Regards, Ditko

by Jaison Chahwala

Two men, one spotlight.

Together, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the billion-dollar cultural phenomenon known as Spider-Man. Lee stood in the spotlight for six decades, often claiming sole creatorship of the hero, while Ditko maintained a very private life in the background.
Regards, Ditko is one comic book fan’s lifelong exploration into the mind of Steve Ditko. It’s an incredible coming-of-age story nearly twenty-five years in the making. Through years of correspondence with Ditko himself, we learn about his private life, his fallout with Stan Lee, and his philosophical beliefs that encompassed his later work.
Intriguing and thought-provoking, Regards, Ditko will have you challenging the creatorship of Spider-Man, appreciating the separation of art from artist, and understanding the magnitude of personal privacy in today’s world. Most importantly, you will delve into the decades-old comic book world riddle: Who is Steve Ditko?

Genres: Comics

246 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Mike Gibas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably for fans only. It is a fascinating tale of a young fan who grows up and then has an old-fashioned friendship with reclusive artist, Ditko, entirely by letter writing. At times, the geeky personal reminiscences go on too long, while we never get full transcripts of all the letters - plus some more background on Ditko would have been helpful. He was a truly enigmatic character and this book adds to the intrigue without really scratching the truth.

[Freddy Casiano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. nostalgic from a personal standpoint, informative from another about probably the most enigmatic comic creator ever. from the beginning, Regards, Ditko held my attention. the comic history aspect of it is fascinating and the personal nature sounded very sincere considering a friendship was forged between Mr. Ditko and the author, Jaison. the most interesting part was the philosophical tone presented without dulling the story and the layers which progress the story are well paced. after reading, you really do feel like you were on the journey as well. as a longtime comic book and Spider-Man fan, I highly recommend this book. nicely done. Excelsior!