It's become popular in certain circles in the past few years to knock STAN LEE and try and diminish his cataclysmic contributions to comicbook culture. Here at CRIVENS!, we share no such negative feelings towards Mr. MARVEL. So here are the top ten things that make Stan Lee awesome.
24 comments:
I'm with you. While I'm a Kirby fan all the way, there's really no great need to diminish Stan to elevate Jack. For the mass of humanity he is the face of comics, like it or not and we could've done a heck of a lot worse. And it's just possible Stan might end up being the last Golden Age talent. Long live Stan "The Man".
Rip Off
Nuff Said!
Cheers for that Kid. Stan is without doubt,the man!
What can I add to that? I LOVE the guy! I only wish he knew it! Stan is the GOD of comics.
Incidentally, I also spotted him in a B movie "Earh versusThe Spider" and, of course, he was a bus driver in "Heroes", despite DC having the rights. Who remembers Sylar?
Right, guys - we're all agreed then. Stan is 'The Man'! Excelsior.
Right on!
Nice to see a consensus, GA. No Stan-bashers so far.
No doubt Stan Lee pretty much invented modern comic book story telling and is the face of comics, even now - as a kid I thought he was the greatest and still miss seeing "Stan Lee presents..." on the fist page of a Marvel comic - legend. I do get a bit fed up with the co creator gripes re Kirby and Ditko as I think Stan has always said they were co creation but to be fair I am not aware of the ins and outs of the issues, certainly to me looking at it from the outside as a comic reader (rather than a comic fan) Kirby on his own without Lee (or any other good writer) was a shadow of himself re creations (ie at DC) and similarly Stan worked better with a strong artist/creator like Kirby (his "Stan Lee presents" series at DC was imho poor as were other of his latter creations like "Striperella" etc) I do think however that Stan was less than forthcoming re Steve Ditkos involvement in Spider-Man (well certainly in a TV show I saw about it) where he seemed to be saying he created the character (maybe he did) and Ditko I think sees it the other way around.
Stan also appeared in a few episodes of the "Big Bang Theory" fun as a comic book fan I wonder what non comic readers/fans think of his appearances?
Regarding the Jonathon Ross programme about Steve Ditko, I think Stan's seeming reluctance to credit Ditko as co-creator in the fullest sense is down to two things and must be seen in context. For years he's had people trying to deny him any credit at all in the Marvel creations and has obviously become guarded in his responses as a result. Also, I think he knew that Ross was pushing him along a certain path that he really didn't want to go.
It's undeniable that Spider-Man as the public knows him is a co-creation of Lee & Ditko, but (and Ditko doesn't deny this) it was Stan who came up with the original concept. I think Stan believes himself as the creator of the idea, without which Steve wouldn't have had anything to work with. So, creator of the concept? Stan Lee. Co-creator of the comicbook realisation of that concept? Steve Ditko. After years of people diminishing his input, Stan believes that as he came up with the idea, he deserves recognition for that fact. He's always been more than generous in his attribution of credit to Kirby & Ditko over the years, but it was Stan that set the ball rolling in the Marvel Universe.
Steve believes that, although Stan came up with the idea (ignoring Kirby's claim for the moment), an idea is just an idea until (in the case of comicbooks) an artist gives 'life' to the idea and develops it. It's certainly hard to imagine Spidey being as successful without Ditko's iconic costume and web-shooters, so I believe that he deserves the title of co-creator of the character as the public first experienced him. Stan IS the sole creator of the idea 'though.
I've seen seen quite a lot of Top Tens from WatchMojo but not this one. Yes, I agree with everyone - thank god for Stan Lee. He saved super-hero comics from the utter drivel of DC - Superbaby or the Legion of Super-Pets anyone ? And he created Marvel UK for which I'm eternally grateful. Oh, and as mentioned in the clip, he got rid of those idiotic teenage sidekicks (although wasn't Rick Jones a sort of sidekick to the Hulk ?). Stan also appeared as himself in the film "Mallrats" where he is asked rude questions about the Thing's privates, very funny it was.
Yeah, but Rick Jones didn't wear tights until he teamed up with Captain America, CJ. And I suppose that Rick was more than just a sidekick to the Hulk, as he was responsible for his creation.
Stan can’t do wrong in my book (comic or otherwise) love man, the myth and the legend. Wasn’t happy with the way he was treated by Jonathan Ross in that interview, whatever he thinks that was Stan THE MAN Lee and should have been respected. If it wasn't for Lee, Ross wouldn’t have had that collection he was showing off at the beginning of the documentary!
As I said earlier, AJ, Stan was always generous in praising his collaborators in the early days, but after years of some people suggesting that everything good about Marvel was down to Kirby & Ditko, I can understand his eventual reluctance to participate in his own character assassination by perhaps giving too much credit to others at the expense of his own reputation.
As McScotty pointed out (and it's something I've often said myself), few (if any) of Jack and Steve's later creations without Stan had anywhere near the same commercial or critical success as their earlier collaborations with him. And although the same can be said for Stan's few later creations, at least his mastery with words was undiminished - unlike Jack and Steve's art.
Reason no.11: Stan Lee invented the practise of putting the answer to a puzzle upside-down at the bottom of a page.
You sure, DD? Can you provide an example? (I wanna know!)
I'm convinced I read it in is autobiography, although I've just been flicking through it and can't find it now - surely I've not started imagining things!
I'll withdraw that one until I can find where I read it, but will give another Reason no.11 instead: Black Rider #8 features a photo cover with Stan Lee dressed as the title character.
I think I'm right in quoting that Stan said, "I have always considered Steve Ditko to be the co-creator of Spider-Man." And that it was the word "consider" that Steve took umbridge with, (like it was just some mere token of consideration?) Plus he said that,as Stan had the idea, you can't publish a comic with just an idea in it. True. But, equally true is you can't publish a comic with pictures, no matter how iconic the artwork is, of just any random thing.
Therefore, both Stan and Steve were Spidey's co-creators and I have heard Stan acknowledge this with my own ears.
So Steve, if you're reading this, yes you were the co-creator, no dispute, but I'm afraid you've GOT to have the idea FIRST, before you can draw it (excellently), so you are the co-creator, not the creator. That's not a bad title to have.
Stan may be God, but Jack & Steve are the Son and the Holy Ghost!
That comic is from 1950, DD - photos of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby appeared on Headline Comics #37 in 1949. Okay, so Kirby was only playing a generic gangster, but it was a crime comic.
******
I hear what you're saying, JP, but the Son and the Holy Spirit are supposed to BE God (three in one), so I'm not quite sure your analogy works. Full marks for trying 'though. Let's just say that Stan was the architect responsible for the plans and Jack & Steve were the brickies (who added something extra at the building stage).
And we love all three of the Holy Trinity , but you've got to have the architecht first. No plans and the building's a mess. Nice analogy, Kid.
I still (hero) worship them, though!
And all three of them are worthy of hero-worship, sure enough, JP.
Stan was the star at the top of the Christmas tree and Kirby/Ditko were two big shiny baubles ? (OK, that's a dumb one). I'd say that having the idea and writing the story was by far the most important - surely any competent artist could do the drawings ? Yes, you're right about Rick Jones, Kid - he was responsible for the Hulk's existence. I don't remember him in tights with Captain America, what was that about ? I don't know why I typed 'seen' twice at the start of my comment - my mind must be going going - oops.
It's a little more complicated than that 'though, CJ. Although Stan came up with the initial concepts ('though some people dispute that), Jack and Steve added important elements - not only to the look of the characters, but also the plots and pacing. For instance, Jack drew Spidey first, but Stan rejected his pages because they weren't what he was looking for (and also because Steve told Stan that the character was too similar to Archie Comics 'The Fly'.) So Kirby was far more than competent, but had his pages been accepted, Spidey may well have been a dud.
Rick Jones eventually wore a costume exactly like Bucky's, and sort of took his place in Cap's subsequent '60s adventures.
Yes, I did read about the Kirby version of Spider-Man being rejected for being too heroic looking. So if Rick Jones was the new Bucky Marvel hadn't entirely got rid of sidekicks.
That's what the piece says, CJ - that ALMOST no Marvel hero had a kid sidekick. When Joe Simon came up with Captain America, his original drawing had a note saying that he'd better have a sidekick so that he wasn't talking to himself all the time. Therefore, Rick taking Bucky's place was merely restoring the previous status of that strip.
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