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Kirby on Ditko Patrick Ford 30 April 2017


Jack Kirby on Steve Ditko: "They don't give a shit. As far as they're concerned he's just an animal who's working. And if he doesn't work, they'll get another animal. I think he built an organization like I did, and to not give him his pages back is just shit. " THE COMICS JOURNAL #92, August 1984. Dave Rawlins: "I think he built an organization like I did." True, without Kirby's and Ditko's work, which was stolen figuratively and literally, there would be no multi billion dollar Marvel empire today. Without them it's likely Goodman would have shuttered his comics division in the early 60s. Patrick Ford: I'd say it's 100% certain that without either one or the other of them Goodman would have pulled the plug. Kirby has an edge because he was more prolific than Ditko, but Ditko alone might have been enough. All you have to do is look at the Ant-Man, Thor or Human Torch stories which did not involve Kirby to get a clear picture of what Marvel would have been like without Kirby. Aaron Noble: Ditko did a lot for Charlton as well. In the '50s and '60s he set the tone for their fantasy books. Aaron Noble: "The best guys in the field get treated the worst." Extraordinary and true. Patrick Ford: It's clear that editors and publishers never valued talent. Some might point out that Stan Lee would heap accolades (funny names) on Wally Wood or Steve Ditko, but the fact is "Wondrous" and "Sturdy" are no substitute for pay. And when push came to shove they, along with Kirby, were easily replaced by John Romita. Patrick Ford: None of those fancy names in the boxes which "gave" and took away credit had any value to the creative people. It was nothing more than a company promotion where every creator was equally "the greatest" and every magazine published by some company other than Marvel was garbage.

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