10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Stan Lee
3. He Didn't Really Feel Guilty About The Way Jack Kirby And Steve Ditko Were Treated
It's now common knowledge that both Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko weren't really treated well during their time at Marvel, and a lot of the heat for this fell on Stan's shoulders. However, whenever he was asked about either man he always had nothing but praise for them, making this interview with Playboy somewhat curious.
"If you ask me, should they have been paid more? Then you have to say, shouldn't John Romita have been paid more? Shouldn't Gil Kane have been paid more? Shouldn't John Buscema have? They were all great Marvel artists. In other words, if somebody draws a strip and it becomes successful, do you go back? I don't know. That's the reason I've never been a businessman and never want to be a businessman. I don't know how to deal with those things."
Even going so far as to point out how he offered both of them jobs at Marvel and was turned down flat.
"Jack, why don't you work for Marvel with me?" I was the art director at the time. I said, "You be the art director. I'll just be the editor and head writer, and you'll have that security." He wouldn't do it."