Here's to one of the greatest parts of my childhood, and development as a cartoonist, and as an artist.
Along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Buscema, along with an almost endless list of other editors, writers and artists most comics fans will know by heart, Stan Lee created the most beloved and enduring comic book characters to date. Granted, all the Marvel Bullpen artists did their share of the heavy lifting in creating the Marvel Universe, which finally led to a financial empire of toys, knick-knacks, action figures, books, animated TV shows, and finally feature films so prosperous that an unlikely rival media conglomerate, (Disney) could not pass it up.
(original copyright Simon and Schuster)
Stan also served in the U.S. Army.
In a Joseph Campbell way, Stan was a modern shaman to me, weaving tales about the Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and Spiderman, to name a few. Not to mention the X-Men, Thor, Dr. Strange and Iron Man. I plunked down many a quarter, then 35¢, and then well over a dollar to travel off to other worlds of mutants, monsters, madmen and gods. Stan Lee also helped me expand my vocabulary. Where else would a kid in grade school read about a "tumultuous exodus"? It helped drive my teachers crazy. Thank God for such pandemonious puffery! Spellcheckers be damned.
It's tempting to call Stan Lee a modern Shakespeare, with his stories of arrogant men falling, being humbled, and then rising again as heroes. But Lee's heroes also kept all of their quirks, faults and weaknesses, whereas most of the DC Comics universe had heroes who were almost always squeaky clean. How dull. No, in the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker struggled with paying the rent, looking after an aunt who always seemed to be at death's door, and an impossible boss who had a personal vendetta against Peter Parker's alter-ego Spiderman. Soap opera writers must have been jealous.
Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Ben Grimm and an entire legion of characters were humbled, stumbled and still rose to the occasion when the Marvel villains, most of whom also had their own stories and issues, threatened New York City, the Earth, or even the entire universe. Victories were won, but often at a price, and revelations of the depth of the characters emerged on both sides of the conflict. I seem to be gushing with Stan's "purple prose" here. And maybe some Jules Feiffer.
Got to wrap this up now, but I still treasure these mementos from my childhood. Being able to learn storytelling, draftsmanship, graphic design and even literacy from the humble, much maligned comic book leaves many geeks in Stan Lee's debt. R.I.P Mr. Lee.
Excelsior!
(copyright Nickelodeon)
