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Post by brutalis on Jan 14, 2020 14:20:09 GMT -5
For those old timers among us who remember the days of fresh comics on the spinner rack, one of the inevitable questions would have been: Ditko or Kirby: which one was your favorite? Whose camp were you in and following? Which one of these imaginative creators flipped your switch the most? Not saying that one is better than the other: but which was your personal preference? Both Jack and Steve were genius beyond compare in creativity for new worlds, new concepts, new ideas along with new heroes and villains. They both gifted the comic book world with creations that are still going strong and creators of today still wish to play with creatively to write or draw within these gentlemen's incomparable worlds.
I adore both and find myself torn at times over which one captured more of my hard earned nickels and dimes at the time. I have, over time purchased any new TPB or Omni which is printed that carries the names Kirby or Ditko on the cover. But if forced into choosing one over the other I believe that I must say it's Kirby I enjoy just that little bit more than Ditko. Both creators provide unique styles and personal treats for the mind and eyes, yet I can honestly state that more of Kirby's work is something I can read again over and over.
There is no "other" option in this poll, as I simply wish to engage the discussion over these 2 GREATS. There are many others, both writers and artists deserving of praise and discussion as much, but the purpose here is for seeing what everyone thinks about Sturdy Steve Ditko and Jack King Kirby. Let's hear your thoughts...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 14:29:59 GMT -5
I like Kirby for his early work in Marvel and Steve Ditko's Spiderman as well; and come to think of it ... I think Kirby is more well rounded than Ditko because of his work on the New Gods and worked in both DC and Marvel Comics. For Kirby Alone, his work on the Fantastic Four made him a legend.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 14:31:43 GMT -5
You've asked a tough question, my friend. You may as well ask me whether I prefer Coca-Cola or Pepsi. This is a hard one.
Okay, after much deliberation, it's Jack Kirby.
Both men had more talent in one fingernail than I would have if I went to art college for 100 years! So I mean no disrespect to Mr Ditko. But as astounding as Ditko's work is, and it's mesmerising and psychedelic in ways too numerous to mention, there's a certain grandeur and gravitas that Kirby brought to his art. I honestly believe if Kirby had done a splash page of a sandwich waiting to be collected in a diner, it would have had the grandeur and gravitas that all of his work had.
I first came across him around the age of 7 when a UK annual reprinted the 1985/1986 Super Powers mini-series. Such a spectacle! So epic! A world I could fully immerse myself in no problem. Absolutely captivating.
Thank you, Mr Kirby.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 14, 2020 14:36:10 GMT -5
Both. Or neither. Both are great at what they do. But what they do best is very different. I can't see Ditko working on New Gods. And Kirby's Spider-man was awful and I can't see him doing The Question well. Just looking at the Atlas age shorts, Kirby shined on big monsters while Ditko did better with more intimate human-centric stories.
I didn't start buying my own comics until 1975, so it was well after the hey-day of the Marvel Age. I can say that I never bought a comic off a spinner rack specifically for Ditko art or Kirby art. I can say that I did that for a few other artists, but that's not the point of this exercise.
So...I can't actually vote in the poll. Because It's not an either-or answer.
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Post by beccabear67 on Jan 14, 2020 14:44:16 GMT -5
Er, um... Alex Toth!  Okay, visually Ditko I guess, but Kirby was massively full of huge ideas while Ditko was mainly grinding an objectivist axe if there was more than just adventure involved. Two very different creators. No vote here either. |
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Post by Graphic Autist on Jan 14, 2020 14:49:32 GMT -5
Kirby.
Other than Spider-Man and Dr. Strange, I really don't care for Ditko's art.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Jan 14, 2020 15:04:58 GMT -5
I voted Ditko and here is why...early ASM.
Maybe it is because I adore the character. I adore the simplistic style he had. I adore the way he created some of the most amazing and visually appealing villains. I also enjoy a lot of his later work, that gets more explorative when he starts playing with lines and designs.
Kirby, initially for me, appeared ugly, blocky and at times distracting. However, over time, I have come to appreciate it more and more. I would say it took time to grow on me and appreciate, whereas Ditko just has a timeless quality that I love. It represents a simple yet effective time in comic art.
At the end of the day, I asked myself would I rather a Ditko splash or a Kirby splash plastered on my wall and for me it was a Ditko panel. But like a previous poster mentioned about Coke or Pepsi, I will happily take both any day.
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Post by electricmastro on Jan 14, 2020 15:29:15 GMT -5
Kirby is usually good/serviceable, but tends to not stick out to me unless it's something like Devil Dinosaur.  |
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Post by brutalis on Jan 14, 2020 15:51:52 GMT -5
This is what I was talking about. on just about any day I can go either/or/both. But for the long haul it was usually seeing ads inside the comics which had me anxiously awaiting the newest Kirby comic book. I loved seeing Ditko appear at any time or any comic but I felt that Kirby's stuff held up longer and stronger in most instances. I like Creeper and love Shade, I like Hawk & Dove but love Starman. I like Blue Beetle but love Spider-Man. I like Mr. A but love Captain Atom & Question. I LOVE Fantastic Four/Inhumans/Black Panther, New Gods, Mister Miracle, Demon, OMAC, Kamandi, Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man and Eternals and other Kirby interiors and covers.
Ditko's work rarely lasted long enough to find new on the spinner racks outside of Spidey and Doctor Strange reprints in the 70's and after his last round with Marvel for Speedball and ROM, he was exclusively self publishing, which I wasn't capable of getting. Though I did actively purchase any Speedball and ROM and his Legion of Superheroes and Micronauts work whenever I knew of or could find them. But at that point he was simply the art robot without actually creating much more than new designs and layouts.
Meanwhile, I simply ate up any of those reprint horror/science fiction Ditko short stories from the Atlas years or his stories for Warren magazines while missing out on most of Kirby's DC 70's work on New Gods and Forever People and Jimmy Olsen. I think I had 1 New Gods along with a couple of Mister Miracle's and an OMAC while able to read much of Kamandi due to a cousin who collected that series. It was more with his late 70's return to Marvel where I found Kirby. His new series for Devil Dinosaur/Machine Man/Eternals and reprints of FF in Marvel's Greatest Comic.
So both men were always a strong presence in my collecting comics and influential in my developing taste of what is stylish and very innovative about comic books.
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Post by MDG on Jan 14, 2020 16:16:14 GMT -5
As others said, both are great but they had different styles and outlooks. Ditko resonates more with me, mainly because of his great work at Warren and the paranoid world of his Doc Strange. He was also great at making ideas visual--even when I was 14, I couldn't buy into that Randian claptrap, but his ability to use characters and images to communicate ideas was amazing.
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 14, 2020 16:18:40 GMT -5
When new artists came to Marvel in the 60s, Stan always said, just look at Kirby.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 16:22:52 GMT -5
Comparing apples to oranges. They both had strengths and both had flaws. As slam stated Kirby's Spider-Man was horrible. I loved Ditko's work but there isn't the same volume of stuff as Kirby's. So if I had to pick one the edge goes to Kirby just for the sheer amount of work he produced over the years.
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Post by foxley on Jan 14, 2020 16:38:28 GMT -5
My distaste for Jack's Kirby's art, and bewilderment by the level of uncritical worship his name evokes, compels me to vote for Ditko. At least his characters had different faces, and not everyone looked like a caveman.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2020 16:56:07 GMT -5
My distaste for Jack's Kirby's art, and bewilderment by the level of uncritical worship his name evokes, compels me to vote for Ditko. At least his characters had different faces, and not everyone looked like a caveman. *Takes jacket off* Sir, would you care to step outside for a moment?  |
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Post by tarkintino on Jan 14, 2020 17:10:47 GMT -5
Kirby's greatest strength were...three inkers (actually a step above the common inker): Frank Giacoia, Joe Sinnott and Syd Shores. They refined his tendency toward exaggeration and robotic-looking humans, fully realizing what he was trying to communicate. All one needs to do is gaze at his work on Captain America and The Fantaatic Four, then imagine those men never working with him at all. This partnership gave him a massive edge over Ditko, who had a style that was not going to really grow independently or working with anyone else.
Put it this way: one could argue with confidence that The Fantastic Four never looked better/had a greater impact after the Kirby/Sinnott run, but few ever say that about The Amazing Spider-Man after Ditko's departure. In fact, its almost always the extreme opposite. So, if you are forced to choose between the two, that should give anyone an easy choice to make about the greater talent.
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