230304
VISITING STEVE DITKO
Years ago, with six hours to kill in New York City, I decided to visit Steve Ditko. I’d heard he had a drawing studio in Midtown and I knew a friend at Marvel Comics who would have his address. She said he was in the phone book. Sure ‘nuff. 1650 Broadway, suite 715. 10 minutes later I’m standing in front of a nondescript, mid-1970’s, grey office building. The doorman looked no-nonsense, so I waited. When the guard took a break, I snuck in. My stomach hurt from nerves. I was about to meet an iconoclast, infamous oddball, seminal comic creator, and hermit. What were we going to talk about?
In the elevator I thought about how Steve Ditko left mainstream comics and, after working for smaller publishers, went on to self-publish Mr. A, a character with unwavering dedication to fighting evil, an obvious expression of Ditko’s own moral absolutism. Where did he get these ideas? How absolute are they? Was there any grey area? Did he feel like he lived up to his own ideals? If not, was he living in a philosophical grey area? But if he didn’t believe in grey area, how could he live with himself?
The elevator doors opened, I pondered how Ditko was a fan and follower of the objectivist author Ayn Rand. Maybe she was a better topic. Her most famous book, Atlas Shrugged, was about the intellectuals of the world leaving society to forge their own separate isolated utopian civilization. Did he see himself in this mold? Was his rejection of mainstream comics an ode to Atlas Shrugged?
I walked down the grey hall looking for office number 715. The Spider-Man franchise was based on Ditko’s work but he never accepted payment beyond his original flat page rate. I’d heard Ditko believed that, because of his original contract, he shouldn’t accept additional compensation. Was this true? I’d guessed that in order to receive additional royalties he’d have to sign new contracts with all sorts of egregious language - like maybe Stan Lee was the primary creator - or that Ditko could never talk about the character - or his estate had no claim to the character.
I found the door with Ditko’s name as I thought about the Spider Man halloween outfit by the Ben Cooper costume company. The one that came out two years before the Spider-Man comic book. It was marketed as a “Spider Man” costume. Could I ask about that? He must have known about it. What did he think? I had my own stupid theories. Did Stan Lee describe an idea it to a blissfully ignorant Ditko? Or had Ditko seen the costume, forgot about it, and then was subconsciously influenced? Or maybe Ditko knew the costume but calculated that it was obscure and it didn’t matter. There was no way for him to know that his Spider-Man would turn into an international billion dollar franchise. So maybe Ditko thought his Spider-Man comic was unimportant enough that it wouldn’t matter. Was the rip-off accidental-plagiarism or rationalized-plagiarism? Maybe Ditko felt ashamed about the rip-off and his shame made him distance himself from sharing in the profits. This wasn’t a good conversation topic.
I hesitated knocking as I pondered how I’d heard that Alan Moore based Rorschack, the Watchmen character, on Ditko. Was he flattered or enraged? If I were him I’d appreciate Moore fashioning a badass morally true character but I’d hate that that character wasn’t a hero but a nut. As the artist Dave Gibbons notes, "psychopath or saint?" If Ditko is a nut job, would he be self-aware enough to know it? I’d have mixed feelings. But there isn’t room for mixed feelings in a philosophy of moral absolutism.
Ayn Rand might be a safe topic. I knocked. In the Fountainhead, Howard Roark blew up his perfect buildings, Fight Club style, because the greedy developers added a swimming pool. The character was based on Frank Lloyd Wright with whom Ayn Rand had had an affair. Did Ditko think that was wrong? Did he identify with Howard Roark, Frank Lloyd Wright, or Ayn Rand herself? Had he met Ayn Rand?
I knocked again. Maybe it was best to stick to talking about his current work, Mr. A. Maybe I should sneak out the way I came in.
No answer. I was disappointed and relieved. Mixed feelings. I left the way I came in.
I love this story! Also, did not know Ayn Rand had an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright!