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| Tributes to Stan Lee on his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 12 November. Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock |
He passed away a few days back as I was getting ready to sleep. First, I thought it was just another fake news that the social media spins every day. Then I checked the websites of BBC and other standardized news services and found that it was true. Stan Lee is dead. An event which will be marked in my personal history as a sign of ageing. This blog is an attempt to pay homage to this creative genius who influenced me and countless numbers of minds because he gave us a memorable and colourful childhood. To use the title of his second memoir which he co-authored with Peter David – Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir. This is my way of paying homage to the man who lives through his creations.
I did some research by reading some of the obituaries that appeared in some of the mainstream publications. Mainly, I have used the written memorial which appeared in The Guardian and the International New York Times. I also looked at Twitter for capturing some of the 140 lettered obituaries. As an extended activity, I collected some of the responses from the readers of NYT.
Stan Lee always aspired to create comic heroes who are infused with some human qualities. He hated the existing style of heroes who according to him – ‘were all cardboard figures’ (NYT). He also felt the acute sense to bond with his readers and he talked about the need to create a space ‘for some private fun that the outside world wasn’t aware of’. Stan Lee himself was an avid reader and he started reading Shakespeare at the age of 10 along with reading of pulp magazines. He also enjoyed reading the novels of Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Mark Twain. (NYT)
The NYT article describes Stan Lee in five adjectives – energetic, gregarious, optimistic, grandiose and self-effacing. He is also compared to the greatest showman –P.T Barnum
Stan Lee enjoyed the act of writing and he describes his own writing style in an inspiring way – Almost everything that I’ve ever written I could finish in one sitting, I am a fast writer. Maybe not the best, but the fastest.” This line brings to my mind the above quoted adjectives – He is full of energy, optimist and is also self-effacing. His passion for writing and creating was so high that during his stint with the Army Signal Corps he was moonlighting as a comics writer. It was his wife who encouraged him ‘to write the comics he wanted to, not merely what was considered marketable.
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| https://www.amazon.com/Excelsior-Amazing-Life-Stan-Lee/dp/0684873052 |
Stan Lee wrote a slim memoir with George Mair which was titled – Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee. The word Excelsior means excellent and it is true about the characters created by Stan Lee. His characters like the Kafkaesque character Gregor Samsa undergoes a transformation. Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider; Bruce Banner was bombarded with gamma rays. They apart from this external transformation also contain internal conflicts which was beautifully portrayed in Spider Man. The Incredible Hulk is constantly at war with his shadow. ‘These men have the power to turn the world on its head. But they also seem as much cursed as blessed’. (Guardian)
Comics instilled in the reader a positive approach towards life ‘a pretty glorious message to the punky kids who blunder into its universe just before the hormones kick in, it tell them that they do possess super powers. They can impact the world, that adulthood is an adventure. But it also says that, guess what, your life will still be a mess. Your increased speed and strength will throw up a whole new set of problems and that gaining great power brings your responsibility’ (Guardian)
Stan Lee redefined for us the word Hero. According to him, the hero is one who does good and is always kind. He/she will fight injustice. Raise up people when you see they are in need. That’s the legacy that Stan Lee has left us. Like the song by Mariah Carey, we need to unlock the hero within ourselves. Stan Lee gave us the key...
There's a hero
If you look inside your heart
You don't have to be afraid
Of what you are
There's an answer
If you reach into your soul
And the sorrow that you know
Will melt away
The following articles were used as a reference in preparing this blog:
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