Everyone knows Stan Lee. Jack Kirby, the proclaimed “King of Comics,” has likewise been given his due in recent years for his significant role in the creation of the Marvel Comics Universe. Mention the name Steve Ditko, however, and people will more often than not draw a blank. Even fans of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange may be unaware of the person who co-created their favorite comic book characters.
Part of the reason is that the other co-creator – Stan Lee – cast such a huge shadow over the comic book industry. Part of the reason also lies with Ditko himself, who was a recluse for most of his life, foregoing public appearances and abhorring any forms of self-generated PR. But things have started to change since his death in 2018, with efforts in both his birth city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and by playwright Lenny Schwartz to raise awareness of the comic artist’s life and achievements.
In 2021, the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center in Johnstown launched the first DitkoCon in celebration of the hometown hero. The event was again held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, with a special performance of Lenny Schwartz’s play Ditko taking place the following afternoon.
“I’ve always been a fan of Steve Ditko,” Schwartz explains. “When I was nine-years-old, I read the original (Spider-Man) story from Amazing Fantasy #15 from a reprint. It made me cry. Over the years, I wanted to know more and more about Ditko. So, I sought out his work. After reading a bunch, I did a deep dive into the man itself. I wanted to write the play because at the time there wasn’t a lot known about Ditko besides his work. That combined with Stan Lee’s name being everywhere led the common person to believe that Stan Lee created these famous characters by himself. That is simply not the case. That was the genesis of the show.”
Lenny Schwartz hails from North Scituate, Rhode Island. In addition to Ditko, he has written plays on other popular culture icons, including Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers. In 2022, Schwartz focused on another “forgotten” comic book artist – Bill Finger, the co-creator of Batman – with Bill Finger: Rise of the Bat, which was spotlighted during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con prior to its premier in Johnstown and later productions in New York City.
Like Steve Ditko, Bill Finger was regulated to the shadows. Although he was instrumental in the creation of Batman, co-creator Bob Kane never recognized his contributions until after Finger’s death. “It’s ironic because Batman is all about justice,” Lenny Schwartz told the Valley Breeze in 2022. “This was a huge injustice. Until he died, he was penniless. He was poor. Bob Kane has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Finger still doesn’t.”
While Ditko’s fate wasn’t as tragic as that of Bill Finger, he has yet to truly achieve the level of recognition that he deserves. “Steve Ditko created a lot of imagery and stories that are a part of our everyday lives,” Schwartz says. “His creations are everywhere in pop culture. His name deserves to be shouted as loudly as Stan Lee’s. Not taking anything away from Stan again, but Steve – as well as Jack Kirby – is deserving to have people know exactly who he is and what he stood for. If a play can help to make that happen? Then so be it.”
Lenny Schwartz began working on the script for Ditko in 2015 and 2016, and the play made its premier in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in November 2018. A brief two-night run in New York City took place the following October. After selling out each of those performances, bringing Ditko to Steve Ditko’s hometown was the next logical step and fit in perfectly with the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center’s DitkoCon celebration in 2021.
While that performance was staged with local talent, the October 1, 2023, production will be directed by Lenny Schwartz and features the cast from Rhode Island. “I did owe it to my original few cast members to make sure we did the show we created together in 2018 to be performed in the city Ditko was born in and lived in for the first part of his life,” Schwartz explains. “And that is what we are going to do.”
The cast includes Derek Laurendeau as Steve Ditko, Geoff White as Stan Lee, and JP Cottam as Jack Kirby. Cottam also portrays Ditko’s father, with Emily Lamarre as his mother. Lionel LaFleur is cast as legendary comic artist Jerry Robinson, who helped teach Steve Ditko the craft. The writings of Ayn Rand had a profound effect on Ditko, and the founder of Objectivism philosophy is portrayed on stage by Anne Wareham Bowman. Samantha Acampora, Tim DeLisle, Sam Johns, and Bruce Wechtenshiser round out the rest of the cast.
Shortly before the premier of Ditko in Rhode Island, Steve Ditko’s nephew Mark Ditko reached out to Lenny Schwartz and offered to give notes on the script. “I used those notes in creating the rest of the script for the NYC shows and for this version as well,” the playwright explains. “The people of Johnstown haven’t seen that version yet. His notes only served to make the script stronger, and I am super proud of the version we have now.”
Ditko covers the full scope of Steve Ditko’s life and career, including his beliefs and convictions. “Over time, I realized how Steve was a man of deep morality and principles” Lenny Schwartz says. “To me, that is what the heart of the show became – how far does one person stand for what they believe in?”
While Ditko celebrates Steve Ditko’s life, it makes no mention of his passing on June 29, 2018, at the age of ninety. “I didn’t want to end with Steve’s death,” Schwartz confesses. “At the end, he should be where he always was – at his drawing table, letting his imagination be a part of all of ours.”
For someone like Steve Ditko – who believed that the story mattered more than the artist – it is an appropriate ending.
Anthony Letizia