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A letter to Steve Ditko
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216 posts in this topic

A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to Steve Ditko. I am aware that he has been unapproachable for the most part and does not have much interest in Spiderman and comics he worked on during the 60's. But I thought it was worth a shot.

 

I wrote a letter in which I explained that I have loved his work since I was 12, and now am introducing it to my son. I asked if he saw any of the Spiderman movies and if he liked any of them. Lastly I included a 8x10 of the first page from AF15 and asked him to sign it. He returned it unsigned, but did include this letter:

 

2w3yvs0.jpg

 

Interesting that he signed his name twice!

I felt it was a very gracious response and was more than I expected.

 

Ankur

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Write back to him:

There's no law that says if you sign for one person you have to sign for everyone. If a woman sleeps with one person that doesn't mean she has to sleep with everyone.

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That was a bold move. He boldly made his point for not looking back and not getting something in return after he dedicated his hard working life to the comic books. He moved on and probably was bitter about it. I am kind of feeling bad for him that he went through. I was laid off few times in my 15 years in the graphic design. I am not going back just like him.

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Write back to him:

There's no law that says if you sign for one person you have to sign for everyone. If a woman sleeps with one person that doesn't mean she has to sleep with everyone.

 

What kinda back--wards thinking is this? (shrug)

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Hey I bet if you asked him to sign Ditkomania or anything besides his Marvel stuff you might get him to budge

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It's super cool I was just trying to think of a way to get him to sign something for you

I wouldn't have the guts to mail Ditko

:idea: Run that letter thru a printer of a pic of Ditko Spidey BANG you have a signed pic of Spidey!!

Edited by kav
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Amazing that you managed to get a reply from Ditko ... that's something not easy to do.

 

Sad that he is still bitter after all the years. He has his reasons, I guess. I noticed something interesting in his letter... he did say not interested with comic book superhero characters turned into movies or tv series. But what of his other artwork in other comic book companies that he worked with? Charton was one that he did a lot of fantasy/sci-fic stories. I believe Altas is another he worked under also.

 

Wondering if I wrote to him about these works ... might I have a shot in getting him to sign one of the books? hm

 

If only I know where to mail the letter! lol

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Ditko is not bitter. He is an objectivist. His belief system is what causes him to act the way he does, not bitterness. He is a man of extreme conviction. I find him fascinating. I would love to have something signed by him, but his rules are cool with me. I would like to be able to figure out how to get him to do it willingly.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to Steve Ditko. I am aware that he has been unapproachable for the most part and does not have much interest in Spiderman and comics he worked on during the 60's. But I thought it was worth a shot.

 

I wrote a letter in which I explained that I have loved his work since I was 12, and now am introducing it to my son. I asked if he saw any of the Spiderman movies and if he liked any of them. Lastly I included a 8x10 of the first page from AF15 and asked him to sign it. He returned it unsigned, but did include this letter:

 

2w3yvs0.jpg

 

Interesting that he signed his name twice!

I felt it was a very gracious response and was more than I expected.

 

Ankur

 

Very cool. (thumbs u

 

One of my customers just wrote him. Said he was a big fan as well. He invited him to come to the comic show in London, Canada, coming up in October. I'll post here if he agrees to come. :wishluck:

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That was a bold move. He boldly made his point for not looking back and not getting something in return after he dedicated his hard working life to the comic books. He moved on and probably was bitter about it. I am kind of feeling bad for him that he went through. I was laid off few times in my 15 years in the graphic design. I am not going back just like him.

 

I'm pretty sure most everything Steve Ditko does is on Steve Ditko's own terms.

 

From what I've read in Ditko's self published stuff the only bitterness he has would be in regard to the Lee / Kirby / Ditko triangle of credit for creating Spider-Man.

Bitterness may be too harsh a term. Maybe not.

 

Steve Ditko feels he co-created Spider-Man; it wasn't just Lee (for coming up with the name and idea) and certainly not Kirby (for the rejected initial pages Kirby drew and any arguably tenuous connection to the Simon & Kirby comics character the Fly for Archie publications).

 

I believe Ditko feels he did his fair share of the creation because "Having an idea is nothing, because until it becomes a physical thing, it’s just an idea,”

-Steve Ditko, from Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics—The Untold Story

 

Ditko has also stated in his self published work that he already got paid for his efforts on Spider-Man and he isn't looking for any monetary recompense above and beyond what he agreed to at the time.

 

 

 

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Ditko is not bitter. He is an objectivist. His belief system is what causes him to act the way he does, not bitterness. He is a man of extreme conviction. I find him fascinating. I would love to have something signed by him, but his rules are cool with me. I would like to be able to figure out how to get him to do it willingly.

 

Damn! +1

 

He feels if he signs for one he has to sign for everyone. The man is true to his values. If he showed up at a comic con to sign or announced he was at mall to sign and the cost was $100 per signature, the line would be a mile long and there would be people in line with boxes full of books to get signed. Anyone that would turn down that much easy money you have to respect.

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I believe Ditko feels he did his fair share of the creation because "Having an idea is nothing, because until it becomes a physical thing, it’s just an idea,”

-Steve Ditko, from Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics—The Untold Story

 

This book is a must read.

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Ditko is not bitter. He is an objectivist. His belief system is what causes him to act the way he does, not bitterness. He is a man of extreme conviction. I find him fascinating. I would love to have something signed by him, but his rules are cool with me. I would like to be able to figure out how to get him to do it willingly.

 

Damn! +1

 

He feels if he signs for one he has to sign for everyone. The man is true to his values. If he showed up at a comic con to sign or announced he was at mall to sign and the cost was $100 per signature, the line would be a mile long and there would be people in line with boxes full of books to get signed. Anyone that would turn down that much easy money you have to respect.

THIS !!!!

Respect seems the correct word :)

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Cool! I wrote Steve Ditko about 2 years ago asking several questions and comenting on his art. To my surprise I received a TWO PAGE letter back! Same style paper as you got there and he signed it twice the same way. I was very excited. It is now framed on my living roon wall under a framed poster of Amazing Fantasy #15.

 

In the letter to me he talks briefly about stolen art and his time at Marvel, but very briefly. I got his address from a board member here who has written him in the past. The address on the letter was different then the one I sent it too.

Edited by Hammerhead
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