Monday, November 12, 2018

Stan Lee, 1922-2018

Comics writer and editor Stan Lee died today at age 95. He was best known for co-creating many of the famous Marvel characters, and he appeared in cameos in most of the Marvel movies.

I first became aware of him through his how-to book How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. It is still one of the best books on drawing figures from imagination.

In the closing chat at the end of the book, Lee says:
"To be a great artist, you've got to draw! Draw! Draw! Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you have a spare minute—draw! Sketch everything you see around you; sketch your friends, your enemies, relatives, strangers, anyone and everyone. Become as facile with a pencil, pen, or brush as you are with a knife and fork. The more you draw, the better you'll be. And we want you to be—the best! Excelsior!"
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How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way
Stan Lee on Wikipedia

7 comments:

Lou said...

The greatest icon of the genre. I can't overestimate how he and Kirby and Ditko and Wood and so many others of the "Marvel Universe" influenced me as a kid of the 60's. I did draw, and swipe and draw and swipe and draw.
The only regret of my life is I didn't pack up my stuff and go knocking on the door of the Marvel Bullpen in New York at that tender age. I "coulda been a contender." at least in my dreams!

Tom Hart said...

RIP, Stan Lee. Those of us who appreciate comics and comic art owe him a great debt. He's partly responsible for my relatively recently renewed interest in comics. Among the huge universe of comic books, there is some very impressive work out there. If you're fortunate enough to live near a good comic book store, I encourage you to visit it, browse around, and ask the staff for some suggestions.

rock995 said...

RIP Stan. So...Wally Wood drew for Marvel???

Lou said...

I remember him for very early Daredevil. My hazy memory thinks he may have done some work on the westerns and romance books as well.

rock995 said...

Thanks, Lou.

Bob said...

"Wherever you go, whatever you do, whenever you have a spare minute—draw! Sketch everything you see ..."

Sounds much like Adolph "Not a day without a line" Menzel. Must be good advice!

bernicky said...

A great quote about drawing there. It reminds me of a story on The Jealous Curator where an artist who was complaining about her painting skill was handed a ream of photocopy paper her instructor not to fill every page with a drawing.