Legendary comics creator left a controversial legacy

Like many Marvel characters, Stan Lee was a flawed hero, writes

STAN LEE was the voice of my childhood. As I sat transfixed by Spider-man cartoons on Saturday mornings, his energetic narration welcomed me into the story; made me feel part of the gang. Never mind that the animation wasn’t up to much; it looked like a comic, had a great theme tune, and Stan “The Man” Lee, my buddy, was giving it his personal seal of approval.

Famously, Lee originally honed this warm persona in print. The words “Stan Lee Presents” in the Marvel comics I was also feverishly devouring – black and white British reprints of the American originals – were a guarantee of quality. When he signed off a letters’ page or editorial with his trademark “Excelsior!” I never failed to smile. I was, and remain in many respects, a “True Believer”, as Lee called all dedicated Marvel readers. As we shall see, however, the man’s performance masked some uncomfortable truths.

Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber, had been working in comics since 1939. He was first an office assistant for Timely, the company that went on to become Marvel, before becoming an editor and writer. He would eventually rise to editor-in-chief, chairperson and publisher, but it was his work as a writer in the early 1960s that changed comics forever.

At the time, superheroes had fallen out of favour after the heyday of Superman and Batman in the 1930s and

1940s. Marvel helped turn that around, with rebellious heroes like The Fantastic Four (launched 1961), Spider-man (1962), The Hulk (1962), The X-men (1963) and so many more.

A huge part of the success was the fantastic artwork and storytelling of two other comics geniuses, Jack “King” Kirby and “Sturdy” Steve Ditko. But nobody wrote like Stan.

The mythos that Lee created also extended to the gang behind the scenes. In regular features “Bullpen Bulletins” and “Stan’s Soapbox”, he wove tales of the Marvel Bullpen, the lively creative hub at the centre of the studio’s success. This human touch was Lee’s gift. He made these comics creators seem like friends.

Bullpen blues

When I learned about the history of Marvel Comics later in life, I realised things were not always as they seemed. The angst in those Spider-man and Hulk comics wasn’t all on the page; like any business, there were tensions and rivalries behind the scenes. Many artists who worked with Lee harboured deep resentments.

In the 1960s, Lee and the artists developed what became known as the “Marvel method” of creating comics. At rival DC Comics, home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the editor was king, and kept a firm grip on the factory-line production process of creating a comic. But at Marvel, Lee would come up with a story idea and pass it to the artist as a kind of pitch or brief. This allowed for huge creative freedom and sped up the production process considerably.

But the artists’ work was not always fully recognised. They were credited purely for the art when they often created the characters and story, too. Having risen to a position of power in the company, Lee could have shared more of the profits – and the limelight. But he was a showman, an impresario, and a businessman. He took the credit and protected the company he had worked so hard to build.

Later in the 1970s and early 1980s, when young comics creators like Frank Millar were championing creator rights, Lee was sometimes cast as the villain. I am sure he wasn’t. But like the best Marvel heroes, he was certainly flawed. He could have been at the forefront of creator rights and made the “Marvel method” stand for something more.

Lee was courageous in other ways – his comics battled racism, for instance. And he helped create characters who continue to inspire millions. But had he taken a stand on creators’ rights, the industry and comics historians might not be so divided on his legacy today.

Christopher Murray, Professor of Comics Studies, University of Dundee