Steve Ditko was only ever a painter.
Stephen J. Ditko ( [ ˈdɪtkoʊ ] born November 2 , 1927 ) is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist and co-creator , with Stan Lee , of the Marvel Comics superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange . He began his professional career in 1953 , working in the studio of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , beginning as an inker and coming under the influence of artist Mort Meskin . During this time , he then began his long association with Charlton Comics , where he did work in the genres of science fiction , horror , and mystery . He also co-created the superhero Captain Atom in 1960 . Ditko also began contributing to small independent publishers , where he created Mr. A , a hero reflecting the influence of Ayn Rand 's philosophy of Objectivism .