Stan Lee spawned a whole world through his comic-book characters who will live on forever beyond the yellowed and dog-eared pages upon which they were born.
Lee died Monday in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 95.
“It’s a sad for all of us. He was the grandfather of superheroes,” Vincent Booth, owner of Sir Games-A-Lot at Bayfield Mall for the last 15 years, tells BarrieToday. “He did it before everyone else.”
The number of iconic characters Lee created (or co-create) for Marvel Comics is extraordinary and prolific: Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four, which included The Thing, Human Torch, Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic.
Lee, who will forever be known as the face of Marvel Comics, often incorporated shortcomings into his characters and real-life problems to make them more authentic and appealing.
“Stan Lee was the best. He’s created more comic-book characters himself than all of the others put together,” said Booth, who cites his personal favourites as Thor and Doctor Strange from the two books he read most as a child.
Lee’s contribution to pop culture is indelible and undisputed, with the characters he created among the most popular of all-time.
“They’ll live on well after we’re dead,” Booth said. “In the last 10 years, the Marvel universe and all of the superheroes, they’re a staple.
“You can’t go a month without a new superhero movie coming out. They’re making so much money, they’ll keep going long after we’re gone.”
The Walt Disney Company now owns Marvel, which Lee helped revolutionize in the early 1960s as its publisher, writer, editor and creative juggernaut, alongside artists and collaborators Steve Ditko (1927-2018) and Jack Kirby (1917-1994).
Bill Loiselle, owner of BJ’s Records and Nostalgia in downtown Barrie, said Lee had a knack for creating fictitious worlds and characters that resonated with people.
“He kept going until the end,” he said, adding Lee will have a cameo in Avengers 4, which hasn’t been released yet.
Loiselle said a big part of Lee’s popularity was the fact he was around so long and had legions of fans of all ages.
“He was a fireball. They guy was great,” he said.
“He was Marvel Comics,” added Loiselle. “It’s become a culture unto its own, whether it’s movies or television. It’s tremendous. You also have to remember you’re going back over 50 years.”
The number of characters Lee created is simply mind-boggling.
“Most people would be known for one or two (characters), and he just get going decade after decade after decade,” Loiselle said. “Again, you have to bear in mind these characters now are 50-plus years old and they’re still going strong. It’s incredible.”
Loiselle said the people who collect superhero and comic-book material “are very loyal and very fanatical, especially the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four collectors, all of which he was responsible for.”
Fans always keep coming back for more.
“Marvel has always outsold DC (its main competitor) in this store, literally about 50 to 1,” Loiselle added. “Even right now, we don’t have a single piece left except for a few posters.”
Although Lee lived to be 95 years, his death was still sad news for Booth.
“He’d been sick for a while, so it’s not unexpected,” said Booth, who watched Spider-Man again for nostalgia purposes Monday night. “But it’s going to be sad that we’re not going to see his face in anymore Marvel movies, because he always did a cameo.”
Booth met Lee briefly at a game convention in Columbus, Ohio, about 15 years ago.
“He loved his fans,” Booth said. “He was always good to his fans. He always knew his fans were what made him and he was always good to them.”
