Comic Book Historians

Mark Ditko and Mort Todd Ditkoverse Interview 2025

Presented by Alex Grand

Ditkoverse publications are here: http://www.igg.me/at/ditkoverse1

Alex Grand speaks with Steve Ditko’s nephew, Mark Ditko, and longtime Ditko collaborator Mort Todd about their DitkoVerse publishing venture, a project dedicated to “remastering” and re-presenting classic Steve Ditko stories in high-quality editions . They describe their upcoming Indiegogo campaign, which kicks off a broader plan to keep Ditko’s independent work in continuous print leading up to what would have been his 100th birthday in 2027. The initial releases include Mister A—relettered and published in color for the first time—along with Fantastic Giants (featuring Charlton monster stories), Static (a superhero title), and a revised edition of Avenging World, Ditko’s philosophical opus. Mort Todd, who worked with Ditko as far back as the mid-1980s, explains the painstaking restoration process—cleaning up original black-and-white artwork, recoloring, and updating lettering in a way that stays faithful to Ditko’s intent. Mark emphasizes that the family’s focus is on honoring Steve Ditko’s desire to keep his work available and of high quality. The interview also touches on personal anecdotes—such as Ditko’s private yet supportive nature—and highlights their shared commitment: all funds raised will go directly into producing and distributing further reprints and unreleased material so future generations can appreciate Ditko’s unique blend of storytelling, philosophy, and artistry.

00:00 Intro and greetings  
00:28 Settlement with Disney  
01:01 Receiving Legend Award  
02:15 Launching DitkoVerse Project  
03:46 Mort Todd involvement  
05:02 Why use Indiegogo  
11:00 Exclusive fan rewards  
11:37 Starting titles lineup  
14:00 Avenging World spotlight  
15:37 Restoration process details  
16:16 Balancing family legacy  
19:16 Beyond Marvel overview  
22:43 Editorial approach discussion  
28:00 Social media impact  
31:00 Mort Todd anecdote  
35:02 Mark Ditko anecdote  
40:05 Indiegogo campaign info  
01:00:48 Wrap up thoughts  
01:03:00 End of interview  

My book, Understanding Superhero Comic Books available at https://a.co/d/iIE3fWH .

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