Stan Lee of Marvel Comics Has Died

[Jerry Oz]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were the real superheroes of comics. They created the X-Men to mirror the struggles minorities endured during the Civil Rights Era and even developed Professor X and Magneto to add a Yin/Yang element to reflect the different perspectives of Dr. King and Brother Malcolm toward how to lead black people out of troubled times. They were woke before it was cool to even side with people fighting for equality.

And then they created T'Challa, the Black Panther. My brother introduced me to him via an Avengers book in the very early '70s and he became my favorite hero. I was the first one that I knew who went nuts when the Black Panther trailer dropped because the character meant so much to me. Suffice it to say, I wasn't alone. Lee and Kirby were on the front of supporting the Movement because it was right, not because it was trendy or going to make them any money.

The following illustration is from an editorial he wrote in 1968 about racism and xenophobia. Sadly, he's describing everything that is happening in the US 50 years later. These words could have turned off a lot of his readers at a time when Marvel was battling for its life but he wrote it because he believed it. I love this man and I'm sadder than most outside of his family to hear that he's passed. Rest in peace, Stan. Thank you for so much.

[marv2]

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were the real superheroes of comics. They created the X-Men to mirror the struggles minorities endured during the Civil Rights Era and even developed Professor X and Magneto to add a Yin/Yang element to reflect the different perspectives of Dr. King and Brother Malcolm toward how to lead black people out of troubled times. They were woke before it was cool to even side with people fighting for equality.

And then they created T'Challa, the Black Panther. My brother introduced me to him via an Avengers book in the very early '70s and he became my favorite hero. I was the first one that I knew who went nuts when the Black Panther trailer dropped because the character meant so much to me. Suffice it to say, I wasn't alone. Lee and Kirby were on the front of supporting the Movement because it was right, not because it was trendy or going to make them any money.

The following illustration is from an editorial he wrote in 1968 about racism and xenophobia. Sadly, he's describing everything that is happening in the US 50 years later. These words could have turned off a lot of his readers at a time when Marvel was battling for its life but he wrote it because he believed it. I love this man and I'm sadder than most outside of his family to hear that he's passed. Rest in peace, Stan. Thank you for so much.

Jerry that is great and thank you for sharing that. It makes me remember another icon in the comic/cartoon World, the late Charles Schultz! It has taken me all these years to finally understand the somewhat hidden messages he was trying to impart through his Charlie Brown cartoons. It sounds silly,but go back and think of the story of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and you will see that what Mr. Schultz was really doing was telling a story to children of faith and basic Christian beliefs. You had Linus being ridiculed by even those closest to him for "wasting his time" waiting for "The Great Pumpkin" [[the Lord) to appear and no matter what you could not change his faith or beliefs. [[He eludes to the Resurrection when talking about the Great Pumpkin rising from the pumpkin patch and bringing great joy.......) He was going to wait every year until he showed up. He even preached to Charlie Brown about the virtues of "The Great Pumpkin",etc. There's a lot more hidden in the story,but the overall theme was to have faith in your beliefs no matter how kooky they may sound to others or how much they ridicule you for having them. I learned after Charles Schultz's death that he was a devout Christian. He created "Franklin" the little black kid's character as his way of showing inclusiveness.