By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/23/2016
Abraham Riesman. New York magazines resident comics expert, has a long and long brewing profile of Stan Lee called Why Is Stan Lee’s Legacy in Question?. It’s a write-around, meaning he never got to talk to Lee personally, but he talked to everyone else, inluding Roy Thomas and Lee biographer Tom Spurgeon. And if you […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/22/2016
Frank Miller was in LA this weekend to talk about Batman and the BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS 30th Anniversary Edition, At a signing at the Barnes & Noble at the Grove, Stan Lee showed up to greet him, and DC Entertainment captured this historic moment in pictures. The LA Times also interviewed Miller about […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/19/2016
Embed from Getty Images Stan Lee’s superhuman endurance and vitality at an age when most people are drooling into their rascal has been amazing and inspiring. But even The Man is finally beginning to slow down on a travel schedule that would take people half his age. HIs trip to Fan Expo in Toronto this […]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/22/2015
Marvel has announced that ABC will shoot a one-hour special called “Marvel’s Captain America: 75 Heroic Years.” Joe Simon and Jack Kirby introduced Steve Rogers and his superhero alter ego to the world back in 1941; the show will feature a look back at how the character has evolved.
Some of the Hollywood names who have agreed to take part include Marvel legend Stan Lee, actor Chris Evans, actress Hayley Atwell, and the family members of both Simon and Kirby. The air date has been scheduled for Jan. 19, 2016.
Here’s more from the press release: “Captain America has been the moral compass that has inspired generations to do better and believe in more than themselves. Whether it be leading the Avengers or fighting for his beliefs, even when it meant taking sides against those closest to him during Marvel’s Civil War, ‘Cap’ has been a beacon of light in the Marvel Universe and a central figure in the vast and dynamic world that Marvel fans know and celebrate today.”
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/9/2015
We’ll have the new Marvel titles for Summer 2016 in a few hours, but I noticed this, and had to share immediately! Next June, Marvel will be releasing an 816-page slipcase hardcover featuring some of the greatest iconic stories written by Stan Lee! (And some surprises as well, like the Spidey Sunday Spectacular!) Marvel published […]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/12/2015
Beloved author Paulo Coelho has donated three of his books to the Worldreader’s digital library. The nonprofit organization behind this venture allows young students and public library patrons in sub-Saharan Africa to access e-books through e-readers.
Access is also granted to bibliophiles throughout Africa who read using a mobile phone. This digital library currently features 28,500 local and international titles.
Here’s more from the press release: “The titles donated are The Supreme Gift, an adaptation of Henry Drummond’s famous sermon on love written to appeal to all faiths; Christmas Stories a collection of ten Christmas tales accompanied by Paulo’s ruminations on a life well lived; and Stories for Parents, Children, and Grandchildren, a collection of timeless and magical tales from around the world retold by Paulo and illustrated by his wife, Christina Oiticica…Worldreader currently works with over 250 authors from around the world including Stan Lee, Tad Hills, Nnedi Okorafor, and publishers including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and Longhorn Publishers (Kenya).”
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By: Dianna Dilworth,
on 11/6/2015
The legendary Stan Lee‘s graphic memoir came out this week. Entitled, Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir, the book tells the 93-year-old comics icon’s life story through illustrations by comics artist Colleen Doran.
Comic book writer Peter David co-wrote the book with Lee. The book tells Lee’s tales from his childhood in New York City and how he became lead writer and editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics during its the 1960s and ’70s to creating Spider-Man with Steve Ditko. Here is more about the book:
The most legendary name in the history of comic books, he has been the leading creative force behind Marvel Comics, and has brought to life—and into the mainstream—some of the world’s best-known heroes and most infamous villains throughout his career. His stories—filled with superheroes struggling with personal hang-ups and bad guys who possessed previously unseen psychological complexity—added wit and subtlety to a field previously locked into flat portrayals of good vs. evil. Lee put the human in superhuman and in doing so, created a new mythology for the twentieth century.
You can check out the book’s trailer here.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/2/2015
Comikaze Expo puts its best foot forward for 2015.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/2/2015
STAN THE MAN…YOU’VE BEEN HACKED!! pic.twitter.com/DmYM8FrQt3 — stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) November 2, 2015 Not content with cuddling Grumpy Cat, Stan Lee is now under attack from a video of Todd McFarlane. Could anything be more terrifying? It’s still the Day of the Dead and a few of those Halloween spirits are drifting among us!
By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/2/2015
Chelsea Kenna has landed a deal with Stan Lee’s Kids Universe (SLKU). She has written and illustrated a picture book entitled Dragons vs. Pandas.
SLKU, an imprint 1821 Media Group and POW! Entertainment, will publish the English and Mandarin editions of this book for readers in the United States and China in 2016. According to the press release, the editorial team has plans for “a multi-platform release as a Saturday morning cartoon, iPhone game, and more.”
This project marks “the company’s first foray into international content.” It was first announced was made at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo.
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/2/2015
Grumpy Cat and @TheRealStanLee having a terrible #Halloween backstage @StanLeeComikaze @HotTopic #Comikaze pic.twitter.com/O0RL11eW7O — Grumpy Cat (@RealGrumpyCat) November 1, 2015 It happened this weekend at Comikaze in LA. And hundreds have had their photo taken with Grumpy Cat, only Stan Lee was allowed to actually hold the cat. When the epic once in a lifetime […]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 10/21/2015
By: Maryann Yin,
on 10/12/2015
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/6/2015
On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin became the first human being to achieve Earth orbit, effectively winning the space race. At NASA, scientists sighed, poured more coffee, and redoubled their efforts. In New York, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the Fantastic Four. With a new FF movie coming out, readers and fans […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/4/2015
That’s right! Two titans from your childhood face off in one of the most popular of YouTube channels! It’s Stan Lee (Lloyd “EpicLLOYD” Ahlquist) vs Jim Henson (Peter “Nice Peter” Shukoff) in another Epic Rap Battle of History! How nasty will it get? Who will win? It’s not who you think…
By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/16/2015
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/11/2015
Lego Marvel’s Avengers held a rockin good time with its host Kinda Funny’s Greg Miler. The group consisted of Arthur Parsons Director at Tt Games, Matt Ellison Producer, Bill Rosemann creative director Marvel Games, and Mike Jones executive producer Marvel Games. Combined Arthur and Matt have worked on almost all the Lego games. Bill Rosemann who worked on comics for 20 years at Marvel is the authenticity gatekeeper for the Lego Marvel franchise. This Lego franchise has gatekeepers between Marvel, Lego, and WB.
The currently circulating trailer for Lego marvel’s Avengers was rolled for the two people in the room not familiar with the game. This new game focuses on Marvel’s Cinematic Universe using the Avengers film as a jump off point. Lego Marvel’s Avengers is more a spiritual successor than a straight sequel to the previous Marvel Super Heroes game. The game’s main mission sees players go through key events of the MCU while blending the unique humor everything involving the blocks is known for.
Characters who haven’t yet appeared in the MCU will be included on the game’s roster. A few clips from the game’s E3 demo were shown where Bruce Banner rides in during the battle of New York to punch out the Chitari monster. Team up moves are a big selling point of the game we’ve seen Cap throw Black Widow off his shield and during the panel a few others were shown such as Throw hitting cap’s shield.
This new game takes everything gamers love about the previous and puts a layer of new on top of it. Once example saw Hulk super jump his way across the city. Clearly the team has added missing elements such as a form of flight for larger characters
100 new characters coming to Lego Marvel’s Avengers. One of the cornerstone philosophies of making the game was to
Stan Lee just invaded the panel to announce himself as a fully playable character. He’s sort of the Iron Stan as he goes through suits similar to Iron Man. New Quicksilver and Vision gameplay also got demoed. Pietro’s speed effects don’t rely on a bunch of blast lines, instead it makes gameplay
Young Avengers Wiccan, America Chavez, Crossbones, Detroit Steel, and Sam Wilson Cap will also be part of the roster. TT is dead serious when they say they’re going deep in the Avengers bench.
Going through different character variations is also updated to feel like Lego Batman. When using Iron Man a push of the button goes into Tony’s HUD which then let’s the player change into different suits with unique abilities.
Audience questions rounded out the panel which included “who would win in a fight?” The answer of course being Marvel characters.
Greg Miller himself tweeted a request for Spider-Gwen during the panel.
Another fan asked about an expansion for the open world New York. Different places will used in the game as Age of Ultron was a global film.
A touchy subject of drone characters filling in the boasted number of characters was brought up. The team promised 100 new characters not 100 drones.
To close the panel a laundry list of wishes were shouted including the new Ms.Marvel and again Spider-Gwen.
Lego Marvel’s Avengers releases on major game consoles this winter.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 6/8/2015
In the past, A.J. Jacobs revealed that he has several famous \"cousins\" including former President George H. W. Bush, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and Harry Potter movie series actor Daniel Radcliffe.
Over the weekend, Jacobs hosted the Global Family Reunion in New York City. The journalist shared an extended family tree which unveiled his connection to several notable authors.
According to Jacobs’ research, he is cousin to the following writers: English playwright William Shakespeare, Green Eggs and Ham creator Dr. Seuss, comics legend Stan Lee, horror master Stephen King, and Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway. Click here to watch a TED talk about the origins of this genealogy project.
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 5/21/2015
The legendary Stan Lee plans to write a graphic memoir. Lee himself designated comics artist Colleen Doran to create the illustrations for this project.
The Touchstone imprint will publish Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir on October 6th. The publisher also plans to produce a deluxe slipcase edition; Lee will sign a limited number of these particular books. Senior editor Matthew Benjamin negotiated the deal with the team at the Susan Crawford literary agency.
Lee had this statement in the press release: “As Marvel just celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary, I thought maybe it’s time for a look at my life in the one form it has never been depicted, as a comicbook…or if you prefer, a graphic memoir. It strikes me as a horrendous oversight that I haven’t done it before! If I didn’t know everything about my life already, I’d envy your voyage of discovery!”
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/28/2015
Audi produced this short comedy advertisement with Stan Lee teaching how to do what he does best: appear in cameos in Marvel films. The short, directed by Kevin Smith with appearances by Smith, Jason Mewes, Michael Rooker, Tara Reid and, poignantly, Lou Ferrigno, sort of sums up where we’re at as a culture right now.
“I’ve studied a lot of acting methods,” Rooker says in the short. “I’ve studied the Stanislavski method, the method method, but I’ve never studied anything like the Stan Lee method.”
In case you’ve never seen a Marvel movie, Stan Lee shows up in almost all of them at some point as an old man in the background, eating a hotdog, driving a cart or pointing excitedly. Hey, it’s a living.
Stick around to the end for a call back to Marvel media when they didn’t rule the universe.
Also, Stan Lee may just have one of the most imitable voices of all times.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/20/2015
C2E2 has hosted Ink Fusion before, and this year, things get rather interesting!
As the site says:
Join the legendary Stan Lee, as he teams up with Ink-Fusion creator Marc Draven and his Empire of artists to offer a once in a life time chance for a tattoo drawn by Stan Lee himself!
Raffle tickets will be 2 tickets for $20
Tickets will be available Friday at the show in the Ink-Fusion Tattoo Pavilion. The winner will receive a free tattoo of one of Stan Lee’s famous characters (Image/Character TBA at show). This one of a kind sketch will be created by Stan Lee just for this contest! The tattoo will be performed by one of the internationally known Ink-Fusion Empire artists on hand.
Think that’s awesome? There is more! The winner will also get to show off their new tattoo when they get their PICTURE TAKEN WITH STAN LEE! (Only the tattoo winner will be photographed with Stan Lee)
*The tattoo will not exceed 3×5 inches. 18 OR OLDER ONLY.
So, you may ask… how good an artist is Stan the Man? Well, he has authored numerous books on how to draw comics! He occasionally does a sketch cover. I’m sure he’s been practicing…and it’s not like he’s wielding the tattoo machine! (Or even signing his work! The actual procedure will be completed by one of the Ink Fusion artists in attendance. Although, he has autographed body parts which were later tatted.)
Here’s the fine print! (I hope they include a copyright and trademark notice…those Disney lawyers can be vicious! Although it might fall under “appropriation”.)
The following rules apply:
- Must be 18 or older to enter.
- Must have a legal form of photo I.D. to get tattooed, NO EXCEPTIONS.
- Winner will be announced on the day Stan Lee is available to join us (times will be listed on Friday of the show) when the ticket is pulled at the Ink-Fusion Pavilion .
- MAKE SURE TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE FOR TIME LISTING FOR THIS RAFFLE AS THIS WILL BE BASED ON MR. LEE’S AVAILABILITY!!!!
- YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.
- Winner will get the tattoo immediately following the ticket drawing.
- The original sketch is not included in the prize package.
- No substitutions or additions will be made with the tattoo.
- No personal autographs by Mr. Lee will be allowed, however feel free to take photos of the event.
- All entries must have paid attendance into the show to qualify.
- Any artist working under Ink-Fusion has the right to refuse service per Board of Health regulations and permitting.
- Anyone getting tattooed claims all responsibility as well as proof of age and medical conditions, and cannot hold any member of Reed Expo, Ink-Fusion, or Stan Lee inc responsible .
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/8/2015
This exhibit of works from Craig Yoe’s original art collection has already garnered stellar accolades – tonight you can see why. And that’s not all …
I had the good fortune of seeing an early preview of Is That Art? at the Society of Illustrators a few weeks ago, and it’s a must-see for anyone who wants to connect with the magic and the power of creative design. The exhibit covers much of the first century of comics & cartoon art, and the work is displayed in ways that highlight deep connections and spark new ideas. A original Spark Plug parallel to a Peanuts strip where Snoopy is dismissed as a dog; a landmark portrait of Superman for Siegel-and-Shuster’s syndicate chief near a reflection on a woman’s dual identity by Fay King; the first Pogo newspaper strip; the original Fin-Fang-Foom-awakes page, signed by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Dick Ayers ….
I could go on, but I’ll leave you to discover all the wonders for yourself. The exhibit’s official opening is tonight from 5pm – 10pm at the Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd St. in New York City. If you can’t make it this evening (or at all, alas), you can find some consolation in the extensive Yoe! Books library, which includes lavish and faithful restorations of material ranging from kitsch to classics. One place to start: the latest Yoe! Books/IDW publication, Milt Gross’ New York, which has been receiving impressive reviews.
If you can make it to the Society of Illustrators, don’t miss its other must-see exhibits. The original art from Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream is up through tomorrow (April 9), and seeing it at full size reminded me of seeing the original art for Robert Crumb’s Book of Genesis at the Hammer Museum – a revelation. As for the exhibit on Alt-Weekly Comics curated by Warren Bernard and Bill Kartalopoulos, well, that too deserves a book of its own – this exhibit is important not just for chronicling an influential, if under-appreciated genre within North American comics, but for helping us understand the world today.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 3/4/2015
Stan Lee, Michael Uslan, and David Uslan have established great careers within the comics and entertainment industry. Soon, they will also take on the role of educators.
EdX, a nonprofit education organization, will present three newly-formed massive open online courses (MOOCs) developed by the Smithsonian Institution. The “Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on Pop Culture” class will feature instruction from the three comics legends.
Lee gave this statement in the press release: “It’s a great honor being invited to share my views on the evolution of superheroes and the genre’s overall impact across all generations of people. Throughout my career, characters have evolved so much – from drawings on a page to other-worldly special effects only animation could produce, to live-action and so much more. I can’t wait to dive into these discussions thanks to Smithsonian and edX.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)
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By: Aubrey,
on 2/3/2015
When unsuspecting teenager Steven Lee is imparted with mystical powers and thrown into battle for control of the 12 Zodiac mysteries, he must dismantle a corrupt conspiracy while trying to master his newfound Tiger skills. Stan Lee and friends pack a punch in this new kids' series, complete with stunning red illustrations. Books mentioned in [...]
By: Maryann Yin,
on 1/27/2015
A new trailer has been released for The Fantastic Four movie. The video embedded above offers glimpses of Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara as the Invisible Woman, Jamie Bell as The Thing, and Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch.
Yahoo! reports that Josh Trank served as the director and Simon Kinberg took on the dual-role of screenwriter-producer for this rebooted film adaptation. Follow this link to watch the teaser with commentary from both Trank and Kinberg—what do you think?
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I thought of writing an essay about Reisman’s own errors (Lee’s superheroines were “pugilistic?” Really?) However, most of those errors are piddling in nature, and don’t detract from the question he raises.
While I found the essay valuable for the wealth of quotes from industry professionals, I would say that the writer fails to set a proper standard for “legacy.” He remarks, correctly, that Lee’s Marvel success is one of the great second acts in American history. But as he relentlessly chronicles all of the unpopular or unfinished projects Lee did in his later years, it might’ve been proper to note that very few writers, high or low, have much of a “third act” in their careers. I’ve seen critics observe that Jack London was a bad businessman too, but nobody questions his legacy because of that. And how many writers continue to be productive past their 50s?
Reisman says something about how Lee might’ve been better off had he just rested on his laurels– but without Lee and his corny cameos, how likely is it that the mainstream public would even appreciate the presence of real comics-creators behind the projects that Hollywood tweaks for moviegoers?
Even if every post-70s project Lee worked on was pure dreck, being the “Walt Disney” of American comics may be a valuable legacy in and of itself.
Gene: “but without Lee and his corny cameos, how likely is it that the mainstream public would even appreciate the presence of real comics-creators behind the projects that Hollywood tweaks for moviegoers?”
The catch being that the mainstream public appreciates the presence of real comic-creators…if they’re named Stan Lee. His tendency lately to have large cameos in movies whose characters he had fuck all to do with (most recently Deadpool and Big Hero 6) only serves to further lift up the name of Stan Lee, to the detriment of the people who actually created them.
“And how many writers continue to be productive past their 50s?”
Bram Stoker did Dracula at 50, Laura Ingalls Wilder did Little House at 64, Raymond Chandler did The Big Sleep at 51, J.R.R. Tolkien did The Lord Of The Rings trilogy in his 60s. Nothing was stopping Stan Lee from finally writing that Great American Novel, except maybe whatever kept him from even being able to write either of his own memoirs.
People often ignore the fact that just like Kirby, Stan doesn’t own any of the Marvel characters he (co-)created either. While that’s no excuse for any false claims he’s made, he had just as much bitterness about the industry as Kirby and Ditko, with the benefit of power (nepotistically granted via cousin Martin Goodman) so as to never fear being axed. Again, this power doesn’t excuse his false claims, but it does demonstrate that even with money and power, Stan still lacked creative ownership and couldn’t even publish the stories he wanted to tell (he was dejected after Silver Surfer was canceled due to low sales).
People often paint The Man as THE MAN, but he was merely petty, not wicked.
“His tendency lately to have large cameos in movies whose characters he had fuck all to do with (most recently Deadpool and Big Hero 6) only serves to further lift up the name of Stan Lee, to the detriment of the people who actually created them.”
Er, you do realize Rob Liefeld was in the same scene as Stan in Deadpool, right? And it was Rob and Fabien, and not Stan, who were created at the end of the film? Your claim makes no sense.
Rob and Fabian were listed as “Special Thanks,” not as creators.
I spotted Rob for 2 seconds (slightly out of focus, walking past the camera) in the Hellhouse after his name was said…was he also in the strip bar? If he was, he must not have been very visible in that scene either, and he definitely didn’t have a speaking line. Stan got a series of speaking lines in both Deadpool and Big Hero 6, on top of his face being clearly seen.
The average theater-goer recognizes both the name and face of Stan Lee. If you asked the average theater-goer if they know who Rob Liefeld or Fabian Nicieza are, or if they recognized a photo of them, you’d get a lot of “no”s. Likewise Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau. Likewise Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.
Or to give another example, a Tumblr user Photoshopped Deadpool and Stan Lee into an image together. What the Photoshopper discovered?:
“I’ve come to learn that WAY too many people are under the impression that Stan Lee created Deadpool”
http://artemuscain-gamingandbs.tumblr.com/post/127767987584/the-hoody-geek-thatthinginyourshoe
It’d make for an interesting survey to see if it’s true, but it does seem that if someone is a Marvel character, the general public assumes Stan Lee created said character.
And when the ‘Dr Strange’ movie comes out, people will assume Lee created him even though Lee said in writing he was Ditko’s idea!
Kate,
The point IMO is that Stan is there to communicate the fact of authorship at all, as opposed to the days when outsiders never gave a thought as to who created Superman and Batman. Even when Jerry Siegel tried to sue over ownership of Superman in the 70s, it took considerable time for wire services to even bother to cover the story, according to Larry Tye’s findings.
If you want to believe that Stan stole all the credit for the Marvel works, you’ve got a lot of company, because it’s a familiar knee-jerk response in fandom. But the question of authorship is one that anyone can investigate if they care to do so.I believe that while Lee’s claim to complete authorship is exaggerated, but I believe the claims of Ditko and Kirby are just as exaggerated. But why do fans only attack Lee for his exaggerated claims, but allow Ditko and Kirby to skate on by? (Reisman comes close to this as well; he just barely mentions any questionable aspects of these artists’ outsized claims.)
I know that mainstream audiences are not likely to investigate anyone’s claims in detail, just as they were willing for many years to think that Walt Disney created all the Disney projects. The important thing is not the masses, who will never remember such details. My concern is that at least some of the intelligentisa– genuine or would-be– can even grasp the fact of comics-book authorship. If THEY don’t do their bloody research, that’s not Lee’s fault.
“Rob and Fabian were listed as “Special Thanks,” not as creators.”
I wrote a typo. I meant “credited.” And they were.
“I spotted Rob for 2 seconds”
There you go.
“The average theater-goer recognizes both the name and face of Stan Lee. If you asked the average theater-goer if they know who Rob Liefeld or Fabian Nicieza are, or if they recognized a photo of them, you’d get a lot of “no”s. Likewise Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau. Likewise Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko.”
Therefore . . . what? Stan’s been in the public eye since he did the university rounds in the mid-’60s. Your whole “detriment” argument is still baseless.
“If you want to believe that Stan stole all the credit for the Marvel works, you’ve got a lot of company, because it’s a familiar knee-jerk response in fandom.”
Stan even said he had no intention to appear in GotG because they were not his creations and he never worked on the characters (which is actually not true – he co-created Groot). Is it his fault they people want him in their movies? Is he “taking credit” for anything outside of, you know, cameoing as himself?