Stan Lee dies at 95: Obituaries hail comic book writer as Marvel's 'real-life superhero', 'last legend of pop culture'

The demise of legendary comic book writer Stan Lee on 12 November marked the end of an era. Lee, who is credited to have created the Marvel Universe as we know it today, breathed his last at the age of 95. [caption id=“attachment_3004752” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Stan Lee. The Associated Press[/caption] His influence was not just limited to the comic book world but pop culture in general. His creations inspired a league of films, TV shows, animes and cartoons that raked in moolahs ever since they went on air decades ago and continue to dominate global box office charts even today. Some of the mega successful films, which are now full-fledged film franchises, include Spider-Man, X-Men, The Fantastic Four and of course, The Avengers (which in itself is a universe of independent superhero film franchises namely Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man etc). _Read — Stan Lee passes away: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman pay tribute to Marvel legend_ Soon after the news of his death surfaced, a number of tributes and obituaries dropped in. Major publications around the globe paid their tribute to the visionary who gifted generations of comic book nerds with iconic superheroes. The Hollywood Reporter writes:

Lee didn’t just help create the characters that moviegoers have met over the last decade and the endless intertwined dramas that make them a package deal. He helped birth the global geek culture that would eventually become our mainstream.

Guardian writes:

In less than 20 years, Lee had put himself into a commanding position, the Odin of the movie superhero gods. It was if he had always been there. And thanks largely to Lee and what he created, superhero films now dominate the landscape, for good or ill.

Independent writes:

For Lee, superheroes were modern fairytales, and he didn’t think anyone really grew past a love of the fantastic, characters like ourselves but bigger. But he dealt with the real world, too. Lee used his editor’s letters to speak to the same issues that his characters faced, famously speaking out against prejudice and racism.

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The New York Times writes:

Mr Lee’s dialogue encompassed Catskills shtick, like Spider-Man’s patter in battle; Elizabethan idioms, like Thor’s; and working-class Lower East Side swagger, like the Thing’s. It could also include dime-store poetry, as in this eco-oratory about humans, uttered by the Silver Surfer, a space alien.

Washington Post opines in the obituary piece:

Traditionally, comics were drawn from a screenplay-like script provided by the writer. Instead, Mr Lee said, he would offer his artists plot ideas and brainstorm with them. The artists would then draw the story, and he would later fill in dialogue and text. Artists in his “bullpen,” where the artists worked in proximity to each other and to him, were much more involved in the creative process. This became known as the Marvel Method.

In his obituary piece on Lee for Variety, Todd McFarlane writes:

“Few people can create the kind of characters who have that kind of global impact. The only other person I can think of is Walt Disney. Just as Disney’s impact continues to grow and expand, I think we’re going to see Stan’s legacy grow even bigger."