Like most people, I work out notes for an essay on Steve Ditko I hope to write.

Set-up - how much of 'multiverse' and DC do I need to include?
Jack Kirby returning to Marvel, Ditko being hired
Distributors

Flash 123 FF 1
Challengers of the Unknown, Kirby and Schiff
Golf game
As distributor, DC knew all

Anything else I have to say about FF
Hulk - monster book
Setting up franchise
Thor - Kirby's mythology interest

Ant-Man - 1st appearance
    2nd appearance
    Goodman's interest

Kirby's Spider-Man
Why not print?
Where is the art?
Goodman paid for it
Stolen?
    When old thieves die, what about the art?

Amazing Fantasy 15 - not sure what to say

Short stories for #1 and 2
    Stereotype of superheroes
    Aliens, monsters, Russians - Spidey was the normal one
    Chameleon - Russian / FF - franchise
    Most out-of-character story
    JJJ 1st appearance
    Vulture - not sure Betty appears
    JJJ/Betty start the longrange plots

Peter's home life and school life

#3 Doc Ock is Ditko's main villain - Johnny Storm
    I've asked Ditko Facebook if he'd done a long story before this issue

#4 Sandman at school
#5 Dr. Doom - #4-5 were the first monthly issues
#6 Lizard - is JJJ involved?
#7 Vulture returns - Betty at Bugle

Peter + Betty
    #7 ending
    #8 School - Kirby FF
    Flash Thompson - not much to say about him
    Liz

#9-12
    Betty - She's worried - Her past - Her rother - Leaves but comes back
    Liz changes her mind

#10 opens subplots
    Aunt May gets sick in 9, meets Betty - blood transfusion is in 10
    Big Man

9-12 finish talking about that - Betty vs. Liz
    This is where Ditko started his long storylines, assuming he wasn't already starting them

Betty vs. Liz #13, 14, 15
    Mary Jane, Aunt May wants Peter to meet a girl
    Liz as rival - Liz and MJ
    Liz and Betty meet MJ - Liz quits
    Betty and Ned - the Fountainhead

Finish the stuff about Betty
    Gwen as replacement for Liz
    Speculation about MJ

Aunt May gets sick three times in Ditko's run
   Speculation on what Ditko would do with her

Villains up through the Sinister Six

JJJ - too useful as a character to define
    Media - Daily Bugle
    Business/crime

#10 Foswell - his part of the story

Green Goblin
    Ditko's only public statement
    Other examples of his playing with identity
    #14 first appearance - sets it all up to get Spidey, appears on first page, walks away on last page
        Hulk, FF story, Movies
    #17 Second appearance, still no basis for his character
       He wants to destroy Spidey - why?
    Liz's father

#17-19 Sandman, Torch, Enforcers
    It's a multi-part story

#20 JJJ - Scorpion - not sure what to asy

Other Goblin appearances
Ditko's storytelling in later issues - was the point to be boring?
Norman Osborne
My favorite issue
    Credit to Stan for that dialogue
    Problems with Stan - the Master Planner set-up
Ditko breaks with Stan
How Stan had to clean it up after Ditko left
    Betty - MJ - Goblin - Kingpin
If I can get all this written, go back and try to work out every step of my DC/Multiverse essays to build up to this

16 - DD Circus of Crime
21 - Johnny Storm, Beetle
22 - Circus of Crime
23 - Goblin/Mob
24 - Mysterio
26-27 - Goblin/Mob
28 - Graduation, Molten Man
29 - Cat Burgler, setting up Master Planner - these were Spidey's equivalent of "graduation"
34 - Kraven - 35 Molten Man - these are repetitive
36 - Meteor/Gwen - she's hooked
37 - Stromm/Osborne
The last several villains were repetitive or pointless, it might be Ditko's version of 'what happens after graduation?'

18 - sees Betty with other man, we'll learn it's Ned - making Peter jealous
19 - Peter isn't jealous
20 - Ned leaves for Europe
29 - Ned returns - both issues have Scorpion - 30 Ned has proposed