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This installment of Those Who Came Before is bittersweet as we have had to say farewell to another comic legend in 2018, Mr. Stan Lee. Today would have been his 96th birthday. However, instead of just rambling off some facts readily available on any search engine, some of us just wanted to express the impact one of the many greats in the comic industry has had on our lives.

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The first time I saw Stan Lee must of been during the Marvel Action Hour. The hour would feature an Iron Man and a Fantastic Four cartoon introduced by Stan. He had that zest for verbosity that just jumped out of my tv screen much like his creations did off the page as I read about their world as a kid. He was a living legend. I knew of no other comic book creators growing up. Stan Lee was the face of comic books and comic book culture. Those glasses and graying temples were as much of a trade mark for me as Marvel characters in corner boxes on the cover of an issue. As I grew older I learned more about Marvel’s history beside Stan’s words. There was also the art of Steve Ditko and writing/art of Jack Kirby. Their names and faces weren’t as ubiquitous to be as a child. They were the detractors to the legacy and living legend that was Stan Lee, but where would Stan be without them. Without their art and ground work Stan wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, great as he was.

Stan Lee was the Walt Disney of comics but he didn’t get there alone. As sad as it is that verbose nigh centenarian has passed onto to the ethereal plane of existance he wasn’t perfect. Like the characters he helped to create he was flawed but well loved. At the end of his life Stan didn’t look like he he could of been the same guy who hosted those 90s cartoons. He looked ill and the tales of mystery about his money woes or rather money mismanagement by those close to him as he was failing in health were fear inducing. These tales to astonish were disheartening to say the least. If only Stan wasn’t a silent living Legend. If only Stan “The Man” Lee has his own defenders. If only there was more room in Marvel’s Legacy for those overlooked co-cretors of the characters we all love. I hope that as we remember Stan we remember more than the “Living Legend” but remember he was just a man who told amazing stories, epic fantasy and was more than just one man. He was a part of one of the mightiest teams on the planet in the House of Ideas and that house is nothing with out Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby among others. – KaosBlac

There are so many ways people in the public eye can influence us. Good or bad. Shallow or deep. Short term or life altering. I can truly say Stan Lee, through his creations, influenced me in one of the biggest ways possible…he determined the course of my life. When I started reading comics as a kid, Marvel was just taking off. From about the age of 7 or 8 onward, I consumed comics with a passion…tracing from them, drawing from them, and of course, collecting them like gold nuggets. I loved all comics, but Marvel characters always hit a bit deeper. They felt more real, more grounded, more relatable, and I know that is largely due to Stan Lee. Along with Jack Kirby, he created characters that would last many decades beyond their birth. They set me on a path to become the artist I am now, even though I don’t do comics regularly. I was fortunate enough to do a few small projects for Marvel, and let me tell you, it felt like a huge deal then. Many of the fanzines you see me profile in Ink Stains were basically depositories of idol worship for Marvel. And most of THOSE artists and writers went on to work for Marvel too. And now, of course, we have all the films and tv shows to entertain us. Stan left a legacy that few can lay claim to. And I know that most of us are incredibly grateful for that. I know I am. – Ken

Being that Hip-Hop and comics were my everything growing up it didn’t take long for me to consider Stan Lee the emcee of Marvel Comics. With his clever wordplay and high energy he welcomed you into a fantastic world of larger-than-life characters and their adventures. Adventures that provided some much needed escapism but more importantly, sparked the imaginations of everyone who stepped into the world of Marvel Comics. Stan didn’t care about your ethnicity, social status, or political affiliation. Just that you came to read and hopefully enjoy the stories given to us from the talented writers and artists in the Marvel bullpen. It was this energy that welcomed me into Marvel and then into a wider world of comics over the years. So for this I’m pretty damn thankful that Stan introduced this kid and his friends into a world filled with X-Men, Avengers, Asgardians, and more. From the first page to the last Stan helped keep the party going and there will never be another like him. – Infinite Speech

Stan Lee raised me. That’s right, the world famous Stan Lee; a man I’ve never met, raised me! Not only did he raise me, he raised me well! Growing up, he taught me how to read, how to infer and why it’s important to research new words and concepts. He also inspired me to create, share ideas and take risks. The comic medium was barely a blip on the pop culture radar in the 70’s and 80’s, but to me it was the universe. I’d spend each week scouring fields and parking lots for old pop bottles that could be returned for the deposit. Each Saturday, without my parents knowing, I’d catch a bus downtown to the only comic store in my city. I’d carefully calculate how much I could spend and still have enough to take the bus home (having to walk home many a time because I lacked self-regulation!) Gripping the bag full of comics tightly, I’d be urging the bus to move faster, so I could get home. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, amid poverty and violence, I would close myself away in my room, and disappear into Stan Lee’s worlds.

Through the lens of super-powered worlds that flirted with real life, it was Lee’s storytelling that opened my eyes to inequality. He empowered the marginalized community and had a fantastical way of drawing attention to the broken systems and social norms around us. Despite the never-ending conflicts he portrayed however, Stan Lee always instilled a sense of hope. Not only could the X-Men be ambassadors for the marginalized, so could I. Sure the New Mutants were just kids, but they could affect change in a very adult way. The 10 year old version of me reading these books was inspired to believe that he could too. Despite having few of the things an average kid could depend on growing up, Stan Lee was there for me. The person I am now, and everything I have today, I owe to a guy I’ve never met. A guy with a gift for storytelling, and a true sense of morality. Like I said, Stan Lee raised me! – Ian

One of my earliest memories is taking the comic strips from my mothers Sunday paper.  She’s sit down with her coffee reading the news while I poured over the artwork and colors in front of me.  As a kid of maybe three years old I didn’t have the best grasp on reading and didn’t always understand what I was seeing in those strips but I did know early on that I had a fascination with Spider-man.  I’d frequently ask my mom “`What’s he saying` or `What’s that mean?`” and she’d run her finger along the words and read it with me until I got it.

It was my love of those strips that got me to take reading seriously, long before I’d ever heard the name Stan Lee.  My mother would cut the strips out and paste them into a composition notebook and i’d read them over and over again until I was the best reader in my pre-K class.  Simply because I had to know what Spider-man was saying to Dr. Octopus in those panels.  All that said, it was that creation, Spider-man, a character that I hold dear to my heart to this day, that got me interested in reading and sparked my now lifelong love for comics media.  So while I thank my mom for helping me to understand comics I have to thank Stan Lee for being the reason I fell in love with them. – Eric

I’m a religious man and have been inspired by many people in my life. Jesus of Nazareth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Johnny Cash, and many more have influenced me to try to be a person of compassion, love, and hope. Amongst that list of giants I would absolutely include Stan Lee. While the Bible opened windows of faith for me, the comics written and created by Stan Lee opened windows of imagination for me. It’s no mistake that many of his creations became linked to my faith. Spider-Man taught me to use my gifts wisely. Hulk taught me to pay attention to my shadow side. The X-Men taught me about unity amongst diversity and to respect all of humanity. The Fantastic Four taught me about the importance of family. And Stan Lee was the genius behind them all. He understood the human condition and created amazing, incredible, astonishing, and uncanny metaphors to help us all learn to understand and grow. I will be forever grateful for the life of Stan Lee, who didn’t even hit his stride until his late ‘30s and early ‘40s. He reminds me that the future is always full of good ideas, and no matter our age, we can continue to inspire people. Thank you, Stan, for everything. You lived an amazing life, indeed. May we all strive to be as creative and inspirational as you have been to generations of people. – Jeff

Thanks for checking out this edition of Those Who Came Before and let us know how Stan impacted you in the comments below. The banner art is by Phil Noto and can be seen in full in the latest issues of Marvel comics.