Ditkomania

All I really want to write about is Steve Ditko.

Netflix has recently added the Spider-Man cartoon from the 60's. These cartoons were my gateway into comics in 1974. I first saw the episode about the Flying Dutchman with Mysterio in a hotel room in April of that year. I was with my Grandmother and Mama in a Travel Lodge in Louisville, Kentucky just days after the big tornado. We were waiting for our new apartment to be ready, having just moved across the state from Paducah. I was 3. Grandma was 53, and Mama was 26.

The tornado caused some damage on  the roof of the complex we were moving to. So, to keep me busy, I was given free reign of the hotel room TV. Channel 41, WDRB had all the cartoons Bugs Bunny, Spider-Man, Mickey Mouse Club reruns. They also had all the monster movies on weekends. Everything from Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein to Black Sabbath. I finally watched Black Sabbath a few weeks ago, after having built it up in my head for 35 years. The scene with Boris Karloff toting the devil's head proudly still freaked me out, even more so in color.

What does any of this have to do with Steve Ditko? Quite a bit, and we'll get to that later.