How Do You Remember Stan Lee?

I got the news that Stan Lee had passed on Monday. He was one of my favorite writers of all times.  When I was younger, I collected original comic book art and comic books. It was a great hobby and gave me access to many of my personal heroes growing up. I just loved to read and draw comics. I have a liberal arts degree, thanks to Stan Lee.

When I attended comic conventions, my artist and writing friends would sneak me in early to meet with the next generation of great artists and writers. At some of the larger events Stan Lee attended and when he held court, you could hear a pin drop in the busy convention hall. He was a natural storyteller and teacher.

His style and his personality inspired many great comic writers to try taking up different forms of writing. Many of the world’s best science fiction writers today learned from Stan Lee. Many incredible writers shared stories of when Stan would ask them about what they were writing. God help you if you didn’t have a great answer.

I still have Thor’s hammer next to my desk for times when I get writer’s block.  It gets my creative juices flowing. A few powerful swings of the mighty Mjolnir and off to Asgard I go. As Stan Lee would say; Good writers, write well. Great writers meet deadlines.

Stan Lee was always looking out onto the horizon. He did many superhero movies before they were cool. He was always improving the medium. In the early days he had to fight the corporate people to try to convey the story he was trying to share. Many times, he felt like he came away with only a tie. I always thought that if technology ever came close to our imagination it would be amazing.

Judging by the earth-shattering financial results I wasn’t to far off. Stan Lee told stories that engaged the readers’ imagination before movies could do what they do today. Our special effects were created in the imaginations of children of all ages.

Engineers, programmers, developers, and scientists told me how Stan’s stories would make it OK to be smart and push the envelope. His heroes could be anyone of us. That’s what made his writing so popular. His understood that we all want to be a hero. No matter what we are trying to overcome. His heroes were incredibly human in a time when the world needed an escape. Stan Lee provided it.

He gets a No-Prize for that. If you’re a certain age, you know what I mean. I will miss him in the Marvel movies. You just never knew where he would show up during the movie.

Want to learn more about Stan Lee and his writing you might enjoy my earlier article How Can Stan Lee Make You a Writing Superhero Starting Today?

I bet I know where Stan Lee is today. I’m sure he’s still sharing his stories with the people he loved and who loved him. There were many. Until we meet again. Excelsior!