National Podcast Post Month Day 26: Tributes to Stan “The Man” Lee and Roy Clark

Two legends in their respective fields passed away five years ago this week in the form of Stan Lee and Roy Clark. Stan Lee was of course the major force behind Marvel Comics for decades and created some of the most popular superheroes of all time. Roy Clark was a legendary country musician perhaps best known as one of the regulars of the musical comedy series Hee Haw.

Continue reading National Podcast Post Month Day 26: Tributes to Stan “The Man” Lee and Roy Clark

Marvel Releases Phase Four Trailer Narrated By Stan Lee

Stan “The Man” Lee may have left us in 2018 but his presence can still be felt in The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Marvel released a highlight reel of movie projects in preparation for their return to the big screen this summer. To give that highlight reel a special emotional touch, they include quotes from Stan himself that as a narration. The latter part of the reel serves as a trailer for the next several films in “Phase Four” of the MCU. The first three phases have been collectively called The Infinity Saga.

Continue reading Marvel Releases Phase Four Trailer Narrated By Stan Lee

Russo Brothers Developing Stan Lee Documentary

With Avengers: Engame looming over the summer movie season, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have revealed they are developing a documentary on none other than Stan “The Man” Lee.

Superhero Hype reports that a project is in the works that will pay tribute to Lee’s time with Marvel.

“We are fascinated by the life of Stan Lee and we are actually developing a little something that has to do with his work in the history of Marvel.”

-Anthony Russo via Superhero Hype

Lee of course passed away late last year at the age of 95, and had over two dozen of his signature cameos in Marvel TV and film projects. He served as an Executive Producer for many Marvel films, most of which were based on his creations. The Russo brothers have confirmed Endgame will be the legendary creator’s final cameo.

Geekville Radio #214: A Tribute To Stan Lee

The importance of Stan Lee to the history of comic books and superheroes cannot be overstated. Lee was so influential, writers to this day may be borrowing from his storytelling style without even knowing it.

This special tribute edition of Geekville Radio is devoted to the life and career of The Generalissimo himself, Stan “The Man” Lee, who passed away earlier this week at the ripe young age of 95.

Seth is joined by Ken Rose and Kylan Toles of Geek Watch One, and Vernon McWain-Moore of DC SuperPowers, to pay tribute to the man who was the creative force behind Marvel Comics for so many years.

Some of the topics discussed include how, instead of the mega-hero like Superman, Stan Lee gave the world the “flawed hero”. He also was able to provide social commentary on the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s through The X-Men comics. And, of course, Stan popularized the “shared universe” where what happens in one title might affect characters in another title. All of these things are so commonplace in comics and movies today that people may not even realize that the very basis of The Marvel Cinematic Universe was brought to us by Stan Lee in the Silver Age of Marvel.

Here is the image of Stan from the 1970s that is discussed in the show

Comic Book Legend and Marvel Publisher Stan Lee Dead at 95

This is a day that will weigh heavily on the hearts of many comic book and superhero fans. Stan Lee, a creative pioneer who developed countless characters and stories for Marvel Comics, passed away today at the age of 95.

Born Stanley Lieber in New York City, Lee began his lifelong association with the comic book industry as a teenager when he started working at Timely Comics in 1939. There he quickly found himself as an editor, where he would soon become a creative force for decades to come. This also got Lee acquainted with other future creative legends, such as Captain America creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. In fact, many of the characters who debuted under the Timely banner would go on to prominence years later as Marvel Comics properties.

After a stint in the Army during World War II, Lee returned to comic books and writing for Timely. By the 1950s, Timely had been rebranded into Atlas Comics. During this time, Stan continued to work as a writer and editor. As a whole, Atlas did not publish superhero stories. The focus was put on grittier, more human oriented stories such as Westerns or straight science fiction stories.

It wasn’t until rival publisher DC Comics re-introduced the genre in the late 1950s that superheroes found a renewed audience. Soon after, Lee and Kirby were creating new characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four from scratch, presenting them alongside updated versions of Timely characters such as Captain America. By this time, Atlas had again rebranded into the company that would become a household name for generations: Marvel Comics.

Characters created during the 1960s by Lee, Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, and others would soon become fixtures in the superhero market. Names like The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The X-Men, Thor, and more captured the minds of readers nationwide. On top of all this, Lee went the extra mile in creativity, and used the concept of a “shared universe”. If something monumental happened in an issue of The Fantastic Four, it might have ramifications on Iron Man in his title.

Lee also preferred using the archetype of the “flawed hero”. Spider-Man had superhuman strength and agility, but had trouble paying his rent on time. Tony Stark was a brilliant inventor, but was an alcoholic. Ben Grimm gained enormous strength as The Thing, but his rocky skin made life difficult, and romance nearly impossible. These types of characteristics were the staples of a Stan Lee superhero. Not only that, Stan would regularly utilize issues such as civil rights or drug use as elements in his storytelling. This lead to occasional clashes with the Comics Code of the time.

Lee served as Editor In Chief for Marvel Comics until 1972, when he moved on to the role of Publisher. There he remained for decades, and became somewhat the face of the company. Terms like “Excelsior!”, “True Believers”, and “‘Nuff Said!” were commonplace when recapping adventures. And of course, Stan would spend much of his available time appearing at comic conventions where he met thousands of fans across the country.

Perhaps his most widely recognized contributions to modern fans were his trademark onscreen cameos in Marvel properties. In nearly every movie or TV show involving a Marvel property, Stan Lee had a cameo in some capacity. This began in 1989 with the TV Movie “Trial Of The Incredible Hulk”, where Stan appeared as a member of a jury. These cameos would continue throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Paramount and Disney, as well as the titles licensed to Fox and Sony such as Spider-Man and X-Men.

It may sound cliched to say it, but there will never be another Stan Lee. Multitudes of readers and writers had their world affected in some way by Stan Lee since the 1930s. We here at Geekville Radio extend our deepest condolences, thoughts, and prayers to the family and friends of Stan Lee.

One last time: EXCELSIOR!