Stan Lee has apparently fallen on hard times?

[Brazoo]

I believe he clearly deserves criticism and he also deserves some sympathy and dignity. This is sad to see.

It's sad that some of Lee's detractors can't be more humane, but I've also seen dyed-in-the-wool Lee fans resort to saying horrifying things about people. Seems like there's no debate online that can't instantly devolve into a tasteless mess.

[palitoy]

I have never understood any of the Stan bashing that goes on.

I understand it and it's certainly a topic for debate but it has taken this weird, almost dark turn it seems.

Recently, a former Marvel writer posted his take on Lee on FB, it wasn't apologetic but it was attempting to give what he believed was Stan's perspective. I enjoyed reading it and while I didn't totally agree, it was food for thought on the matter.

He was immediately set upon by an artist/"comics historian" trying to make a name for himself I guess, who accused of him obscene acts and of course, called him name after name. The writer invited debate very civilly (he never stooped to that level) but only got more insults and accusations back. It was typical of our climate these days, we demonize anyone with an opposing view point.

This guy would dance on Lee's grave given the chance, I found that kind of horrifying considering that pop culture is supposed to be our escape, our happy place.

[Blue Meanie]

That is the utter truth.

When the Netflix/Amazon series is made about his life, the entire subplot needs to be how his obsession with being apart of Hollywood perpetually ruined his career. It goes back to the original Marvelmania days and the first cartoons, which lead to Kirby's initial ire at his payrate, which begat the sale of the company and Stan's "promotion" which was his excuse to move west.

If not for Spidey's 70's explosion - thanks to the Electric Company, the advent of cartoon syndication and Mego - Marvel would have been broken into pieces and sold as Stan gave the House of Ideas away time and again. To me, that's the irony of the 70's Credit Hog image he manifested; Stan billed himself as the visionary behind Marvel just to make film/tv industry connections, so he never cared what comic fans thought because he assumed he was getting out of the business!

I feel bad for him, but after the Stan Lee Media fiasco where Arad and Ike bailed him out of total ruin, he should have learned his lesson and realized the magic spigot had run dry. Stan should have been on a global spoken word tour for the past fifteen years. Everything else was delusional.

I have no love for Stan at all. I've posted it before and some got ticked off. The "ULTIMATE" salesman is being kind to Stan. That being said I never would want to see ANYONE'S parents or grandparents being taken advantage of. But someone put it well on facebook's Back Issue page...this happens all the time to REGULAR people all the time that don't have or never had the kind of fame or money that Stan had...and that's the sad part about the whole story. Just because he is famous he gets the attention which is wrong in my opinion. He's had this happen to him more than once which should set off alarms as to the fact that he didn't learn the first time when that investor back in the 90's made off with him money. Was he being greedy or was he just gullible? Nobody will ever know.

I hope that he does recover from his flu/pneumonia and I hope they find the people that have stolen his money...just keep in mind though that this happens everyday in America and around the world to REGULAR everyday working class people but they are the ones that don't get any attention or justice.

[hedrap]

Stan has been taken in before by charlatans, back in the 90s when he first broke from Marvel to start his own company. I sure hope all of this gets sorted out and he recovers, AND his daughter isn't left penniless in all of this.

Chris

That is the utter truth.

When the Netflix/Amazon series is made about his life, the entire subplot needs to be how his obsession with being apart of Hollywood perpetually ruined his career. It goes back to the original Marvelmania days and the first cartoons, which lead to Kirby's initial ire at his payrate, which begat the sale of the company and Stan's "promotion" which was his excuse to move west.

If not for Spidey's 70's explosion - thanks to the Electric Company, the advent of cartoon syndication and Mego - Marvel would have been broken into pieces and sold as Stan gave the House of Ideas away time and again. To me, that's the irony of the 70's Credit Hog image he manifested; Stan billed himself as the visionary behind Marvel just to make film/tv industry connections, so he never cared what comic fans thought because he assumed he was getting out of the business!

I feel bad for him, but after the Stan Lee Media fiasco where Arad and Ike bailed him out of total ruin, he should have learned his lesson and realized the magic spigot had run dry. Stan should have been on a global spoken word tour for the past fifteen years. Everything else was delusional.

[Marvelmania]

I know the man has many faults but he was so instrumental in my childhood that not much can tarnish his imagine in my mind. The 70's Stan Lee is the one I know and remember, the man who brought me such great memories, ideas and joy. It's hard to see him like this because he was and still is such a legend to me. Wish him the very best!

[Earth 2 Chris]

Stan has been taken in before by charlatans, back in the 90s when he first broke from Marvel to start his own company. I sure hope all of this gets sorted out and he recovers, AND his daughter isn't left penniless in all of this.

Chris

[Makernaut]

Hard to watch that. It's heartbreaking. We will never know the truth of everything that went on behind the scenes in the business of the Bullpen, but Stan has always been good to the fans. Knowing that he lost his wife of so many years recently, it's even worse.

A couple of years ago, I saw an ep of "Comic Book Men" with Stan. He came in and hopped high enough to take a seat on the counter and enthusiastically asked, "What's going on, Gentlemen?". He was at least 92 or 93 and had that kind of energy, enthusiasm, and mobility. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and hope I am A) around that long and B) have that kind of pep. He's a positive fellow on a pretty darn good run at life and he's kept age from catching up with him better than most people have.

But to your point; I wondered what kind of toll losing his wife of 70 years was going to have on him. Now, to have this on top of that must be a hard blow and I hope he can hang around long enough for this to get sorted out.

[enyawd72]

I have never understood any of the Stan bashing that goes on. As far back as the early 1970's paperbacks he acknowledged the contributions of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. It boils down to one thing. Jealousy.
Any time someone is remarkably talented or successful, others who aren't feel the need to bring them down.

The bottom line is, this man's creations and co-creations have brought joy to the lives of millions. I have nothing but the highest regard for him and I hope he pulls through all of this.

[Hedji]

Hard to watch that. It's heartbreaking. We will never know the truth of everything that went on behind the scenes in the business of the Bullpen, but Stan has always been good to the fans. Knowing that he lost his wife of so many years recently, it's even worse.

[Bruce Banner]

Hopefully he'll bounce back from the pneumonia and make a full recovery.
In this video from a couple of weeks ago he thanks the fans for their support...

[Nostalgiabuff]

i read about this the other day. Very sad

[PNGwynne]

There have been plenty of things about Stan that have rubbed me the wrong way over the years, but none of it would make me think he's deserving of what this article says he's facing now.

I'm inclined to agree. I've spent my career working with the elderly, ill, and disabled and have seen some sad situations. This one with Lee reminds me of what happened to Mickey Rooney in his last years.

[EMCE Hammer]

I take everything with a grain of salt these days, but this looks pretty ugly:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/picked-apart-by-vultures-the-last-days-of-stan-lee

There have been plenty of things about Stan that have rubbed me the wrong way over the years, but none of it would make me think he's deserving of what this article says he's facing now.