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Congrats, that's an incredible get.
If I can offer a little insight, Ditko's not being defensive or hostile. It's his Objectionist talk coming out. What he's saying is "you presented a costume whose context is all inference". inference has no credibility to Objectivism.
It's actually part of a larger argument for Ditko, which is who created Spider-Man. Ditko acknowledges Kirby had first crack, drew several pages, then Stan handed Steve the book and he redesigned the character. But, Jack and Joe had created The Fly previously, who was originally called the Silver Spider, which according to Simon was an altered name created because CC Beck didn't like the "Spiderman" mock logo Simon brought him. Kirby apparently had the mock logo and claims to have brought it to Stan at some point.
Silver Spider/Spiderman was created by Simon for Beck, in 1954. Same year as your Cooper costume.
So either way, the name "Spiderman" most likely didn't start with Stan as you have two outside sources who were using it nine years earlier.
The question is how did Cooper acquire its licenses? Where were they located in the 50's? If it was in the same NYC area, then you're talking about a period where Kirby and Simon had founded Mainline on Broadway in '53/'54. Same area as Cooper.
This is also the same exact time where Simon and Kirby split up, mainly over money. Simon then went to work in advertising, while Jack went total Freelance before heading back to Timely. Both guys would have incentive to pitch Cooper, and you could make the case for either. In Simon's case, it would be an easy transition to solicit ad copy. For Jack, you have art mocks for a quick sell.
IMO, I think the latter is very possible. Jack pitched Cooper some designs, and since it was a Halloween costume, it becomes a monster spider. Jack then goes to work for Timely, then hooks up with Simon to reboot Silver Spider/Spiderman into The Fiy in '59.
Jack goes to Atlas and make monsters until the superhero boom. Stan starts asking for ideas, Jack brings up the old Spiderman but draws the newer version, which is identical to The Fly. Stan brings on Ditko and they revert back to the Kirby-Cooper design.
Also, why didn't Simon go back to the Spiderman name for Radio in '59, but instead opted to lift Silver Spider and swipe The Fly name from the movie released in '58? Then when you look at Kirby's history, he had a distinct pattern of recycling his unused ideas into other properties, such as Fourth World and Eternals.
It would also explain why Cooper would grab the Spidey license so early and his interest in trademarking "superheroes" while not creating original character designs. Cooper was undercut by Marvel's trademark, so he agreed to retool to fit the new design. When the character and genre exploded, he tried to shore up his property with the superhero trademark, which would make Marvel and DC more amiable in negotiations.
If I can offer a little insight, Ditko's not being defensive or hostile. It's his Objectionist talk coming out. What he's saying is "you presented a costume whose context is all inference". inference has no credibility to Objectivism.
It's actually part of a larger argument for Ditko, which is who created Spider-Man. Ditko acknowledges Kirby had first crack, drew several pages, then Stan handed Steve the book and he redesigned the character. But, Jack and Joe had created The Fly previously, who was originally called the Silver Spider, which according to Simon was an altered name created because CC Beck didn't like the "Spiderman" mock logo Simon brought him. Kirby apparently had the mock logo and claims to have brought it to Stan at some point.
Silver Spider/Spiderman was created by Simon for Beck, in 1954. Same year as your Cooper costume.
So either way, the name "Spiderman" most likely didn't start with Stan as you have two outside sources who were using it nine years earlier.
The question is how did Cooper acquire its licenses? Where were they located in the 50's? If it was in the same NYC area, then you're talking about a period where Kirby and Simon had founded Mainline on Broadway in '53/'54. Same area as Cooper.
This is also the same exact time where Simon and Kirby split up, mainly over money. Simon then went to work in advertising, while Jack went total Freelance before heading back to Timely. Both guys would have incentive to pitch Cooper, and you could make the case for either. In Simon's case, it would be an easy transition to solicit ad copy. For Jack, you have art mocks for a quick sell.
IMO, I think the latter is very possible. Jack pitched Cooper some designs, and since it was a Halloween costume, it becomes a monster spider. Jack then goes to work for Timely, then hooks up with Simon to reboot Silver Spider/Spiderman into The Fiy in '59.
Jack goes to Atlas and make monsters until the superhero boom. Stan starts asking for ideas, Jack brings up the old Spiderman but draws the newer version, which is identical to The Fly. Stan brings on Ditko and they revert back to the Kirby-Cooper design.
Also, why didn't Simon go back to the Spiderman name for Radio in '59, but instead opted to lift Silver Spider and swipe The Fly name from the movie released in '58? Then when you look at Kirby's history, he had a distinct pattern of recycling his unused ideas into other properties, such as Fourth World and Eternals.
It would also explain why Cooper would grab the Spidey license so early and his interest in trademarking "superheroes" while not creating original character designs. Cooper was undercut by Marvel's trademark, so he agreed to retool to fit the new design. When the character and genre exploded, he tried to shore up his property with the superhero trademark, which would make Marvel and DC more amiable in negotiations.
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