Stan Lee And I

Stan Lee and I go a long way. Stan was making his mark as a comic book writer and I was initiated into reading comics. I remember reading my first comic - a cartoon strip in a newspaper, 'Tarzan of the Apes' and 'Phantom' in a periodical. Slowly I started borrowing comics from a lending library.

It was here that I got introduced to Stan Lee by a certain Spider-Man. Stan in turn introduced me to a whole lot of other friends like Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Ghost Rider, Daredevil and other superhero teams like The Avengers, The X-Men and the Fantastic Four.

Folks at home, and some 'friendly neighborhood' (pun intended) well-wishers, used to warn me not to read comic books. It will spoil my English, they said! I believe even Stan went through the same conundrum. But as a comic book writer!

In 1939, as a teenager, Stan Lee began his career in writing comics. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business to become Marvel Comics primary creative leader for two or more decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics industry.

But his career as a comic book writer had initial stumbling blocks. The 1930s and the 1940s were supposed to be the golden years of comic book publishing. But during the 1950s, the comic book publishing companies had to contend with huge public outcry.

America then was reeling under the anti-communism McCarthyism crusade of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Around the same time, Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist, was running a crusade against comics. He believed that comics were 'The Seduction of the Innocent' which led to juvenile delinquency making children commit crimes. Anti-Comics became his crusade.

Comics Code Authority written in 1954 as an answer to a nationwide anti-comics movement. The Comics Code was the only way out with its long and stringent set of guidelines. During this time, almost 75 per cent of the U.S. comic book industry had been forced out of business.

Stan Lee too was thinking of an alternative career option. His wife Joan asked him to take another go in creating comics. He came up with the idea of Fantastic Four. It was an instant success.

After launching the Fantastic Four, he would go on to co-create iconic heroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Black Panther, Hulk, Thor, the X-Men, Daredevil, and Doctor Strange. The characters would live in a shared universe and were eventually teamed up to form The Avengers.

In addition, he challenged the comics' industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to it updating its policies. Stan Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Stan Lee had cameo appearances in many Marvel film and television projects, with many yet to come, posthumously. A few of these appearances are self-aware and sometimes reference Lee's involvement in the creation of certain characters.

Collaborating with Stan were the creative artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr, et al. While these artists gave body to the marvel characters, Stan Lee gave a personality to them.

Why did Stan Lee change his name from Stanley Martin Liebaer? Comics were not only considered harmful but were also considered pulp publishing. So he started writing under the pen name of Stan Lee.

"I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain people, you're doing a good thing." 'Nuff said* Stan!"

Stanley Martin Liebaer was born on December 28, 1922. Stan Lee died on November 12, 2018. *"Nuff said": Stan Lee coined the phrase meaning "there is no need to say more."