Bit of a misleading title there but you'll get the point.
Steve Ditko keeps claiming -as do his supporters, that HE created Spider-man. Yet, as seen in the posting about the 1950s Spider-man cistume that, apart from colour, looks exactly like what Ditko 'created' -and may in fact be something Jack Kirby designed for the costume company....well, it is clear that Ditko may not have created the look of Spider-man.
But, and please do not get me wrong as I am a big fan of BOTH characters, but everyone hails Ditko for his creation of The Blue Beetle in...1966(?) which DC later got hold of in a deal which probably was not legal and so...who cares? Charlton was run by Nazi loving crooks (FACT -read your comic history). DC totally destroyed the character and made him a joke.
However, there was a Blue Beetle from 1939 right up to the 1980s thanks to AC Comics amongst others. So, a guy in a Blue costume calling himself The Blue Beetle almost 30 years before Steve Ditko created The Blue Beetle.
You see how this goes?
Someone else has been showing how Ditko created characters were based on other peoples similar creations. Well, comics back then (because this doesn't happen now, right?) were about taking ideas and messing with them and using them in a slightly different way. It does make you realise, though, that unlike Kirby who seemed to come up with character after character (some great some "maybe") and so many concepts, Ditko did not create a great deal. Ditko was a superb artist and he cannot be faulted on that but out of the two men Kirby stands looking down at him.
Some may agree or disagree but all I'm saying is let's not build up comic creators, however great their art is, as super comic character creators unless we are going to also point out where they, uh, "purloined" ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment