Author Feature of the Week - Stanley Martin Lieber

With great power comes great responsibility

Hey everyone, amidst these weird times, we wish you keep your hopes high and prayers with even bigger faith. Being updated is important but don't let that depression take over you, keep feeding on small chunks of healthy content to maintain that balance.

To help you a little with it, we've brought a delightful read this weekend. We're remembering Stanley Martin Lieber, for the superhero week.

Don't get him? That's Stan Lee!

If you knew his original name already you get the bonus points in life.

Born in 1922, New York, this American comic book writer, is loved all around the globe more than he could ever imagine. Lieber started his writing journey back when he was just 16; after graduating from high school. Little did he know, how an editorial assistant would become one of the greatest and most celebrated artists of the century.

Later in 1942, when Stan Lee was promoted as an editor in the same organization, he also served in the army. YUP, Lee served during World War II from 1942 to 1945. He enlisted in the Army after hearing of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the Signal Corps.

His return to the comic world after war, marked the adventurous journey of Atlas—later became Marvel. Annnddd there was no looking back ever. Things kept getting grand as Stan created his legacy. Years on years passed, he won awards, gave consecutive blockbusters, and won all our hearts.

While we chose our favorite hero from Lee's creations, we also saw him love this, one character a little more than others. If you guessed Spider-Man, good job, signs of a true fan show up. For the Marvel Chairman Emeritus Stan Lee, Spider-Man was one of his favorite co-creations. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Lee said he liked Spider-Man “because he's become the most famous".

Stan has inspired millions throughout his lifetime. Have you ever wondered what fascinated this superstar himself? In one of his interviews of 2018, Lee expressed how movies were his go-to source of inspiration.

He said "Well I guess... the movies! When I saw a king on Frankenstein and movies like that, it was totally captivating. Anything that was bigger than life and very imaginative... I loved. I also loved things that were realistic if they were well done. I remember a movie like Inherit the Wind and things of that sort, basically, I loved stories that grabbed you and you're interested in the characters and you wanna know what's gonna happen and the more unusual the story obviously the more fun it is"

When you just read through his thoughts and words, you realize what made him so special. And how passionately he grasped within his interest. Good for us, he never stopped at it and gave out whatever he collected in an amazing manner. One of his top goals was to increase diversity in his comic books. He wanted people to know that it was okay to be different, and with this goal in mind, he created many iconic characters, such as The Black Panther and The Falcon.

As splendid as his personality was, Stan Lee always kept things fun and happy around him. A reason why 'Excelsior' which is Latin for "ever upward," was his catchphrase. It came out big in the 1960s when Atlas Comics became Marvel and Lee's monthly column would be signed off with "Excelsior."

At the same, Stan was equally humble and down to earth. He always wanted to spread the joy of being oneself, always liked his hair cut by his wife, it was her hands behind the famous slicked-back hair look, always cherished his typewriter, always chose to wait until the premiere of a film to see the final movie. Unfortunately, coz of which Lee couldn't see Endgame before he left us, for heaven. (But Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige says Stan did know the details of the plot from when he filmed his cameo.)

Stan Lee died at 95 in 2018, Los Angeles. His last words were "God bless. Take care of my boy, Roy." Roy released a statement about his last moments with Lee to reveal what he said.

Stan had great affection for his fans. What you’re going to read further is said to be his last message for True Believers.

Well it's an equal love in love fest because, I love my fans I cannot tell you how much I love my fans. They sometimes… at night I'm sitting here and I'm thinking Ahhh what’s it at all about, you know, and then I get a letter from a fan or I read something or I see something or I remember something and I realize it's so lucky to have fans, fans who really care about you and that's the reason I care so much about the fans because they just, they make me feel so great and there's something if you think about it, that is wonderful about somebody caring about you as I care about them. Whom you've never met who may live in another part of the world but they care and you have something in common and occasionally you contact each other and this business of fans I think it's terrific and I love them all.