Remembering Stan Lee, Who Would Have Been 100 Today

Today would have been Stan Lee’s 100th birthday. I grew up reading his words in Marvel UK titles when I was a kid, and would then meet him several times doing, well, what I would end up doing for a living. First when I was a student at Newcastle University, interviewing him for the University newspaper. We ended up talking about South Shields just up the road, the home of his wife and experimented saying “Excelsior” in increasingly bad Geordie accents. Ten years ago I would interview him for Bleeding Cool at the London Super Comic Con. The audio is on YouTube somewhere. Oh, here it is! As is Stan Lee going walkabout on the show floor, as the convention followed him…

…and then finally, briefly in passing from one night at San Diego Comic-Con as he went from party to party to party, always gathering a crowd. I saw him at three parties that night, as many as I went to. I know he must have gone to a dozen more.

Stan Lee died four years ago after sadder convention videos. But today, DC Comics has published a return to the Just Imagine world that Stan Lee created for DC Comics when Stan Lee was no longer Marvel exclusive. Disney+ has also announced a “Stan Lee” cocumentary for 2023. “Today, on what would have been Stan Lee’s 100th birthday, we celebrate his legacy as the co-creator of such legendary characters as Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Black Panther, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Thor, Silver Surfer, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, The Avengers and hundreds more. We’ve seen Stan in the pages of Marvel Comics as well as on screen with Marvel Studios’ many cameos.” Marvel Comics also ran a special celebration of Stan Lee in this month’s comics drawn by Humberto Ramos, and he shows the working out of that image below alongside plenty of people having their own experiences, memories, photos and well-wishes to share.

James Gunn: ” Happy 100th Birthday to Stan Lee. You are missed, my friend. #StanLee100″

Christopher Lloyd: “Celebrating 100 years of the great @TheRealStanLee – we miss you friend! A true visionary beyond belief.”

Kevin Smith: “Today, @TheRealStanLee would’ve turned 100 years old! The @Marvel
maestro was always a hero of mine, but thanks to making MALLRATS with him, we actually became friends! I miss the Old Man and his endless parade of smiles and good cheer. Happy Birthday, Emperor of Excelsior!”

William Shatner: “Remembering Stan Lee on his 100th Birthday and Nichelle on her 90th.”

BossLogic: #StanLee100

Forbidden Planet: “Happy 100th Birthday Stan Lee, truly one of the greatest!”

Rob Liefeld: “When Stan summons you, get there as fast as you are able. The Legend was catching a flight to the great beyond and there were stories yet to share. @therealstanlee would be 100 years old today.”

Jimmy Palmiotti: “Happy 100th birthday #StanLee- A real gentleman. Every time I saw him he checked with me to make sure I had enough work. I have hosted him at least a dozen times on stage and miss his sense of humor.”

David Mack: “Remembering #StanLee on his 100th birthday…”

Ben Morse: “Happy birthday, #StanLee. They say never meet your heroes, but in this case I’m glad I did.”

Chris Ryall: “Happy centennial birthday to the Marvelous Stan Lee! (These pics taken when Stan was 90 and 80, respectively)”

Paul Kupperberg: “The Man” would have been 100 today. I don’t have a “Stan Lee story” to tell… but I did have a childhood full of #stanlee stories that remain with me to this day. #excelsior”

David Pepose: “Today would’ve been Stan Lee’s 100th birthday! I was lucky enough to meet him once at NYCC, and he couldn’t have been nicer. I’ll be celebrating the day working on #Marvel scripts with characters he co-created — for the rest of you True Believers celebrating out there, Excelsior!”

Adam Kubert: “Happy 100 Stan! #Excelsior #StanLee”

Colleen Doran: “Happy 100th birthday, STAN LEE! Honored to get to do art for his autobiographical graphic novel memoir! A real career highlight! Thanks also to @allanharveyres1
for research/lettering and overall assistance and Val Trullinger and Bill Farmer for color.”

Tom Taylor: “Happy 100th Birthday, Stan Lee. We miss you. Excelsior!”

Linda Le: “Happy 100th Birthday @therealstanlee One of the kindest, most endearing people you could have ever met/worked with in real life. Being able to be working alongside Stan for a few shows in the US and overseas & talk with him, I never once stopped expressing to him how I couldn’t believe I was in his presence and he would always laugh and say, “Keep doing what you love” I’ll never forget how that felt. As a kid every week my brother and I went to the comic book store to clear out whatever issues we could save up for. I told him this story, and he always had the biggest smile. Stan was always gracious and kind. An inspiration to me and the rest of the Universe. Never stop telling your heroes how grateful you are for them. He will always live on in all our hearts and his stories will inspire for the rest of time.
Stan Lee forever “

Humberto Ramos: “I don’t usually post my work process but I think today is a good day to do so #happybirthdaystanlee #stanlee #stanlee100 thank you for creating this for universe for us to play and live in”

Scott Lobdell: “It is awesome that Stan was introduced to yet another generation of fans through his cameos. But we should all take time to note he wasn’t just “in” these Marvel movies for a fleeting glance and a wink. No, the spirit of Stan infuses every frame of all 20+ Marvel movies. He was a writer with one foot out the door of the comic industry when his wife encouraged him to stop writing the way everyone else did and write the comics he wanted to write. Co-creating with some of the best creators the industry has ever known (Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, Gene Colan and too many more to mention) Stan took an axe to the towering wooden superheroes of the day and cut them down to size. To human size. Not unlike Hitchcock placing ordinary people in extraordinary situations, Stan wasn’t interested in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Distinguished Competition. Let DC have the perfect teammates of the JLA. Stan was happy to play with the dysfunctional family that was the Fantastic Four. Superman was the strongest being on Earth with a strict moral code — so of course Stan’s powerhouse was a hulking monster with rage issues. If you thought Bruce Wayne suffered from arrested development, Stan knew how much fun it would be to take a former patriotic super soldier and drop him into the social upheaval of the sixties. An entire team of mutated misfits forced to help the world that hated them? Check! A munitions dealer forced to redeem himself after he’s nearly killed on the war front? Check! Wouldn’t you rather read about a teenager who was the star of his own misadventures instead of being relegated to the role of sidekick? Stan had the friendliest neighborhood Spider-man for you. Yes a lot of great comic book creators added to the mix over all these years — and certainly producers and directors and actors have contributed tremendously. But when the lights dim in the theater and those images of dozens of heroes flash across the logo… keep in mind we’re visiting a world created by the most prolific pop writer of last century and probably this one. Thank you, Stan. For your genius, your wit, and your gift for showing us the humans behind the masks. And happy 100th birthday to The Man! Or as he’d like to say “Excelsior!””

TALES FROM EARTH-6 A CELEBRATION OF STAN LEE #1 (ONE SHOT) CVR A JIM CHEUNG
(W) Various (A) Various (CA) Jim Cheung
Written by Michael Uslan, Mark Waid, Jerry Ordway, Kenny Porter, Stephanie Williams, Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Steve Orlando, Zac Thompson, and Meghan Fitzmartin Art by Lee Weeks, Kevin Maguire, Jerry Ordway, Karl Mostert, Juan Ferreyra, Anthony Marques, Pablo M. Collar, Max Dunbar, and Hayden Sherman Over 20 years ago, Stan Lee reimagined the entire DC Universe. A criminal turned nocturnal warrior for justice, a champion from the Brazilian Amazon, an intergalactic lawman, and more sprang to existence from Stan’s mind with the help of Michael Uslan. To celebrate the legendary comic book icon’s 100th birthday, dive into 10 new adventures featuring his version of the DC Universe! Batman faces down a villainous new threat, the Choker! Green Lantern digs deep when Nekron arrives to consume the World Tree! The Justice League teams up with a familiar face in order to save the day! Shazam ventures into a top-secret facility to face off against a mind-blowing (and brain-burgling) enemy! The Flash uses her time-bending speed abilities to attempt to reverse the tragedies of her past, but may rob herself of her powers in the process! Chaos ensues when Wonder Woman becomes the editor of the National Exposer!
Retail: $9.99