RIP Stan Lee.

As a fan from the ‘60’s, when Marvel was the underdog upstart, I’ve taken some satisfaction from the way they’ve become a dominant force in pop culture, though at this point things may have gone too far. Still, Marvel was a big part of my youth, and Stan was the guy who really made it happen. He’s taken a lot of criticism for hogging credit from his artistic collaborators, particularly Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, but Stan was the one who coordinated the whole thing, maintained continuity, scripted a prodigious number of books each month, and set the overall tone; no one else did more to give Marvel its particular personality. Quite a legacy for a guy who was pushing 40 when the ball got rolling with the Fantastic Four in 1961, and who was still active into his 90’s. Face Front!