Regards, Ditko: An exploration into the mind of Steve Ditko

by Jaison Chahwala, Steve Ditko

Two men, one spotlight. Together, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the billion dollar cultural phenomenon known as Spider-Man. Stan Lee stood in the spotlight for six decades, often claiming sole-creatorship of the hero. Along with the background noise though, Steve Ditko maintained a very private life. Letters From Ditko is one comic book fan’s lifelong exploration into the mind of Steve Ditko. It’s an incredible coming-of-age story nearly 25 years in the making. Through years of correspondence with Steve Ditko himself, we learn about his private life, his disagreement with Stan Lee, and his philosophical beliefs that encompass his later work.Intriguing, thought-provoking, and amazing – Letters From Ditko will have you challenging the creatorship of Spider-Man, appreciating how art differs from the artist, and understanding the magnitude of privacy in today’s world. Most importantly, you will by prying to answer the age-old comic book world riddle – who is Steve Ditko?

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2019

Reviews

[Dan]

I made it about a third of the way through this and it annoyed the shit out of me. I probably could have blown through the rest in a couple hours but I'd rather have the couple hours to do something else.

It's supposed to be about a correspondence between the author and Steve Ditko but Ditko doesn't even get mentioned for the first third of the book. I don't care about the author's life prior to his correspondence with Steve Ditko and it annoys me that he acts like 1994 was some kind of idyllic paradise. His tone bugs me, his calculated stalking of Steve Ditko bugs me and 93 pages was all I could handle.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad but not great, Ditko from everything I've read was underappreciated and far too smart for comic books. I for one am glad he did go down the comic book alley however, can't imagine comics without some of his creations.

[Scott Glass · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I went into this book with the wrong idea. From the title I thought I would be reading about Steve Ditko- learning about his life, art, and relationship with Stan Lee and other creators. What I got was an autobiography of a comic book collector/nerd who lives with his parents- from his early days discovering comics (including his very odd version of the ‘90’s) to his waking up with “moist” bedsheets the day he was going to meet Stan Lee at a comic convention. Very little of the story seemed to be about his, admittedly very cool, correspondence with Ditko. Even less provided insight to the world of the famously private Ditko. All of this, combined with poor writing and poor editing, made for a very disappointing book.