Stan Lee RIP

[CaptainCarrot]

Hi all, I know this is the DC forum and ironically, at the moment, I'm a solely DC reader, but I felt that Stan Lee deserved a little shout out here. He was a great guy, a huge talent and an all around awesome human being (some friends and I were fortunate enough to have lunch with him in the 90s). Although he didn't work at D.C., he did have an influence on some of our Favotite writers, artists, etcetera and I felt he deserved a little love on the D.C. Forum for his talent,creativity, and love for the medium we all love and enjoy so much. I for one will miss his influence and presence. RIP Mr. Stan Lee

[Buried Alien]

From a DC fan perspective, I think it's best to say that Stan Lee's work at Marvel forced DC to up its game after the end of the Silver Age, and for that, we can all be thankful.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Rac7d*]

[liwanag]

rip stan lee. thanks.

[Jim Kelly]

rip stan lee. thanks.

^^^
Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe. Stan did work at DC in the early 2000s. He also contributed to DC's 9-11 TPB and he did a story for DC COMICS PRESENTS SUPERMAN (part of the tribute to Julius Schwartz after his passing).

I prefer to think that all those guys living and working in New York influenced each other and were engaged in healthy competition. So it isn't a case of one pushing the other but simply that all were alive at the same time, came from the same background and worked in the same city. They were all feeding off the same influences.

Stanley Martin Lieber was born in Manhattan but he attended high school in the Bronx, the same high school as Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Will Eisner. Julie Schwartz and Mort Weisinger also went to school in the Bronx, but not the same one as those guys. They all came from Jewish families, the children of European immigrants, many with fathers working in the garment trade.

They had all experienced the Depression and were young men when World War Two began. Like many others, Stan joined up and did his bit for Uncle Sam. Experiences that influenced the stories he wrote at Timely, Atlas, Marvel.

As that company evolved, Lee had to be able to write whatever was in style and he had the chance to work with many creative people who worked all over the industry--Charles Nicholas, Carmine Infantino, Joe Simon, Dan DeCarlo, Syd Shores, Howie Post, Gene Colan, Al Hartley, Dick Ayers, Jack Kirby et al.

Cross-pollination was bound to occur with so many busy bees buzzing all over Manhattan.

[CaptainCarrot]

Thank you for the reminder Jim Kelly. I recalled this fact just prior to your posting and I remember that I really enjoyed the stories. Goes to show that even in later years, Stan was still full of ideas for retelling stories and recreating characters and even coming up with brand new tales and characters. So full of talent.

[CaptainCarrot]

Thanks also Liwanag for the reminder picture

[Comic-Reader Lad]

From a DC fan perspective, I think it's best to say that Stan Lee's work at Marvel forced DC to up its game after the end of the Silver Age, and for that, we can all be thankful.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I agree. Ask any athlete or business person. A strong competitor forces you to become better yourself. Fans gravitating toward Marvel forced DC to get out of its comfort zone and age-up their storytelling. Lois Lane trying to prove Clark is Superman by breaking scissors on his hair just wasn't going to sell comics anymore.

We would not have gotten the Denny O'Neill/Neal Adams stuff like Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman's return to his roots if Marvel weren't siphoning sales away.

New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Camelot 3000, Ronin, Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, the beginnings of Vertigo with Swamp Thing/Sandman/Animal Man/Doom Patrol, etc. were all responses by DC to stay relevant. I like to think that DC staying #2 through all that was a good thing because it kept DC experimenting and innovating while Marvel just coasted along with tons of Spider-Man and X-Men titles to its creative detriment.

DC may never have recovered the number 1 spot in sales for any length of time, but Marvel certainly spurred DC to creative heights that surpassed anything Marvel did.

So, from a DC fan, thanks Stan for giving us a better DC and those great Silver and Bronze Age Marvels!

[Robotman]

There will always be debates over how much Stan actually contributed to the creation of the Marvel characters with regards to Kirby and Ditko but you can never question how much he helped promote the industry and usher comics into the modern age. He was an ambassador for the medium and his enthusiasm for superheroes (and super villains) helped to create the global phenomenon we currently have.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

There will always be debates over how much Stan actually contributed to the creation of the Marvel characters with regards to Kirby and Ditko but you can never question how much he helped promote the industry and usher comics into the modern age. He was an ambassador for the medium and his enthusiasm for superheroes (and super villains) helped to create the global phenomenon we currently have.

I always disagree with this statement because it's indisputable that the characters originated with Stan Lee. Kirby and Ditko added design elements and Ditko came up with Spider-Man's webshooters. Later, they also plotted many of the stories, but everything originates with Stan.

In fact, I always argue that even giving co-creator credit to Kirby and Ditko doesn't mean their contribution to the creation of the character was 50%. The main appeal of the Marvel characters is their personalities and the introspective neurosis that was brought to superheroes. This was ALL Stan Lee. 100%.

Steve Ditko got the Spider-Man assignment in the first place because Stan wanted Ditko's artistic sensibilities to interpret Stan's ideas rather than Kirby who made Spider-Man look "too heroic."

So, Stan came up with the characters, their personality strengths and flaws, their voices, their powers, their origins, the basic setup/environment in which they operated, etc. As EIC, Stan also decided which artist would best interpret his vision of the character and assigned the projects accordingly.

Yes, Kirby, Ditko, and others came up with the unique "look" of a Marvel Comic and, by extension, the look of the Marvel Universe. As time went along, and Stan became too busy running the company, they also often plotted the stories besides doing the artwork.

It's ok to say that Stan should have given Jack and Steve plotting or co-plotting credit because sometimes he didn't, but it is complete bull to say that there is any real debate as to "how much Stan actually contributed to the creation of the Marvel characters with regards to Kirby and Ditko."

No, there is absolutely no debate as to Stan's origination of the characters and his contributions in fleshing them out.

Without Stan, none of the Marvel characters would exist in the first place. Without Kirby and Ditko, they WOULD exist. They would be different, yes, but they would exist.

[married guy]

I'm just very thankful I got to meet him a few years ago (2012).

He was AMAZING. 89 years old and he quite literally did not stop all day.

How he did it still baffles me.


I introduced my wife & kids, told him we'd driven 1400km to see him, smiled snapped the pic and it was over.

Still one of the highlights of my life.

[Jekyll]

I wore a fantastic four pin yesterday in memory of Stan. I wish I could thank him for creating some of my favorite characters of all time. He will be sorely missed!

Has DC ever had someone with as much star power as Stan? I’m genuinely asking, because in my life time (born in 1988) I can’t think of anyone from DC that was on the same level as Stan Lee.

[Robotman]

I wore a fantastic four pin yesterday in memory of Stan. I wish I could thank him for creating some of my favorite characters of all time. He will be sorely missed!

Has DC ever had someone with as much star power as Stan? I’m genuinely asking, because in my life time (born in 1988) I can’t think of anyone from DC that was on the same level as Stan Lee.

When the 1989 Batman movie became a phenomenon, Bob Kane was everywhere to soak up the attention. I recall him being on talk shows and news features pretty regularly. We know now that his contributions to the character were dwarfed by Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, but Kane was there to take credit for everything and for a time in the early 90s was probably one of the most well known comic book creators in main stream circles. And yes he did have a cameo in the film.

Stan Lee told a story about going with Kane to the Batman premier and how Kane, always the braggart, teased Stan about how his character was more popular than all of Stan’s. How times have changed.

“I wish my friend Bob Kane were still with us — he’s the fellow who created Batman,” Lee says. “Bob always used to tease me about the fact that Batman was a big deal on television and in movies, and we at Marvel had done nothing. I wish he was here now so I could return that teasing.”

[Jim Kelly]

Of course, while DC may not own a lot of Stan Lee presents, they do have their own Stan the Man in the form of Funky Flashman, Jack Kirby's parody of his former boss.

[Thor-Ul]

Indeed, DC never had a figure like Stan Lee. But Stan Lee was the only one.

He was one of the changed the direction of comics and forced the distinguided competition to improve itself. So, in a deep aspect, DC also ownes much to Stan Lee.