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Lee admitted that Ditko demanded "more than just artist pay and credit" Patrick Ford shared a post. 30 May 2017

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Mark Evanier. Mark reports that Stan Lee told him Steve Ditko demanded writing credit and pay. This is the first confirmation I have ever seen of Lee admitting that writing money was a factor in disputes between Lee and the creators whose role Lee described as artists. Of course Lee also told Mark that Kirby wasn't interested in a writing credit or money and was happy with the vague "Stan Lee & Jack Kirby" credit the books began using. Jack Kirby and Roz Kirby disputed this saying that the dual Lee & Kirby credit was the most Lee would agree to. They also pointed out that Lee was not always consistent in using the dual credit and would lapse into a writer - artist credit at times. I wonder if Mark can recall the particular interview he did with Lee where Lee was "more generous" in crediting Kirby. I have a suspicion that interview was done shortly after Lee was terminated by Marvel and briefly threatened (according to BARRON'S) a copyright claim legal action against Marvel . https://www.facebook.com/groups/ditkomania/permalink/1251245184999025/ Patrick Ford:
Patrick Ford: Incidentally according to Steve Ditko the method of working changed dramatically. Lee completely stopped speaking to Ditko at almost the exact same time when Ditko began getting plot credit (and I would assume payment). Dave Rawlins: "Stan went along with it" I bet he didn't need much in the way of persuasion. Patrick Ford: As I said above. Roz and Jack Kirby said the "A Lee/Kirby Production" was Lee's idea and the most he would agree to. Lee no doubt knew he had Kirby "by the balls" based on the fact that Kirby's #1 concern was providing for his wife and children. In contrast Steve Ditko was never married and had no children and Wally Wood had no children. I'm sure Lee was well aware that Kirby was essentially blackballed at DC. That Kirby was blackballed at DC has been very bluntly described by DC editor George Kashdan. Patrick Ford: The key with anything concerning Lee is to always remember this:
Patrick Ford: It's the same thing as, "Donald told me something." Patrick Ford: You definitely want to report things Lee says. And you want to make sure as many people as possible see what he says. But you never start to leave off the:
Patrick Ford: BTW. Gavin Callaghan, the person who posted at Ditkomania, does something which is common among advocates for Stan Lee. He writes, "Evanier also discusses some plots he has that Stan Lee wrote out for Kirby, which should -but probably won't (once a fan gets an idea fixated in their brain, they won't give it up, no matter what)- silence those who say Stan never wrote anything..." What Callaghan misses is the very thing Mark wrote about yesterday concerning those notes. Mark Evanier: "...brainstorming sessions with the artists, meaning that the artists had the basic ideas." This is exactly as described by Steve Ditko. The synopses/notes were always written *after* a story conference. I see this constantly with Mark's writing. He tries hard to be evenhanded and as a result advocates for Lee cherry-pick what he has written. I don't even know how many times I have seen some fan write, "Even Mark Evanier says Kirby once claimed to have created Superman." On the other hand anything Mark writes which is critical of Lee is immediately dismissed by saying that as Kirby's friend Mark is biased. This ignores the fact that Mark worked for Stan Lee at Stan Lee media, has known Lee for years, and has spoken to him I would guess dozens of times. Patrick Ford: Here's another thing. Notice anyone missing from the following comments? Mark Evanier: "This paragraph is basically true though I think it actually understates the artists' contributions. I have met and talked with just about everyone who was around then and who was available to talk about it - Ditko, Heck, Brodsky, Goldberg, Ayers, Stan's brother Larry, and even Stan himself. All of them (repeat: all) said it was like that and that when Stan came up with "short plot summaries," even Stan said that often, they were practically nothing - just a sentence or two and sometimes verbal - and that often they were the results of brainstorming sessions with the artists, meaning that the artists had the basic ideas." Patrick Ford: That's right. Jack Kirby isn't in there. Because he's Jack Kirby and all those other guys are not. My guess is Lee's working relationship with Kirby was unique and can not be compared to the working relationship between Lee and; Ditko, Ayers, Heck, Larry Lieber, etc. Kirby wasn't the guy who people gave plots to. Kirby was the guy who people came to for plots.

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