So much of what I have loved in comics you can attribute to Stan Lee. I did meet the man, many years ago.
Back in the spring of 1981 the comics store that I and my friend Martin frequented in downtown Colorado Springs (I think it was still a Mile Hi Comics branch then) had Stan Lee appear for a comic book signing. Obviously heady stuff for a pair of teens who were nuts for comics.
So the big day arrived and we showed up along with a crowd of other fans. And then Martin realized that he had already bought every Marvel comic that he collected for that month. He hadn't brought one with him, and in those days of being on a limited income (iow our allowances), he could either buy a copy of one he already had or one he didn't collect and may not have liked. It also meant that he wouldn't be able to buy the latest issue of his favorite book, DC's Warlord by Mike Grell. So Martin made the decision to ask Stan Lee to sign the Warlord comic.
As we stood in line Martin got more and more nervous that he had made a mistake and that he would be turned down by Stan and be made a laughingstock in the store. But when his turn came up and he set the comic down, Stan Lee after hearing Martins explanation said, "Well no ones ever asked me to sign a DC before, but don't worry about it kid." And then signed the comic with a smile.
Stan Lee could have turned Martin down gently on that or gotten indignant about signing a work from the competition. But he was gracious and kind to a scared kid, and showed that he was as much about comic book fans as he was about the company that he grew into an iconic part of American culture. For that he will always be "Stan the Man" to Martin and myself.
Excelsior!
