‘Spider-Man’ Artist Steve Ditko Has Died
Legendary cartoonist Steve Ditko, who helped create iconic comic characters like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, has died.
He was 90.
Cops say Ditko was found dead inside his New York City apartment on June 29.
Born in Johnstown, Pa., Ditko began working for Marvel Comics in the late 1950s after a stint at arch-rival DC.
It was at Marvel where Ditko helped create Spider-Man in 1962, designing the beloved web slinger’s costume and colour scheme. The character became a smash hit.
The following year, Ditko created Doctor Strange before leaving Marvel in the mid-1960s following a dispute with Stan Lee.
Ditko freelanced for most of the rest of his career for a variety of publishers.
Called the “J.D. Salinger of the comics world,” the artist was intensely private and refused interviews. For the last few decades of his life, Ditko was for all intents and purposes a recluse.
“We didn’t approach him. He’s like J.D. Salinger. He is private and has intentionally stayed out of the spotlight like J.D. Salinger,” Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016.
No one had heard from the artist for several days before his body was found. Cops say the death is not considered suspicious.
Author Neil Gaiman tracked Ditko down in New York for his documentary, In Search of Steve Ditko.
“Steve Ditko was true to his own ideals. He saw things his own way, and he gave of ways of seeing that were unique,” Gaiman tweeted.
“Often copied. Never Equalled. I know I’m a different person because he was in the world.”