Steve Ditko, the Marvel comic book artist who created characters including Spider-Man and Doctor Strange alongside Stan Lee, was found dead in his apartment last week, the New York Police Department confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 90-year-old artist is believed to have died two days before he was found, but news of his death only surfaced Friday, said Variety.
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Ditko was born in Johnstown, Penn., in 1927. He drew early inspiration from comic characters such as Batman and “The Spirit.”
He began working as a comic artist while he was enlisted in the military, drawing in newspapers that were syndicated by the army, Variety noted.
Ditko later studied under Jerry Robinson, a Batman artist, before he joined Marvel in its early days.
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Together with Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Stan Lee, Ditko created Spider-Man in the early 1960s.
Ditko has been credited with designing Spidey’s costume.
The character made its debut in Amazing Fantasy No. 15 and it became a surprise hit.
The Amazing Spider-Man was subsequently born, and Ditko would create villains including the Lizard, Green Goblin, and Doctor Octopus.
He would go on to create Doctor Strange two years after Spider-Man.
Ditko later became embroiled in a conflict with Lee that would see him leave Marvel and start drawing for DC Comics, though he would later return for a time.
He was a private person, with some calling him the “J.D. Salinger” of comics.
News of his death drew an outpouring from artists on social media.
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