Aiman
Keep moving forward, if it’s time to go. It’s time.
The world of comic books wouldn’t have been what it is today, without Stan Lee’s imagination. But, I guess we didn’t realise that he wasn’t meant to live forever! The shocking news of Stan Lee’s death left Marvel and superhero fanatics heartbroken! He left behind a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come.
Here’s a heartfelt tribute from artists to the legendary writer and comic book hero:
1. I don’t sound disloyal, but I’ve never had a pair of Marvel pyjamas or underwear. I do have a lot of Marvel figurines at home in a cabinet. Every time they make a new Marvel figure I put it in my cabinet.
2. Comic books to me are fairy tales for grown-ups.
3. Marvel is a cornucopia of fantasy, a wild idea, a swashbuckling attitude, an escape from the humdrum and prosaic.
4. It’s a serendipitous feast for the mind, the eye, and the imagination, a literate celebration of unbridled creativity, coupled with a touch of rebellion and an insolent desire to spit in the eye of the dragon.
5. Comics are stories; they’re like novels or anything else. So the first thing you have to do is become a good storyteller.
6. Life is never complete without its challenges.
7. 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.
8. And then I began to realise: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives.
9. Without it, they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.
10. If you are interested in what you do, that keeps you going!
11. I couldn’t say no when I received that offer [to re-invent the DC characters]… How can any writer say no to the opportunity of redoing every one of DC’s top superheroes?
12. The only advice anybody can give is if you wanna be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything.
13. I wanted them to be diverse. The whole underlying principle of the X-Men was to try to be an anti-bigotry story to show there’s good in every person.
14. Technology isn’t a villain. Technology should help, but if you just use the technology for the sake of technology, then you’re cheating your audience.
15. All I thought about when I wrote my stories was, “I hope that these comic books would sell so I can keep my job and continue to pay the rent.”
16. Never in a million years could I have imagined that it would turn into what it has evolved into nowadays. Never
17. It’s just; it’s fun to stay in the game.
18. With great power comes great responsibility.
19. If Shakespeare and Michelangelo were alive today, and if they decided to collaborate on a comic, Shakespeare would write the script and Michelangelo would draw it.
20. Comic books sort of follow with the move.
21. Reading is very good. And you can quote me!
22. Excelsior!
23. What did Doctor Doom really want? He wanted to rule the world.
24. “I want to rule the world.”
25. I think almost everybody enjoyed fairy tales when they were young, tales of witches and ogres and monsters and dragons and so forth.
26. “You can read a Shakespeare play, but does that mean you wouldn’t want to see it on the stage?
27. I’m happiest when I’m working. If I’m not working, I feel like I’m wasting my time.
28. Just because you have superpowers, that doesn’t mean your love life would be perfect.
29. The more you read, the better you’re going to become as a storyteller.
30. If there are people who like the work you’ve done, because of that, they like you and want your autograph and to take a photo, that’s really gratifying.
31. I had been writing comic books for years, and I was doing them to please a publisher, who felt that comics are only read by very young children or stupid adults.
32. And therefore, we have to keep the stories very simplistic. And that was the thing I hated.
33. Most people say, “I can’t wait to retire so I can play golf,” or go yachting or whatever they do. Well, if I was playing golf, I would want that to finish so I could go and dream up a new TV show.
34. If I got a superpower I wouldn’t say, oh, I got to get a costume and put on a mask. I would say hey, I can do something better than other people. How can I turn it into a buck?
35. To my way of thinking, whether it’s a superhero movie or a romance or a comedy or whatever, the most important thing is you’ve got to care about the characters.
36. If the characters are interesting, you’re half-way home.
37. When I was a kid, I loved reading Sherlock Holmes. Now, you don’t think of him as a superhero, but he was so damn much smarter than anybody else.
38. I never thought that Spider-Man would become the worldwide icon that he is. I just hoped the books would sell and I’d keep my job.
39. These stories of people with unusual powers and unusual appearances, who do unusual things, people are always fascinated by them.
40. I’ve been very lucky. All I wanted was to pay the rent. Then these characters took off and suddenly there were Hulk coffee mugs and Iron Man lunchboxes and The Avengers sweatshirts everywhere.
41. I thought it would be fun to take the kind of character that nobody would like, none of our readers would like, and shove him down their throats and make them like him.
42. I don’t really see a need to retire as long as I am having fun.
43. I don’t know where the hell I’ll be in 5 years. Maybe I’ll be producing movies maybe I’ll be on a corner selling apples. I don’t know, but I’m having a hell of a lot of fun.
44. Negative information is that which, immediately upon acquiring, causes the recipient to know less than he did before.
45. If you wanna be an artist carry sketch pad with you, and sketch everything you see.
46. Virtually every kid is exposed to giants and ogres and talking wolves, and so forth. And magic.
47. Singing a song, playing sports – anything that entertains, that takes people away from their own problems, is good.
48. There’s never a time when I’m not working. I don’t take vacations.
49. I’m very proud of being a hack. It’s why I’ve lived as long as I have, I think.
50. I don’t wake up in the morning and say, wow I’ve got a great idea for a story. But I sit down, and I figure well, let’s see.
Rest in power, Stan Lee!