Besides my immediate family, I did not have a lot of role models growing up because I didn’t enjoy the typical things that most kids did. I didn’t pick up sports until I was a teenager. 

The one person who did influence me was Stan Lee.

I was born in 1989 and some of the first things I remember watching were old VHS tapes of “Pryde of the X-Men” and “Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.” Immediately I was captivated by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Throughout my early childhood, I was able to watch the Jim Lee era come to life in the form of the “X-Men Animated Series” that portrayed real-life issues to children without them ever knowing the better. The animated Spider-Man series brought over so many cool crossover episodes and continued plots for almost an entire season which rarely happens anymore.

As I got older and the internet became a norm, I would scour forums and torrent sites to find old scans of comics that I couldn’t find anywhere so I could read as much as I could of the storylines I missed. 

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe being the giant money machine that it is now you could say that it’s just because people love blockbuster movies but for me I wait in anticipation each time one comes out for the simple reason of seeing what I’ve previously read come to life on a big screen.

Stan Lee the person, if you’ve ever watched an interview of him, is a human of amazing caliber. The way he talked about having wife Joan makes me want to build and create that type of relationship. 

I know we’ve read a lot about his personal life drama as of late and it pains me to see that he passed right after addressing most of it publicly.

Stan Lee should be remembered as an icon of the entertainment industry. His ideas and his message influenced countless generations past, present and future.

Go be with Joan, Stan; you’ve been without her long enough.

I’ll leave you with this last quote that has stuck with me to this day.

“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.” – Stan Lee, The Washington Post

Clark Gargan, Valdosta