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Illustration by Jean Sinclair
Since Stan Lee’s death last week, I have been struggling to come up with an appropriate tribute or some words to encapsulate the affect this man I have never met had on me as a person who loves literature, popular culture and superheroes. I thought I might write about how Lee co-created some of the most iconic American characters of all time (Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men to name a few). I thought I might write about how I learned to read at his feet, devouring the exploits of those creations. I thought I might write about the joy I have had year-after-year of my life spending time with those characters.
But then I remembered something else that Lee (and those like him) taught me to love even when I was not conscious of the lesson, perhaps especially when I was not conscious of the lesson. He helped teach me values. He helped teach me right from wrong. He helped teach me about social justice.
I could give you examples from storylines and I could give you examples of characters. I could tell you that Lee was rarely a fan of so-called “anti heroes,” preferring his leads to be moral, to stand up for what they believed, to be governed by a powerful and responsible compass.
I could do that for paragraphs.
However, the credo that inspired Lee should be shared by him. Perhaps there is no better time than now.
But, before I do, thank you, Stan Lee, for the gifts you gave to me (and so many others). Thank you for my love of the written word, for my affinity for superheroics and, in a real way, for my very imagination.
There will never be another like you.
Excelsior!
And There Came a Day... 