Stan Lee, the godfather of Marvel Comics whose cast of characters such as Spider-Man, Hulk and the X-Men were beloved by millions of readers for decades before becoming a multibillion-dollar movie empire that dominated box offices in the 21st century, has died. He was 95.
Lee’s representative, Dawn Miller, confirmed he died Monday in Los Angeles.
Stanley Martin “Stan Lee” Lieber, born Dec. 28, 1922 in New York City, started his career as an office assistant at Timely Comics in 1939. As a teen, Lee said he was working odd jobs to help his parents pay the bills, when he heard about the position.
“I must’ve been the only one who applied because I got the job, and I thought it would be a temporary job,” Lee said in 2011. ” I had never thought of writing comics.”
At the time, Lee said, comics were thought of as a children’s novelty, but as time went on “it got more and more interesting” and he continued to work in the field.
In the early 1960s, Timely Comics was renamed Marvel Comics and in an attempt to compete with DC Comics’ hit title “Justice League of America,” Lee, along with artist Jack Kirby, created the Fantastic Four.
What followed were comic book dynamos like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, and the X-Men.
“What Stan did in the ’60s was really to go out there and evangelize, to be a P.T. Barnum or a Sol Hurok, a promoter of the fact that comics weren’t just a children’s medium and certainly not just a stupid children’s medium,” longtime comics writer, executive, and historian Paul Levitz told Vulture.
By 1972, Lee rose to the top of Marvel Comics, being named the company’s editorial director and published.
Lee became known for his dynamic copy and emphasis on social issues in comics, helping make the medium a beloved cornerstone of pop culture.
Image source: Euronews
After almost 60 years with Marvel, Lee left to create his own media group, Stan Lee Media. He kept a hand in Marvel, being named the company’s chairman emeritus.
But Stan Lee Media was short-lived and in February 2001, the company filed for bankruptcy. In 2004 Stan “The Man” Lee was back in business with Pow Entertainment, where he continued developing new characters and franchises.
Marvel got its second life with a score of films and televisions series in the late 2000s through the 2010s. Lee served as executive producer on dozens of the new Marvel incarnations. In almost every film, Lee appeared in short cameo roles to the delight of his fans.
Although he continued to work until the end of his life, Lee noted in his later years that he struggled to enjoy the medium he used to bring joy to many millions of people.
“My eyesight has gotten terrible and I can’t read comic books anymore,” he told Radio Times in 2016. “”The print is too small. Not only a comic book, but I can’t read the newspaper or a novel or anything. I miss reading 100 percent. It’s my biggest miss in the world.”
The moment was a rare break in character for Lee, who continued developing new superhero ideas well into his 90s. He even continued to charm fans at meet-and-greets, signing off with his signature phrase, “Excelsior!”
Lee’s wife, Joan, died of a stroke in July 2017.
The comic book legend is survived by a daughter, Joan Celia Lee.
