The late comic book legend Stan Lee once said, ~I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain, you're doing a good thing.~ Without a doubt, Stan Lee became one of the biggest pop culture icons and not to mention a huge influence when it comes to being an artist for so many including myself. For he's most definitely an inspiration indeed as he has forever cemented his legacy in the hearts and minds of those who not only admired him, but also geeked/nerded over him as well.
Let me ask you this question in regards to Stan Lee, what's your earliest memory of him as it pertains to either Marvel comic books, tv, and/or movies? I think it's safe to say for most people their earliest memory involving Stan Lee is through comic books. Personally speaking, my earliest recollection is in the mid 80's at around the age of 7 or 8 as I visually copied Hawkeye battling the Abomination in the comic, Solo Avengers #2. For the most part, I vaguely remember visually copying the cover art so many times that I ended up drawing it on my own from memory without even looking at the cover itself. Although the comic didn't fare too well at the hands of 7/8 year old kid back then, Stan's influence started me on an artistic journey that I'm still on today.
If you think about it, one of the many aspects that we as fans love about Stan Lee is the cameos he has appeared in all the Marvel films with the exception of Deadpool 2. In any case, the Stan Lee cameos themselves have been or should I say are considered to be a highly anticipated aspect of any MCU movie. Of course, when he does show up/appear in a particular scene you can't help but smile knowing he has one again physically, verbally, as well as visually graced the fans with his presence. Sadly, his last cameo appearance was in Avengers:Endgame; but according to Kevin Fiege there is a possibility of him appearing in Spider-Man Far From Home. Hey, we'll all have to wait and see when the new Spider-Man movie comes out, which will truly be a bittersweet moment.
For the question can be asked to those who have met Stan Lee in person, how was your experience and where did you meet him? Essentially, my personal experience as it relates to meeting Stan Lee was at Megacon 2017 in Orlando where my friend Brion Mcauley and I were determined to meet him. You see, the reason was that it was rumored it would possibly be the last con he would attend so therefore we wouldn’t want to miss a golden opportunity to meet and talk to him. Granted, we waited over an hour for his scheduled Photo Op due to him signing at his table but the wait was well worth it as he finally showed up giving an appreciative wave. Ultimately, it seemed like an absolute upon meeting him and even though it was brief its something I can cross off my personal bucket list.
In retrospect, Stan Lee would partly be responsible for bringing to life an incredibly imaginative world that would gradually become larger than life known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thinking about it further, he left a deep, impressionable impact on modern pop culture in which millions of fans continue to be shaped by the characters we've grown to love such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, X-Men, etc. Why do we love these characters Stan Lee created? The answer is simple and that is he humanized them in a way that could be relatable i.e. Peter Parker/Spider-Man. In the end, despite Stan Lee's death on November 12th, 2018 he is still teaching fans like myself to continually open their creatively rebellious imagination and if they do then they're/you're certainly a true believer.
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