A Tribute to Stan Lee

It is strange to get the report that Stan Lee has died this morning at age 95.  He seemed vibrant and full of energy.  I’ve seen him many times.  I think the first was at San Diego Comic Con years ago, he was signing comic books, and I brought up an issue of Fantastic Four.  It is stunning that there is such high prices for his signature now and long lines.  Everyone, fans and creative people, light up when he showed up.  I was working at a comic convention and happened to see Stan resting back stage.  It was interesting to see him not on stage.  One of memorable times that I saw him was on September 9th, 2014.  It was a Blu Ray signing with the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Joe and Anthony Russo.  I noticed Stan’s arrival outside and thought he would be just dropping in to say hi. I was right about to get my Blu Ray signed when the Russo Brothers announced Stan to tremendous applause.  Stan signed the Blu Ray, it was promoted as only the directors, so the people who were ahead of me did not get Stan’s signature!  He was at the D23 Expo, last year, honored as a Disney Legend.  I saw Stan last year working the press event Extraordinary Stan Lee.   

Stan Lee, Joe and Anthony Russo, at Amoeba Records, 2014, photo by the author. 

Stan Lee is such a fixture of Marvel Comics and their characters.  His cameos are always a welcome surprise in Marvel Cinematic Universe films.  He started as an assistant in 1939 at Timely Comics which later became Marvel Comics.  Stan’s first comic story was in a back-up feature of Captain America #5 (1941).  The revolution came with Fantastic Four #1 (1961) with art by Jack Kirby.  There was a wealth of characters created from that moment.  Stan created a Marvel icon who was closely identified with the company working with Steve Ditko with the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962).  The collaboration with Jack Kirby resulted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962), the first appearance of Thor in Journey into Mystery #83 (1962), Iron Man with Tales of Suspense #39 (1963), all of whom grouped together in Avengers #1 (1963). He also teamed with Kirby to create X-Men with The X-Men #1 (1963).  Then, Stan worked with Steve Ditko to create Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #110 (1963).  He later teamed with artist Bill Everett to create Daredevil with his first issue in 1964.  Stan was a great promoter for Marvel Comics with his feature, “Stan’s Soapbox”, and messages with the Merry Marvel Marching Society.  

There were so many innovative characters during the Lee and Kirby run on Fantastic Four with the introduction of Black Panther in Fantastic Four #52 (1966).  Also, there was the “Galactus Trilogy” that started with Fantastic Four #48 (1966) and introduced Silver Surfer.  Stan narrated a number of animated series for Marvel Productions starting with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-1983).  He made a cameo as a jury foreman in the television movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989). One of the surprises was Stan writing the DC Comics series Just Imagine… reimagining DC heroes in 2001. He started making cameos in super hero films with X-Men (2000). We may remember Stan showing up in The Big Bang Theory with “The Excelsior Acquisition” (2010) playing himself.  Stan hosted the show, Stan Lee’s Superhumans, from 2010 to 2014. One of his funniest cameos was at the end of Big Hero 6 (2014) and he reprised the role in Big Hero 6 The Series.  Stan wrote about comics with Origins of Marvel Comics (1974), How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way (1984) with John Buscema, and Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics (2010).  He wrote novels as well including Dunn’s Conundrum (1985), co-wrote with Bill McCay Stan Lee’s Riftworld: Odyssey (1996), and was one of the writers in The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence (2015).  Recently, we saw Stan’s cameo in this year’s Venom.  Stan will always be there with superheroes in popular culture. Excelsior! 

#StanLee, #MarvelComics, #FantasticFour, #SpiderMan.