Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Leeis a comic-book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. In collaboration with several artists, including Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he created Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men, and many other fictional characters, introducing a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he headed the first major successful challenge to the industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, and forced it to...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComic Book Author
Date of Birth28 December 1922
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I have a reputation for doing superheroes, but I like all kinds of writing. In fact, hardly anybody knows this, but I've probably written as many humor stories as superhero stories.
No matter how good a story is, if you're at a newsstand and you see a lot of comic books, you don't know how good the story is unless you read it. But you can spot the artwork instantly, and you know whether you like the artwork, whether it grabs you or not.
In a sense, the artwork is the most important thing in getting somebody to buy a book. The person probably won't buy a book if he doesn't like the artwork. Once you buy it for the artwork, you hope that the story will also be good.
Everybody wants to feel that you're writing to a certain demographic because that's good business, but I've never done that ... I tried to write stories that would interest me. I'd say, what would I like to read?... I don't think you can do your best work if you're writing for somebody else, because you never know what that somebody else really thinks or wants.
When you combine the great stories from the comics with the action and visual excitement of the movies, it doesn't get any better!
Every kid loves fairy tales, stories of witches and giants and magicians. Then, when you get a little older you can't read fairy tales anymore.
I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there's good in every person,
The results were very good, even if its net profit looks to have been inflated due to a decrease in tax expenses.
Very often, when people would write about us in the newspapers or the trades, they would say, 'Stan Lee ? Creator of Spider-Man,' and that would get Ditko angry ? but I had nothing to do with that!
Wolverine is one of the best characters ever created in fiction. I blew it by not coming up with the idea first.
While no one is expected to leap tall buildings in a single bound, our aspiring heroes will be tested on their courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion and resourcefulness - the stuff of all true superheroes.
When you work with people whom you respect and whom you like and you admire because they're so good at what they do, it doesn't feel like work... It's like you're playing.
God knows, I'm looking forward to Spider-Man as well as The Hulk , Fantastic Four , and I believe Dr. Strange is now in development...
I always felt that if I had super-power, I wouldn't immediately run out to the store and buy a costume.