I would be super negligent if I didn’t write about Stan “The Man” Lee. He was a huge part of my childhood. Every day in Macomb, IL, rushing home to catch the Spider-Man cartoon on channel 44 (Chicago) and if I was lucky, I’d see the Marvel Superheroes show as well. The latter wasn’t very good, it was mostly still move across the cels to imitate the action we all though Jack Kirby was illustrating.
Stan was definitely a complicated and dividing figure. He drew a lot of criticism for getting his career through nepotism (his uncle was the publisher), he received more credit for creating the iconic characters than the artists, there’s still debate on how much he actually “wrote” (dialog), etc. etc. Money is often a sore spot and it’s a shame. Stan alongside Jack “The King” Kirby, John Romita, Roy Thomas, Steve Ditko, etc. brought the world so much joy through their creations and work.
One thing I want to give unique credit to Stan Lee for is being the public face of not just Marvel Comics but Superheroes comics in general. Even though I’ve grown to be more a DC guy, can you name one person at DC the masses recognize if he or she spoke on a TV interview? Yeah, it’s a stumper. Stan became the first real (superhero) comic book celebrity.
Another facet about Stan I’ve admired as I got older was how his career and fame were really a second act in his life. He started out in the business during his teens acting as a gopher for the artists. Then he just stuck around as the company slowly contracted into practically nothing. Stan was in his early forties by then, lamenting how he’d never get to pursue his dream…writing the American Novel. Fate intervened with superheroes making a comeback at DC and his uncle wanted him to make something comparable to the Justice League of America. Legend says, Stan’s wife recommended that he write what he really wanted, he was going to quit soon. Thankfully The Fantastic Four was enough of a hit for it allowed Stan to be the lead guy in creating an entire universe of characters. His gift for alliteration could’ve gotten him a gig on Madison Avenue too.
I’m grateful Somara and I got to meet him for a quick photo op. Stan was charming. He never lost his sense of humor. One guy at WizWorld had a prank photo of Stan imitating the infamous Burt Reynolds’ cheesecake picture. The handlers were busting the guy’s chops but Stan intervened, said he’d love to sign it, probably laughing at himself for doing such a silly thing.
Excelsior Stan! Thanks for everything and I’m relieved you got to see a decade of good movies made of your creations.