snap judgments

We started out with the two producers, both excited and obviously nervous. I mean, really, I would be too. They pump crowd up, offer raffle for a signed copy of the doc when it comes out in December and BAM! Stan Lee comes out and is incredible. We applaud, we stand, we hoot and holler and he’s hooting and hollering with us. There’s almost a Jack Benny quality about the guy, self-depreciated and false modesty and lovable. “I’m really my biggest fan!,” he tells us, not egotistical, but giving us something in common. Then comes a 9 minute teaser, full of stars.

From Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, Nick Cage, Tobey Maguire, Michael Chiklis to Tom DeSanto, everyone has the common belief than for Stan’s Marvel, “human beings come first, heroes second”. We get cool tidbits, like the fact that Stan’s credited on over 2 billion comics and that his new company POW! Entertainment (the exclamation point, we hear from Mr. Lee is to distinguish it from ‘Prisoners of War’.) has a first look deal with Disney. Joe Simon’s interviewed about the start of it all, there’s a certain amount of danger with the era of ‘Seduction of the Innocent’ (getting boos from the crowd like an old cheesy villain); it’s all basic history. Stan apparently loves acting things out from his scripts, from Aunt May to Doctor Doom, and he most certainly loves the fans. “We’re just reading magazines… with old friends.” The comics as modern day mythology cliche shows up because it’s true. The clip is a good balance of fun for your non-comic loving crowd trying to see what all the fuss is about and people like me who think Stan’s a cool guy. Also, Paris Hilton says, “Stan is very hot.” I can’t make this stuff up, folks but more on that later.

The two producers are a little shaky on how to handle both the format of the panel and Stan himself (what’s a ham).  Marvel Comics artist Dick Ayers confirms Stan’s artist direction through acting and info (given to Ayers many a time over the phone) President of DC Comics Paul Levitz and Stan himself both admit that DC has a much more business approach than Marvel did back in the day, Marvel being “a lot of fun”.

Rather important guy Michael Uslan gets to tell his story about working for Indiana University who, during the 70′s, could be convinced into a new college course with the proper backing of a department and a presentation on why it should be offered. Well, with the backing of the folklore dept, Michael Uslan got to be the first “Comic Book Professor” teaching a Comics as Mythology course by using the metaphor of Moses as Superman in a comparison. He got a call from Stan Lee shortly after he started teaching the classes and now considers Stan his mentor. He and also Very Important Michael DeSanto were asked about the “Rules to Making Comic Movies” and DeSanto offered his opinion by saying that it’s not about following a trend, making a comic adaptation is more about following the spirit and heart of why it works to begin with. “You wind up with a Punisher movie without the Punisher uniform,” he noted. This of course, leads into a story, because Stan Lee has stories at the drop of a hat.

His sort of “weirdo” expressions (Face Front and the like) started showing up in DC Comics at the time, so he decided to create a word that they couldn’t spell or use (ha ha), thus Excelsior. “Excelsior is ours,” Stan told the crowd and I believed him like owned the right to something. “How do you feel about the killing of a comic book character and bringing them back to life?,” was an awkward question to the panel, but leave it to Stan to have an anecdote at the ready. When he would be asked “Why am I so conceited?” (another for laughs moment), Stan figured that writers are sort of like gods in a way, able to bring life and take it away at whim through their stories. “Maybe there is something godlke about us,” he noted and again, I believed him.

He was also impressed with the caliber of comics these days, from the production value (“Whatever it is we’re charging, they’re too cheap!”) and the fact that so many movie and TV writers want to come into comics. “The artists take such pride in their artwork… the kind of artwork you’d like to take it out and frame it,” he crowed with pride.  I boggle.

While Paul Levitz did note that the people who came into comics after Stan really built up from where he started, Stan was quick to note that he wasn’t just a one man operation. “Sometimes it makes it sound as if I was doing everything, but I would come up with the original concept,” he explained, noting how much Jack Kirby and other artists and writers in the Bullpen really brought it all together.
The Q&A in general was very love oriented, with a lot of praise to those on the panel and those in charge and the fans and the guys who made True Believers, etc. When he was asked “Was it all worth it?”, Stan took a moment to boggle at such a question returning with “Yes, I think so. I’ve enjoyed my life.” He does love working with people, loves fans, he’s sure it was more than worth it. With jokes about an Oscar for Best Cameos and how adding Stan Lee to a film will ensure it’s a hit, we get a clue about the upcoming Iron Man movie; another Stan cameo is in the works, with gorgeous blonde and exchange with Mr. Stark himself.

Believe it or not, Stan Lee and Paris Hilton are working on a”very refined, intellectual” cartoon series that Stan assures is quite good. “She can do her very well.” The Simpsons are shaking in their boots.

<a href=”http://truebelieverthemovie.com/” target=”_blank”>Stan Lee: True Believer</a> is due out in December.