SATURDAY DECEMBER 29, 2001
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing this to express my disappointment in reference to
my participation in the article on Steve Ditko, “Who Is Steve Ditko?”
that appeared in Wizard magazine #124 (Jan ’02). An expanded version of
the printed piece can be viewed on the Wizard web-site.
I was originally contacted by Wizard magazine through my
unofficial Steve Ditko web-site, “Ditko Looked Up” at
http://www.interlog.com/~ditko37/ditko.html, and was asked if I would be interested in being interviewed
for a scheduled article in the year-end issue of Wizard magazine on Steve Ditko.
My working relationship with Steve Ditko and Robin Snyder had
recently expired - hence, I felt no impulse to clear such a matter
with either - but out of respect for Mr. Ditko, I agreed to participate
only under three conditions.
One must do so when it comes to an article on Ditko, given a fair
number of “journalists” have no interest in doing an article on
Ditko’s actual work. They would rather glean information for the
purpose of painting Ditko, and his philosophical leanings, as
“freakish”, “aloof”, “mysterious” and any number phrases/words
used to create a sensational tale based on hearsay and subjective
opinions.
I am writing to express my disappointment, as all three of the
conditions were not met by Wizard magazine. The three conditions were as follows:
1) I was to be sent a copy of the final story, to ensure my comments
were not being used out of context, for the ends of which I spoke
above. Wizard magazine agreed to this condition.
2) Wizard magazine, itself, had asked if they could use excerpts of
other persons’ copyrighted articles from my web-site. I asked
Wizard magazine to identify the excerpts, and to send me a list
of them, so that I may ask the individuals in question if the
excerpts’ inclusion would be allowable. Excerpts from an article
on my web-site by Ron Frantz, former publisher of ACE Comics, were
used in Wizard magazine’s article, but were used without contacting
myself, or Mr. Frantz, in advance, as had been previously offered
by Wizard magazine. Mr. Frantz has subsequently confirmed he had
not been contacted with regards to obtaining permission regards
his writings.
3) For my participation, Wizard magazine would forward to me five
copies of the magazine. To this date, I have not received a single
copy of said issue. In fact, my first knowledge of the article’s
appearance in stores came from a friend’s e-mail detailing the
issue’s release, my comments inside, as well as Mr. Frantz’s
comments. I purchased the “year-end” issue off the stands at
the end of November.
What is most bothersome is any injury to Mr. Ditko from the
article based on the quotes that I allegedly gave.
Since the article’s release, I did make efforts to receive a
copy of the transcript of my comments, but received no word back
concerning availability. At the time of the interview, my permission
had not been procured, nor had a request been made, hence my desire
to see a copy of the final story. I have since been advised it is
unclear whether notes were taken or, in fact, the conversation was
recorded. Since my permission was not granted, nor asked, for the
conversation to be taped at the time of the interview, I would
suspect the actual text of my comments are to remain a mystery.
Having been an admirer of Mr. Ditko’s work for some twenty years,
and having an internet presence (if you will) relating to his work,
I have few qualms about discussing his work. I specifically asked
for a copy of the finished piece to ensure my comments were not
taken out of context, and that I was not misquoted in any way.
I specifically made multiple references during my interview
with Wizard magazine that I, in no way, had maintained any
long-standing personal relationship with Steve Ditko. I wished
them to expressly state that any conclusions at which I had arrived
regarding Steve Ditko were based solely on what he provided in his
work. Mr. Ditko has always maintained that his work speaks for him,
and that was to be the basis of my conversation with Wizard magazine.
Not being able to see a transcript of my comments, I was left to
wonder why the expanded web version of the Wizard magazine article
contained quotes that differed, in their specific language and
context, from the printed version.
I feel most concerned that my comments at one point in the
printed version painted me as an insider/expert of Ditko’s personal
relationships, and that he was, to my knowledge, anything untoward
about Mr. Ditko in this regard.
I would submit to those reading this letter that my comments in
this regard were not only misquoted (as the evidence in the two,
differing versions illustrates), but most certainly were taken out of
context.
The article asks you to believe I knew of Mr. Ditko excommunicating
friends and associates in a rather abrupt, or fastidious, fashion. In
truth, I had simply retold the already-public-knowledge story about
Mr. Ditko’s refusal to receive any more issues of his unofficial
fanzine, DITKOMANIA, from long-time fan, Bill Hall. Mr. Hall had
related this story in an issue of DITKOMANIA; hence, it was fairly
common knowledge.
I would also submit, as I have intimated above, that I made a
concerted effort to illustrate to Wizard magazine that any comments
made not in direct relation to Mr. Ditko’s work, were simply my
opinion of the individual based on his expressed philosophical
ideals in his work.
My respect for Mr. Ditko’s views on Objectivity does require me
to expressly ensure that all comments borne of my own opinion are
to be qualified as such. It was therefore extremely disconcerting
to witness the final story having no such respect for these views,
even though I made them quite clear to Wizard magazine, during our
conversation, and with my subsequently ignored conditions for
participation.
I don’t present myself as a difficult man with which to deal.
As I have said, my admiration for Mr. Ditko’s work renders me
willing to discuss his work with any and all comers. When weighing
the decision to speak to Wizard magazine, I simply believed it would
be a laudable idea to bring Mr. Ditko’s work to an audience perhaps
unfamiliar with its scope.
I am not naive. I know, and have been told, “things like this always
happen in journalism,” but I would like to believe I subscribe to
a higher standard of journalism; one where commitments and conditions
are honoured by men who value standards above what may “always happen
in journalism.”
Perhaps the greatest shame is that this episode has left me soured
on speaking about Mr. Ditko’s work to elements of the published press,
or unknown individuals, in the future. If one can’t protect oneself by
requesting the seemingly simplest of conditions be met, what recourse
does one have but to withdraw from such an arena?
For those of you reading this piece on my unofficial Ditko web-site,
if you didn’t know already, you now know there’s an article in Wizard
magazine on Steve Ditko. I would simply ask you to reflect on what I
have said above, reflect on Ditko’s stated values and principles of
Objectivity, Rationality, Truth and Facts, and decide for yourself
whether or not you will patronize Wizard magazine with your business;
in effect, your economical stamp of approval.
As Jim Morrison stated, “they’ve got the guns, but we’ve got
the numbers.”
Sincerely, Blake Bell
ditko37@sympatico.ca
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