Steve Ditko, Spider-Man Co-Creator and Legendary Comics Artist, Dies at 90

Artist Steve Ditko, who co-created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Stan Lee, has died at age 90.

No cause of death was announced. Ditko was found dead in his apartment on June 29 and it is believed he died about two days earlier.

In 1961, Ditko and Lee created Spider-Man. Lee, the editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, gave Ditko the assignment after he wasn’t satisfied with Jack Kirby’s take on the idea of a teen superhero with spider powers. The look of Spider-Man — the costume, the web shooters, the red and blue design — all came from Ditko. Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy No. 15. The comic was an unexpected hit and the character was spun off into The Amazing Spider-Man. Ditko helped create such classic Spider-Man characters as Doctor Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard, and Green Goblin. Starting with issue No. 25 Ditko received a plot credit in addition to his artist credit. Ditko’s run ended with issue No. 38.

In 1963, Ditko created the surreal and psychedelic hero Doctor Strange. The character debuted in Strange Tales No. 110 and Ditko continued on the comic through issue No. 146, cover dated July 1966.

After that Ditko, left Marvel Comics over a fight with Lee that has never been fully understood. The pair had not been on speaking terms for several years. Ditko never explained his side and Lee claimed not to really know what motivated Ditko’s exit. The best explanation suggests Ditko was frustrated at Lee’s oversight and his failure to properly share credit for Ditko’s contributions to Spider-Man and Doctor Strange.

Ditko went on to work for Charlton, DC Comics and other small independent publishers. He returned to Marvel in 1979, where he worked on Machine Man and the Micronatus and he continued working for them as a freelancer in the 1990s. Among his last creations was Squirrel Girl in 1992, who has become a cult favorite in recent years.

After his work at Marvel, Ditko is probably best known for creating Mr. A in 1967. The character embodied Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophy, which Ditko was an ardent believer in.

The reclusive Ditko was known as the “J.D. Salinger” of comics. From the 1970s on, he rarely spoke on the record, declining almost every interview request. He sat out the publicity booms that accompanied the Spider-Man films and the Doctor Strange movie.

Ditko maintained a Manhattan studio until his death, where he continued to write and draw, though how much and what unpublished material remain is unknown.

Stephen J. Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on Nov. 2, 1927. He developed an interest in comics from his father (who loved Prince Valiant) and from Batman and the Spirit, which both debuted as he entered his teens.

After graduating high school, Ditko served in the army in post-war Germany, drawing for a military paper. After being discharged, he moved to New York City in 1950 and studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the school of Visual Arts).

By 1953, Ditko was getting work as a professional comics artist, including at the studio of Captain America creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Ditko came down with tuberculosis in 1954 and spent the next year recovering in Johnststonw.

He began drawing for Marvel Comics forerunner Atlas Comics in 1955. He had a successful collaboration with Stan Lee at first, as the pair worked on a number of science fiction stories together.