Steve Ditko, an influential comic book artist credited with contributing to the creation of iconic characters including Marvel’s Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, has died in New York City at the age of 90, authorities said Friday.
Ditko was a found dead inside his Manhattan apartment a week earlier on June 29, a New York Police Department spokesman told reporters. Additional details were not immediately known.
“Steve transformed the industry and the Marvel Universe, and his legacy will never be forgotten,” said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment
“Only a small group of individuals can claim that they have effected and redefined not just an industry, but popular culture worldwide,” echoed Joe Quesada, Marvel’s chief creative officer.
Born in 1927 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Ditko served in the U.S. Army after World War II prior to starting his work in the comics industry in the 1950s, first through Atlas Comics and then its successor, Marvel Comics, where he co-created Spider-Man with writer Stan Lee prior to the character’s debut in a 1962 issue of “Amazing Fantasy.”
He co-created Doctor Strange the following year with Mr. Lee, 95, and later worked for DC Comics, Marvel’s main competitor, where he contributed to the creation of characters including the Question, the Creeper and Hawk and Dove.
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Ditko “was one of those few who dared to break molds every time his pencil and pen hit a blank sheet of paper,” said Mr. Quesada. “In his lifetime he blessed us with gorgeous art, fantastical stories, heroic characters and a mystical persona worthy of some of his greatest creations. And much like his greatest co-creation, Steve Ditko’s legend and influence will outlive us all,” he said in a statement.
“Comics are unimaginable without his influence,” tweeted fellow comic-book artist Patch Zircher. “He co-created Spider-man, which will be remembered as significant as Doyle creating Sherlock Holmes or Fleming creating James Bond. Spider-man may outlast them both.”
Ditko largely declined to do interviews during his career and was largely reclusive throughout the last several decades. He is survived by a nephew, according to Variety where his death was first reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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