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89-707: The first recorded "official" comic book convention occurred in 1964 in New York City. Known as the "New York Comicon", it was held July 24, 1964, at the Workman's Circle Building. A one-day convention organized by 16-year-old Bernie Bubnis and fellow enthusiast Ron Fradkin, official guests of the Tri-State Con included Steve Ditko , Flo Steinberg , and Tom Gill . Reports were of over 100 attendees. In 1966, comic book conventions continued to evolve and expand, The July 23–24 New York Comicon (not to be confused with

178-471: A 2010 deposition , recalled that Lee and Ditko "ended up not being able to work together because they disagreed on almost everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, they disagreed on characters. ..." A friendly farewell was given to Ditko in the " Bullpen Bulletins " of comics cover-dated July 1966, including Fantastic Four #52: "Steve recently told us he was leaving for personal reasons. After all these years, we're sorry to see him go, and we wish

267-830: A 32-page essay publication featuring several pages of new artwork; and Ditko, Etc... , a 32-page comic book composed of brief vignettes and editorial cartoons. Releases have continued in that format, with stories introducing such characters as the Hero, Miss Eerie, the Cape, the Madman, the Grey Negotiator, the !? and the Outline. He said in 2012 of his self-published efforts, "I do those because that's all they'll let me do". The Hero Initiative The Hero Initiative , formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots , or ACTOR ,

356-437: A Kirby-drawn monster story, followed by one or two twist-ending thrillers or sci-fi tales drawn by Don Heck , Paul Reinman , or Joe Sinnott , all capped by an often-surreal, sometimes self-reflective short by Ditko and Stan Lee. The first collaboration between Ditko and Lee was 2-Gun Western #4 (May 1956), which was also Ditko's only non-fantasy story. These Lee-Ditko short stories proved so popular that Amazing Adventures

445-470: A boy's sensibility because there was so much raw power, Ditko's work was really delicate and cartoony. There was a sense of design to it. You can always recognize anything that Ditko designed because it's always flowery. There is a lot of embroidered detail in the art, which is almost psychedelic. In addition to Dr. Strange, Ditko in the 1960s also drew comics starring the Hulk and Iron Man. He penciled and inked

534-570: A character with the power to turn invisible in a 3-D comic, in 1990. Substance also had the ability to project his voice away from himself, which Ditko demonstrated through the placement of word balloons. In the early 1990s Ditko worked for Jim Shooter's newly founded company Valiant Comics , drawing, among others, issues of Magnus, Robot Fighter , Solar, Man of the Atom and X-O-Manowar . In 1992 Ditko worked with writer Will Murray to produce one of his last original characters for Marvel Comics,

623-857: A decision which garnered a mixed reaction from the title's readership. Ditko also drew the Prince Gavyn version of Starman in Adventure Comics #467–478 (1980). He then decamped to do work for a variety of publishers, briefly contributing to DC again in the mid-1980s, with four pinups of his characters for Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe and a pinup for Superman #400 (Oct. 1984) and its companion portfolio. Ditko returned to Marvel in 1979, taking over Jack Kirby's Machine Man , drawing The Micronauts and Captain Universe , and continuing to freelance for

712-613: A division of RX and Reed Elsevier, and is not affiliated with the long running non-profit San Diego Comic-Con , nor the Big Apple Convention , later known as the Big Apple Comic-Con, owned by Wizard Entertainment . ReedPop is involved with other events, including Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) and PAX Dev / PAX East / PAX Prime . ReedPop and New York Comic Con were founded by Greg Topalian, former senior vice president of RX. The first con

801-640: A few extra pages to fill", as "odd fantasy tales that I'd dream up with O. Henry -type endings." Giving an early example of what would later be known as the " Marvel Method " of writer-artist collaboration, Lee said, "All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect." After Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee obtained permission from publisher Martin Goodman to create

890-635: A great opportunity to show everyone a whole new range of ideas, unlimited types of stories and styles—why FLUB it!" From 1958 to 1968, Ditko shared a Manhattan studio at 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue with noted fetish artist Eric Stanton , an art-school classmate. When either artist was under deadline pressure, it was not uncommon for them to pitch in and help the other with his assignment. Ditko biographer Blake Bell, without citing sources, said, "At one time in history, Ditko denied ever touching Stanton's work, even though Stanton himself said they would each dabble in each other's art; mainly spot-inking", and

979-668: A handful of the Fly , Flygirl and Jaguar stories for The Fly #2–8 (July 1983 – Aug. 1984), for Archie Comics ' short-lived 1980s superhero line; in a rare latter-day instance of Ditko inking another artist, he inked penciler Dick Ayers on the Jaguar story in The Fly #9 (Oct. 1984). Western Publishing in 1982 announced a series by Ditko and Harris would appear in a new science-fiction comic, Astral Frontiers , but that title never materialized. Ditko and Harris created 3-D Substance ,

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1068-652: A long association with the Derby, Connecticut , publisher Charlton Comics , a low-budget division of a company best known for song-lyric magazines. Beginning with the cover of The Thing! #12 (Feb. 1954) and the eight-page vampire story "Cinderella" in that issue, Ditko would continue to work intermittently for Charlton until the company's demise in 1986, producing science fiction, horror and mystery stories, as well as co-creating Captain Atom , with writer Joe Gill , in Space Adventures #33 (March 1960). Ditko

1157-500: A new "ordinary teen" superhero named "Spider-Man", Lee originally approached his leading artist, Jack Kirby . Kirby told Lee about his own 1950s character conception, variously called the Silver Spider and Spiderman, in which an orphaned boy finds a magic ring that gives him super powers. Comics historian Greg Theakston says Lee and Kirby "immediately sat down for a story conference" and Lee afterward directed Kirby to flesh out

1246-415: A poll of "Best Liked" fan-created comics, "It seems a shame, since comics themselves have so little variety of stories and styles that you would deliberately restrict your own creative efforts to professional comics['] shallow range. What is 'Best Liked' by most readers is what they are most familiar in seeing and any policy based on readers likes has to end up with a lot of look-a-like ( sic ) strips. You have

1335-457: A rare contemporaneous account, Ditko described his and Lee's contributions in a mail interview with Gary Martin published in Comic Fan #2 (Summer 1965): "Stan Lee thought the name up. I did costume, web gimmick on wrist & spider signal". He added he would continue drawing Spider-Man "[i]f nothing better comes along." That same year, he expressed to the fanzine Voice of Comicdom , regarding

1424-658: A revamp of the long-running character the Blue Beetle and creating or co-creating The Question , The Creeper , Shade, the Changing Man , Nightshade , and Hawk and Dove . Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers, where he created Mr. A , a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand 's philosophy of Objectivism . Ditko largely declined to give interviews, saying he preferred to communicate through his work. He responded to fan mail, sending thousands of handwritten letters during his lifetime. Ditko

1513-437: Is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers, and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers, including Marvel Comics , Image Comics , Dark Horse Comics , Wizard Entertainment , CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance. According to

1602-556: Is currently supported by Dark Horse Comics , Dynamic Forces , Image Comics , Marvel Entertainment , Top Cow Productions , and Wizard Entertainment . The Hero Initiative utilizes many methods of fundraising. In 2017, the Arizona Comic Mini Expo held a Drink and Draw event to raise money for the Initiative. Several professional comic book artists provided sketches to be exchanged for donations. The money raised

1691-583: The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers . The last mainstream character he created was Marvel's Longarm in Shadows & Light #1 (Feb. 1998), in a self-inked, 12-page Iron Man story "A Man's Reach....", scripted by Len Wein . His final mainstream work was a five-page New Gods story for DC Comics, "Infinitely Gentle Infinitely Suffering", inked by Mick Gray and believed to be intended for the 2000–2002 Orion series but not published until

1780-479: The Blue Beetle (1967–1968), the Question (1967–1968), and Captain Atom (1965–1967), returning to the character he had co-created in 1960. In addition, in 1966 and 1967, he drew 16 stories, most of them written by Archie Goodwin , for Warren Publishing 's horror-comic magazines Creepy and Eerie , generally using an ink-wash technique. In 1967, Ditko gave his Objectivist ideas ultimate expression in

1869-763: The Comics Guaranty Corporation ; filmmaker Guillermo del Toro ; and Beth Widera, owner of comic book convention MegaCon . Former board members include Mike Richardson , publisher and founder of Dark Horse Comics. The Fund Disbursement Board, who hear cases for aid and make all final decisions on whom to aid, act independent of the Executive Board, and is made up entirely of comics creators, writers, artists, and editors. They are (formerly) (co-chairman) George Pérez , (co-chair) Roy Thomas , (board secretary) Charlie Novinskie , Dennis O'Neil , John Romita Sr. , and Jim Valentino . The charity

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1958-566: The Creeper stories made "them look unlike anything else being published by DC at the time." Ditko co-created the team Hawk and Dove in Showcase #75 (June 1968), with writer Steve Skeates . Around this time, he penciled the lead story, written and inked by Wally Wood, in Wood's early mature-audience, independent-comics publication Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon (1969). Ditko's stay at DC

2047-609: The Iron Man feature in Tales of Suspense #47–49 (Nov. 1963 – Jan. 1964), with various inkers. The first of these debuted the initial version of Iron Man's modern red-and-golden armor. Whichever feature he drew, Ditko's idiosyncratic, cleanly detailed, instantly recognizable art style, emphasizing mood and anxiety , found great favor with readers. The character of Spider-Man and his troubled personal life meshed well with Ditko's own interests, which Lee eventually acknowledged by giving

2136-637: The Sandman in #4 (Sept. 1963); the Lizard in #6 (Nov. 1963); Electro in #9 (March 1964); and the Green Goblin in #14 (July 1964). Increasingly irritated by his perception that he was not receiving his due or proper compensation, Ditko demanded credit for the plotting he was contributing under the Marvel Method . Lee acquiesced, and starting with #25 (June 1965), Ditko received plot credit for

2225-400: The (eventually) published character. In fact, the only drawings of Spider-Man were on the splash [i.e., page 1] and at the end [where] Kirby had the guy leaping at you with a web gun... Anyway, the first five pages took place in the home, and the kid finds a ring and turns into Spider-Man." Ditko also recalled that, "One of the first things I did was to work up a costume. A vital, visual part of

2314-796: The 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics , beginning with the four-page "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in Journey into Mystery #33 (April 1956); this debut tale would be reprinted in Marvel's Curse of the Weird #4 (March 1994). In 1957, Atlas switched distributors to the American News Company , which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit and discontinued its business, leading to Atlas's entire staff being laid off. Ditko returned to Charlton afterward and experimented with various drawing styles and genres in series such as Tales of

2403-520: The 2007 show. The second con was held in 2007 , with the convention organizer booking double the floor space than the previous year's space, and moving to the upper level of the Javits Center. The show on Friday was again only open to industry and press until 4 p.m., when it opened to the public. Due to better planning, advance ticket sales were controlled, and the convention sold out for Saturday. Lines started forming at midnight Saturday to enter

2492-606: The 2008 trade paperback Tales of the New Gods . Thereafter, Ditko's solo work was published intermittently by Robin Snyder, who was his editor at Charlton, Archie Comics, and Renegade Press in the 1980s. The Snyder publications have included a number of original books as well as reprints such as Static , The Missing Man , The Mocker and, in 2002, Avenging World , a collection of stories and essays spanning 30 years. In 2008, Ditko and Snyder released The Avenging Mind ,

2581-559: The Comics Code. Ditko's hard line against criminals was controversial and he continued to produce Mr. A stories and one-pagers until the end of the 1970s. Ditko returned to Mr. A in 2000 and in 2009. Ditko moved to DC Comics in 1968, where he co-created the Creeper in Showcase #73 (April 1968) with Don Segall, under editor Murray Boltinoff . DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that Ditko's art on

2670-805: The Hero Initiative, "to be eligible for financial assistance from Hero, an applicant must have been a working comic book writer, penciler , inker , colorist or letterer on a work-for-hire basis for no less than 10 years since January 1, 1934." The Hero Initiative has two boards of directors : the Executive Board and the Fund Disbursement Board. The Executive Board, which handles fund raising and handles operations, comprises Hero Initiative President Jim McLauchlin , former editor-in-chief of Top Cow Comics ; comics creator Brian Pulido ; and Joe Quesada , editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. The board members are Steve Borock, president of

2759-494: The Javits Center for spring dates and the creation of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo by Reed, New York Comic Con was moved to October for Halloween starting in 2010 . The New York Anime Festival, previously a separate event created by Reed, was also merged into Comic Con. Registration for the combined events was 190 percent ahead of 2009's numbers, convention space was increased by an additional 40 percent, and

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2848-597: The Javits Center in 2021 with an in-person event held on October 7–10. All attendees over the age of 12 were required to show proof of vaccination, and children under 12 had to show a negative coronavirus test result. Neal Adams , Troy Baker , Bruce Campbell , Peter Capaldi , Chris Claremont , Kevin Conroy , Mark Hamill , Todd McFarlane , Vic Mignogna , Nolan North , Norman Reedus , Michael Rooker , Kevin Smith, Tara Strong , Skottie Young The New York Anime Festival

2937-491: The Mysterious Traveler and This Magazine is Haunted . During the summer of 1958, writer-editor Stan Lee invited Ditko back to Atlas. Ditko would go on to contribute a large number of stories, many considered classic, to Atlas/Marvel's Strange Tales and the newly launched Amazing Adventures , Strange Worlds , Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish , issues of which would typically open with

3026-923: The New York Anime festival was absorbed into Comic Con. The Eastern Championships of Cosplay have been held at New York Comic Con since 2014. They are one of the stops in ReedPop's global Crown Championships of Cosplay circuit. The top three winning cosplayers receive cash prizes and the overall winner, the Eastern Champion, is entered into the final held at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo . Costumes are judged in four skill categories and then in an overall category. The skill categories are: 40°45′27″N 74°00′09″W  /  40.75750°N 74.00250°W  / 40.75750; -74.00250 Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko ( / ˈ d ɪ t k oʊ / ; November 2, 1927 – June 29, 2018)

3115-611: The U.S. Army on October 26, 1945, and did military service in Allied-occupied Germany , where he drew comics for an Army newspaper. Following his discharge, Ditko learned that his idol, Batman artist Jerry Robinson , was teaching at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School (later the School of Visual Arts ) in New York City. Moving there in 1950, he enrolled in the art school under the G.I. Bill . Robinson found

3204-517: The anime festival was moved to the lower level of the Javits. The main floor of the convention center was split by a large construction area due to repairs to the Javits Center. Intel Extreme Masters Global Challenge – New York took place in Comic Con 2011 . It featured esports tournaments for games such as StarCraft II , League of Legends , and Counter-Strike . In 2011, the convention

3293-439: The artist plotting credits on the latter part of their 38-issue run. But after four years on the title, Ditko left Marvel; he and Lee had not been on speaking terms for some time, with art and editorial changes handled through intermediaries. The details of the rift remain uncertain, even to Lee, who confessed in 2003, "I never really knew Steve on a personal level." Ditko later claimed it was Lee who broke off contact and disputed

3382-516: The business about the webs coming out of his hands". Spider-Man debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), the final issue of that science-fiction/fantasy anthology series. When the issue proved to be a top seller, Spider-Man was given his own series, The Amazing Spider-Man . Lee and Ditko's collaboration on the series saw the creation of many of the character's best known antagonists including Doctor Octopus in issue #3 (July 1963);

3471-470: The character and draw some pages. "A day or two later", Kirby showed Lee the first six pages, and, as Lee recalled, "I hated the way he was doing it. Not that he did it badly — it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee turned to Ditko, who developed a visual motif Lee found satisfactory, although Lee would later replace Ditko's original cover with one penciled by Kirby. Ditko said, "The Spider-Man pages Stan showed me were nothing like

3560-402: The character. I had to know how he looked ... before I did any breakdowns. For example: A clinging power so he wouldn't have hard shoes or boots, a hidden wrist-shooter versus a web gun and holster, etc. ... I wasn't sure Stan would like the idea of covering the character's face but I did it because it hid an obviously boyish face. It would also add mystery to the character...." Much earlier, in

3649-554: The charity, the executive board decided to change the name to something more associated with comic books, thus the new name, Hero, named after the common and recognizable comic industry word Superhero . In 2010, The Hero Initiative created The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award, named after former board member Dick Giordano , who had died earlier in the year. The award recognizes one person in comics each year who demonstrates particular generosity and integrity in support of

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3738-658: The company into the late 1990s. Starting in 1984, he penciled the last two years of the space-robot series Rom . A Godzilla story by Ditko and Marv Wolfman was changed into a Dragon Lord story published in Marvel Spotlight . Ditko and writer Tom DeFalco introduced the Speedball character in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 (1988) and Ditko drew a ten-issue series based on the character. In 1982, he also began freelancing for

3827-610: The convention, and by Saturday morning, there was a 2-hour wait in 20 degree temperatures to enter. Crowding was a problem in the Artists Alley, which was off the main convention floor, causing it to be moved to the main floor for 2008. The American Anime Awards , hosted by New York Comic Con, was held on February 24 at the New Yorker Hotel , during the Comic Con. The third con held in 2008 moved to April, continued to grow (expanding space by 50%), and occupied most of

3916-449: The cosmos. As historian Bradford W. Wright describes, Steve Ditko contributed some of his most surrealistic work to the comic book and gave it a disorienting, hallucinogenic quality. Dr. Strange's adventures take place in bizarre worlds and twisting dimensions that resembled Salvador Dalí paintings. ... Inspired by the pulp-fiction magicians of Stan Lee's childhood as well as by contemporary Beat culture. Dr. Strange remarkably predicted

4005-560: The crabbed Objectivist screeds he published with tiny presses. And boy, could Ditko hack: seeing samples of his Transformers coloring book and his Big Boy comic is like hearing Orson Welles sell frozen peas." Ditko retired from mainstream comics in 1998. His later work for Marvel and DC included such established superheroes as the Sub-Mariner (in Marvel Comics Presents ) and newer, licensed characters such as

4094-602: The early independent comics label Pacific Comics , beginning with Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #6 (Sept. 1982), in which he introduced the superhero Missing Man, with Mark Evanier scripting to Ditko's plot and art. Subsequent Missing Man stories appeared in Pacific Presents #1–3 (Oct. 1982 – March 1984), with Ditko scripting the former and collaborating with longtime friend Robin Snyder on

4183-593: The event once again, but the 3-day tickets were still discontinued. The convention's 2020 show was originally scheduled for October 8–11. However, in August, the event's organizers announced the cancellation of their in-person event, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Instead, a virtual event called "New York Comic Con X MCM Comic Con Metaverse" was on those dates. Tickets to the 2020 in-person event had not gone on sale prior to its cancellation. New York Comic Con returned to

4272-408: The feature a favorite of college students. "People who read 'Doctor Strange' thought people at Marvel must be heads [i.e. drug users]," recalled then-associate editor and former Doctor Strange writer Roy Thomas in 1971, "because they had had similar experiences high on mushrooms . But ... I don't use hallucinogens, nor do I think any artists do." Ditko, "always the most straight-laced man in comics",

4361-454: The final issue of The Incredible Hulk (#6, March 1963), then continued to collaborate with writer-editor Lee on a relaunched Hulk feature in the omnibus Tales to Astonish , beginning with issue #60 (Oct. 1964). Ditko, inked by George Roussos , penciled the feature through #67 (May 1965). Ditko designed the Hulk's primary antagonist, the Leader , in #63 (Jan. 1965). Ditko also penciled

4450-540: The first few pages of this Lee story included what would become one of the most iconic scenes in Spider-Man's history." The story was chosen as #15 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story, "These first five pages are a modern-day equivalent to Shakespeare as Parker's soliloquy sets the stage for his next action. And with dramatic pacing and storytelling, Ditko delivers one of

4539-626: The form of Mr. A , published in Wally Wood 's independent title witzend # 3, an underground anthology comic in black and white that avoided the Comics Code Authority by being published in magazine format and only being available by subscription, and whose editorial policy was to allow artistic freedom without any editorial interference. Mr. A is a similar character to the Question, but without being restricted by

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4628-420: The great sequences in all comics." In this series, Ditko also had a lasting effect on Marvel's branding when he inserted a small box on the upper left-hand corner of issue #2 that featured a picture of Spider-Man's face along with the company name and price. Stan Lee approved of this visual motif and soon made it a standard feature on all of Marvel's subsequent comic books that would last for decades. Two of

4717-458: The introduction of the superhero Batman in 1939, and by Will Eisner 's The Spirit , which appeared in a tabloid -sized comic-book insert in Sunday newspapers. Ditko in junior high school was part of a group of students who crafted wooden models of German airplanes to aid civilian World War II aircraft-spotters. Upon graduating from Greater Johnstown High School in 1945, he enlisted in

4806-457: The introduction to one book of Stanton's work says, "Eric Stanton drew his pictures in India ink , and they were then hand-coloured by Ditko". In a 1988 interview with Theakston, Stanton recalled that although his contribution to Spider-Man was "almost nil", he and Ditko had "worked on storyboards together and I added a few ideas. But the whole thing was created by Steve on his own... I think I added

4895-549: The later "New York Comic Con") was held at the Park Sheraton Hotel, in New York. Produced by John Benson, guests included Jack Kirby , Jim Steranko , Otto Binder , Len Brown , Larry Ivie , Jack Binder , Roy Thomas , Gil Kane , Archie Goodwin , Bhob Stewart , Klaus Nordling , Sal Trapani , Rocke Mastroserio , and Ted White . The New York Comic Con is a for-profit event produced and managed by ReedPop,

4984-538: The long-held belief that the disagreement was over the true identity of the Green Goblin : "Stan never knew what he was getting in my Spider-Man stories and covers until after [production manager] Sol Brodsky took the material from me ... so there couldn't have been any disagreement or agreement, no exchanges ... no problems between us concerning the Green Goblin or anything else from before issue #25 to my final issues". Spider-Man successor artist John Romita , in

5073-496: The main level in the Javits Center. Stan Lee was awarded the inaugural New York Comics Legend Award at the Times Square Virgin Megastore before the Comic Con. Kids' Day programming was added to the convention on Sunday with the help of Kids's Comic Con. The fourth con held in 2009 returned to February and featured a charity art auction to support The Hero Initiative . Due to scheduling conflicts with

5162-736: The mid-1970s, Ditko worked exclusively for Charlton and various small press/independent publishers. Frank McLaughlin , Charlton's art director during this period, describes Ditko as living "in a local hotel in Derby for a while. He was a very happy-go-lucky guy with a great sense of humor at that time, and always supplied the [female] color separators with candy and other little gifts". For Charlton in 1974 he did Liberty Belle backup stories in E-Man and conceived Killjoy. Ditko produced much work for Charlton's science-fiction and horror titles, as well as for former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman 's start-up line Atlas/Seaboard Comics , where he co-created

5251-666: The most sought-after Spider-Man collectibles during Ditko's time on the series were mail-away items ordered through comic book ads. Ditko art was featured on a very popular t-shirt and on a 6' tall poster. Ditko created the supernatural hero Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963). Ditko in the 2000s told a visiting fan that Lee gave Dr. Strange the first name "Stephen". Though often overshadowed by his Spider-Man work, Ditko's Doctor Strange artwork has been equally acclaimed for its surrealistic mystical landscapes and increasingly psychedelic visuals that helped make

5340-512: The non-counting of professionals and exhibitors. The main exhibition hall hit capacity Saturday morning and was locked by the fire marshals until people left, with the lockdown ending in the afternoon. Major guests, including Kevin Smith and Frank Miller , could not enter the main hall. The line to enter the convention wrapped around the building with waits of two hours to enter, and many were turned away. Ticket sales for Sunday were suspended. Reed announced that additional space would be acquired for

5429-433: The sale of 3-day and 4-day passes to the event were discontinued. Only single day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Sunday kids tickets would be sold for the event. In 2018, the event organizers announced a partnership with Anime Expo for show called Anime Fest @ NYCC X Anime Expo. In 2019, the sale of 4-day badge returned along with the single day Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Kids Tickets, would be sold for

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5518-692: The same feelings for the character that he once had. In 1993, he did the Dark Horse Comics one-shot The Safest Place in the World . For the Defiant Comics series Dark Dominion , he drew issue #0, which was released as a set of trading cards . In 1995, he pencilled a four-issue series for Marvel based on the Phantom 2040 animated TV series. This included a poster that was inked by John Romita Sr. Steve Ditko's Strange Avenging Tales

5607-761: The script for the latter two. Ditko also created The Mocker for Pacific, in Silver Star #2 (April 1983). For Eclipse Comics , he contributed a story featuring his character Static (no relation to the later Milestone Comics character) in Eclipse Monthly #1–3 (Aug.–Oct. 1983), introducing supervillain the Exploder in #2. With writer Jack C. Harris, Ditko drew the backup feature "The Faceless Ones" in First Comics ' Warp #2–4 (April–June 1983). Working with that same writer and others, Ditko drew

5696-435: The stories. One of the most celebrated issues of the Lee-Ditko run is #33 (Feb. 1966), the third part of the story arc " If This Be My Destiny...! ", and featuring the dramatic scene of Spider-Man, through force of will and thoughts of family, escaping from being pinned by heavy machinery. Comics historian Les Daniels noted, "Steve Ditko squeezes every ounce of anguish out of Spider-Man's predicament, complete with visions of

5785-474: The studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin . During this time, he began his long association with Charlton Comics , where he did work in the genres of science fiction, horror, and mystery. He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960. During the 1950s, Ditko also drew for Atlas Comics , a forerunner of Marvel Comics. He went on to contribute much significant work to Marvel. Ditko

5874-426: The superhero the Destructor with writer Archie Goodwin, and penciled all four issues of the namesake series (Feb.–Aug. 1975), the first two of which were inked by Wally Wood. Ditko worked on the second and third issues of Tiger-Man and the third issue of Morlock 2001 , with Bernie Wrightson inking. Ditko returned to DC Comics in 1975, creating a short-lived title, Shade, the Changing Man (1977–1978). Shade

5963-480: The superheroine Squirrel Girl , who debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2, #8, a.k.a. Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special (Jan. 1992). In 1992 he had a meeting with Stan Lee, who wanted to work with Ditko on a comic project about a "garbageman superhero from the future", but he declined because he didn't like the future portrayed in the concept. When Lee then suggested the should do a Spider-Man graphic novel together, he declined that too, claiming he no longer had

6052-413: The talented guy success with his future endeavors." Regardless, said Lee in 2007, "Quite a few years ago I met him up at the Marvel offices when I was last in New York. And we spoke; he's a hell of a nice guy and it was very pleasant. ... I haven't heard from him since that meeting." Back at Charlton—where the page rate was low but creators were allowed greater freedom—Ditko worked on such characters as

6141-480: The uncle he failed and the aunt he has sworn to save." Peter David observed, "After his origin, this two-page sequence from Amazing Spider-Man #33 is perhaps the best-loved sequence from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era." Steve Saffel stated the "full page Ditko image from The Amazing Spider-Man #33 is one of the most powerful ever to appear in the series and influenced writers and artists for many years to come." Matthew K. Manning wrote that "Ditko's illustrations for

6230-539: The young student "a very hard worker who really focused on his drawing" and someone who "could work well with other writers as well as write his own stories and create his own characters", and he helped Ditko acquire a scholarship for the following year. "He was in my class for two years, four or five days a week, five hours a night. It was very intense." Robinson, who invited artists and editors to speak with his class, once brought in Stan Lee , then editor of Marvel Comics ' 1950s precursor Atlas Comics and, "I think that

6319-425: The youth counterculture 's fascination with Eastern mysticism and psychedelia . Never among Marvel's more popular or accessible characters, Dr. Strange still found a niche among an audience seeking a challenging alternative to more conventional superhero fare. The cartoonist and fine artist Seth in 2003 described Ditko's style as: ...oddball for mainstream comics. Whereas Kirby's stuff clearly appealed to

6408-912: Was allowed a great deal of creative freedom at Charlton due to very little editorial interference. However, the Comics Code Authority was imposed on the comics industry in 1954 due to public concern over graphic violence and horror imagery in comic books, and would prevent Ditko from further developing as a horror artist. He first went on hiatus from the company, and comics altogether, in mid-1954, when he contracted tuberculosis and returned to his parents' home in Johnstown to recuperate. After he recovered, Ditko had originally intended to return to Charlton, but Charlton's office had been flooded by Hurricane Diane and operations wouldn't resume until months later. Ditko instead moved back to New York City in late 1955 and began drawing for Atlas Comics ,

6497-485: Was an American comic book writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange . He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man , introducing the character's red and yellow design. Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. He began his professional career in 1953, working in

6586-667: Was an anime and manga convention held annually from 2007 to 2011 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Produced by RX, the people behind New York Comic Con, the inaugural event was held from December 7 through December 9, 2007. Starting in 2010 the New York Anime Festival has been held with the New York Comic Con, bringing the two cultures together. In 2012,

6675-421: Was an artistically talented master carpenter at a steel mill and his mother, Anna ( née Balaschak), a homemaker. The second-oldest child in a working-class family, he was preceded by sister Anna Marie, and followed by sister Elizabeth and brother Patrick. Inspired by his father's love of newspaper comic strips , particularly Hal Foster 's Prince Valiant , Ditko found his interest in comics accelerated by

6764-486: Was announced as a quarterly series from Fantagraphics Books , although it only ran one issue (Feb. 1997) due to publicly unspecified disagreements between Ditko and the publisher. The New York Times assessed in 2008 that, "By the '70s he was regarded as a slightly old-fashioned odd-ball; by the '80s he was a commercial has-been, picking up wretched work-for-hire gigs. ...following the example of [Ayn] Rand's John Galt, Ditko hacked out moneymaking work, saving his care for

6853-558: Was announced that everyone attending NYCC 2016 would be required to complete a "Fan Verification" profile. The event organizers explained that this step was implemented in an attempt to reduce the number of scalpers and resellers who purchase tickets. Fan Verification would only be open from May 20 - June 14, and tickets purchased could only be assigned to someone with a profile. It was also announced that NYCC would no longer be selling VIP tickets, and that show tickets would not be sold at any retailers or events leading up to NYCC 2016. In 2017,

6942-487: Was deeply offended by the suggestion that he used psychedelic drugs to create the worlds of Dr. Strange . Eventually Lee & Ditko would take Strange into ever-more-abstract realms. In an epic 17-issue story arc in Strange Tales #130–146 (March 1965 – July 1966), Lee and Ditko introduced the cosmic character Eternity , who personified the universe and was depicted as a silhouette whose outlines are filled with

7031-563: Was expanded to four days. The first day of the convention was initially limited to press, professionals, and fans that purchased a four-day pass. This changed in 2013, when single day Thursday passes were put on sale for the first time. With this addition, attendance at New York Comic Con grew to over 151,000, surpassing SDCC to become the largest comic convention in North America. The latter was unable to grow further due to venue capacity limits and an attendance cap of 130,000. In 2016, it

7120-739: Was fabulous," Ditko once recalled. "I couldn't believe the ease with which he drew: strong compositions, loose pencils, yet complete; detail without clutter. I loved his stuff". Ditko's known assistant work includes aiding inker Meskin on the Jack Kirby pencil work of Harvey Comics ' Captain 3-D #1 (December 1953). For his own third published story, Ditko penciled and inked the six-page "A Hole in His Head" in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (December 1953), published by Simon & Kirby's Crestwood Publications imprint Prize Comics . Ditko then began

7209-451: Was held in late February 2006 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center . Due to RX's lack of experience with comic conventions (they primarily dealt with professional trade shows prior to 2006), attendance was far more than anticipated, and the main exhibition hall could only hold 10,000. Despite crowding on Friday afternoon, tickets continued to be sold due to low pre-reg numbers (4,500), and

7298-620: Was his second professional story, the six-page "Paper Romance" in Daring Love #1 (October 1953), published by the Key imprint Gillmor Magazines . Shortly afterward, Ditko found work at the studio of writer-artists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , who had created Captain America and other characters. Beginning as an inker on backgrounds, Ditko was soon working with and learning from Mort Meskin , an artist whose work he had long admired. "Meskin

7387-615: Was inducted into the comics industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2024, Ditko was named a Disney Legend for his contributions to Publishing. Stephen John Ditko was born on November 2, 1927, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania . His parents were second-generation Americans: children of Rusyn Byzantine Catholic immigrants from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Slovakia ). His father, Stefan ("Stephen"),

7476-684: Was later revived, without Ditko's involvement, in DC's mature-audience imprint Vertigo . With writer Paul Levitz , he co-created the four-issue sword and sorcery series Stalker (1975–1976). Ditko and writer Gerry Conway produced the first issue of a two-issue Man-Bat series. He also revived the Creeper and did such various other jobs as a short Demon backup series in 1979, created The Odd Man and stories in DC's horror and science-fiction anthologies. Editor Jack C. Harris hired Ditko as guest artist on several issues of The Legion of Super-Heroes ,

7565-422: Was reformatted to feature such stories exclusively beginning with issue #7 (Dec. 1961), when the comic was rechristened Amazing Adult Fantasy , a name intended to reflect its more "sophisticated" nature, as likewise the new tagline "The magazine that respects your intelligence". Lee in 2009 described these "short, five-page filler strips that Steve and I did together", originally "placed in any of our comics that had

7654-426: Was short—he would work on all six issues of the Creeper's own title, Beware the Creeper (June 1968 – April 1969), though leaving midway through the final one—and the reasons for his departure uncertain. But while at DC, Ditko recommended Charlton staffer Dick Giordano to the company, who would go on to become a top DC penciller, inker, editor, and ultimately, in 1981, the managing editor. From this time up through

7743-540: Was split between the HERO Initiative and the ACLU of Arizona. The Hero Initiative was formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, from its founding until September 2006. While the original name of the organization reflected the charity's goal, the acronym that resulted, ACTOR, more often confused people unfamiliar with the organization. In an effort to expand the marketability and fund-raising ability of

7832-436: Was the artist for the first 38 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man , co-creating much of the Spider-Man supporting characters and villains with Stan Lee . Beginning with issue #25, Ditko was also credited as the plotter. In 1966, after being the exclusive artist on The Amazing Spider-Man and the "Doctor Strange" feature in Strange Tales , Ditko left Marvel. He continued to work for Charlton and also DC Comics , including

7921-532: Was when Stan first saw Steve's work." Ditko began professionally illustrating comic books in early 1953, drawing writer Bruce Hamilton's science-fiction story "Stretching Things" for the Key Publications imprint Stanmor Publications , which sold the story to Ajax/Farrell , where it finally found publication in Fantastic Fears #5 ( cover-dated February 1954). Ditko's first published work

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