The appearance of the above image of Captain Atom by the late great Steve Ditko here at the Dojo indicates that I am taking a little breather. This break will be about two weeks until the middle of May. When the Dojo reopens, I will continue my look at Gene Roddenberrry's Star Trek, specifically the motion pictures starring the cast of the "The Original Series". I will also take a peek at Roddenberry's other science fiction efforts such Earth II and others. And of course there will be some surprises.
Take care. Don't forget about me. I will return.
Rip Off
I always found it strange that Steve Ditko insisted he was the co-creator of Spider-Man because (mainly) he designed the costume which gave Spidey his distinctive look (realising an idea), while at the same time denying he was the co-creator of Captain Atom - even though he designed the costume which gave the character his distinctive look. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteI am unaware that Ditko denied co-creation of Captain Atom. He's certainly a co-creator of both characters in my opinion.
DeleteIt's really hard to say who did what in early Spider-Man. As both writer and editor, I think Lee would have been more hands-on in the early issues, in contrast to the ones where he ceded (or seemed to cede) story-credit to Ditko. I don't think Ditko ever said that Lee didn't contribute anything to Spider-Man's development-- though surely Ditko contributed not just the look of Spidey's costume, but the designs of all the villains, most of whom remain iconic sixty years later. Lee was not a designer of costumes, and when he worked with artists who couldn't design very well, like Powell and Ayers, we got mediocre costumes.
ReplyDeleteYet for some reason Ditko wasn't mollified by Lee's nineties-era attempt to make peace by stating, "I have always considered SD to be Spider-Man co-creator." He wanted Lee to state it outright in some fashion and apparently didn't like the word "considered." C'est la guerre.
It's clear that Ditko assumed much more control of the series as it rumbled along, especially in its second half under his tenure. It's undeniable that Ditko is a co-creator of the character, he drew the first issue and that usually is the standard.
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