Ditko article in the New York Post

The reboot of the movie franchise, the Amazing Spider-Man, opens today across North America. If you're going to the movie under the impression that its co-creator and original artist, Steve Ditko, is reaping some financial benefit from either this movie, or the original three (starring Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man), well, Steve Ditko puts that myth to rest in today's New York Post.

(Click HERE to read the article.)

Reed Tucker, the author of the piece, went right to Ditko's studio and got a couple of quotes from Ditko for the piece. Many people have passed around the rumour in the past decade that Ditko accepted a big chunk of money when the first movie came out a decade ago, but Ditko confirms this as a falsehood. Other than the pittance he receives when Marvel reprints his old run on Spider-Man, there has never been a single, confirmed report that Steve Ditko has received a penny from the entire, billion dollar Spider-Man franchise since he walked away from it in 1965 over concerns about Marvel's editorial direction and promised royalties (the only thing I would have changed about Reed's piece - for which I was interviewed for almost an hour - is that emphasis, but I think it does come through indirectly in the rest of the piece.)

Kinda makes that whole "Before Watchmen" debate look like kids arguing over lunch money in comparison, doesn't it?

My Ditko article in San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Annual

I hate "sitting" on cool stuff. It worked for me when the editor of the Marvel Masterworks series couldn't get my Dr. Strange introduction approved in time for inclusion but, this time, I was on needles and pins for months waiting to spill the beans on the Ditko excitement found in this year's San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Annual. I was hired last November to write a 2000-word piece on Steve Ditko's contributions to the Spider-Man book and character for the Con's show piece publication. It's the 50th anniversary of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee's creation that first saw print in Amazing Fantasy #15, and the Con is all over it in their 80-page annual. (Perhaps prompted somewhat by the new movie starring the guy from Never Let Me Go, Andrew Garfield.)

The Annual has a print run of 135,000 copies (probably making it the most widespread publication I've been included within). The book is squarebound, on lovely matte-finish paper and shipped in a polybag. The Con introduced the publication last year and it was a great success. You can also read and download it online at the Con's website. The Annual also features a piece on the John Romita era by Tom Spurgeon, he of the super-blog Comics Reporter. If you see me at this year's Con, stop me and say hello.

(Thanks to Ben Towle - cartoonist supreme at www.benzilla.com - for the above scans.)

How do comics, Mickey Rourke, Steve Ditko & me connect?

Back in 2007, I was hired by Marvel Comics to write an essay for their reprint collection Amazing Fantasy Omnibus. It featured mainly reprints of stories by artist Steve Ditko and writer/editor Stan Lee, mere months before they would co-create the Amazing Spider-Man in 1962. These were 5-page stories, mainly with Twilight Zone twist endings. One of my earliest memories of collecting comics is coming across the story "They Won't Believe Me!" from issue 7 (of what was then titled Amazing Adult Fantasy). It featured a story very similar to the "shock ending" in Mickey Rourke's 1987 movie, Angel Heart. So, in my essay, I referenced his name and the movie. Mickey also starred in the movie Sin City, the original graphic novel being written by Frank Miller, who adores Steve Ditko (when I met Frank back in 2003 for the first time and he learned I was writing a book on Ditko, he shook my hand and said I was "doing the work of angels"). Steve Ditko was also the creator of Iron Man's consummate gold and red armour, and Mickey Rourke starred in Iron Man 2, coming out next month on DVD. Makes sense? Sitting in line now, about 20 deep for Mickey Rourke's latest movie, debuting at TIFF, called Passion Play, also starring Bill Murray and Megan Fox.