Hey 3.5 readers.
BQB here.
This is a nerdy blog so you can expect I’d have to say something about Stan Lee.
I guess my first memories of him are when I was a kid, watching Spiderman cartoons on Saturday mornings and hearing him narrate, calling the kids listening “True believer” and using his catchphrase, “Excelsior!”
It’s sad but it is also hard to feel bad because a) 95 is about the best anyone can hope for b) I’m not sure how well he was physically but he was doing well enough that he appeared in cameos in every Marvel movie since 2008 and that’s better than any of my 70 plus relatives were ever able to do c) he was a rare person who not only created something but also did what he wanted his whole life and made a good living at it and d) he lived long enough that he got to see his creations draw big time box office gold. Sure, they were always possible in comic book form and in cartoons and toys but it wasn’t until just the past couple of decades when Marvel based movies really came into their own. He got to see it.
Most of all, his heroes were flawed. While Superman was Mr. Perfect, Lee’s characters struggled with their abilities. They wanted to do the right thing but they didn’t always know what the right thing was. They screwed up, made mistakes, felt bad about it, learned how to cope with failure, etc.
When I was a kid I started an autograph collection, writing to celebrities to ask for an autograph to see if they’d write back. Most didn’t but sure enough, I got an autographed photo of Stan in the mail sent in a Marvel Comics envelope. I wish I’d saved the envelope. I’ll have to dig the photo out and post a pic of it. I’ve always wondered if the signature is real or if it is a pre-printed signature but either way it was cool. I’m sure it was just some assistant who sent it but still, cool.
Finally, here’s a cameo that a lot of people probably forgot but Gen Xers like me remember, Stan in Mallrats, trying to talk Brodie into being a better boyfriend to his girlfriend.
Man, my friends and I watched this movie so many times when we were kids. Where does the time go?
Bookshelf Battle 