In Memory of Stan Lee (1922-2018)

Stan Lee (1922-2018)

Greetings, everyone. I regret to inform you that Stan Lee, the legendary comic book writer and editor of Marvel Comics, died at age 95 on November 12th, 2018. The man was a real-life superhero known for creating iconic characters such as Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, Silver Surfer, and Black Panther. Each of these transcended into household names of pop culture. Since then, the characters from his comics have made an impression on all readers. They have been adapted countless times to the big screen for moviegoers. Though loved by many comic-book fans, we will not forget his memorable creations, his life's work and his signature phrase, "Excelsior!"

In his early years, Lee had grown up watching Errol Flynn movies and dreamed of writing the "Great American Novel". He entered the comic book business in 1939 with the newly-formed Timely Comics, which later morphed into Atlas Comics in the 1950s and then branded into Marvel Comics in the early 1960s. Lee had started to work with Joe Simon and his future collaborator Jack Kirby to write up a story in their original comic Captain America, which he did. In later years, Lee would team up with Kirby again to shape the character's future. In 1941, with the departures of Simon and Kirby, Stan Lee, at 19 years of age, got promoted to interim editor of Timely Comics after having graduated to some writing work. During World War II, Lee enlisted in military service by joining the Signal Corps. During his war experiences, he wrote manuals and training films with a group that included Oscar-winning Director Frank Capra and future children's author Theodore Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss).

Lee returned to Timely Comics as an editor, which lasted for decades. In the early 1960s, in the wake of DC's success with Justice League, Lee and Kirby began writing their superhero team of Fantastic Four for the newly evolved Marvel Comics. Then, they created Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Silver Surfer, and other characters. He collaborated with comic book artist/writer Steve Ditko in creating the web-crawling Spider-Man and the mystical Doctor Strange and Bill Everett with their blind superhero, Daredevil. In 1972, Stan Lee was named the publisher and surrendered all his editorial reins to promote his company for the time being. He purchased an animation studio in 1980, which he renamed "Marvel Productions", and began to form relationships in Hollywood.

Besides writing, editing and publishing his comics, Stan Lee contributed to the motion picture business as an executive producer. He has had several cameo appearances in numerous films adapted from his comics. Stan also guest-starred in non-Marvel projects, including films like "Mallrats" and "Teen Titans Go! To the Movies". He even appeared in television shows such as "Muppet Babies", "The Simpsons", "Chuck", "The Big Bang Theory", and "Robot Chicken".

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