CGC-certified Comics from Steve Ditko's Collection in PBA Auction

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“Even though CGC has graded many copies of Spider-Man over the years, it was a thrill holding issues that were owned by one of Spidey’s creators,” said CGC President Matt Nelson. “Imagine Steve Ditko himself thumbing through them, observing his legendary contribution to Marvel’s flagship character. What an incredible thought.”

Steve Ditko began drawing during junior high, influenced by the work of cartoonist Will Eisner, and studied art at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School from legendary Batman artist Jerry Robinson. Ditko began working with Atlas Comics in 1956 on titles such as Journey into Mystery.

In 1962, writer Stan Lee asked Ditko to help design a character called Spider-Man, which would debut in Amazing Fantasy #15. The immediate success of the story earned the character its own monthly title, The Amazing Spider-Man. Ditko worked on the series for 38 issues. During his run with Marvel, Ditko also created the character Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #110, in 1963.

Ditko departed Marvel Comics in 1966 after a falling out with Lee. He moved on to work with DC Comics and a few independent publishers, and eventually returned to Marvel for a few projects in the 1980s and ’90s. He retired from mainstream comics in 1998 and passed away in 2018.