'm glad that it's up and available for people to see.

As I had mentioned in the episode thread, the Alan Moore stuff is incredible and pays, to me, an immense tribute to the man--even though I think he totally blows it on his brief mention on Hawk & Dove.

The Stan stuff...well, it is what it is. It's really something to see him drop the facade for just a moment though. The absolute backhandedness of it though...

[Jon O]

I saw it last year and found it awesome.  I hope a lot of people take the opportunity to watch it.

[Lucien21]

I had fun watching that again.

I remember seeing it when it was broadcast as part of the Comics Britannia season on BBC 4. (Which had a great 3 part documentary about comics in Britain as I was growing up, From the Beano to Dan Dare to 2000AD  )

As much as Stan Lee was a showman and promoter of all thing Mavel and certainly had a hand in creating some of the best loved character (in some whay or another). He was very reluctant to give anyone else credit (even though he more or less says that Ditko was drawing the comic with next to no input from himself) and even the letter etc felt like he didn't really mean it.

I think he doesn't across well in this documentary.

[Jon_Samuelson]

That was great, thanks David.  Actually, the thing I liked most about it was the interviews with Alan Moore.  I haven't seen or read a lot of interviews with him, but he'd previously seemed like such a pompous jerk in all of the stuff I've seen before that it affected how I thought of his work.  Here, however, he seems like a really friendly, intelligent (if slightly eccentric) guy.  I was glad to see that.

[Rustyautoparts (Russ Otto)]

That was great, thanks David.  Actually, the thing I liked most about it was the interviews with Alan Moore.  I haven't seen or read a lot of interviews with him, but he'd previously seemed like such a pompous jerk in all of the stuff I've seen before that it affected how I thought of his work.  Here, however, he seems like a really friendly, intelligent (if slightly eccentric) guy.  I was glad to see that.

I loved that he introduced himself as a comic writer and a magician. The way he said it made it sound as though he considers both as equal pastimes (which is probably true). It makes me wonder how I can so fully connect with the work of such an eccentric man.

[Steve-t]

That was great, thanks David.  Actually, the thing I liked most about it was the interviews with Alan Moore.  I haven't seen or read a lot of interviews with him, but he'd previously seemed like such a pompous jerk in all of the stuff I've seen before that it affected how I thought of his work.  Here, however, he seems like a really friendly, intelligent (if slightly eccentric) guy.  I was glad to see that.

I was lucky to see Alan Moore on stage, as part of a night of different comedy acts, in London earlier in the year. He was very funny, very clever, very self-deprecating and although he said a lot of things about himself and the deity he worships he basically admitted that he made it all up for a laugh.

[terryhellface]

Thanks David,

After listening to this weeks show, I was planning on searching for this video. It was a great show to sit and watch with my morning coffee and donuts.

Maybe one of these days someone will get an exclusive with Ditko. Just maybe.

[Clobbertron]

I just watched it again, a sad stoy. Thanks for posting.

[Jon_Samuelson]

Why is it sad?  I mean I guess it would be a happier story if he'd gotten the credit he deserves all along, and were rolling in money, but he walked away from mainstream comics on his own terms (seemingly) to reclaim total creative control.  Ditko really came off as more of a J.D. Salinger like recluse than an object deserving of pity in any sense.

I also don't really think that Stan Lee came of all that bad because I don't know that I can really fault him for his standpoint.  If he really did think up the idea, and then gave it to Ditko to flesh out, I can't really fault Stan for thinking of himself as the creator of Spider-man.  He could certainly be far more gracious about sharing the credit, but I can see his point.

[Steve Raker]

I think, due to the nature of comics and how far the characters have come, that there are 2 creations regarding Spider-Man, making them both sorta right:

If a prose novelist can create a hero without that hero ever being officially drawn (or drawn years later on a republished edition or whatever) then how come Spidey had to be drawn for him to be created?  Like Stan said, he basically could have given the character to anybody to draw....it's because of the merchandising IP image aspect of Spidey that is sort of a second creation.....that's Ditko's Spidey just as much as Stan's (if not more...it's his imagery)!

....but again, the idea for the character had been passed along to Ditko by Stan to draw (after Kirby had an initial shot at the idea).  Who passed the idea for the character along to Stan?  He's kinda first in the creation chain, which is a point much more comprehensively made by Peter David in his But I Digress columns/books.

I think that it's most accurate to say that they're co-creators, but 'twas Stan's idea in this case.

[Steve Raker]

Another thing that's hard to understand and swallow about Ditko's career is that it doesn't seem like he ever made any steps towards 'getting his due', which he could have by speaking up in the media, to management, to a lawyer at almost any time over the last 45 years.....it's hard to say that he wouldn't have gotten his due, and hard to share/join him in his sour grapes other than to say that it's a historical shame

[Dave Faust]

I have it bookmarked and on three different hard drives. I'm never far away from this. 

[Andrew]

Thread reminded me to watch this for the first time - lovely stuff.

Is it just me or does that Gambaccini fellow look like a Norm Breyfogle drawing come-to-life?

[Lukeh]

Alan Moore makes me laugh;

My names Alan Moore, I'm a comic book writer and magician.

I had no idea Dikto was such a recluse. I've only watch the first two parts but will def watch the rest. Cheers for sharing.

[Wood]

I'm with Steve (Raker) on this one. I can ascribe to the tortured artist who never got his due in this case.

That said, Ditko is an artistic BEAST 

[Jon_Samuelson]

I wonder if it's Ditko's black & white life philosophy that's kept him from getting the adulation and credit he deserves.  Perhaps from his point of view, what Stan has done to him is just evil, and he won't soil himself by asking for what he feels like he shouldn't have to ask for.  Like with the letter that Stan provided for him, in which Stan said that he has always "considered" Ditko to be a co-creator of Spider-man, rather than saying outright that he was a co-creator.  I think that due to his life's philosophy Ditko is absolutely unwilling to compromise on this (or anything).  On one hand, I really respect that kind of absolutist philosophy, but on the other hand it's a little sad that I bet he's disappointed in things and people 99.9% of the time.

[flash77]

I would have liked to have seen the documentary mention Ditko's short return to marvel in the late 80s on the Speedball series. I've wondered if he was so disenfranchised with mainstream comics, why did he work on that project?