tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post4212936869520846136..comments2024-03-27T11:32:34.392-07:00Comments on NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!: DITKO VS. ROMITAMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-40254158360884078112016-08-30T13:32:30.575-07:002016-08-30T13:32:30.575-07:00Yeah, that's sort of what I'm getting at h...Yeah, that's sort of what I'm getting at here. I like Romit's artwork better, but I absolutely like the shift in direction as well. I like the changes in most every character's personality as well as their appearances.<br /><br />I will agree with you that Romita was less creative on fights, though -- but it's a trade-off I can accept. (That said, I've always liked that Romita's Spider-Man tends to "open hand slap" non-superpowered bad guys rather than outright punching them. It's a good visualization for his holding back his super-strength.)<br /><br />I have to admit that I've never read Ditko's Doctor Strange stories, though I've heard good things about them. Perhaps someday...!Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-73240335683639984632016-08-24T07:05:23.544-07:002016-08-24T07:05:23.544-07:00The difference between the two is not only graphic...The difference between the two is not only graphical it's a complete shift in direction. Suddenly Peter Parker is no longer the-from his peers- unacceptable, somewhat arrogant egghead with a strong tendency to smart-aleckeiness, he is suddenly an understanding intelligent guy who all the girls desire and who's intelligence they respect and admire.<br />The graphics become much more schooled with Romita but lose significantly on imagination. No two Ditko fight-scenes look the same as Spiderman literally fights with his entire body instead of merely fighting with his fists. Ditko's Spidey/ Parker is clearly an immature teen while Romita´s is a sober, rather mature young man.<br />I firmly believe that Spiderman would never have become a success without Ditkos's creativity and quirkiness because Stan Lee clearly understood that these were just the kind of characteristics that needed to be breathed into a young, immature and often quirky character. <br />Then there are the villains Ditko created, many of whom later would supply other titles (such as the Hulk) with exciting adversaries. <br />Romita may have been the better technician, but Ditko was far more creative than he and far more an Artist.<br />Lastly, compare any artists version of Doctor Strange to Ditko's and you'll see the hugely significant drop in artistic ideas compared to Ditko's magnificent original version and work.dave@ulmrocks.comhttp://www.ulmrocks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-36046890121165035632015-02-17T12:52:49.763-08:002015-02-17T12:52:49.763-08:00Hmm... Electro was in an issue of Romita's AMA...Hmm... Electro was in an issue of Romita's AMAZING. Somehow I completely forgot. I still think my point stands, though.<br /><br />Teemu -- I agree, Stan's banter was great. I don't think it ever worked better than in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-17084380276626249912015-02-17T12:24:24.471-08:002015-02-17T12:24:24.471-08:00Matt: the soap opera aspect of the stories seems h...Matt: <i>the soap opera aspect of the stories seems highly influenced by the romance comics Romita used to draw</i><br /><br />I love how they always managed to do it just right, with Stan taking the reader away from the scene and to more superheroic stuff with kind-of-apologizing note of "Before the reader thinks he has bought a Harlequin novel" and the said reader, me, going "Oh-a, I <i>was</i> reading that!"Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-60018787380618139972015-02-17T11:52:51.772-08:002015-02-17T11:52:51.772-08:00Well, like I said, I understand that we wouldn'...Well, like I said, I understand that we wouldn't have the character without Ditko, but a lot of what appeals to me about Spider-Man comes from Romita. Just as an example, tons of people have complained over the years that it was absurd for Spider-Man to marry a supermodel; Spider-Man should <b>never</b> marry a supermodel. But, setting aside the fact that Mary Jane, while many things, was never actually a "super"model (at least not for long), I would rebut by saying that <b>Ditko's</b> Spider-Man would/could/should never marry a supermodel. Romita's Spider-Man absolutely could!<br /><br />I guess I just like Romita's more outgoing Peter Parker better than Ditko's introverted version.<br /><br />As far as Lee writing the stories, I do think it's evident in his scripting, but I believe Romita did a lot of plotting. I base this mainly on a panel I attended some years ago featuring Romitas Senior and Junior Romita explained that, while sometimes he and Stan would hash out the month's plot verbally together, other times he would simply get a memo from Stan saying something like, "This month's villain is the Rhino" and Romita would have <i>carte blanche</i> from there to tell the story.<br /><br />Plus, the soap opera aspect of the stories seems highly influenced by the romance comics Romita used to draw, and for the most part, Romita used a lot more down-to-earth villains than did Ditko. Aside from the Lizard, I'm hard pressed to think of a villain from a Romita issue who had actual inherent superpowers. Meanwhile, Ditko gave us Sandman, Electro, and Molten Man, none of whom Romita ever touched. If Stan was the driving force, one might expect him to bring these guys back. But instead, during the Romita era, the majority of the villains used equipment for their powers, and the few opponents with actual super-abilities (the afore-mentioned Lizard notwithstanding) were borrowed from other characters' books, like Medusa and Quicksilver.<br /><br />By the way, I don't want to come off as one of those nuts who believes Stan Lee did <b>nothing</b>. I love Stan Lee. Without him, the Ditko, Kirby, and Romita comics would not be anywhere near as popular as they are now. But I do believe that he was mainly a scripter on books like SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR, letting artists handle the plotting most of the time.<br /><br />(I just looked at the covers of ASM 1 - 100 as I composed this comment and I have such a yearning to go read all those issues! There are certain runs I can read over and over and over again, and that's one of them.)Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-3355568270276107182015-02-16T06:49:13.528-08:002015-02-16T06:49:13.528-08:00I think it's fine to prefer Romita's art, ...I think it's fine to prefer Romita's art, but there's no question but that there is no Spider-Man without Steve Ditko. Romita's comics feel like they're written by Lee, or at least have an assist from him, whereas it's night and day comparing Ditko's Spider-Man to anything Lee was scripting at the time.<br /><br />That said, I do like Romita's art. I feel sort of the same way about John Buscema when he'd take over for Kirby projects. While Kirby was a better idea guy, Buscema's art just looks better to me.Dobsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-25435379679352817612015-02-15T15:29:13.545-08:002015-02-15T15:29:13.545-08:00Although I like Ditko as well, I enjoyed the early...Although I like Ditko as well, I enjoyed the early Romita era as a fun time for Spider-Man. The cast was made, Peter had friends and socializing, etc.<br />I remember at the turn of the century, I was under a major ER fanboysim (or specifically, an Anthony Edwards fanboysim) while reading the Romita Sr. Spider-Man. Knowing how Stan Lee had issues about JRSr. transforming Peter from the skinny nerd to the hunk, I exemplified it as JRSr. transformed Peter Parker from Anthony Edwards (mind you, the hirsute 1980s SURE THING/GOTCHA/REVENGE OF THE NERDS Edwards) into George Clooney. angmc43@hotmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15379700547226493861noreply@blogger.com