Have you ever had the same conversation over and over again? Now mind you, I don't mean
déjà vu, but actually having the same conversation with different people at different times.
Well, I have, with increasingly alarming frequency.
The conversation deals with the creative and artistic abilities (or lack thereof), of
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The outcome always leads me to believe that I happen to be one of
their biggest and perhaps only fans (Fred Hembeck notwithstanding).
It seems that every time their names come up in conversation with fellow fans, I am
jeered for liking these so-called "hacks". I point out that Stan and Jack Kirby founded the
Marvel Universe and created most of its mainline characters, while Steve's work formed the
foundation of at least two of its characters (one of which has turned out to be one of the
greatest superheroes of all time). Still, all this gets me is, "So, what else have they done?"
And that unnerves me. This attitude reminds me of the story of a wimpy little man who tries
to join the circus. Rapping his arms, he flies around the big top for a full five minutes.
Upon landing, the circus boss asks, "is that all you can do... bird imitations?"
"So, what else have they done?" Of all the nerve!
I have always found it odd that talented people have to continually prove their talents to
be considered great. As far as I'm concerned, neither man has to do anything else ever again.
They have set the standards, and now, having made their mark, it is up to others to carry on.
For me, the Lee/Ditko issues of Amazing Spider-Man will always be very special.
Over a period of four years, Steve Ditko worked with Stan Lee on Spider-Man for one issue
of Amazing Fantasy, 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, and two annuals. it was during that
time that they forged the formula for success that every writer and artist team since has
repeated ad infinitum. Needless to say, not all of those teams have beer as successful,
and only one has come close (Lee/John Romita) But that's another story.
In The Origins of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee wrote that he had originally given the
concept for the Spider-Man strip to Jack Kirby. However, Kirby didn't have the time to do it,
so Lee gave it to Ditko. This was perhaps the best move he could have made, for if Kirby had
been able to complete the strip, Spider-Man would have probably wound up looking like an
earthbound Thor. Kirby's style was to draw big-muscled, larger-than-life heroes. Spider-Man
was to be neither of these.
It was Peter Parker's lot in life to be the ultimate "What If?" story. What if an average,
nondescript, semi-nerdish teenager. suddenly received powers and abilities far beyond those of
mortal men? The answer was simplicity itself the creators would have fun.
And fun is exactly what they did have.
Things have happened to the hapless Spider-Man that had never happened to any other
superhero before him-but have happened to practically every superhero who has followed.
Peter was an average teenager, not especially handsome or even particularly ugly. He was
just "there." He was an over-protected, bookwormish science student at Midtown High, who
had been raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
One day while he was attending a science exhibit, a slight leak in a nuclear reactor
irradiated a spider, which, in its death throes, bit the unsuspecting Peter. The effect of
the radiation caused the arachnid to pass along its abilities with its dying bite. Soon,
Peter discovered he could climb walls and detect danger, and had gained the proportionate
strength of a spider. Using his scientific abilities, he developed a "web" fluid with a means
to dispense it. With his fashion-designing skills he tailored for himself a costume and
became the Amazing Spider-Man. He then set out to win fame and fortune.
Yet fame and fortune were not to be his. Shortly, after his first TV appearance, he allowed
a fleeing criminal to run past him and made no attempt to stop the crook Returning home, Peter
discovered that his Uncle Ben had been shot and killed by a burglar. Peter became Spider-Man
and tracked the killer to an abandoned warehouse where he caught him and, to his horror,
realized it was the very same man he had let escape earlier that day (Amazing Fantasy #15,
August 1962).
Only then did Peter realize that with great power came great responsibility. It was a
lesson that Spider-Man was destined to learn repeatedly throughout his career. During
Ditko's tenure on the book, Peter would abandon his Spider-Man identity at least three
times (#5, Oct. 1963; #18, Nov. 1964; and Amazing Spider-Man [Annual] #1, 1964). He was
constantly wondering why he was chosen by the fates to be Spider-Man.
EXPLORING NEW GROUND
Peter seemed to live life on a razor's edge of paranoia, which often threatened to spill
over into psychosis. He was beset by problems in both his public life as Spidey, and his
private life as the hapless Peter Parker. This led him to a psychiatrist's couch twice
(#13, June 1964; and #24, May 1965). On the second occasion he was actually being manipulated
by his foe Mysterio. It was Mysterio's plan to make Spider-Man think he was going crazy,
gain his confidence, and then unmask him. It almost worked too, except for this interference
of J. Jonah Jameson and Flash Thompson. I mention this sequence because it demonstrates the
creative spark that made the title fun. When Spider-Man walked into the psychiatrist's office
he was shocked to find out that the entire room was upside down (p. 14). This pushed Peter
closer to the edge, but what made the scene work was that the word balloon of the psychiatrist
was printed upside down too!
There was a forward momentum to the strip; it continually explored new ground. Spidey was
always getting into fixes where he had to devise new uses for his webbing. At first he used
it just to swing from place to place and to tie tip villains. But it soon become a very
versatile weapon: a parachute in #1 (March , 1.963), a fireproof shield in #12 (May, 1964),
and a bola in #29 (Oct., 1965), to name a -few.
The art also changed quite a bit within the space of those first few issues. When he
appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man was scrawny, while somehow lumpy at the same time.
By #38, July 1966 (Ditko's last issue), he was finely-muscled and looked like quite a
powerhouse. As he matured, so did his abilities.
Yet never was his strength so well-displayed as in the three-part story that appeared
in #31-33 (Dec., 1965 - Feb., 1966), when Spidey battled the forces of the Master Planner.
Aunt May was ill as a result of a blood transfusion she had received from Peter (because of
the spider's bite, his blood is slightly radioactive) and needed a serum called Iso-36.
Spider-Man contacted Dr. Curt Conners (secretly the Lizard), who had the serum flown in from
the West Coast. The serum arrived, only to be snatched by the Master Planner who, we learned,
was actually Doctor Octopus.
Needless to say, Spider-Man went mad; he waged an all-out war against the underworld to
find the Planner and the serum. The climax came in a knock-down drag-out fight against Doc
Ock. which left Spidey trapped beneath a huge piece of machinery in the Doctor's hideout at
the bottom of the sea. The final issue of the story (#33, Feb. 1966) opens with a full
five-page sequence of Spider-Man lifting up the machinery and freeing himself. He followed
this up by fighting a dozen of Ock's goons. Even punch drunk, he managed to defeat them.
continuing to swing at the empty air after all had fallen (p. 11). He then swung off to
Doctor Conners' lab and, using his scientific knowledge, helped create the antidote that
will cure his aunt.
SPIDER-MAN'S FRIENDS
It was during this three-parter that Peter entered college (#31, December 1965), where he
remained until #185 (October, 1978), making him the only college student who was able to
qualify for tenure. At the same time he met a few characters who would play major roles
in his life, among them Gwen Stacy, his future girlfriend, and Norman and Harry Osborn, who
would each, in turn, become the Green Goblin (Harry assuming the role after the death of his
father). All the characters grew and developed as time went on. Gwen, for example, was at
first attracted by Pete, then was put off by his seeming snobbery. However, that only served
to attract her even more. Soon she was head-over-heals in love with him (although that didn't
come about until after Ditko had left the book).
Perhaps the most poignant example of the dichotomy in Peter's dual life came in the form
of his biggest supporter and most vocal foeman-Flash Thompson. Flash spent almost as much
time tormenting and abusing Peter Parker as he spent in supporting Spider-Man. As a matter
of fact, not only did he impersonate Spidey on two occasions (#1, March 1963 and #13, June
1964), but he formed a Spider-Man fan club (#17, Oct. 1964). Pete was always wondering what
would happen if Flash ever found out about his dual identity.
Spider-Man also developed a rivalry with the Fantastic Four's Human Torch; the Torch
co-starred in six issues (#1 March 1963 (along with the rest of the Fantastic Four); #3,
July 1963; #8 Jan. 1964; #17, Oct. 1964; #19, Dec. 1964; and #21, Feb. 1965). The Torch and
the rest of the FF also made frequent cameo appearances. Often, it seemed as if Lee and Ditko
had forgotten which book they were doing. In those days, when Lee was writing all the books
in the Marvel lineup, there was a wholeness, a cohesiveness to the Marvel Universe that seemed
to drift apart as he turned over the writing chores to a younger stable of writers.
Still, those early days were filled with fun. Once, beset by complaints from some readers
about the way he drew feet, Ditko drew a sequence in an art gallery with a bystander who was
admiring a portrait of a foot. "Boy! I wish I could draw feet like that!" he thought
(Amazing Spider-Man #22, March 1965, p. 5).
One of the funnier gags was when Spidey lost one of his Spider-Man outfits in a fight with
Professor Smythe's Spider-Slayer (#25, June 1965), and Aunt May found his back-up costume.
This forced him to go into battle against the Crime Master and the Green Goblin in a
store-bought Spider-Man outfit (#26-27, July-Aug. 1965), that, quite naturally, was small
for him. The suit started to shrink on him and he to web it together. It proved to be too
much for our hero-he had come so far, against such great odds, only to be defeated by a
defective costume. Proving that with great superheroing must come great hardships, Peter made
the most fateful decision of his career-to sew himself a new costume (#27, p. 18)
One of the longest-running gags of the book became the way that the credits were given.
In #12 (May, 1964), they read, "Written in the white heat of inspiration by Stan Lee, drawn
in a wild frenzy of enthusiasm by Steve Ditko, lettered in a comfortable room by Art Simek."
My personal favorite, was #15 (Aug., 1964) "...Written by Stan Lee (because we couldn't afford
Mickey Spillane), illustrated by Steve Ditko (because Picasso was out of town), lettered by
Art Simek because his name fits in this space)."
BEGINNINGS OF THE "RELEVANT" MARVEL
Yet, even through all the fun, there was an aura of seriousness that shone through. During
that period one could see the beginning of the "relevant" Marvel being sown. Lee and Ditko
did something that was both subtle and conspicuous at the same time: they began to integrate
their stories. Blacks began to appear, mater-of-factly, as schoolmates of Pete and Flash,
the cop on the comer, a doctor, or a bystander. Today, this may not seem like much, but at
the time it was something like a minor revolution for comics. And it paved the way for the
first black character in a major supporting role, Joe Robertson, city editor for the Daily
Bugle.
But it was the obvious fun the creators were having with the series—which we as readers
shared-what brought us back month after month. Even the mistakes In the stories had. A charm
of their own. Upon re-reading them, for instance, I often wondered if Lee took the time to
actually read what he was writing. Matters that had seemingly been resolved kept popping
up again: Flash would want to fight Pete only to be knocked down and later claim that he
(Flash) slipped; Gwen would think that Pete wasn't so bad only to be snubbed by him because
(unknown to her), he had to rush off to fight some villain, or go home and take care of Aunt
May. She would be angry with him, but the next time she saw him she would feel sorry for him
and approach him once again, and the whole sequence would repeat.
The most obvious writing error occurs in #1 when we meet J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of
the Daily Bugle. In #2 (May, 1963), he is the publisher of Now Magazine. In #4 (Sept., 1963),
he is once again the publisher of the Bugle, with Now never being mentioned again.
LOOKING BACK
There were art errors as well. The webbing under Spidey's arms would appear and disappear.
Sometimes in action scenes or distance shots, Spidey would have no webbing on his entire
costume. I'm sure there are more errors, but truth to tell I didn't send much time looking
for them, for they would tend to destroy the illusions of youth—and after all, when looking
back, one tends to gloss over the imperfections and remember only the good things.
As far as the writing of those early Spider-Man epics are concerned, perhaps they do read
more like a script of General Hospital than they do of a superhero comic. But when you compare
them to other comics of the early 1960s and even to those of the late '50s you see that they
were in fact superior. It was a stage of growth that comics had to go through to get where
they are today. To be sure, there are more detailed artists than Steve Ditko, artists whose
styles are more flamboyant, more realistic, or even more "artsy". Ditko's women were not
really gorgeous, nor were his men truly handsome, but he could certainly draw characters.
His men, especially his hoodlums, had the most expressive and distinctive faces I have ever
seen in comics.
When I heard that Ditko was returning to Marvel a few years back, I was overjoyed. Then
I heard that he refused to work on either Dr. Strange or Spider-Man. I was truly disappointed,
but upon reflection I can see his point. You can never go home again. In a similar situation,
the Beatles were once asked (prior to John Lennon's assassination), why they didn't stage a
comeback as a group. Their response was that if they did everyone would be expecting "God,"
and would be disappointed when they didn't get it. The same can be said for Ditko, or any of
the old masters; it would be nice, but somehow I don't think that it would be quite the same.
In 1982, Marvel began re-printing the Spider-Man series from Amazing Fantasy #15 on up.
Marvel Tales #136, cover-dated February, 1982 reprinted that classic first tale (along with
an early Lee/Ditko Dr. Strange tale). The following issue reprinted Amazing Spider-Man #1,
with each subsequent issue reprinting the next issue of the series in sequence -thus, the
first 10 issues are now available at a fraction of the cost of the originals (or even of
the original reprints). Also currently available are three full-color paperback collections
of the early Lee/Ditko material from Pocket Books. The first book reprints Amazing Fantasy
#15 and Amazing Spider-Man #1-6. The second book reprints Amazing Spider-Man #7-13 and the
third volume reprints Amazing Spider-Man #14-20. With these inexpensive reprints available,
we can all look at those stories once again, and re-discover the vitality, excitement, and
even the charm of those early years.
Still, in today's world of comic book mega-epics, relevance, in-depth characterization,
and all the other things that sophisticated fans demand, it would be nice for some
writer/artist team to look to the past and remember it the way it was, for what it was - to
cut loose and have some Stan Lee/Steve Ditko-Style fun!
Post Script From The Writer
This was my very first published article. It appeared more than 20 years ago in Amazing
Heroes #5 (and was re-printed shortly thereafter in The Best of Amazing Heroes . I was a
Spider-fan then, and I am one today. I still love the early Lee/Ditko stuff, as well as
the Lee/Romita, Sr. stuff that followed. Both bring back to me a part of my youth that
has never become jaded with age, the restrictions of reality, or my having actually working
in the comicbook industry on and off for the better part of 20 years.
I still love this stuff, and long to continue to be a part of it.
In the 20 years since I penned this article there have been more reprints of those early
Lee/Ditko Spidey books (most notably in Marvel Masterworks), as well as writers and artists
who have attempted to re-capture that feel. Some have succeeded, others haven't. I still hope
that one day, I'll be able to read a brand-new Lee/Ditko Spidey comic. I don't think that it
will ever happen, but a Spider-fan can dream…
Endnotes
[Ed. Note : Many thanks to Robert for contacting me out of the blue, and his willingness
to provide this article. It came on the heels of my Ditko Mailing List reviews of the entire Lee/Ditko run; providing an interesting comparison between thoughts then and now]