From Jay Deitcher's 7-2-24 ROLLING STONE article entitled "The Secret Life of Steve Ditko: Spider-Man Co-Creator’s Family Opens Up":
Journalists called him the J.D. Salinger of comics and portrayed him as an Ayn Rand-obsessed recluse. Neil Gaiman referred to him as “impossibly uptight.” Peers refused to work with him. Fans harassed him, slamming their fists on his office door, trying to catch a glimpse. Pulling from the little he offered them, people dehumanized him, to the point it seemed unfathomable to think he had a life with friends and family. Critics jeered at his moral absolutism. [Stan] Lee talked about him as if he were a stubborn quack who sabotaged his own career, and fans acted as if he were a traitor for leaving Spider-Man.
With a recent settlement over the rights of Ditko’s Marvel characters behind them, the extended Ditko family wants people to recognize that their uncle was a normal guy. But what is deemed normal is constantly fluctuating — and in this case, is defined in relation to the way Lee spoke of him to the press.
Today, Ditko would probably be looked at with more empathy, as a vulnerable character similar to Spider-Man. In exclusive interviews with Rolling Stone, family members and friends describe a driven artist who never fit into social norms, yet cultivated thriving relationships. Similar to how Peter Parker never lets loved ones get too close for fear it would put them in danger, Ditko compartmentalized his life, keeping work and family distinct to retain some power in a world that overwhelmed him. And the same way Spider-Man’s neuroticism makes him amazing, the traits that people marginalized Ditko for are what transformed comics forever.
To read the entire article, click HERE. On a related note, Alex Grand's recent interview with Pat and Patrick Ditko is well worth watching...
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