STEVE DITKO
STEVE DITKO
Out Of This World 3
Steve Ditko (American b. 1927): An American comic book artist and writer perhaps most celebrated as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko also worked on the Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question for Charlton Comics, as well as Hawk and Dove and the Creeper for DC. He has also self-published stories featuring Mr. A. and The Avenging World, philosophical titles thought to be inspired by Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Aristotle.
Steve Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1927. That same year, the famous Babe Ruth-inspired New York Yankees ruled the world of baseball.
Ironically, during the Marvel comics explosion in New York during the early '60s, their staff was compared to that very team - with editor Stan Lee as manager Miller Huggins, to Jack Kirby's Babe Ruth and Steve Ditko's Lou Gehrig.
Ditko studied art in New York under instructor Jerry Robinson (the second artist to draw Batman, right after creator Bob Kane) at the Cartoonists And Illustrators School. His first published comic book work was for DC in Fantastic Fears 5, followed soon by Black Magic 27, both drawn in 1953.
In 1954 Ditko also labored for Charlton comics, whose product was published in a low budget printing shop that had been converted from a cereal box factory. The paper stock and inking dies were also low grade, and there were never any plans followed for any improvement in those areas. But between such small production costs and adequate sales, the company somehow survived for many decades.
At Charlton, Ditko was at least left alone to exercise full control over his creations, which meant much more to him than getting a slight raise in salary from heavy-handed art directors.
In 1955 Ditko met Stan Lee, a young editor at the Atlas comic company, run by Martin Goodman. Working in the office over the years since WWII, Lee had proven himself to be a good writer (if a bit too far on the soap opera side), overcoming claims of favoritism due to his also being Goodman's nephew.
Atlas comics, after a brief change to Timely, would soon be Marvel comics. Ditko's debut for Stan Lee was in Journey Into Mystery 33. It is well received, but the company does not yet have all three key "mighty Marvel" team members in place, and suffered through some financial belt-tightening as it struggled to put out a quality product.
Meanwhile at Charlton, there was always plenty of other work in between better gigs, since quality was never Charlton's prime concern. In 1958, Jack Kirby starts working for Stan Lee, with Strange Worlds 1. No record is shown of Kirby also working at Charlton with Ditko, however.
For the next couple of decades, Ditko worked at both Charlton and the Goodman-Lee company (Atlas/Timely/Marvel). For the Goodman company, he usually did creepy five-pagers, which were inserted after the requisite "monster of the month" by Kirby.
Boiled down to '60s TV terms, Kirby's contributions were more Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, while Ditko's were more Twilight Zone. Ditko tingled your spine, while Kirby snapped it like a twig.
In 1960 at Charlton, Ditko introduced Captain Atom in Space Adventures 33. In 1962 at Marvel he also enjoyed a brief run on Amazing Adult Fantasy 7-14. Then in issue 15, retitled to Amazing Fantasy, the character of Spider-man was first published. The popularity of Spidey came hot on the heels of Kirby's recent hit, the Fantastic Four. Other mutant (and non-mutant) super-heroes would soon join the mix, including Kirby's Hulk, X-men, Thor, and Ditko's Dr. Strange.
And most of those character concepts and scripts were written and edited by Lee himself. Even a recasting of golden age characters like the Sub-Mariner and Captain America was put into effect. This caused the explosion known as the Marvel universe. Finally, after a quarter century of reigning supreme in the comics kingdom, DC comics had some real competition to watch out for.
There was another '60s analogy regarding Marvel, this time one involving the Beatles. Lee was often compared to being Paul McCartney to Kirby's John Lennon and Ditko's George Harrison (Don Heck must have represented Ringo). Each artist would have been fine on his own, but a bit too caustic.
The addition of Lee's soap opera sweetness and romance helped many a head-banging hitfest find it's way out of the literary dumpster of predictability throughout the '60s, '70s and early '80s - after-which Lee left the hands-on arena and became much more of a corporate animal. (In the late '90s he regretted having made that move, despite the increased money.) But what an incredible 25 year editorial run he had!
Ditko mainly worked on Amazing Spider-Man, Dr. Strange (within Strange Tales) and other less regular Marvel book projects (off and on between his Charlton duties), while Kirby worked on his six main Marvel books. Didn't these guys get any sleep?
In his personal life, while many others during the '60s chose meditation, yoga or free pot and sex to search for self-liberation, Ditko adopted the philosophies of Ayn Rand, the objectivist writer that underground cartoonist Robert Crumb has parodied in his comics.
The Rand school of thought is a very conservative and restrictive one, to be sure: concerning itself with things including good and evil being like black and white, with little or no gray areas between.
A falling out reportedly took place between Ditko and Lee, which according to most industry office lore has it that Lee wanted the Green Goblin to be Harry Osborne, while Ditko felt that it should not be so obvious and contrived as that, preferring that the master criminal be a complete stranger instead.
But for whatever ultimate reason (or combination of reasons), Ditko felt that leaving the full-time grind at Marvel in 1966 was the best way he could relieve some of the deadline and other pressures he'd been building up over the years. He continued with Charlton, where he could work more loosely, producing some fine work with the Blue Beetle and The Question, and also did some good DC work in 1968 with The Creeper and The Hawk and the Dove.
Ironically, the very next year after Ditko left Marvel, the character of Spider-Man was made into a hit animated TV series, running from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970. The catchy title tune was written by Bob Harris, with equally catchy lyrics by Paul Francis Webster.
Other than some brief work - a cover (Hulk 235), an annual (Micronauts) and three guest issues (Machine Man) in 1979, Ditko basically made no regular appearances on any Marvel titles until the early '80s.
These included (aside from the usual spate of reprints and a few covers) Marvel Spotlight, Indiana Jones, Rom, Speedball, and more work on Machine Man.
But today's collectors of Ditko art rarely quibble over why he made one particular appearance or for which company it was. All they care about is the abundance of fine work, and rightly so. That's just the way Ditko always wanted it to be, anyway, often saying only that "the work speaks for me."
And indeed it always will!
Ditko, Steve: . Steve Ditko (American b. 1927): An American comic book artist and writer perhaps most celebrated as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko also worked on the Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question for Charlton Comics, as well as Hawk and Dove and the Creeper for DC. He has also self-published stories featuring Mr. A. and The Avenging World, philosophical titles thought to be inspired by Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Aristotle.
Spidey at the Library
Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Published: May 2, 2008 The New York Times
The Library of Congress is now home to the original artwork by Steve Ditko for Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy No. 15, the comic book that introduced Spider-Man in 1962. The library announced on Wednesday that the comic book was the gift of someone who asked to remain anonymous. Sara W. Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the prints and photographs division of the library, said, “Looking at the drawings inspires a new appreciation for the artist’s skill and design choices and also deepens our understanding of how a superhero created to attract a teenage audience became a cultural icon with mass appeal.” The black-and-white drawings conclude with the lines: “With great power there must also come great responsibility ... and so a legend is born and a new name is added to the roster of those who make the world of fantasy the most exciting realm of all.”
FINDALLE.de
Nahe Uhlandstr. Lichtenstein
David Barsalou 2012-01-03 22:08
Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein 2000 - 2012 ~ The Original Source Catalogue Raisonn ~ w...
Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein © 2000 - 2012
~ The Original Source Catalogue Raisonné ~
www.flickr.com/photos/deconstructing-roy-lichtenstein/469...
GIRL WITH HAIR RIBBON: Original Source Original Artist: John Romita John Romita Senior started drawing after spending a year in commercial art. Romita drew mostly horror and romance stories, but also several war, crime and Western features. His best known work contains the 'Avengers', 'Daredevil' and 'Spider-Man', in which his son John Romita Jr. followed him. John Romita, Sr. John Romita, Sr. (better known as simply John Romita) (born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002. Romita is the father of John Romita, Jr., also a comic book artist. Biography Early life and career John Romita graduated from the School of Industrial Art in 1947. He broke into comics on the seminal series Famous Funnies. "Steven Douglas up there was a benefactor to all young artists", Romita recalled. "The first story he gave me was a love story. It was terrible. All the women looked like emaciated men and he bought it, never criticized, and told me to keep working. He paid me two hundred dollars for it and never published it — and rightfully so". Romita was working at the New York City company Forbes Lithograph in 1949, earing $30 a week, when a friend from high school whom he ran into on a subway train offered him $20 a page to pencil a 10-page story for him as uncredited ghost artist. "I thought, this is ridiculous! In two pages I can make more money than I usually make all week! So I ghosted it and then kept on ghosting for him", Romita recalled. [1] The friend worked for Marvel's 1940s forerunner, Timely Comics, which helped give Romita an opportunity to meet editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee. Romita's first known credited comic-book art is as penciler and inker on the six-page story "The Bradshaw Boys" in Western Outlaws #1 (Feb. 1951) for Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. He went on to draw a wide variety of horror, war, romance and other comics for Atlas. His most notable work for the company was the short-lived, 1950s revival of Timely's hit character Captain America, in Young Men #24-28 (Dec. 1953 - July 1954) and Captain America #76-78 (May-Sept. 1954). He also was the primary artist for one of the first series with a Black star, "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — created by writer Don Rico and artist Ogden Whitney in the omnibus title Jungle Tales #1 (Sept. 1954), and starring an African chieftain in Africa, with no regularly featured Caucasian characters. Romita succeeded Whitney with issue #2 (Nov. 1954). Spider-Man At Marvel, Romita returned to superhero penciling after a decade working exclusively as a romance-comic artist for DC. He felt at the time that he no longer wanted to pencil, in favor of being solely an inker: “ I had inked an Avengers job for Stan, and I told him I just wanted to ink. I felt like I was burned out as a penciler after eight years of romance work. I didn't want to pencil any more; in fact, I couldn't work at home any more — I couldn't discipline myself to do it. He said, 'Okay,' but the first chance he had he shows me this Daredevil story somebody had started and he didn't like it, and he wanted somebody else to do it".[2] "[He] showed me Dick Ayers' splash page for a Daredevil [and] asked me, 'What would you do with this page?' I showed him on a tracing paper what I would do, and then he asked me to do a drawing of Daredevil the way I would do it. I did a big drawing of Daredevil ... just a big, tracing-paper drawing of Daredevil swinging. And Stan loved it.[3] ” Romita began a brief stint on Daredevil beginning with issue #12, initially penciling over Jack Kirby 's dynamic layouts as a means of learning Marvel's storytelling house style. It proved to be a stepping-stone for his famed, years-long pencilling run on The Amazing Spider-Man. "What Stan Lee wanted was for me to do a two-part Daredevil story [#16-17, May-June 1966] with Spider-Man as a guest star, to see how I handled the character". Coming to The Amazing Spider-Man as successor of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita initially attempted to mimic Ditko's style, but brought his own clean, soap operatic style of illustration to the book, and made the character his own. Marvel Comics art director When editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee assumed the position of publisher, he promoted Romita to the latter position. In that capacity, Romita played a major role in defining the look of Marvel Comics and in designing new characters. Among the characters he helped design are the Punisher, Wolverine, and Brother Voodoo. Later career He collaborated with one of his two sons, John Romita, Jr., on The Amazing Spider-Man #500, drawing the last few pages of the issue. In the mid-2000s, Romita sat on the board of directors of the charity A Commitment To Our Roots. In Febuary 2007, Marvel is releasing Daredevil #94 which pays homage to some of Romita's past work at the company. Footnotes 1. ^ a b c Keefe Studios: John Romita interview (late 1980s; exact date n.a.) 2. ^ Comic Book Artist #6 (Fall 1999): Interview with Romita 3. ^ Alter Ego #9 (July 2001): Interview with Romita, conducted by former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas 4. ^ preview, Marvel website 2007 References * The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * The Grand Comics Database * Marvel Comics Homepage . Preceded by Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man artist 1966–1970 Succeeded by Gil Kane Preceded by Jack Kirby Fantastic Four artist 1970–1971 Succeeded by John Buscema Preceded by Gil Kane Amazing Spider-Man artist 1972–1973 Succeeded by Ross Andru Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Romita%2C_Sr." CategoriesAmerican comics artists | Eisner Award winners | Spider-Man artists | Daredevil artists | Punisher artists | Fantastic Four artists Romita Sr., John: (American, b. 1930): John Romita Sr. started drawing comics after spending a year in commercial art. His first jobs were done for the Atlas group in 1949, and he drew mostly horror and romance stories, but also war, western, and crime features. After the Atlas implosion, Romita Sr. went to DC, where he drew romance stories for eight years. After that, it was back to Marvel, where he initially inked The Avengers and drew Daredevil. However, Romita Sr.'s most celebrated work was done for the Amazing Spider-Man, the feature he took over when Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko left Marvel in 1966. Under Romita Sr.'s tenure, Spider-Man became one of the comic field's most popular characters. Romita Sr. left his regular Spider-Man art chores in the early seventies to become an Art Director at Marvel in the Special Projects Department, and as Art Director for Marvel Books. In 1977, Romita Sr. briefly drew the syndicated Spider-Man newspaper comic strip. His son, John Romita Jr., is also an artist at Marvel. TV Tokyo Inquire From: Kyoko Matsuda (matsuda@nexent.tv) Sent: Wed 7/23/08 2:11 PM To: barsaloud@hotmail.com Cc: yuko matsuda (yumatsuda@earthlink.net) Dear Mr. Barsalou: I am writing this on behalf of TV Tokyo, a Japanese TV network. We produce weekend evening, 30 minutes-long art program titled "The Great Masters of Art" for TV Tokyo. www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kyojin/ This program reaches about 5 million Japanese population. In each episode, one artist and one masterpiece by the featured artist will be picked. The program will explore the stories behind the production of the masterpiece and the life of the artist as well. Also the program will demonstrate/ explain the specific artistic technique that was used to create the featured art work. We are planning to produce a program on Mr. Roy Lichtenstein and feature his "Girl with Hair Ribbon" for upcoming "The Great Masters" on TV Tokyo. Since you have been working on the "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein" site since 1979. I would like to ask a question about the cartoon which Mr. Lichtenstein transformed to his art work. The director in Tokyo is interested in filming the original cartoon by Mr. John Romita Sr. and we are looking for its location. We already have contacted the Lichtenstein Foundation but they said they don't own it. Please let me know if you know the information. Thank you very much for your attention. Cordially, Kyoko Matsuda BK Nexent, Inc. 545 8th Avenue 9th Floor North New York, NY 10018, U.S.A. Tel: (212)697-7401 Fax:(212)697-9542 E-mail: matsuda@nexent.tv www.nexent.tv www.nystream.net Favor to ask... From: Amy Leiva (amy.leiva@gmail.com) Sent: Wed 12/05/07 3:40 AM To: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Hello, I was really impressed by the hard work you put into "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein." I had no idea that his works weren't completely original. I wonder if any of the original artists ever received any sort of official recognition from him for their immense contribution to his fame. I was wondering if you could please send me the original John Romita picture that "Girl With a Hair Ribbon" is taken from (sans the "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein" lettering on it). I thought the Lichtenstein painting was a beautiful work until I saw the original and was blown away. I would like to print it out for display in my home. I would be supremely grateful if you would do me this grand favor. Thanks and keep up the great work. Very Sincerely, Amy Leiva amy.leiva@gmail.com From : Frank Lovece Sent : Tuesday, January 9, 2007 5:41 PM To : Subject : Fantastic site. Quick question …because as far as Google is concerned, you are the only person alive who can answer it! This page's panel by DC Comics war artist Jerry Grandenetti inspired Lichtenstein's 1962 drawing (not painting) "Jet Pilot": www.flickr.com/photos/deconstructing-roy-lichtenstein/page6/ No one I can find knows where it's from. Would you have any idea? This for an article about Grandenetti. Thank you for any help or leads! Frank Lovece (212) 678-5192 franklovece.com From : Alexina OFFICER Sent : Friday, March 11, 2005 4:09 AM To : Subject : "Girl with Hair Ribbon" Hi, My name's Alex Officer, and I'm doing a project on Roy Lichtenstein for my art class. I found your website, and it has been very useful, but I was wondering if you had any information on the painting "Girl with Hair Ribbon", or knew where I could find some. I was looking for things Like what it was done on, painted with, dimensions and where it is stored. If you would be able to help me in any way I would be very grateful. Yours sincerely, Alex Officer From: DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN [mailto:deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com] Sent: Sun 13/03/2005 12:37 AM To: Alexina OFFICER Cc: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Subject: RE: "Girl with Hair Ribbon" "Girl with Hair Ribbon"- 48"x48" oil & magna on canvas...was painted in 1965. I believe it is in a private collection. From : Alexina OFFICER Sent : Monday, March 14, 2005 8:33 AM To : "DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN" Subject : RE: "Girl with Hair Ribbon" Thanks for the information, you've helped me a lot!! www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/ About this Site: A site to feature the art, animation, work and some of the thoughts of the artists working at Michael Sporn Animation. - Another site with some interesting imagery is designed for the person who loves comics or Roy Lichtenstein, or just would like to see where Roy Lichtenstein ripped-off those comic images, go to the Lichtenstein Project. There you’ll see side-by-side pairings of the artist’s paintings and the comic artists’ strip images. Decide which you like best. David Barsalou, who put this site together, also has complete reference material for each of the strip artists at his flickr place. prffsrdumbledork 25 Sep 06, 7.14PM PST Comic Book "Girl with Hair Ribbon" I was wondering where that picture came from. Did you scan it onto the computer or did you find it somwhere in the vastness of the internet. Either way do you have one or know the location of an image without Deconstructing Lichtenstein on it? Thank you For your time A great penciller, inker, designer, and art director, John Romita has done it all. While swimming in the middle of one of the great talent pools of all time, Romita did work that was at once the lushest and classiest of the lot. Had he limited himself simply to inking, he would have pushed Joe Sinnott for honors as the best embellisher of the Marvel era. He designed characters such as the Kingpin, Punisher and Wolverine, and he held sway as art director when Marvel welcomed the likes of Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jim Starlin, George Perez and others. He is, simply put, among the most important talents Marvel has ever had. Girl With Hair Ribbon From: Chantal Caissie (deja_entendu_@hotmail.com) Sent: Thu 2/04/10 2:12 AM To: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Hey, I was wondering if it'd be possible for you to tell me what comic the original piece was from? I know it's a John Romita comic, but I can't find any information on what storyline it was in, etc. Thanks for any information and help, CC. "My work has nothing to do with 'appropriation,' the refocusing of history, or the death of art, or the negative questioning of originality," . "Rather, just the opposite. It involves the power and autonomy of originality and the focus and pervasiveness of art." Elaine Sturtevant Marcos Cabanas August 19 at 2:14am Brilliant! I knew Lichtenstein based his pictures in comic strips although I never saw the originals. It's nice to see the artists behid the artist... Thank you. DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN © 2000 DAVID BARSALOU MFA www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/ www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/filmstobuy/product/248/roy_l... Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein Group On Facebook www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230408213304 Mike Collins /Facebook The cult of Lichenstein really winds me up- he took astonishing images by folks like Romita, Norvick and Joe Kubert and just blanded them down to what 'real' art perceived comics to be-- and the way he kiddified the lettering was equally disrespectful. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy- see, comics are crude! Annoys the hell out of me! Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan www.mot-art-museum.jp Girl with Hair Ribbon, 1965. Oil and Magna on canvas 48 x 48 inches; 121.9 x 121.9 cm
STEVE DITKO
STEVE DITKO
Out Of This World 3
Steve Ditko (American b. 1927): An American comic book artist and writer perhaps most celebrated as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko also worked on the Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question for Charlton Comics, as well as Hawk and Dove and the Creeper for DC. He has also self-published stories featuring Mr. A. and The Avenging World, philosophical titles thought to be inspired by Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Aristotle.
Steve Ditko was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on November 2, 1927. That same year, the famous Babe Ruth-inspired New York Yankees ruled the world of baseball.
Ironically, during the Marvel comics explosion in New York during the early '60s, their staff was compared to that very team - with editor Stan Lee as manager Miller Huggins, to Jack Kirby's Babe Ruth and Steve Ditko's Lou Gehrig.
Ditko studied art in New York under instructor Jerry Robinson (the second artist to draw Batman, right after creator Bob Kane) at the Cartoonists And Illustrators School. His first published comic book work was for DC in Fantastic Fears 5, followed soon by Black Magic 27, both drawn in 1953.
In 1954 Ditko also labored for Charlton comics, whose product was published in a low budget printing shop that had been converted from a cereal box factory. The paper stock and inking dies were also low grade, and there were never any plans followed for any improvement in those areas. But between such small production costs and adequate sales, the company somehow survived for many decades.
At Charlton, Ditko was at least left alone to exercise full control over his creations, which meant much more to him than getting a slight raise in salary from heavy-handed art directors.
In 1955 Ditko met Stan Lee, a young editor at the Atlas comic company, run by Martin Goodman. Working in the office over the years since WWII, Lee had proven himself to be a good writer (if a bit too far on the soap opera side), overcoming claims of favoritism due to his also being Goodman's nephew.
Atlas comics, after a brief change to Timely, would soon be Marvel comics. Ditko's debut for Stan Lee was in Journey Into Mystery 33. It is well received, but the company does not yet have all three key "mighty Marvel" team members in place, and suffered through some financial belt-tightening as it struggled to put out a quality product.
Meanwhile at Charlton, there was always plenty of other work in between better gigs, since quality was never Charlton's prime concern. In 1958, Jack Kirby starts working for Stan Lee, with Strange Worlds 1. No record is shown of Kirby also working at Charlton with Ditko, however.
For the next couple of decades, Ditko worked at both Charlton and the Goodman-Lee company (Atlas/Timely/Marvel). For the Goodman company, he usually did creepy five-pagers, which were inserted after the requisite "monster of the month" by Kirby.
Boiled down to '60s TV terms, Kirby's contributions were more Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, while Ditko's were more Twilight Zone. Ditko tingled your spine, while Kirby snapped it like a twig.
In 1960 at Charlton, Ditko introduced Captain Atom in Space Adventures 33. In 1962 at Marvel he also enjoyed a brief run on Amazing Adult Fantasy 7-14. Then in issue 15, retitled to Amazing Fantasy, the character of Spider-man was first published. The popularity of Spidey came hot on the heels of Kirby's recent hit, the Fantastic Four. Other mutant (and non-mutant) super-heroes would soon join the mix, including Kirby's Hulk, X-men, Thor, and Ditko's Dr. Strange.
And most of those character concepts and scripts were written and edited by Lee himself. Even a recasting of golden age characters like the Sub-Mariner and Captain America was put into effect. This caused the explosion known as the Marvel universe. Finally, after a quarter century of reigning supreme in the comics kingdom, DC comics had some real competition to watch out for.
There was another '60s analogy regarding Marvel, this time one involving the Beatles. Lee was often compared to being Paul McCartney to Kirby's John Lennon and Ditko's George Harrison (Don Heck must have represented Ringo). Each artist would have been fine on his own, but a bit too caustic.
The addition of Lee's soap opera sweetness and romance helped many a head-banging hitfest find it's way out of the literary dumpster of predictability throughout the '60s, '70s and early '80s - after-which Lee left the hands-on arena and became much more of a corporate animal. (In the late '90s he regretted having made that move, despite the increased money.) But what an incredible 25 year editorial run he had!
Ditko mainly worked on Amazing Spider-Man, Dr. Strange (within Strange Tales) and other less regular Marvel book projects (off and on between his Charlton duties), while Kirby worked on his six main Marvel books. Didn't these guys get any sleep?
In his personal life, while many others during the '60s chose meditation, yoga or free pot and sex to search for self-liberation, Ditko adopted the philosophies of Ayn Rand, the objectivist writer that underground cartoonist Robert Crumb has parodied in his comics.
The Rand school of thought is a very conservative and restrictive one, to be sure: concerning itself with things including good and evil being like black and white, with little or no gray areas between.
A falling out reportedly took place between Ditko and Lee, which according to most industry office lore has it that Lee wanted the Green Goblin to be Harry Osborne, while Ditko felt that it should not be so obvious and contrived as that, preferring that the master criminal be a complete stranger instead.
But for whatever ultimate reason (or combination of reasons), Ditko felt that leaving the full-time grind at Marvel in 1966 was the best way he could relieve some of the deadline and other pressures he'd been building up over the years. He continued with Charlton, where he could work more loosely, producing some fine work with the Blue Beetle and The Question, and also did some good DC work in 1968 with The Creeper and The Hawk and the Dove.
Ironically, the very next year after Ditko left Marvel, the character of Spider-Man was made into a hit animated TV series, running from September 9, 1967 to June 14, 1970. The catchy title tune was written by Bob Harris, with equally catchy lyrics by Paul Francis Webster.
Other than some brief work - a cover (Hulk 235), an annual (Micronauts) and three guest issues (Machine Man) in 1979, Ditko basically made no regular appearances on any Marvel titles until the early '80s.
These included (aside from the usual spate of reprints and a few covers) Marvel Spotlight, Indiana Jones, Rom, Speedball, and more work on Machine Man.
But today's collectors of Ditko art rarely quibble over why he made one particular appearance or for which company it was. All they care about is the abundance of fine work, and rightly so. That's just the way Ditko always wanted it to be, anyway, often saying only that "the work speaks for me."
And indeed it always will!
Ditko, Steve: . Steve Ditko (American b. 1927): An American comic book artist and writer perhaps most celebrated as the co-creator of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Ditko also worked on the Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question for Charlton Comics, as well as Hawk and Dove and the Creeper for DC. He has also self-published stories featuring Mr. A. and The Avenging World, philosophical titles thought to be inspired by Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Aristotle.
Spidey at the Library
Compiled by LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
Published: May 2, 2008 The New York Times
The Library of Congress is now home to the original artwork by Steve Ditko for Marvel Comics’ Amazing Fantasy No. 15, the comic book that introduced Spider-Man in 1962. The library announced on Wednesday that the comic book was the gift of someone who asked to remain anonymous. Sara W. Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the prints and photographs division of the library, said, “Looking at the drawings inspires a new appreciation for the artist’s skill and design choices and also deepens our understanding of how a superhero created to attract a teenage audience became a cultural icon with mass appeal.” The black-and-white drawings conclude with the lines: “With great power there must also come great responsibility ... and so a legend is born and a new name is added to the roster of those who make the world of fantasy the most exciting realm of all.”
FINDALLE.de
Nahe Uhlandstr. Lichtenstein
David Barsalou 2012-01-03 22:08
Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein 2000 - 2012 ~ The Original Source Catalogue Raisonn ~ w...
Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein © 2000 - 2012
~ The Original Source Catalogue Raisonné ~
www.flickr.com/photos/deconstructing-roy-lichtenstein/469...
GIRL WITH HAIR RIBBON: Original Source Original Artist: John Romita John Romita Senior started drawing after spending a year in commercial art. Romita drew mostly horror and romance stories, but also several war, crime and Western features. His best known work contains the 'Avengers', 'Daredevil' and 'Spider-Man', in which his son John Romita Jr. followed him. John Romita, Sr. John Romita, Sr. (better known as simply John Romita) (born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002. Romita is the father of John Romita, Jr., also a comic book artist. Biography Early life and career John Romita graduated from the School of Industrial Art in 1947. He broke into comics on the seminal series Famous Funnies. "Steven Douglas up there was a benefactor to all young artists", Romita recalled. "The first story he gave me was a love story. It was terrible. All the women looked like emaciated men and he bought it, never criticized, and told me to keep working. He paid me two hundred dollars for it and never published it — and rightfully so". Romita was working at the New York City company Forbes Lithograph in 1949, earing $30 a week, when a friend from high school whom he ran into on a subway train offered him $20 a page to pencil a 10-page story for him as uncredited ghost artist. "I thought, this is ridiculous! In two pages I can make more money than I usually make all week! So I ghosted it and then kept on ghosting for him", Romita recalled. [1] The friend worked for Marvel's 1940s forerunner, Timely Comics, which helped give Romita an opportunity to meet editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee. Romita's first known credited comic-book art is as penciler and inker on the six-page story "The Bradshaw Boys" in Western Outlaws #1 (Feb. 1951) for Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics. He went on to draw a wide variety of horror, war, romance and other comics for Atlas. His most notable work for the company was the short-lived, 1950s revival of Timely's hit character Captain America, in Young Men #24-28 (Dec. 1953 - July 1954) and Captain America #76-78 (May-Sept. 1954). He also was the primary artist for one of the first series with a Black star, "Waku, Prince of the Bantu" — created by writer Don Rico and artist Ogden Whitney in the omnibus title Jungle Tales #1 (Sept. 1954), and starring an African chieftain in Africa, with no regularly featured Caucasian characters. Romita succeeded Whitney with issue #2 (Nov. 1954). Spider-Man At Marvel, Romita returned to superhero penciling after a decade working exclusively as a romance-comic artist for DC. He felt at the time that he no longer wanted to pencil, in favor of being solely an inker: “ I had inked an Avengers job for Stan, and I told him I just wanted to ink. I felt like I was burned out as a penciler after eight years of romance work. I didn't want to pencil any more; in fact, I couldn't work at home any more — I couldn't discipline myself to do it. He said, 'Okay,' but the first chance he had he shows me this Daredevil story somebody had started and he didn't like it, and he wanted somebody else to do it".[2] "[He] showed me Dick Ayers' splash page for a Daredevil [and] asked me, 'What would you do with this page?' I showed him on a tracing paper what I would do, and then he asked me to do a drawing of Daredevil the way I would do it. I did a big drawing of Daredevil ... just a big, tracing-paper drawing of Daredevil swinging. And Stan loved it.[3] ” Romita began a brief stint on Daredevil beginning with issue #12, initially penciling over Jack Kirby 's dynamic layouts as a means of learning Marvel's storytelling house style. It proved to be a stepping-stone for his famed, years-long pencilling run on The Amazing Spider-Man. "What Stan Lee wanted was for me to do a two-part Daredevil story [#16-17, May-June 1966] with Spider-Man as a guest star, to see how I handled the character". Coming to The Amazing Spider-Man as successor of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita initially attempted to mimic Ditko's style, but brought his own clean, soap operatic style of illustration to the book, and made the character his own. Marvel Comics art director When editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee assumed the position of publisher, he promoted Romita to the latter position. In that capacity, Romita played a major role in defining the look of Marvel Comics and in designing new characters. Among the characters he helped design are the Punisher, Wolverine, and Brother Voodoo. Later career He collaborated with one of his two sons, John Romita, Jr., on The Amazing Spider-Man #500, drawing the last few pages of the issue. In the mid-2000s, Romita sat on the board of directors of the charity A Commitment To Our Roots. In Febuary 2007, Marvel is releasing Daredevil #94 which pays homage to some of Romita's past work at the company. Footnotes 1. ^ a b c Keefe Studios: John Romita interview (late 1980s; exact date n.a.) 2. ^ Comic Book Artist #6 (Fall 1999): Interview with Romita 3. ^ Alter Ego #9 (July 2001): Interview with Romita, conducted by former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas 4. ^ preview, Marvel website 2007 References * The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * The Grand Comics Database * Marvel Comics Homepage . Preceded by Steve Ditko Amazing Spider-Man artist 1966–1970 Succeeded by Gil Kane Preceded by Jack Kirby Fantastic Four artist 1970–1971 Succeeded by John Buscema Preceded by Gil Kane Amazing Spider-Man artist 1972–1973 Succeeded by Ross Andru Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Romita%2C_Sr." CategoriesAmerican comics artists | Eisner Award winners | Spider-Man artists | Daredevil artists | Punisher artists | Fantastic Four artists Romita Sr., John: (American, b. 1930): John Romita Sr. started drawing comics after spending a year in commercial art. His first jobs were done for the Atlas group in 1949, and he drew mostly horror and romance stories, but also war, western, and crime features. After the Atlas implosion, Romita Sr. went to DC, where he drew romance stories for eight years. After that, it was back to Marvel, where he initially inked The Avengers and drew Daredevil. However, Romita Sr.'s most celebrated work was done for the Amazing Spider-Man, the feature he took over when Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko left Marvel in 1966. Under Romita Sr.'s tenure, Spider-Man became one of the comic field's most popular characters. Romita Sr. left his regular Spider-Man art chores in the early seventies to become an Art Director at Marvel in the Special Projects Department, and as Art Director for Marvel Books. In 1977, Romita Sr. briefly drew the syndicated Spider-Man newspaper comic strip. His son, John Romita Jr., is also an artist at Marvel. TV Tokyo Inquire From: Kyoko Matsuda (matsuda@nexent.tv) Sent: Wed 7/23/08 2:11 PM To: barsaloud@hotmail.com Cc: yuko matsuda (yumatsuda@earthlink.net) Dear Mr. Barsalou: I am writing this on behalf of TV Tokyo, a Japanese TV network. We produce weekend evening, 30 minutes-long art program titled "The Great Masters of Art" for TV Tokyo. www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kyojin/ This program reaches about 5 million Japanese population. In each episode, one artist and one masterpiece by the featured artist will be picked. The program will explore the stories behind the production of the masterpiece and the life of the artist as well. Also the program will demonstrate/ explain the specific artistic technique that was used to create the featured art work. We are planning to produce a program on Mr. Roy Lichtenstein and feature his "Girl with Hair Ribbon" for upcoming "The Great Masters" on TV Tokyo. Since you have been working on the "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein" site since 1979. I would like to ask a question about the cartoon which Mr. Lichtenstein transformed to his art work. The director in Tokyo is interested in filming the original cartoon by Mr. John Romita Sr. and we are looking for its location. We already have contacted the Lichtenstein Foundation but they said they don't own it. Please let me know if you know the information. Thank you very much for your attention. Cordially, Kyoko Matsuda BK Nexent, Inc. 545 8th Avenue 9th Floor North New York, NY 10018, U.S.A. Tel: (212)697-7401 Fax:(212)697-9542 E-mail: matsuda@nexent.tv www.nexent.tv www.nystream.net Favor to ask... From: Amy Leiva (amy.leiva@gmail.com) Sent: Wed 12/05/07 3:40 AM To: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Hello, I was really impressed by the hard work you put into "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein." I had no idea that his works weren't completely original. I wonder if any of the original artists ever received any sort of official recognition from him for their immense contribution to his fame. I was wondering if you could please send me the original John Romita picture that "Girl With a Hair Ribbon" is taken from (sans the "Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein" lettering on it). I thought the Lichtenstein painting was a beautiful work until I saw the original and was blown away. I would like to print it out for display in my home. I would be supremely grateful if you would do me this grand favor. Thanks and keep up the great work. Very Sincerely, Amy Leiva amy.leiva@gmail.com From : Frank Lovece Sent : Tuesday, January 9, 2007 5:41 PM To : Subject : Fantastic site. Quick question …because as far as Google is concerned, you are the only person alive who can answer it! This page's panel by DC Comics war artist Jerry Grandenetti inspired Lichtenstein's 1962 drawing (not painting) "Jet Pilot": www.flickr.com/photos/deconstructing-roy-lichtenstein/page6/ No one I can find knows where it's from. Would you have any idea? This for an article about Grandenetti. Thank you for any help or leads! Frank Lovece (212) 678-5192 franklovece.com From : Alexina OFFICER Sent : Friday, March 11, 2005 4:09 AM To : Subject : "Girl with Hair Ribbon" Hi, My name's Alex Officer, and I'm doing a project on Roy Lichtenstein for my art class. I found your website, and it has been very useful, but I was wondering if you had any information on the painting "Girl with Hair Ribbon", or knew where I could find some. I was looking for things Like what it was done on, painted with, dimensions and where it is stored. If you would be able to help me in any way I would be very grateful. Yours sincerely, Alex Officer From: DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN [mailto:deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com] Sent: Sun 13/03/2005 12:37 AM To: Alexina OFFICER Cc: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Subject: RE: "Girl with Hair Ribbon" "Girl with Hair Ribbon"- 48"x48" oil & magna on canvas...was painted in 1965. I believe it is in a private collection. From : Alexina OFFICER Sent : Monday, March 14, 2005 8:33 AM To : "DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN" Subject : RE: "Girl with Hair Ribbon" Thanks for the information, you've helped me a lot!! www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/ About this Site: A site to feature the art, animation, work and some of the thoughts of the artists working at Michael Sporn Animation. - Another site with some interesting imagery is designed for the person who loves comics or Roy Lichtenstein, or just would like to see where Roy Lichtenstein ripped-off those comic images, go to the Lichtenstein Project. There you’ll see side-by-side pairings of the artist’s paintings and the comic artists’ strip images. Decide which you like best. David Barsalou, who put this site together, also has complete reference material for each of the strip artists at his flickr place. prffsrdumbledork 25 Sep 06, 7.14PM PST Comic Book "Girl with Hair Ribbon" I was wondering where that picture came from. Did you scan it onto the computer or did you find it somwhere in the vastness of the internet. Either way do you have one or know the location of an image without Deconstructing Lichtenstein on it? Thank you For your time A great penciller, inker, designer, and art director, John Romita has done it all. While swimming in the middle of one of the great talent pools of all time, Romita did work that was at once the lushest and classiest of the lot. Had he limited himself simply to inking, he would have pushed Joe Sinnott for honors as the best embellisher of the Marvel era. He designed characters such as the Kingpin, Punisher and Wolverine, and he held sway as art director when Marvel welcomed the likes of Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jim Starlin, George Perez and others. He is, simply put, among the most important talents Marvel has ever had. Girl With Hair Ribbon From: Chantal Caissie (deja_entendu_@hotmail.com) Sent: Thu 2/04/10 2:12 AM To: deconstructingroylichtenstein@hotmail.com Hey, I was wondering if it'd be possible for you to tell me what comic the original piece was from? I know it's a John Romita comic, but I can't find any information on what storyline it was in, etc. Thanks for any information and help, CC. "My work has nothing to do with 'appropriation,' the refocusing of history, or the death of art, or the negative questioning of originality," . "Rather, just the opposite. It involves the power and autonomy of originality and the focus and pervasiveness of art." Elaine Sturtevant Marcos Cabanas August 19 at 2:14am Brilliant! I knew Lichtenstein based his pictures in comic strips although I never saw the originals. It's nice to see the artists behid the artist... Thank you. DECONSTRUCTING ROY LICHTENSTEIN © 2000 DAVID BARSALOU MFA www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/ www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/filmstobuy/product/248/roy_l... Deconstructing Roy Lichtenstein Group On Facebook www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230408213304 Mike Collins /Facebook The cult of Lichenstein really winds me up- he took astonishing images by folks like Romita, Norvick and Joe Kubert and just blanded them down to what 'real' art perceived comics to be-- and the way he kiddified the lettering was equally disrespectful. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy- see, comics are crude! Annoys the hell out of me! Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan www.mot-art-museum.jp Girl with Hair Ribbon, 1965. Oil and Magna on canvas 48 x 48 inches; 121.9 x 121.9 cm