Steve Ditko: a Documentary
When the legend becomes the truth...tell the truth
Who is Steve Ditko?
As the co-creator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko developed the aesthetic and the ethos for a superhero who is globally recognized and beloved, as much for his superpowers as his heart. Beginning his career in 1953, Ditko never stopped working, leaving a sixty-five year catalog of comics and ideas that inspired readers, peers, and media makers for generations. At Marvel Comics, Ditko created Dr. Strange, designed the contemporary look for Iron Man, and decided that it was Bruce Banner’s emotions that turned him into the Incredible Hulk. He made major contributions to DC Comics, such as Hawk and Dove and The Creeper, along with characters they later acquired, like Blue Beetle and The Question. “Who Steve Ditko was needs to be told; this documentary does that,” says Patrick J. Ditko, President of Ditko Ink, who represents the Steve Ditko Estate.
the Film
Building on Zack Kruse’s groundbreaking first book, Mysterious Travelers, DITKO delivers what many believed to be impossible: a film that not only honors Steve Ditko’s prolific body of work, but expands our understanding of the man himself. The documentary has secured cooperation from the Estate of Steve Ditko, with access to never before seen photos, Ditko’s notes on philosophy and creativity, home movies and personal documents from his time at Marvel Comics and beyond. “Steve Ditko said we should know him by his work. Zack’s extraordinary first book sheds light on Steve Ditko’s career from a perspective that no one else has ever presented,” says Mark Ditko, the artist’s nephew and publisher at DitkoVerse. “Zack took his research as close to the man himself as is possible since his passing, including his family and his personal effects. … Prepare yourselves for something astounding.”
Mark Ditko concludes, “I believe this documentary is going to be the most significant production to date regarding exactly who Steve Ditko was, and I fully expect it to become the definitive word on Steve Ditko for years to come.”
THE FILMMAKERS
Director and producer Zack Kruse is a comics, film, and literature scholar at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, and his Eisner-nominated book, Mysterious Travelers, was identified by The Comics Journal as one of the best books on comics in 2022.
Producer and editor Matt White has over twenty years in media production and animation with work appearing across multiple media platforms, including collaborations with Whoopi Goldberg and Snoop Dogg.
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Steve Ditko: Documentary
