Stan Lee - a hero to many

Stan reading one of his creations

Hi...

It is with a great feeling of sadness that I write this, and in a way I sort of thought that it would never happen.

Stan with his late wife Joan

For a long time I have been a fan of superheroes, and in particular ones from the Marvel universe.

Stan with Spidey

Born in 1970, as a kid I saw reruns of the superb 1960’s Spider-Man cartoons, and I occasionally borrowed a friend’s comics, not just of this hero, but of others.

I absolutely loved these stories, especially as Spidey was a kid, albeit a kid who took photos that made him money from a newspaper (it was tough to get a paper round, nevermind take photos for them).

Stan with Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko on the phone

Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, and Kevin Feige

Now I’m not saying that Stan Lee was the first to create Superheroes, but he took that original idea and did something incredible with it. He created an entire universe, a lot of which was made up of seemingly ordinary people from the outside, who hid incredible abilities within, which were used to help others.
He also helped to create so many of the classic villains - Doctor Doom, The Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Chameleon, and so many more.

Stan with Batman creator Bob Kane - great friends

This creativity spurred on others who have also become legends of the genre - John Romita (Snr and Jnr), Nick Gaiman, Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and a lot of other writers from across the different comic publishers, and different writers.

I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man in particular, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what.

One of the creations of Stan & Jack
(from my own collection)

Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man particularly, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what. Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!

In the seventies, Stan approved new
creations while he was in charge of 
Marvel, which  included  
Guardians of the Galaxy
(from my own collection)

I’ll miss Stan, but I’m glad that his creations have helped me to become who I am. His comics and characters helped me through so much in my childhood and adulthood as well, where I was able to escape, and in Spider-Man in particular, I saw a kid who was going through stuff, but still willing to help others no matter what. Through that, as a kid at school, I started to stand up for those being bullied, sometimes taking the punches and kicks for them, because bullying is wrong!

Paul McCartney & Stan Lee

Paul McCartney wrote the song Magneto & Titanium Man based on reading the X-Men comics of Stan and either of the two artists Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, both of whom famously worked with Stan - between these three, the majority of the Marvel universe of characters were created!

Ringo Starr & Stan Lee

I won’t harp on about troubles I’ve been through, but I will say that watching tv shows based on Stan’s universe and reading the comics, helped me to escape for a little while, as they continue to do now, as I’m approaching my 48th birthday.

Stan Lee and Frank Miller

I definitely watch the films, the tv shows when I can, and yes, I still read comics! I continue to immerse myself in that universe, and escape the crap in life that is always there - it’ll be there to sort out after I’ve had a read or watched something.

Another comic series that Stan
approved whilst in charge of
Marvel, The Human Fly
(from my own collection)

I don’t know if I remember correctly, but I think that as a kid I would be at school, and I’d stand up for other kids who were being bullied, most likely based on these sorts of characters, especially Spider-Man.

Killraven, another that was
approved by Stan, during
his tenure as the man in
charge (from my own
collection)

The alter-ego of Spider-Man was the kid Peter Parker, albeit a kid who somehow took photos that he sold to a newspaper in New York. It was difficult in truth to get a paper round as a kid, so he did well to work for the paper on a freelance basis!

Outside of that though, he used his abilities to help others, even though he was going through crap of his own as a kid does! That spoke to me!

Jack Of Hearts (from my own collection)

Even now I hate bullies! I also dislike people being treated differently to others, by being talked down to. We are all equal, every single one of us. I learnt that through the work of Stan and those he inspired.

In the sixties he was using his "great power" to speak against racism, bigotry, homophobia - a "great responsibility"!

A lot of art is used to convey these subjects, and in this medium, genre is often a way to do this - science fiction chief among them!

He was an incredibly prolific creative soul, with so many ideas - Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, The X-Men, The Fantastic 4, and even recently creating things such as the television series Lucky Man.

The incomparable Stan Lee cameos everywhere!
(from my own collection)

His cameos in films (and other media) are the thing of legend, and there are some pre-filmed cameos for future films, so when they come out, we fans will be smiling, but yet with a few tears at the same time.
He seemingly always had a smile, and that joy came through his work, and gave so many of us that joy.

Thank you Stan, for all that you gave us. To me, and others like me, you were a hero. #excelsior #withgreatpowercomesgreatresponsibility

November 13th 2018 (47 years, 11 months, and 18 days old).

Doc Savage was, according
to Stan, the first of the
superheroes, originally created
in 1933, which was brought
back by Stan when he was in
 charge of Marvel
(from my own collection)

Stan with Scarlett Johansson

Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Stan Lee, and Sebastian Stan (Bucky)

Too Much Beatles Material?

Hi there.

It’s been a while, but hopefully I won’t bore you with my insane ramblings, which I’ll possibly have to rename at the end of 2020!

Scary!!! The passage of time...

With that in mind, there seems to be a fad that is going around, even more so now than it did before!
Deluxe box-sets, archive reissues, super-duper expansive releases...  The list is absolutely endless, and everyone is in on the act - says the guy with an expanded version of his own debut album available online for download with 32 songs, as opposed to the original 20! Value for money :-)

During these next few months, we’ll be seeing expansive reissues for titles by The Moody Blues (Days Of Future Passed), Jimi Hendrix (Electric Ladyland), Tom Petty (An American Treasure), and many more.

Among these, are a variety of releases from The Beatles as a group and outside of the group, and they are certainly not cheap!

First up, John Lennon’s estate is issuing a super-duper, crammed to the rafters version of the 1971 album Imagine - £156.77 on Amazon.

In November, The Beatles themselves are releasing a seven disc set of The White Album, originally from 1968, which retails for £124.99.

Finally, Paul McCartney is releasing deluxe editions of the Wings albums Wild Life and Red Rose Speedway On December 7th, for £129.99 and £169.99 each, or, if you go to his website and pay £319.99, then you’ll get both, alongside a never before released live CD and book set entitled Wings Over Europe, which features recordings from their 1972-73 tour.

Now, to me that seems like a whole lot of bad decisions were made timing wise!

When Paul argued with the other ex-Beatles over the release of his debut album in 1970, that was one solitary album battling against Ringo’s solitary Sentimental Journey, and The Beatles’ own Let It Be. Now however, it’s not basic albums, but expansive and expensive box sets! A completely different kettle of fish, and on the run up to Christmas. How do they expect the ordinary working men and women to afford all of that? They won’t!

Instead, they have created an unfortunate turn of events where people are forced to choose, with the casual listener no doubt opting for The White Album - cheapest, and the more obvious choice for those in the general listening public!

A shame really, as there is much on offer with both the Imagine set (the second choice of the casual listener in my opinion, as it’s considered a classic Lennon album), and on the Red Rose Speedway set. On the latter though, only those who earn decent wages or who are in the clique will purchase it, as it’s not a McCartney album where people rave about it... Even both Paul & Linda McCartney themselves have put down the album.  One that Paul wants you to part with £169.99 for, when his classic Tug Of War deluxe set only cost me £74.99 on initial release! That’s almost £100 less for an album that Paul has said over the years is rubbish!

No matter...

I actually like Red Rose Speedway a lot, and consider there to be hidden gems therein.
All that was needed was for someone to say " how about having three months between each person’s release, so as to get the best possible sales, as opposed to making the consumer choose! Simple, and more manageable.

Anyway, I’m now stuck, as I’ll have birthday money to spend on one of them, but I’m not sure which to pick, and which ones to never own after their limited release.

John once sang of being a working class hero, but the common working man can’t afford these prices, especially with Christmas coming!

The least they could is make these sets available for more than a limited period, so that their fans have time to afford them!

Thank you for reading.

October 19th 2018 (47 years, 10 months, and 23 days old).

Extra links:
Imagine box-set (Ultimate with multiple discs) at £62.99
Imagine (Ultimate - 2 disc edition) at £15.99
The White Album (3 disc edition with Esher Demo's) at £19.99
George Harrison's The Apple Years set now at a staggering £486.25!
George Harrison's The Dark Horse Years at £127.10
Paul McCartney & Wings' Band On The Run Deluxe Set at £94.46