Steve Ditko

Steve Ditko was an American comics artist and writer.

After graduating from high school in 1945, Mr. Ditko joined the Army and was stationed in Germany, where he drew cartoons for a service newspaper. In 1950, under the G.I. Bill, he attended the Cartoonist and Illustrator School (which later became the School of Visual Arts) in New York.

Ditko was best known as the artist and co-creator (with Stan Lee) of the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man.

Ditko, along with artist Jack Kirby and writer/editor Lee, was a central player in the 1960s cultural phenomenon known as Marvel Comics, whose characters today are ubiquitous in films, television shows and merchandise.

Spider-Man first appeared in 1962. Ditko helped develop other Marvel superheroes, including Iron Man and the Hulk. Of these, probably his best-known, besides Spider-Man, was Dr. Strange, a “master of the mystic arts,” who first appeared in 1963.

Ditko was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 1994. In Sam Raimi’s Hollywood feature Spider-Man, in 2002, the opening credits read, “Based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.” The 2008-2009 ABC animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man gave similar credit.

Ditko died June 29, 2018, in New York City, New York. He was 90.