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Hi, I'm Stan Lee.
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Editor of the Marvel Comics Group
of superhero comic magazines.
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Comic books have been a big business
for the past 25 years,
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and they are bigger than ever today.
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With this in mind, you'll be interested
to know that the Marvel Comics Group
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is the acknowledged leader
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in monthly sales of all comic magazines
published today.
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Our superheroes are the kind of people
that you or I would be
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if we had a super power,
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which sets them apart from
all other superheroes published today
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and seems to be the reason that they're
actually far more popular than any others.
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Every one of us are a product
of all the things we've experienced,
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seen, read, and heard in our lives.
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So, when I write,
I'm remembering things that happened.
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Those things become part of the story.
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One day, I was trying to think
of a new superhero
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and I saw a fly crawling on a wall.
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And I thought, "Gee, wouldn't it be
something if a hero could stick to walls
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"and move on them like an insect."
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I decided I wanted somebody who every one
of the readers could identify with.
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If I had superhuman powers,
wouldn't I still have to worry
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about making a living
or having my dates like me?
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{\an8}
What I tried to do was write the kind
of stories I would want to read,
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{\an8}
and sometimes I had to buck a trend
to do that.
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I think perseverance
plays such a great part of it.
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If you think you've got it,
you just mustn't give up.
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You gotta just keep working at it,
hoping sooner or later
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somebody will recognize what you've done.
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December 28th was a very important date
for me in the year 1922.
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That's when I was born.
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On the West Side of Manhattan,
on 98th Street and West End Avenue.
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My name was Stanley Martin Lieber.
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{\an8}
My parents came to New York
from Eastern Europe,
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and they used to like
to take photographs of me.
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They didn't have a camera,
but there were people in the neighborhood.
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I think you'd pay them a dime
at that time.
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They would have a little pony with them,
and they put the little kid on the pony.
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So, I had more photos
of myself taken on ponies.
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I did have a brother
who was born nine years after me.
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His name is Larry and he's a great guy,
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but unfortunately, I was nine years older,
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so it was tough to pal around with him.
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I loved reading.
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I think I was born reading,
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I mean, I can't remember a time
when I wasn't reading.
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I loved Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan,
The Hardy Boys,
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King Arthur and his Knights, The Odyssey,
everything I could get my hands on.
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My mother said
I would read the labels on ketchup bottles
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if there was nothing else around.
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We didn't have any money.
It was during the Depression.
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The one thing I wanted was a bicycle.
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And finally,
my folks scraped up enough money
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and they bought me this two-wheeler.
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And, man, I felt as though
I could go anywhere on that bike.
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I had been freed.
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I used to go to the movies
and I'd see Errol Flynn on the screen.
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He played Robin Hood, Captain Blood.
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He was always a hero.
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I wanted to be Errol Flynn.
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And I would leave the theater
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and ride my bike
over the George Washington Bridge,
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which goes from Manhattan to New Jersey.
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And it was such a triumphant feeling
to ride across the bridge.
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And I knew
I was gonna become somebody important.
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Again,
we bring you another chapter
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of Edgar Rice Burroughs' amazing history
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of Tarzan of the Apes.
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00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:10,828
The astounding record of a superman
who became the...
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00:06:10,828 --> 00:06:14,582
My father was a great guy,
but he had trouble getting a job.
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He had been a dress cutter,
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and there were just no jobs apparently
for dress cutters.
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And so, he was unemployed
most of the time.
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My earliest memories
are just him sitting home,
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reading the want ads in the newspaper.
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I always felt tremendous pity for him.
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It must be a terrible feeling
to just not be bringing in the money
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that's needed for your family.
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To me, it seemed as if having a good job,
a steady job,
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was the greatest success
a person could attain,
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only because my father never had one.
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That's one of the reasons
I started working at an early age.
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I got a job as an office boy,
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at the second largest
trouser manufacturer.
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They had millions of salesmen,
and whenever they wanted a glass of water,
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or they wanted someone
to sharpen a pencil,
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they would yell, "Boy!"
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and whichever one of us was closer
had to come running,
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and I resented the fact
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that they never took the trouble
to learn my name.
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Like, a week before Christmas,
they told me I have to leave
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and, oh, I was burned up.
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But if they hadn't fired me,
I might have stayed there
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and I might have made my life
working in trousers. I was lucky.
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{\an8}There was a general rush. Bank deposits...
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And Owens wins again...
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Oh, the humanity...
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Writing was always fun. In fact,
I remember I was a very corny guy.
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I had a little briefcase
and I loved carrying it with me
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when I walked in the streets
so people would think I was a writer.
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You know, a little thin briefcase.
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When I graduated high school,
I had an uncle
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and he worked for a publisher,
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and he told me that
they were looking for an assistant.
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And I figured, "Gee, I'm going to apply."
So I went up there,
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and I found out
they also published comic books.
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They had an outfit called Timely Comics,
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and they hired me to run errands,
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{\an8}
to proof-read,
fill the inkwell, whatever had to be done.
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{\an8}
I didn't really have any intention
to be working in comics,
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but it was a job.
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There were two guys,
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby,
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who were running the thing.
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Joe Simon was the boss
and he walked around puffing a big cigar
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and he talked in a very deep voice,
and he was great. I liked him.
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He had a lot of personality.
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And Jack would sit hunched over
the drawing board
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and do most of the actual artwork.
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{\an8}
I asked Stan how old he was.
He says, "17."
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{\an8}
So we gave him a job there.
He was the gofer, you know.
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{\an8}
And he'd go out and get coffee.
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I would ask Jack, "You comfortable?
Do you want some more ink?
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"Is your brush okay?
Is the pencil all right?"
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And he would yell at me for a while.
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And that was the way we spent our days.
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{\an8}
He drove Jack Kirby crazy.
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He had a little instrument.
A piccolo?
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And he played this thing all day.
And Kirby would tell him to shut up.
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And Stan would keep playing.
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We had The Human Torch
and The Sub-Mariner
and The Patriot
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and The Angel
and The Destroyer.
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{\an8}
But the main character we had
was Captain America.
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{\an8}
From the very beginning,
we were very much affected
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00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:05,605
{\an8}
by what was going on
in the world around us.
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00:10:06,105 --> 00:10:10,484
{\an8}
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
were doing stories of Captain America
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battling Hitler and the Nazis
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{\an8}
even before America
had gotten into the war.
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{\an8}
Captain America came from the need
for a patriotic character
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{\an8}
because the times at that time
were in a patriotic stir.
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00:10:24,665 --> 00:10:28,336
{\an8}
The war was coming on
and the war clouds were gathering
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{\an8}
and so Captain America
had to come into existence.
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I came in in 1939,
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and it was such a small place
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that Jack Kirby and Joe
couldn't keep up with all the stories.
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00:10:43,684 --> 00:10:46,145
And they said, "Hey,
could you help us write a story or two?"
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When you're 16, what do you know.
I said, "Sure, I could do it."
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When I started doing comics,
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I figured I would just do them
for a little while and get some experience
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and I thought
one day I'll be a big time writer
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and maybe I'll write
the Great American Novel.
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I always, in the back of my mind,
liked comics,
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but I never considered that real writing.
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I said, "I'm not going to use my name
for these silly comics."
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And I thought, "I need a pen name."
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So, I just took my first name,
Stanley, and I cut it in two
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and I signed "Stan Lee."
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And the first story that I wrote
was called
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"Captain America
and the Traitor's Revenge."
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And what happened was,
everybody started to know me as Stan Lee
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{\an8}
and nobody knew me anymore
as Stanley Lieber.
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{\an8}
It was like my alter ego.
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And the champion Yankees roar!
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After a while,
Joe and Jack left Timely Comics
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and the publisher looked around
at his vast empire,
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00:12:14,942 --> 00:12:18,028
and he saw this one skinny kid
with a broom in one hand
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and a typewriter in the other
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and he said,
"Hey, where's the rest of my staff?"
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And I said, "I'm it."
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He said, "Somebody's gotta
edit these books."
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He said, "Stan, can you hold down the job
till I get somebody else?"
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And I said, "Okay, I'll take it."
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So, he went off into the outside world
to seek another editor,
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and I was now Stan Lee,
boy editor pro tem.
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And that was it, I became the editor,
and I think he forgot to hire somebody
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because I remained the editor.
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So at 17, I was really running the place.
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And since I was my own writer
and my own editor,
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I didn't have much to change.
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So I was able to get these stories
moving very fast.
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{\an8}
Since the unprovoked
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and dastardly attack
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by Japan on Sunday,
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December 7th, 1941,
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a state of war
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has existed
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between the United States
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and the Japanese Empire.
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Like an idiot, I volunteered.
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I felt it was my duty. It was a big war.
And I wanted to be like Errol Flynn.
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I wanted to be a hero.
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But before they could send me overseas,
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they found out I had worked
for this comic book company.
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The next thing I know, I got transferred
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to Astoria, Queens, in New York,
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where they had a film unit
197
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where they did training films
and instructional books for the troops.
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00:13:57,461 --> 00:14:00,256
Funny thing. I didn't know this
until after the war ended.
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00:14:00,256 --> 00:14:04,426
I looked at my army discharge and it said
Army occupation, it said playwright.
200
00:14:05,344 --> 00:14:09,682
They were having a big problem
training finance officers quickly enough.
201
00:14:09,682 --> 00:14:12,601
The men overseas
weren't getting paid on time
202
00:14:12,601 --> 00:14:15,771
'cause there weren't enough
payroll officers to pay them.
203
00:14:15,771 --> 00:14:19,692
So I was asked,
could I rewrite the finance textbooks
204
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to make the training period shorter?
205
00:14:22,528 --> 00:14:26,574
I rewrote the finance textbooks
using comic strips.
206
00:14:27,533 --> 00:14:31,495
We were able to shorten
the training period for finance officers
207
00:14:31,495 --> 00:14:33,914
from six months to six weeks.
208
00:14:35,165 --> 00:14:36,834
It was then I realized
209
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that comic books
can have a tremendous impact.
210
00:14:41,672 --> 00:14:44,675
You can convey a story or information
211
00:14:44,675 --> 00:14:49,388
faster, more clearly, and more enjoyably,
than any other way,
212
00:14:49,388 --> 00:14:51,015
short of motion pictures.
213
00:15:06,572 --> 00:15:09,742
After the Army, I went back
to the comic book company.
214
00:15:10,159 --> 00:15:12,703
Started doing
what I had been doing all the time.
215
00:15:13,871 --> 00:15:16,874
I had a cousin
and he was in the hat business.
216
00:15:18,042 --> 00:15:21,545
And one day, he said, there was a model,
a hat model,
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00:15:21,545 --> 00:15:23,714
at this place, named Betty.
218
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He thought I'd really like her
and she might like me.
219
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So, I went up to this hat model place,
220
00:15:30,804 --> 00:15:32,598
and somebody opened the door.
221
00:15:33,849 --> 00:15:36,143
{\an8}I remember it very clearly.
222
00:15:36,143 --> 00:15:38,270
{\an8}He came to the door and he was...
223
00:15:38,687 --> 00:15:39,939
He had his raincoat
224
00:15:40,606 --> 00:15:41,857
thrown over his shoulder.
225
00:15:41,857 --> 00:15:43,651
Joan opened the door.
226
00:15:43,651 --> 00:15:46,737
Now, she was not the girl
that I was supposed to meet.
227
00:15:46,737 --> 00:15:48,989
But she was the head model there.
And she was...
228
00:15:48,989 --> 00:15:51,075
She opened the door and said...
229
00:15:51,075 --> 00:15:52,159
Hello!
230
00:15:53,452 --> 00:15:54,453
And he said,
231
00:15:56,914 --> 00:16:01,794
"Hello, I think
I'm going to fall in love with you."
232
00:16:03,170 --> 00:16:04,338
I couldn't believe it.
233
00:16:04,838 --> 00:16:09,051
She had this beautiful English accent.
And I'm a real Anglophile.
234
00:16:09,677 --> 00:16:11,720
An English accent knocks me out.
235
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,764
And she was gorgeous.
236
00:16:14,431 --> 00:16:15,432
I thought,
237
00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:18,602
"This one I can't let get away."
238
00:16:19,311 --> 00:16:21,021
It was really love at first sight.
239
00:16:41,917 --> 00:16:44,211
At the time,
we were known as Atlas Comics
240
00:16:44,211 --> 00:16:46,714
and we were just publishing
what everybody else did.
241
00:16:46,714 --> 00:16:50,050
If western books were good,
we published a thousand westerns.
242
00:16:50,050 --> 00:16:51,301
If romance books were in,
243
00:16:51,301 --> 00:16:53,846
we published a million romance books,
and so forth.
244
00:16:53,846 --> 00:16:55,472
We just followed the trends.
245
00:16:56,140 --> 00:17:00,185
We did war stories, romance stories,
humor stories,
246
00:17:00,811 --> 00:17:03,480
little funny animal
animated comic stories.
247
00:17:04,523 --> 00:17:07,401
We were grinding out magazines
like confetti,
248
00:17:08,277 --> 00:17:09,987
and we did that for years.
249
00:17:09,987 --> 00:17:13,991
At one point, we were churning out
almost a hundred magazines a month.
250
00:17:16,201 --> 00:17:19,955
As a kid, all I wanted was a steady job,
251
00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:23,959
and now I had one.
252
00:17:25,836 --> 00:17:28,589
{\an8}
Writing came very easily to me.
253
00:17:28,589 --> 00:17:32,593
{\an8}
And in those early days,
it was a fun way to make money.
254
00:17:33,260 --> 00:17:36,847
I was getting paid as an editor,
art director, and head writer,
255
00:17:37,431 --> 00:17:41,852
but any stories that I wrote
I got paid for on a freelance basis.
256
00:17:42,436 --> 00:17:44,980
So as the editor, I bought all my stories.
257
00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,234
My wife and I,
we were a little bit extravagant.
258
00:17:49,985 --> 00:17:51,862
We lived right up to whatever I made,
259
00:17:52,780 --> 00:17:56,116
and I was and am
very much in love with her.
260
00:17:56,784 --> 00:17:58,535
So whatever Joanie wanted, I'd say,
261
00:17:58,535 --> 00:18:01,830
"That's fine, honey, I'll write
another story tonight to pay for it."
262
00:18:02,372 --> 00:18:04,708
Not only her, anytime I wanted something.
263
00:18:04,708 --> 00:18:06,293
I want a new car.
264
00:18:06,293 --> 00:18:09,546
Okay. I'll write a couple of stories,
that'll take care of the down payment,
265
00:18:09,546 --> 00:18:12,966
and I'll keep writing stories
every time the payments come due.
266
00:18:13,717 --> 00:18:17,471
I was always writing the stories
to keep up with what we were doing.
267
00:18:17,471 --> 00:18:21,016
It was like having a tiger by the tail.
But we loved living that way.
268
00:18:34,738 --> 00:18:37,991
In those days,
comics weren't thought of very highly.
269
00:18:38,909 --> 00:18:42,037
I remember we'd go to parties
and somebody would walk over to me
270
00:18:42,037 --> 00:18:43,455
and say, "What do you do?"
271
00:18:43,455 --> 00:18:47,042
And I tried not to say, and I would say,
"Oh, I'm a writer,"
272
00:18:47,042 --> 00:18:49,920
and I'd walk away,
but the person would follow me,
273
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:51,421
"Well, what do you write?"
274
00:18:51,421 --> 00:18:53,757
And I'd say,
"Oh, stories for young people."
275
00:18:53,757 --> 00:18:57,261
Walk away further.
Follow me, "What kind of stories?"
276
00:18:57,261 --> 00:18:59,763
"Magazine stories." "Well, what magazine?"
277
00:18:59,763 --> 00:19:02,933
At some point, I had to say comic books,
278
00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:07,729
and the person who had been
interrogating me would, "Oh, I see,"
279
00:19:07,729 --> 00:19:10,399
and turn around and leave me, you know.
280
00:19:14,903 --> 00:19:17,614
Reading.
What a wonderful thing this would be
281
00:19:17,614 --> 00:19:19,825
if they were reading something worthwhile.
282
00:19:19,825 --> 00:19:21,910
But they're not reading
anything constructive,
283
00:19:21,910 --> 00:19:25,581
they're reading stories
devoted to adultery, to sexual perversion,
284
00:19:25,581 --> 00:19:28,500
to horror,
to the most despicable of crimes.
285
00:19:31,253 --> 00:19:34,214
In those days,
we had to submit the comics
286
00:19:34,214 --> 00:19:37,634
to a self-censorship organization
287
00:19:37,634 --> 00:19:40,262
that had been set up by the publishers.
288
00:19:40,262 --> 00:19:43,348
It was called the Comics Code Authority.
289
00:19:43,348 --> 00:19:46,560
All the books we published
had to be presented to them
290
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:49,313
and they would make certain
there was nothing in them
291
00:19:49,313 --> 00:19:51,815
that would ruin the youth of America.
292
00:19:58,697 --> 00:20:01,867
People thought of comics
as being just for little kids.
293
00:20:03,619 --> 00:20:07,164
{\an8}
And they were written and drawn
with that in mind.
294
00:20:08,373 --> 00:20:10,500
{\an8}
In those days,
you're reading a comic book,
295
00:20:10,500 --> 00:20:12,461
{\an8}
and it could really be any superhero,
296
00:20:12,461 --> 00:20:14,129
and he's walking down the street
297
00:20:14,129 --> 00:20:17,132
and he's got his little colorful
long underwear suit on,
298
00:20:17,132 --> 00:20:20,052
and he sees a big, bug-eyed monster
coming toward him,
299
00:20:20,052 --> 00:20:23,889
and his dialogue would have been something
the equivalent of,
300
00:20:23,889 --> 00:20:26,683
"Oh, a creature from another planet.
301
00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:30,479
"I had better capture him
before he destroys the world."
302
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,652
{\an8}
My publisher, Martin Goodman,
he used to say to me,
303
00:20:36,652 --> 00:20:40,739
{\an8}
"Remember, Stan, don't use words
of more than two syllables.
304
00:20:40,739 --> 00:20:43,909
"Don't have too much dialogue.
Get a lot of action.
305
00:20:43,909 --> 00:20:45,994
"Don't worry about characterization."
306
00:20:46,578 --> 00:20:49,122
After a while, I really wanted to quit.
307
00:20:51,959 --> 00:20:56,046
For the best motion picture,
The Apartment, Billy Wilder.
308
00:20:58,090 --> 00:21:01,718
Ask not what your country
can do for you...
309
00:21:04,221 --> 00:21:06,682
I always felt
I was really wasting time.
310
00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:11,061
I felt okay, so I'm making a living
with selling comics,
311
00:21:11,895 --> 00:21:16,275
but there are people building bridges
and people doing medical research
312
00:21:17,025 --> 00:21:19,611
{\an8}
and people doing things that matter.
313
00:21:21,446 --> 00:21:25,158
And I'm writing
these stupid little fantasy stories.
314
00:21:26,994 --> 00:21:28,495
I always felt, you know,
315
00:21:28,495 --> 00:21:30,747
how could a grown man
be doing comic books?
316
00:21:31,665 --> 00:21:34,960
And he just felt that
he can't just go on doing this...
317
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:36,795
What he thought was childish stuff.
318
00:21:37,879 --> 00:21:40,299
And then I said to him,
319
00:21:40,299 --> 00:21:44,303
"Well, why don't you create characters
that you like?"
320
00:21:44,303 --> 00:21:46,430
"The worst that'll happen is
you'll get fired
321
00:21:46,430 --> 00:21:47,931
"and you want to quit anyway.
322
00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:49,308
"Get it out of your system."
323
00:21:50,309 --> 00:21:55,522
At that time, Martin Goodman had found out
that our competitor, DC Comics,
324
00:21:55,522 --> 00:21:58,317
they had done a book
called The Justice League of America.
325
00:21:58,317 --> 00:22:01,153
A group of superheroes,
and it was selling very well.
326
00:22:01,737 --> 00:22:04,156
And he said to me,
"Stan, why don't you do a book
327
00:22:04,156 --> 00:22:06,450
"about a group of superheroes?"
328
00:22:06,450 --> 00:22:09,494
So I figured this is my chance
to do it my way.
329
00:22:13,081 --> 00:22:14,708
So I went home and wrote.
330
00:22:16,084 --> 00:22:19,379
It occurred to me that it might be fun
to put out the kind of stories
331
00:22:19,379 --> 00:22:21,173
that I would enjoy reading myself,
332
00:22:21,173 --> 00:22:24,176
rather than just writing for
the eight or nine-year-old.
333
00:22:24,468 --> 00:22:27,888
{\an8}
By that time,
Jack Kirby had come back.
334
00:22:28,221 --> 00:22:32,309
{\an8}
So I said, "Jack, wouldn't it be fun
if we have good guys
335
00:22:32,309 --> 00:22:36,104
"who occasionally fall on their faces,
who occasionally make mistakes,
336
00:22:36,104 --> 00:22:38,815
"trip at the last minute
and let the bad guy get away?
337
00:22:38,815 --> 00:22:42,361
"Wouldn't it be nice to have bad guys
that you could almost relate to
338
00:22:42,361 --> 00:22:45,822
"and feel, 'Ah, well, you know,
maybe I'd have done the same thing
339
00:22:45,822 --> 00:22:47,616
"'if I was in his position?'"
340
00:22:48,700 --> 00:22:54,206
Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
341
00:22:56,083 --> 00:22:58,710
That was really
the start of everything.
342
00:23:01,129 --> 00:23:06,385
I came up with four superheroes
I called The Fantastic Four.
343
00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:09,137
See what happened,
they all went in a rocket ship
344
00:23:10,222 --> 00:23:13,141
and they were affected by cosmic rays.
345
00:23:13,141 --> 00:23:16,895
And the cosmic rays
gave them superhuman abilities.
346
00:23:18,271 --> 00:23:21,024
And yet I tried to be realistic about it.
347
00:23:22,150 --> 00:23:25,112
The hero wasn't just a perfect guy,
348
00:23:25,112 --> 00:23:28,073
he was a fellow like me.
He talks too much.
349
00:23:28,073 --> 00:23:30,075
He was always boring the others,
350
00:23:30,075 --> 00:23:33,662
because one of the other guys
was always saying, "Will you shut up?"
351
00:23:33,662 --> 00:23:39,084
And instead of an obligatory female,
who doesn't know who the hero really is,
352
00:23:39,084 --> 00:23:41,670
she was the hero's fiancée,
353
00:23:41,670 --> 00:23:46,383
and she also had a super power
that was as good as anyone else's.
354
00:23:48,051 --> 00:23:51,555
The teenager in the group
didn't want to be a superhero.
355
00:23:52,848 --> 00:23:55,058
{\an8}
Like I would have been
when I was a teenager.
356
00:23:55,058 --> 00:23:58,186
{\an8}
He wanted to go out with girls
and ride his sport car.
357
00:23:58,186 --> 00:24:02,107
And the fourth guy was a monster.
Something had happened to him,
358
00:24:02,107 --> 00:24:04,943
and he became very ugly
and incredibly strong.
359
00:24:04,943 --> 00:24:08,864
And I used him for both pathos and humor.
360
00:24:08,864 --> 00:24:11,241
He was always fighting with the others,
361
00:24:11,241 --> 00:24:14,911
and he was always picking on
the Human Torch that was a teenager,
362
00:24:14,911 --> 00:24:18,373
who was always picking on him,
and I got a lot of comedy out of them.
363
00:24:18,832 --> 00:24:22,794
Instead of having them live
in a fictional place
364
00:24:22,794 --> 00:24:25,505
like Metropolis or Gotham City,
365
00:24:25,505 --> 00:24:28,008
I plunked 'em right down in New York City.
366
00:24:28,508 --> 00:24:31,678
Because I knew New York City,
I could write about New York City,
367
00:24:31,678 --> 00:24:34,097
and I figured
why not let 'em live in a real place?
368
00:24:34,764 --> 00:24:36,266
And one day it occurred to me,
369
00:24:36,266 --> 00:24:39,811
it would be fun to show
that they lost all their money.
370
00:24:39,811 --> 00:24:43,064
I don't think that had ever happened
in any other comic book,
371
00:24:43,064 --> 00:24:46,735
where a superhero group
got kicked out of their headquarters
372
00:24:46,735 --> 00:24:48,528
'cause they couldn't pay the rent.
373
00:24:49,321 --> 00:24:53,158
I tried to keep everything
as realistic as possible
374
00:24:53,158 --> 00:24:56,536
even though it was
just a superhero comic.
375
00:25:03,335 --> 00:25:06,838
For the first decade or two,
at the comic book company
376
00:25:06,838 --> 00:25:10,634
we never received fan mail, and I was sure
these books are being published
377
00:25:10,634 --> 00:25:13,178
and destroyed somewhere,
and that's the end of it.
378
00:25:14,721 --> 00:25:16,765
I'm exaggerating.
379
00:25:16,765 --> 00:25:19,851
About once a year we'd get a letter,
somebody would write,
380
00:25:20,685 --> 00:25:23,480
"Hey, I bought one of your books
and there's a staple missing.
381
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:24,773
"I want my money back."
382
00:25:25,815 --> 00:25:28,610
But all of a sudden,
with The Fantastic Four,
383
00:25:28,610 --> 00:25:31,696
{\an8}
we really got mail, we really had readers
who said something.
384
00:25:33,031 --> 00:25:36,451
We were getting write-ups
in newspapers and magazines,
385
00:25:36,451 --> 00:25:39,037
and people were asking me
to do interviews.
386
00:25:39,704 --> 00:25:43,166
I began to realize
we have a whole new audience.
387
00:25:44,334 --> 00:25:47,003
At that time
we were calling the company Atlas.
388
00:25:47,462 --> 00:25:49,089
I said we gotta get a new name,
389
00:25:49,089 --> 00:25:52,300
these aren't the same things
we were doing before.
390
00:25:53,093 --> 00:25:55,929
And Martin and I
came up with the name Marvel.
391
00:25:57,681 --> 00:25:59,307
{\an8}
That had been the name
392
00:25:59,307 --> 00:26:01,810
of the first comic book
he had ever done,
393
00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:04,688
and I thought it was a great word.
394
00:26:04,688 --> 00:26:07,899
There's so much you can do
with the word Marvel,
395
00:26:07,899 --> 00:26:12,737
{\an8}
I used expressions like
"Remember, gang, make mine marvel,"
396
00:26:12,737 --> 00:26:16,324
{\an8}
or "Welcome to
The Marvel age of comics!"
397
00:26:16,324 --> 00:26:18,285
Or "Marvel moves on."
398
00:26:18,285 --> 00:26:21,329
I mean, it's the kind of name
you can do a lot with.
399
00:26:22,372 --> 00:26:24,708
That's when everything changed for us.
400
00:26:26,585 --> 00:26:30,964
I've started realizing, to most people
the most important thing
401
00:26:30,964 --> 00:26:35,135
is being entertained,
getting pleasure out of something.
402
00:26:36,970 --> 00:26:39,139
And then, I realized
it applies to me, too.
403
00:26:41,016 --> 00:26:45,478
And I figured maybe what I'm doing
isn't really unimportant.
404
00:26:46,021 --> 00:26:50,692
Maybe entertainment
is one of the most important things,
405
00:26:50,692 --> 00:26:54,154
because there are so many bad things
in the world,
406
00:26:54,154 --> 00:26:58,241
that if you can entertain somebody
for a while, it's a good thing.
407
00:27:08,501 --> 00:27:11,880
So then, instead of quitting,
like I wanted to,
408
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,885
I decided that I could make
a big difference writing superhero books.
409
00:27:17,427 --> 00:27:19,512
I thought I could have
a lot of fun with this
410
00:27:19,512 --> 00:27:21,640
and get some real writing in it.
411
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,184
And I used the philosophy of
412
00:27:24,184 --> 00:27:27,103
what would I like to read
if I were reading a book.
413
00:27:29,022 --> 00:27:33,526
When I was a kid, one of the books
that I read was Jekyll and Hyde.
414
00:27:34,736 --> 00:27:37,947
So I wanted to take from Jekyll and Hyde
415
00:27:37,947 --> 00:27:41,993
where he could change
from a normal person into the monster.
416
00:27:45,121 --> 00:27:49,292
And I always liked the Frankenstein
movie,
the old one with Karloff.
417
00:27:49,876 --> 00:27:52,337
I always felt the monster
is really the good guy.
418
00:27:52,337 --> 00:27:53,880
He didn't wanna hurt anybody.
419
00:27:55,006 --> 00:27:57,217
So I thought it would be fun
to get a monster
420
00:27:57,217 --> 00:28:00,220
who was really a good guy,
but nobody knew that.
421
00:28:02,097 --> 00:28:04,891
And I remember the conversation
I had with Jack Kirby,
422
00:28:04,891 --> 00:28:07,769
and I said,
"Jack, we're gonna do a monster
423
00:28:07,769 --> 00:28:11,523
"but I want you to draw me
a sympathetic monster.
424
00:28:11,523 --> 00:28:15,360
"Kind of, a good-looking monster
that a reader can take to."
425
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:20,031
And as I said it, I realized how stupid
it sounded, but Jack never failed.
426
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:23,493
{\an8}
Hulk's in all of us.
427
00:28:24,244 --> 00:28:27,288
{\an8}
I don't think monsters zero in
on anyone in particular.
428
00:28:27,288 --> 00:28:32,419
{\an8}
I think that's why they are
generally pitied more than feared.
429
00:28:32,877 --> 00:28:35,880
I felt that monsters, in some way,
had problems.
430
00:28:36,548 --> 00:28:40,093
Monsters, in human or inhuman form,
are inevitably involved
431
00:28:40,093 --> 00:28:43,972
in some sort of conflict
in which anybody can get hurt.
432
00:28:46,015 --> 00:28:48,435
If you read any dramatic news story,
433
00:28:48,435 --> 00:28:52,439
you'll find that the most dramatic part
about 'em was that
434
00:28:52,897 --> 00:28:54,649
inside a human being
435
00:28:54,649 --> 00:28:58,737
there are some sort of problems
that we're constantly trying to solve.
436
00:29:00,071 --> 00:29:04,451
One of life's great lessons
that I have learned is,
437
00:29:04,451 --> 00:29:09,497
{\an8}don't try to please a certain segment
of the public, don't try to please them,
438
00:29:10,290 --> 00:29:13,001
'cause you don't really know them,
nobody knows them,
439
00:29:13,668 --> 00:29:15,211
but you know yourself.
440
00:29:15,712 --> 00:29:17,464
Try to please yourself.
441
00:29:17,464 --> 00:29:19,758
At least that's what happened to us
at Marvel.
442
00:29:19,758 --> 00:29:23,803
We started writing stories that amused us.
443
00:29:23,803 --> 00:29:25,889
We started to say,
"Hey, wouldn't it be fun
444
00:29:25,889 --> 00:29:29,184
"if we, you know, had a green-skinned
monster and we call him the Hulk"?
445
00:29:29,184 --> 00:29:32,312
Wow, you know,
and we forgot about the audience.
446
00:29:32,854 --> 00:29:34,314
We forgot about the public.
447
00:29:34,314 --> 00:29:38,151
We suddenly started having fun.
The artists and me.
448
00:29:51,873 --> 00:29:55,251
{\an8}
I came to New York in '63.
449
00:29:56,294 --> 00:30:01,549
{\an8}
And I went on job interviews,
and one of them was meeting Stan,
450
00:30:02,091 --> 00:30:06,513
{\an8}
and he needed a gal Friday,
which meant secretary,
451
00:30:06,513 --> 00:30:09,349
{\an8}
only you couldn't type
or take shorthand.
452
00:30:11,017 --> 00:30:16,272
Stan was always an upbeat person,
even maybe when sales weren't going well.
453
00:30:16,272 --> 00:30:19,567
You know, if someone was in trouble,
he always gave them a break.
454
00:30:19,567 --> 00:30:23,238
On the deadline, or they needed money.
455
00:30:23,238 --> 00:30:26,407
I never saw him angry.
456
00:30:27,826 --> 00:30:30,578
Not a whiner, not a complainer.
457
00:30:30,578 --> 00:30:33,748
If something's wrong, "Let's fix it."
458
00:30:35,875 --> 00:30:39,796
The job entailed opening the fan mail,
459
00:30:39,796 --> 00:30:43,258
and then making little cards
and sending cards to the kids.
460
00:30:44,926 --> 00:30:46,135
Then, of course,
461
00:30:46,135 --> 00:30:49,597
superheroes started getting bigger
so there was more mail.
462
00:30:51,140 --> 00:30:54,853
{\an8}
You know, people were actually
spending time writing these letters.
463
00:30:56,145 --> 00:31:00,608
It sort of developed gradually,
that there was such a movement.
464
00:31:00,608 --> 00:31:02,777
{\an8}
You know, the kids were so interested.
465
00:31:03,528 --> 00:31:05,363
{\an8}
We were getting so many letters.
466
00:31:05,363 --> 00:31:09,033
Stan said,
"Maybe we should have a little fan club."
467
00:31:09,576 --> 00:31:13,121
We started
The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
468
00:31:13,580 --> 00:31:17,792
You got a little card, you got a button,
469
00:31:18,001 --> 00:31:21,379
probably some stickers
and a little record.
470
00:31:22,297 --> 00:31:25,550
They got a record
of The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
471
00:31:29,387 --> 00:31:33,349
Okay, out there in Marvel-land,
face front, this is Stan Lee speaking.
472
00:31:33,474 --> 00:31:36,227
You've probably never heard
a record like this before,
473
00:31:36,227 --> 00:31:38,521
because no one would be nutty enough
to make one
474
00:31:38,521 --> 00:31:40,398
with a bunch of offbeat artists,
475
00:31:40,398 --> 00:31:42,108
so anything is liable to happen.
476
00:31:42,525 --> 00:31:44,736
Hey, who made you
a Disc Jockey, Lee?
477
00:31:44,736 --> 00:31:48,114
Well, well, Jolly Jack Kirby.
Say a few words to the fans, Jackson.
478
00:31:48,114 --> 00:31:49,741
Okay, a few words.
479
00:31:50,325 --> 00:31:53,036
Look, pal, I'll take care
of the humor around here.
480
00:31:53,036 --> 00:31:56,664
You? You've been using
the same gags over and over for years.
481
00:31:56,915 --> 00:31:59,667
Oh, Stan?
Do you have a few minutes?
482
00:31:59,667 --> 00:32:01,753
For our fabulous gal Friday?
483
00:32:01,753 --> 00:32:04,255
Sure, say hello to the fans,
Flo Steinberg.
484
00:32:04,255 --> 00:32:07,342
Hello, fans,
it's very nice to meet you.
485
00:32:08,426 --> 00:32:10,261
Hey.
What's all that commotion out there?
486
00:32:10,261 --> 00:32:11,971
Why, it's shy Steve Ditko.
487
00:32:11,971 --> 00:32:14,474
He heard you're making a record
and he's got mic fright.
488
00:32:14,474 --> 00:32:17,185
Out the window again?
489
00:32:17,310 --> 00:32:19,771
You know, I'm beginning to think
he is Spider-Man.
490
00:32:20,188 --> 00:32:24,275
You belong, you belong
You belong, you belong
491
00:32:24,275 --> 00:32:28,029
To the Merry Marvel Marching Society
492
00:32:28,029 --> 00:32:32,700
March along, march along
To the song of the Merry...
493
00:32:33,368 --> 00:32:37,246
Shall I tell you a little bit,
a very little bit, 'cause it can get dull,
494
00:32:37,246 --> 00:32:39,332
even duller than what you've been hearing,
495
00:32:39,332 --> 00:32:42,377
about the way we write
and draw these scripts?
496
00:32:42,961 --> 00:32:46,464
In the beginning,
I was writing just about all the stories,
497
00:32:46,464 --> 00:32:51,386
and as we kept adding book after book,
I couldn't keep up with all the artists,
498
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:54,555
{\an8}
so I'd be writing a script,
let's say, for Jack Kirby.
499
00:32:54,555 --> 00:32:57,058
{\an8}
Suddenly, Steve Ditko
would walk in and he'd say,
500
00:32:57,058 --> 00:32:59,936
"Hey, Stan, I finished my last job,
I need another one."
501
00:32:59,936 --> 00:33:02,605
So, out of sheer desperation
I said to him,
502
00:33:02,605 --> 00:33:06,901
"Let me just give you a plot,
you go on home and draw it,
503
00:33:06,901 --> 00:33:09,153
"any way you want. Bring it in to me,
504
00:33:09,153 --> 00:33:12,240
"and I'll put in the dialogue
and the captions."
505
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,325
It started as an emergency measure,
506
00:33:14,325 --> 00:33:18,705
but I began to realize,
this is a great way to do it.
507
00:33:20,873 --> 00:33:24,002
Very often in the office
when I'm describing a scene or something,
508
00:33:24,002 --> 00:33:25,795
I'd go storming around the office,
509
00:33:25,795 --> 00:33:28,965
and I would think anybody
looking in on a story conference
510
00:33:28,965 --> 00:33:33,136
at our place would think they're watching
some silent movie being filmed.
511
00:33:33,136 --> 00:33:34,679
When an artist would come in
512
00:33:34,679 --> 00:33:37,056
and they would be working
on the plot together,
513
00:33:37,056 --> 00:33:39,809
they would act it out
and Stan would jump on the desk
514
00:33:39,809 --> 00:33:43,688
and run around on the desk, and you know,
act the part of the superhero.
515
00:33:43,688 --> 00:33:46,691
They would brainstorm
and there'd be all this noise.
516
00:33:46,691 --> 00:33:48,276
Sometimes if I were on the phone,
517
00:33:48,276 --> 00:33:51,904
I'd have to yell in there,
"Keep it down, keep it down."
518
00:33:52,405 --> 00:33:55,283
Jack and I have gotten to work
so well together,
519
00:33:55,283 --> 00:33:58,870
that our plotting session
will be something like,
520
00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:03,499
"Hey, in the next Fantastic Four,
Jack,
let's let the villain be Doctor Doom."
521
00:34:03,499 --> 00:34:06,252
"Where did he come from?
Where did we leave off with him?"
522
00:34:06,252 --> 00:34:09,714
And I'll say, "Oh, yeah, he was fading off
into another universe.
523
00:34:09,714 --> 00:34:11,716
"Find some way
to bring him back, Jack,
524
00:34:11,716 --> 00:34:14,677
"and then we'll have him attack
the Fantastic Four, and then,
525
00:34:14,677 --> 00:34:18,264
"let's let the story end with him
running off
526
00:34:18,264 --> 00:34:20,391
"and eloping with Sue Storm or something."
527
00:34:21,267 --> 00:34:23,352
Jack will say "Fine" and he goes off,
528
00:34:23,352 --> 00:34:25,688
and by the time
he brings the artwork back,
529
00:34:25,688 --> 00:34:27,440
it might be that particular plot
530
00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:30,068
or he might have changed
fifty million things.
531
00:34:30,860 --> 00:34:33,738
So he doesn't know
exactly what I'm gonna write,
532
00:34:33,738 --> 00:34:35,615
what words I'm gonna put in their mouths.
533
00:34:35,615 --> 00:34:40,953
I don't know what he's gonna draw.
The whole thing is virtual chaos.
534
00:34:40,953 --> 00:34:44,624
But somehow when it gets together,
it seems to hold together pretty well,
535
00:34:44,624 --> 00:34:46,584
and we kinda like working this way.
536
00:34:47,460 --> 00:34:49,796
It isn't the artist,
it isn't the writer.
537
00:34:49,796 --> 00:34:51,714
It's the artist and the writer.
538
00:34:51,714 --> 00:34:53,508
It's pictures and stories,
539
00:34:53,508 --> 00:34:58,429
and when they blend together perfectly,
then you've got a great comic.
540
00:35:01,349 --> 00:35:06,187
Working that way as a team,
it became known as the Marvel Method.
541
00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:20,743
Joan and I, we got a little apartment
in New York on 94th Street.
542
00:35:21,369 --> 00:35:23,204
We stayed there for a year or two.
543
00:35:23,913 --> 00:35:25,665
And then, Joan got pregnant.
544
00:35:26,374 --> 00:35:29,460
We decided we ought to move to a house
to have the baby
545
00:35:29,460 --> 00:35:31,003
and we moved to Long Island.
546
00:35:34,006 --> 00:35:37,135
We got a little house,
and we could just barely afford it.
547
00:35:38,970 --> 00:35:41,389
{\an8}
We had a daughter, Joan C. Lee.
548
00:35:42,265 --> 00:35:46,060
We're so vain!
We decided to name our daughter Joan,
549
00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:49,438
and if we had had a son,
we'd have called him Stan.
550
00:35:50,523 --> 00:35:53,943
In fact, we did have another baby,
a girl, we couldn't call her Stan,
551
00:35:53,943 --> 00:36:00,491
so called her Jan, but unfortunately,
she died a few hours after she was born,
552
00:36:01,659 --> 00:36:03,703
and Joan couldn't have any other kids,
553
00:36:05,496 --> 00:36:08,291
so we spoiled Joan rotten.
554
00:36:09,750 --> 00:36:11,919
{\an8}
I think she's a mixture of both of us.
555
00:36:11,919 --> 00:36:13,254
{\an8}
She's very talented.
556
00:36:14,589 --> 00:36:18,676
{\an8}
Think it's difficult being a child
of two such strong parents,
557
00:36:18,676 --> 00:36:21,179
{\an8}
I think that's always difficult,
and we are.
558
00:36:22,305 --> 00:36:24,307
After a while we called her J.C.
559
00:36:24,307 --> 00:36:27,185
'cause our daughter's name
was Joan C. Lee.
560
00:36:27,310 --> 00:36:30,730
The C standing for Celia,
which was my mother's name.
561
00:36:31,189 --> 00:36:33,524
And Joanie was Joan B. Lee.
562
00:36:37,778 --> 00:36:40,865
My wife and I are really so close.
563
00:36:40,865 --> 00:36:44,035
She's the greatest.
I mean, she's an incredible woman.
564
00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:49,624
My wife, I think, is incredibly beautiful,
smart, charming, fun to be with.
565
00:36:49,624 --> 00:36:53,419
When we used to dance,
I let her lead. She was so good.
566
00:36:53,419 --> 00:36:55,046
I tried to keep up with her.
567
00:36:55,046 --> 00:36:58,758
So I tried to put those qualities
in all the women I wrote about.
568
00:36:59,467 --> 00:37:06,015
Mary Jane, for example, was very peppy
and effervescent and kinda hip and cool.
569
00:37:06,724 --> 00:37:07,892
That was my wife.
570
00:37:08,851 --> 00:37:10,186
She's the perfect wife for me
571
00:37:10,186 --> 00:37:14,357
because I spend so much time writing
when I'm home,
572
00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:20,029
and Joanie, she can always keep
herself busy, which is wonderful.
573
00:37:20,029 --> 00:37:23,157
So I don't feel guilty
when I'm in my room writing.
574
00:37:25,451 --> 00:37:28,371
He's a vanishing breed.
There are no men like Stan today.
575
00:37:28,371 --> 00:37:30,957
He's an endangered species.
One has to protect him.
576
00:37:30,957 --> 00:37:33,251
Because he's blessed
with tremendous energy.
577
00:37:33,251 --> 00:37:35,127
He's an ever straight man.
578
00:37:35,253 --> 00:37:37,213
Doesn't take booze,
doesn't smoke cigarettes.
579
00:37:37,213 --> 00:37:38,631
And gets up every day and says,
580
00:37:38,631 --> 00:37:41,092
"Thank God this arm works,
and this leg works,
581
00:37:41,092 --> 00:37:42,343
"and life is great."
582
00:37:42,343 --> 00:37:44,512
He's been a very good husband.
583
00:37:45,471 --> 00:37:47,890
So, what's your secret
for a successful marriage?
584
00:37:48,432 --> 00:37:51,018
He's my best friend
and I'm his best friend...
585
00:37:51,018 --> 00:37:53,229
- liking each other.
- Okay.
586
00:37:53,479 --> 00:37:55,898
You know, it isn't that kind of
oh, love, love, love.
587
00:37:55,898 --> 00:37:58,776
Kids kinda fall in love and think
you're gonna be in bed all day.
588
00:37:58,776 --> 00:38:01,070
That's not what marriage is.
Marriage is like a farm.
589
00:38:01,070 --> 00:38:04,323
You have to get up every day
and work at it every single day.
590
00:38:04,615 --> 00:38:08,911
He's still the most amazing person
I've ever met in my life.
591
00:38:19,213 --> 00:38:22,425
The early teens are
years of upheaval and turmoil.
592
00:38:25,219 --> 00:38:26,595
Do you think that teenagers
593
00:38:26,595 --> 00:38:28,931
are any different today
from how they used to be?
594
00:38:29,557 --> 00:38:30,558
Yes, I do.
595
00:38:31,225 --> 00:38:34,937
Do you think teenagers today are better
or worse than they used to be?
596
00:38:34,937 --> 00:38:36,355
I think they're worse.
597
00:38:37,023 --> 00:38:42,945
Today, we've come to a time in history
when there definitely is a generation gap.
598
00:38:42,945 --> 00:38:46,782
There is a teenage world,
you know. If the adults don't like it
599
00:38:46,782 --> 00:38:48,909
{\an8}that's only because
they don't want a part of it.
600
00:38:48,909 --> 00:38:50,953
Anything that can be done
601
00:38:50,953 --> 00:38:55,458
to help present the point of view
of these young people
602
00:38:55,458 --> 00:38:58,294
without hostility, with respect,
603
00:38:58,294 --> 00:39:00,671
would be a very beneficial thing.
604
00:39:02,465 --> 00:39:04,425
When I was 17-years-old,
605
00:39:04,633 --> 00:39:07,553
I was an editor, art director,
and head writer,
606
00:39:08,512 --> 00:39:12,475
but at that time,
the teenager wasn't respected.
607
00:39:12,475 --> 00:39:14,977
So I figured, hell, I'm gonna change that.
608
00:39:15,770 --> 00:39:18,898
Why not have a teenager who's a hero?
609
00:39:18,898 --> 00:39:21,400
Why couldn't a teenager
have a super power?
610
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:22,568
I loved that idea.
611
00:39:25,404 --> 00:39:28,699
I felt that I would like to, for once,
612
00:39:28,699 --> 00:39:34,163
do a strip about a teenager
who isn't a sidekick, but he is the hero.
613
00:39:34,872 --> 00:39:38,250
And I wanna make him like a real teenager.
614
00:39:38,250 --> 00:39:41,545
He's not a guy who can do anything
and never has a problem.
615
00:39:42,838 --> 00:39:44,632
But I had to come up with a name.
616
00:39:46,300 --> 00:39:51,764
As a kid, I had loved a pulp magazine
named The Spider.
617
00:39:52,139 --> 00:39:56,018
The most dramatic thing I could think of,
the cover of this magazine,
618
00:39:56,018 --> 00:40:00,606
it said, "The Spider: Master of Men."
619
00:40:00,606 --> 00:40:03,442
Somehow, to me, at the age of nine,
620
00:40:04,193 --> 00:40:06,487
"Master of Men, oh, I'd love to be a..."
621
00:40:06,487 --> 00:40:09,073
You know, who wouldn't want to be
a master of men?
622
00:40:09,073 --> 00:40:10,908
{\an8}
And he had a ring,
623
00:40:10,908 --> 00:40:15,538
{\an8}
and he'd punch a bad guy in the face
and it had a little spider on the ring,
624
00:40:15,538 --> 00:40:19,041
and it would leave a spider mark
on the guy's jaw.
625
00:40:21,043 --> 00:40:23,045
That name always stuck with me.
626
00:40:26,173 --> 00:40:28,008
Then I thought why not Spider-Man?
627
00:40:42,606 --> 00:40:45,401
I walked in to the publisher
Martin Goodman
628
00:40:45,401 --> 00:40:48,195
and I said "I have an idea for a book
called Spider-Man
629
00:40:48,195 --> 00:40:51,198
"about a teenager
who has a lot of problems."
630
00:40:51,699 --> 00:40:54,869
This time, Martin wouldn't go along
with me, he said, "Stan,
631
00:40:55,369 --> 00:40:56,829
"I'm surprised at you.
632
00:40:56,829 --> 00:41:02,084
"And a hero can't be a teenager.
A teenager can only be a sidekick.
633
00:41:02,084 --> 00:41:05,087
"And you say you want him
to have problems?
634
00:41:05,087 --> 00:41:07,423
"Don't you know what a superhero is?"
635
00:41:09,633 --> 00:41:12,303
He was the boss
and I couldn't put Spider-Man
out.
636
00:41:15,347 --> 00:41:19,310
But I just felt I had
to get it out of my system.
637
00:41:20,686 --> 00:41:23,606
Months later,
we had a book we were going to kill
638
00:41:23,606 --> 00:41:26,275
called Amazing Fantasy.
639
00:41:26,275 --> 00:41:27,860
When you drop a book,
640
00:41:27,860 --> 00:41:31,572
nobody cares what you put in
the last issue, 'cause you're killing it.
641
00:41:31,947 --> 00:41:34,533
So just to get it out of my system,
642
00:41:34,533 --> 00:41:37,119
I put Spider-Man
and I feature him on the cover.
643
00:41:38,370 --> 00:41:40,831
I'm lucky
Martin didn't fire me on the spot.
644
00:41:41,624 --> 00:41:42,958
But in that story,
645
00:41:43,334 --> 00:41:47,588
I tried to heap as many problems
as I could on poor Peter Parker.
646
00:41:47,588 --> 00:41:53,302
Because I feel most people, even people
who seem to be happy, have problems.
647
00:41:54,011 --> 00:41:57,389
Spider-Man's got
the strength of 25 men
648
00:41:57,389 --> 00:42:02,311
and can walk on walls and swing
from building to building on his own web,
649
00:42:02,686 --> 00:42:05,606
but he still can't go out
and chase a villain
650
00:42:05,606 --> 00:42:09,485
because his old Aunt May says,
"It's raining out
651
00:42:09,485 --> 00:42:12,071
"and you might catch cold.
Better stay home tonight."
652
00:42:12,863 --> 00:42:16,450
I had not read any other superheroes
653
00:42:16,450 --> 00:42:20,454
who felt they wished
they could quit being a superhero.
654
00:42:21,121 --> 00:42:24,750
I made him a guy
who is very introspective.
655
00:42:24,750 --> 00:42:27,962
He questions, "Why am I doing this?"
656
00:42:31,006 --> 00:42:32,550
The book went on sale.
657
00:42:32,550 --> 00:42:35,511
Later, when the sales figures came in,
658
00:42:35,511 --> 00:42:38,389
Martin came running into my office,
he said, "Stan!
659
00:42:38,389 --> 00:42:42,768
"Do you remember that character of yours,
Spider-Man, that we both liked so much?
660
00:42:43,519 --> 00:42:45,437
"Why don't you do a series of him?"
661
00:42:49,108 --> 00:42:52,152
After that, I felt I can do anything.
662
00:43:00,744 --> 00:43:02,746
There were always good artists around.
663
00:43:03,872 --> 00:43:06,917
Jack and Steve, both were terribly unique.
664
00:43:08,794 --> 00:43:13,549
Conceptually, Jack's artwork
is very much like a good, exciting movie.
665
00:43:13,549 --> 00:43:20,097
Jack has a way of hitting the high point,
visually, in every situation he's drawing.
666
00:43:20,097 --> 00:43:23,559
{\an8}
He'll draw the extreme of that situation.
667
00:43:23,559 --> 00:43:27,354
Whatever is the most exciting element,
he will draw that.
668
00:43:27,354 --> 00:43:31,483
{\an8}
And consequently his artwork
is always fascinating to watch.
669
00:43:33,569 --> 00:43:38,449
Steve Ditko, he drew characters,
in many ways, the opposite of Jack.
670
00:43:38,449 --> 00:43:42,369
Steve's artwork, I always felt,
was very low-key
671
00:43:42,369 --> 00:43:46,624
and he had a way
of telling a story realistically.
672
00:43:46,624 --> 00:43:49,376
After a while, you'd forget
you're reading a comic book
673
00:43:49,376 --> 00:43:51,587
and you'd think this was really happening.
674
00:43:52,921 --> 00:43:56,884
Jack Kirby was probably
the greatest comic book artist around,
675
00:43:56,884 --> 00:44:00,304
and I wanted Jack, originally,
to do the
Spider-Man,
676
00:44:00,304 --> 00:44:02,765
but I didn't want Spider-Man
to look heroic.
677
00:44:02,765 --> 00:44:06,060
I wanted him to be just
a typical nebbishy kind of guy,
678
00:44:06,185 --> 00:44:07,853
and I mentioned that to Jack,
679
00:44:07,853 --> 00:44:12,149
but Jack was so used to drawing
Captain America and characters like that.
680
00:44:12,149 --> 00:44:15,444
When he gave me the first couple of pages,
I said, "No, that...
681
00:44:15,444 --> 00:44:17,279
"You got him looking too heroic."
682
00:44:17,279 --> 00:44:20,699
So I gave the strip to Steve.
It didn't matter to Jack.
683
00:44:20,699 --> 00:44:22,409
Nobody knew it would be a big strip
684
00:44:22,409 --> 00:44:24,745
and Jack was busy
doing all the other books.
685
00:44:24,745 --> 00:44:27,039
Steve was just perfect for it.
686
00:44:27,039 --> 00:44:30,334
He got that feeling of an average guy
687
00:44:30,334 --> 00:44:32,795
who turned into a hero
and still had problems.
688
00:44:35,798 --> 00:44:38,384
And lo, a legend was born.
689
00:44:44,306 --> 00:44:47,976
Here's our special guest, Stan Lee.
690
00:44:47,976 --> 00:44:49,978
How about Spider-Man?
Know about Spider-Man?
691
00:44:49,978 --> 00:44:51,063
Yeah.
692
00:44:51,063 --> 00:44:53,065
- How about the Hulk? You know the Hulk?
- Yeah.
693
00:44:53,065 --> 00:44:54,900
Which one is your favorite?
694
00:44:54,900 --> 00:44:58,779
Oh, gee. You know, that's almost like
asking a parent who's his favorite child?
695
00:44:58,779 --> 00:45:00,406
I think I love them all.
696
00:45:00,406 --> 00:45:03,367
But maybe I like Spider-Man
a little bit better,
697
00:45:03,367 --> 00:45:05,452
and maybe
it's because he's just so popular.
698
00:45:05,452 --> 00:45:06,829
In comics, is it usually
699
00:45:06,829 --> 00:45:10,040
the big, strong, and ugly characters
that are most successful?
700
00:45:11,041 --> 00:45:12,418
No. You know what it is?
701
00:45:12,418 --> 00:45:15,838
It's the ones
that are the most interesting
702
00:45:15,838 --> 00:45:19,383
and the ones that the readers
of comics can most relate to.
703
00:45:19,383 --> 00:45:23,011
It doesn't matter if the character
is ugly, or is handsome,
704
00:45:23,011 --> 00:45:25,472
or is weak, or is strong.
705
00:45:25,472 --> 00:45:29,393
If there's something about the character
that makes you like the character
706
00:45:29,393 --> 00:45:31,645
and care about the character,
707
00:45:31,645 --> 00:45:35,232
the word for that is,
you have to empathize with the character.
708
00:45:36,692 --> 00:45:40,821
Why do there have to be superheroes
and what makes a good one?
709
00:45:40,821 --> 00:45:44,158
What ingredients does it take to have
like a Spider-Man or a Superman?
710
00:45:44,158 --> 00:45:45,826
The one important thing is empathy.
711
00:45:45,826 --> 00:45:48,662
It has to be a superhero
the reader cares about.
712
00:45:48,662 --> 00:45:51,373
One thing we've tried to do at Marvel,
713
00:45:51,373 --> 00:45:55,878
we have tried to have superheroes
that are more realistic,
714
00:45:55,878 --> 00:45:57,171
more flesh and blood
715
00:45:57,171 --> 00:46:01,133
and it prepares the young reader
for the fact that
716
00:46:01,133 --> 00:46:03,969
- when he gets out into the world...
To climb walls.
717
00:46:03,969 --> 00:46:07,765
...he realizes that he doesn't expect
his heroes to be perfect.
718
00:46:09,975 --> 00:46:13,103
There was a time
when Spider-Man received a check
719
00:46:13,103 --> 00:46:16,815
as a reward for something he had done,
made out to Spider-Man
720
00:46:16,815 --> 00:46:20,277
and he went to a bank to cash it
in his Spider-Man costume
721
00:46:20,277 --> 00:46:23,363
and the teller said,
"Well, I can't cash this check,
722
00:46:23,363 --> 00:46:25,324
-"I need identification."
723
00:46:25,324 --> 00:46:27,743
And he said, "Oh, I'm wearing
a Spider-Man costume."
724
00:46:27,743 --> 00:46:30,204
He said, "Anybody could wear
a Spider-Man costume."
725
00:46:32,414 --> 00:46:34,583
He was never able to cash the check.
726
00:46:37,211 --> 00:46:42,257
I wanted those books,
more than anything else, to be fun.
727
00:46:42,257 --> 00:46:46,678
And I wanted everything in them
to attract the readers' attention
728
00:46:46,678 --> 00:46:49,431
and to cause the readers to talk.
729
00:46:50,224 --> 00:46:51,767
And I wanted to do whatever I could
730
00:46:51,767 --> 00:46:55,854
to set our books aside
and apart from the rest.
731
00:46:56,605 --> 00:46:58,106
I was just having fun.
732
00:46:58,106 --> 00:47:00,234
Anything I thought of I said,
"That's a good idea.
733
00:47:00,234 --> 00:47:03,111
"I'm gonna write, 'The world's
greatest comic.' What the hell."
734
00:47:03,904 --> 00:47:08,367
You describe what you call
the wild wondrous world of Marvel Comics.
735
00:47:08,367 --> 00:47:10,077
What kind of world is it?
736
00:47:10,077 --> 00:47:14,748
Basically, we think of Marvel Comics
as fairy tales for older people.
737
00:47:14,748 --> 00:47:19,294
Actually, I think what we do mostly
is improve on the old legends, you see.
738
00:47:19,294 --> 00:47:22,297
We take the best of them
and give it a little Marvel touch
739
00:47:22,297 --> 00:47:24,883
and we've got something
really indescribable.
740
00:47:29,179 --> 00:47:33,267
Jack and I had already done
The Hulk
and The Fantastic Four.
741
00:47:33,267 --> 00:47:37,813
And I felt, what can we do
to top these other characters?
742
00:47:37,813 --> 00:47:41,233
And it occurred to me,
we hadn't done a god.
743
00:47:41,859 --> 00:47:46,071
Most people had read all about
the Greek gods and the Roman gods
744
00:47:46,071 --> 00:47:50,742
but the Norse Gods weren't as well known.
So I figured
745
00:47:50,742 --> 00:47:52,786
why not do the Norse Gods?
746
00:47:52,786 --> 00:47:55,914
And I thought Thor
was the most dramatic of all
747
00:47:55,914 --> 00:48:00,335
'cause he had that magic hammer,
and he was the most powerful one.
748
00:48:00,335 --> 00:48:03,297
And he was the God of Thunder.
749
00:48:07,718 --> 00:48:09,887
I thought it would just be another book,
750
00:48:09,887 --> 00:48:13,181
and I think that Jack has turned him
into one of the greatest
751
00:48:13,849 --> 00:48:16,602
fictional characters there are.
752
00:48:16,935 --> 00:48:19,938
{\an8}
All through the years, certainly,
I've had a kind of affection
753
00:48:19,938 --> 00:48:22,649
{\an8}
for any mythological type of character,
754
00:48:22,649 --> 00:48:25,110
and here Stan gave me
the opportunity to draw one
755
00:48:25,110 --> 00:48:28,447
and I wasn't gonna draw back
from really letting myself go.
756
00:48:28,447 --> 00:48:32,242
So I did. And the world
became a stage for me.
757
00:48:32,242 --> 00:48:34,453
I gave the Norse characters twists
758
00:48:34,453 --> 00:48:37,497
that they never had
in anybody's imagination,
759
00:48:37,956 --> 00:48:40,417
and somehow
it turned out to be a lot of fun
760
00:48:40,417 --> 00:48:42,294
and I really enjoyed doing it.
761
00:48:47,341 --> 00:48:50,802
It occurred to us that what we do
is we create our own mythology,
762
00:48:50,802 --> 00:48:52,721
and we create our own universes.
763
00:48:53,764 --> 00:48:57,851
{\an8}
One thing I think that we've innovated
that has been pretty successful
764
00:48:57,851 --> 00:49:00,854
{\an8}
is overlapping characters and books.
765
00:49:01,355 --> 00:49:04,900
It's like a repertory theatre,
where you've got your actors
766
00:49:04,900 --> 00:49:08,695
and you know what they can do,
and you can use them as needed.
767
00:49:09,071 --> 00:49:13,575
{\an8}
Once we have our cast of characters,
whether heroes or villains,
768
00:49:13,575 --> 00:49:16,161
{\an8}
it makes it easier for us to base stories,
769
00:49:16,453 --> 00:49:18,580
but we do it because it seems to me that
770
00:49:19,206 --> 00:49:21,625
you enjoy things you're familiar with,
771
00:49:21,625 --> 00:49:24,878
and the readers eventually
get to know these characters,
772
00:49:24,878 --> 00:49:28,882
and they're interested in these characters
and why just get rid of them?
773
00:49:28,882 --> 00:49:32,302
If we have a villain
who fought the Fantastic Four,
774
00:49:32,302 --> 00:49:35,430
why shouldn't he eventually meet
another one of our heroes?
775
00:49:35,430 --> 00:49:38,517
Or why shouldn't our heroes meet,
as they often do,
776
00:49:38,517 --> 00:49:40,268
and guest star in each other's book?
777
00:49:40,268 --> 00:49:44,356
Because, according to the gospel
as preached by Marvel,
778
00:49:44,356 --> 00:49:46,108
they all live in the same world.
779
00:49:52,406 --> 00:49:55,659
...the US has added up to
$3 billion and 14,000 men...
780
00:49:56,743 --> 00:49:58,912
America's involvement grows deeper
and more dangerous.
781
00:49:58,912 --> 00:50:01,206
We were very much affected at Marvel
782
00:50:01,206 --> 00:50:04,042
by what was going on
in the world around us,
783
00:50:04,668 --> 00:50:08,005
and in Vietnam
and what was going on at this time.
784
00:50:09,256 --> 00:50:12,718
I think it's a not only indefensible war,
I think it's a ridiculous war.
785
00:50:12,718 --> 00:50:15,762
I agree with the word you used,
I think it's an obscene war.
786
00:50:16,847 --> 00:50:20,934
{\an8}
Everybody was against the war.
The kids in those days hated it.
787
00:50:32,821 --> 00:50:35,240
We have a character called Iron Man.
788
00:50:36,408 --> 00:50:40,037
He's a guy in a big metal suit
and he's very powerful
789
00:50:40,037 --> 00:50:42,914
and he has little jets
on the bottom of the soles,
790
00:50:42,914 --> 00:50:44,624
which enable him to fly,
791
00:50:44,624 --> 00:50:47,961
and he was supplying weapons
to the United States Army
792
00:50:47,961 --> 00:50:49,880
for the Vietnamese war and so forth.
793
00:50:51,882 --> 00:50:55,260
So, how do you make somebody
really care about a guy like this?
794
00:50:57,888 --> 00:50:59,890
We made him lovable.
795
00:50:59,890 --> 00:51:03,310
He has a weak heart
and he's been injured in battle,
796
00:51:03,310 --> 00:51:05,479
and he really is a good guy.
797
00:51:06,938 --> 00:51:10,734
Our heroes have all sorts
of failings and fallacies.
798
00:51:10,734 --> 00:51:14,905
{\an8}
They might lose just as often as win
if they're fighting with a villain.
799
00:51:15,489 --> 00:51:19,493
And our villains are really adorable.
They go right to your hearts.
800
00:51:20,827 --> 00:51:27,042
We learned the villains are usually
at least as popular as the heroes are.
801
00:51:27,042 --> 00:51:28,627
They have a great appeal.
802
00:51:29,294 --> 00:51:32,589
We try to give them
understandable qualities
803
00:51:32,589 --> 00:51:35,008
and reasons
why they are the way they are.
804
00:51:35,008 --> 00:51:37,969
We've even had villains who reformed
and became heroes.
805
00:51:37,969 --> 00:51:40,972
After a while, we don't know
who the heroes and who the villains are.
806
00:51:40,972 --> 00:51:42,516
There's such a fine line.
807
00:51:45,769 --> 00:51:47,312
And that's the real world.
808
00:51:48,230 --> 00:51:50,899
Things aren't just black and white.
809
00:51:58,115 --> 00:52:02,119
What's happening in comics today?
They've grabbed an older readership.
810
00:52:02,119 --> 00:52:05,580
- Yeah!
- At Marvel, we have as many college kids
811
00:52:05,580 --> 00:52:07,916
reading our books
as we have seven-year-olds.
812
00:52:07,916 --> 00:52:10,752
I rarely hold up books,
but this is an interesting book...
813
00:52:10,752 --> 00:52:12,629
- It is.
- Well, let him tell about it.
814
00:52:12,629 --> 00:52:14,381
He's a collector who is impartial.
815
00:52:14,381 --> 00:52:17,926
{\an8}I think that anybody,
and I say this,
816
00:52:17,926 --> 00:52:20,679
{\an8}anybody could get into that book
and get something out of it
817
00:52:20,679 --> 00:52:22,806
and learn something from it.
It is a novel
818
00:52:22,806 --> 00:52:24,891
or a Cecil B. DeMille movie
or anything else,
819
00:52:24,891 --> 00:52:26,726
only it's done with still pictures.
820
00:52:26,726 --> 00:52:30,063
Why do you say he has to learn?
Can't he be entertained by what he reads?
821
00:52:30,063 --> 00:52:32,315
Does he have to read it
like a school book?
822
00:52:32,315 --> 00:52:35,026
Can't you be educated and entertained
at the same time?
823
00:52:35,026 --> 00:52:38,071
{\an8}We found our readers
want to be entertained.
824
00:52:38,071 --> 00:52:41,032
{\an8}They want to lose themselves.
They don't wanna be educated.
825
00:52:41,032 --> 00:52:42,742
{\an8}They don't want anything relevant.
826
00:52:42,742 --> 00:52:46,621
I would not recommend Superman
or Batman to anyone over 12.
827
00:52:46,621 --> 00:52:47,914
They're nice for kids.
828
00:52:47,914 --> 00:52:52,127
Adults have come to believe there's
nothing of value in comics for them,
829
00:52:52,127 --> 00:52:54,045
and there is something of value.
830
00:52:54,045 --> 00:52:56,756
You cannot condemn a medium
on the basis of its format.
831
00:52:57,757 --> 00:53:02,345
The more I realized
how influential our books were,
832
00:53:02,345 --> 00:53:06,808
the more I tried
to get some moral lessons in the stories.
833
00:53:11,771 --> 00:53:15,901
I don't want to sound
like I'm the most moral guy in the world,
834
00:53:15,901 --> 00:53:20,071
but I always felt there were some issues
that ought to be addressed.
835
00:53:24,868 --> 00:53:28,496
{\an8}
One of the things that is terrible
is the fact that
836
00:53:28,496 --> 00:53:31,750
{\an8}
so many people dislike
837
00:53:31,750 --> 00:53:34,461
{\an8}
and hate other people
838
00:53:34,461 --> 00:53:36,421
{\an8}
just because they're different.
839
00:53:39,257 --> 00:53:42,427
I did one story called "The Hate Monger,"
840
00:53:42,969 --> 00:53:46,348
{\an8}
and it was really a takeoff
on the Ku Klux Klan.
841
00:53:47,599 --> 00:53:51,353
{\an8}
It had to do with a villain
who espoused hatred
842
00:53:51,353 --> 00:53:53,688
of one group of people for another.
843
00:53:55,232 --> 00:53:58,485
I sort of hoped
it would give our readers
844
00:53:58,485 --> 00:54:02,656
the idea that all people
should be treated the same.
845
00:54:03,823 --> 00:54:08,453
We tried to get that point across
in all of the Marvel books.
846
00:54:16,628 --> 00:54:19,297
I wanted to do another superhero group,
847
00:54:20,006 --> 00:54:24,177
and I tried an anti-bigotry theme.
848
00:54:25,053 --> 00:54:28,723
And I thought, how can I give them
some power in a different way?
849
00:54:28,723 --> 00:54:34,104
And then it occurred to me.
We know that mutations exist in life.
850
00:54:34,729 --> 00:54:38,191
There are five-legged frogs
and things like that.
851
00:54:38,316 --> 00:54:43,071
So I'll just give them whatever powers
I want and say they mutated that way.
852
00:54:43,488 --> 00:54:45,615
I called them the X-Men.
853
00:54:45,615 --> 00:54:49,703
And our heroes of the X-Men
are all different from average humans,
854
00:54:49,703 --> 00:54:55,083
and because they're that different,
the general public hates them,
855
00:54:55,083 --> 00:54:59,546
hounds them, harasses them, fears them.
856
00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:06,136
In all of our books,
we try to find some little moral
857
00:55:06,136 --> 00:55:08,138
besides running around and fighting.
858
00:55:08,847 --> 00:55:11,266
We have one character
called the Silver Surfer.
859
00:55:11,266 --> 00:55:13,727
He's a character from another planet
who comes to Earth.
860
00:55:14,269 --> 00:55:16,187
{\an8}
Jack is the guy who first drew him.
861
00:55:18,606 --> 00:55:21,067
The Silver Surfer was
always philosophizing
862
00:55:21,067 --> 00:55:23,945
and saying things about humans, such as,
863
00:55:23,945 --> 00:55:28,408
"Don't they realize they live in a planet
that's a veritable garden of Eden?
864
00:55:28,408 --> 00:55:30,994
"Why do they fight
and why are they greedy?
865
00:55:30,994 --> 00:55:32,620
"And why do they have bigotry?
866
00:55:32,620 --> 00:55:34,372
"Why don't they just love each other
867
00:55:34,372 --> 00:55:37,375
"and enjoy this paradise
that they've inherited?"
868
00:55:38,293 --> 00:55:42,130
I believe that the world could be
a much better world
869
00:55:42,130 --> 00:55:43,715
if we treated each other
870
00:55:43,715 --> 00:55:46,384
with a little more consideration
and respect.
871
00:55:47,218 --> 00:55:50,555
If you really want to change things
and make 'em better,
872
00:55:50,555 --> 00:55:54,184
you've gotta plunge in.
You've gotta be a part of the process.
873
00:55:56,061 --> 00:55:58,897
"With great power
comes great responsibility."
874
00:56:03,985 --> 00:56:06,905
I created Black Panther with Jack Kirby.
875
00:56:07,906 --> 00:56:12,243
We just figured that it's about time
we had a Black superhero.
876
00:56:13,703 --> 00:56:18,208
After all, there are many,
many Black American citizens.
877
00:56:20,627 --> 00:56:26,091
I loved the idea of a Black superhero
who lives in Africa
878
00:56:27,592 --> 00:56:31,638
and is the equal
of Reed Richards intellectually.
879
00:56:34,516 --> 00:56:37,352
{\an8}
The reason I called
is to compliment Marvel Comics
880
00:56:37,477 --> 00:56:41,106
{\an8}
because they are the only comic books
I've ever seen that have integrated.
881
00:56:41,106 --> 00:56:44,401
{\an8}
They recognize the fact that
there are more than one race.
882
00:56:44,401 --> 00:56:48,196
How can you have stories that are
supposed to take place in today's world
883
00:56:48,196 --> 00:56:50,990
and not include
all the types of people we have
884
00:56:50,990 --> 00:56:53,243
- and the types of situations?
Yeah, that's just it.
885
00:56:53,243 --> 00:56:55,954
You have
a racially mixed background in it.
886
00:56:55,954 --> 00:56:58,581
Well, it's unusual for comics
because you haven't seen it
887
00:56:58,581 --> 00:57:00,500
until you've read Marvel Comics.
888
00:57:09,551 --> 00:57:13,179
We tried to provide stories
for older readers
889
00:57:13,179 --> 00:57:17,434
that will also be good
for younger kids to read.
890
00:57:17,434 --> 00:57:21,020
If you think about it objectively,
it's a totally impossible task,
891
00:57:21,020 --> 00:57:22,856
and I don't know how we've managed.
892
00:57:25,150 --> 00:57:29,904
I got a letter from the Office of Health,
Education, and Welfare in Washington,
893
00:57:29,904 --> 00:57:34,367
and they said, "Mr. Lee,
recognizing the influence of your comics,
894
00:57:34,367 --> 00:57:38,204
"drugs are a big problem.
If you could do an anti-drug story?"
895
00:57:38,204 --> 00:57:40,665
I did a three-issue series.
896
00:57:42,500 --> 00:57:46,296
It had to do with a friend of Spidey's
had taken too much of something
897
00:57:46,838 --> 00:57:50,800
and Spider-Man rescues him
and says, "You're a jerk for doing that."
898
00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:52,886
And it was part of a bigger story.
899
00:57:53,678 --> 00:57:58,433
So, it didn't look like we were preaching.
It was just an incident in a story.
900
00:57:58,683 --> 00:58:02,020
The Comic Code Administration
sent the book back and said,
901
00:58:02,020 --> 00:58:05,815
"You can't publish this book.
We won't put our seal of approval on."
902
00:58:06,608 --> 00:58:07,609
I said, "Why?"
903
00:58:07,901 --> 00:58:11,362
They said, "Well, according to the rules
of the Code Authority,
904
00:58:11,362 --> 00:58:13,823
"you can't mention drugs in a story."
905
00:58:14,908 --> 00:58:17,702
And I said, "Look, we're not
telling kids to take drugs.
906
00:58:17,702 --> 00:58:20,288
"This is an anti-drug theme."
907
00:58:20,288 --> 00:58:22,790
"Oh, no, it doesn't matter.
You mentioned drugs."
908
00:58:23,333 --> 00:58:26,586
I said, "But the Office of Health,
Education and Welfare,
909
00:58:26,586 --> 00:58:29,714
"a government agency, asked us to do it."
910
00:58:29,714 --> 00:58:32,342
"Doesn't matter. You can't mention drugs."
911
00:58:34,427 --> 00:58:37,722
Because we try to show things
as they really are,
912
00:58:37,722 --> 00:58:40,808
I had quite a number of arguments
with the Comics Code.
913
00:58:41,976 --> 00:58:46,105
I think that the things that people read
should prepare them
914
00:58:46,105 --> 00:58:49,484
and initiate them
for stepping into the real world.
915
00:58:49,484 --> 00:58:55,990
I feel that morally we are doing
a greater service to our younger readers
916
00:58:55,990 --> 00:59:00,954
by showing them that it's best
to do your best and to try to be good.
917
00:59:03,206 --> 00:59:06,876
I went to my publisher, Martin Goodman,
and I said,
918
00:59:06,876 --> 00:59:09,879
"Martin, this is the story.
This is why I did it.
919
00:59:10,421 --> 00:59:14,926
"I would like to publish it
without the Code seal of approval."
920
00:59:16,052 --> 00:59:19,931
Well, I was very proud of our publisher
because he said,
921
00:59:20,223 --> 00:59:22,934
"Absolutely, Stan.
You go ahead and do that."
922
00:59:24,978 --> 00:59:30,358
So, all of those three issues went on sale
without the seal of approval.
923
00:59:31,234 --> 00:59:34,237
And the world did not come to an end.
924
00:59:35,947 --> 00:59:38,283
{\an8}
We got letters from church groups,
925
00:59:38,449 --> 00:59:40,827
parent-teachers...
Everybody loved it.
926
00:59:47,709 --> 00:59:50,211
A youngster's mind is like a sponge.
927
00:59:50,336 --> 00:59:52,714
And I really don't think there's anything
928
00:59:53,464 --> 00:59:54,507
that's too tough
929
00:59:55,383 --> 00:59:58,052
or too mature
for a youngster to comprehend.
930
00:59:58,052 --> 01:00:01,764
I think they can understand so much more
than we give them credit for,
931
01:00:01,764 --> 01:00:04,892
and they're capable of absorbing
and learning so quickly.
932
01:00:04,892 --> 01:00:08,730
Most of them don't have the opportunity.
It isn't thrown at them enough.
933
01:00:10,231 --> 01:00:12,233
You know, when we started Marvel Comics,
934
01:00:12,358 --> 01:00:15,445
I said, "Let's use
a college level vocabulary,"
935
01:00:15,445 --> 01:00:17,697
and everybody said,
"Stan, you're out of your mind."
936
01:00:17,697 --> 01:00:21,534
I said, "Really?"
I figured the kids would know...
937
01:00:21,534 --> 01:00:23,620
what the words meant
by their use in the sentence
938
01:00:23,620 --> 01:00:26,122
or if they had to go to a dictionary
and look up a word
939
01:00:26,122 --> 01:00:28,374
{\an8}
it wasn't the worst thing
in the world that would happen...
940
01:00:28,374 --> 01:00:30,793
{\an8}
Maybe the older readers
would appreciate it.
941
01:00:31,127 --> 01:00:34,964
So, strangely enough,
in our little idiot Marvel Comics,
942
01:00:34,964 --> 01:00:39,510
I think there is as much or more learning
for kids as you'll find anywhere else.
943
01:00:41,095 --> 01:00:45,683
I've walked pretty far for a comic
on occasions, a few miles out of the way,
944
01:00:45,808 --> 01:00:48,853
just to get it a day early,
which may seem a little silly,
945
01:00:49,562 --> 01:00:52,148
but some of us fans are weird.
946
01:00:56,736 --> 01:01:00,281
This is it. The second annual
Mighty Marvel Convention.
947
01:01:00,281 --> 01:01:03,326
This is Stan Lee talking,
and you are there.
948
01:01:03,326 --> 01:01:07,163
Now, I'll shut up and give you a chance
to see what was happening.
949
01:01:07,163 --> 01:01:11,125
We start off with me signing autographs
after making a speech. Here we go.
950
01:01:11,793 --> 01:01:14,379
Wherever I went, people would feel
they knew me
951
01:01:14,379 --> 01:01:16,422
'cause they had been reading the books.
952
01:01:16,422 --> 01:01:21,594
Everyone said, "Hi, Stan."
There was a warmth and a friendliness.
953
01:01:21,594 --> 01:01:25,098
I got a few votes in the last
presidential election at some colleges.
954
01:01:25,098 --> 01:01:28,101
It was funny, you know.
Some kids gave some write-in votes.
955
01:01:28,101 --> 01:01:29,644
I think I got 23 votes.
956
01:01:29,644 --> 01:01:31,979
It wasn't quite enough
to carry the nation.
957
01:01:32,397 --> 01:01:33,981
What's your favorite character?
958
01:01:34,607 --> 01:01:36,567
Ben Grimm. The Thing.
959
01:01:36,567 --> 01:01:37,985
- Right!
- And why is that?
960
01:01:38,736 --> 01:01:42,782
I don't know. It's just his personality
and like, you know, what happened to him.
961
01:01:42,782 --> 01:01:44,909
He was turned into a monster
and it wasn't his fault.
962
01:01:44,909 --> 01:01:46,744
The Falcon, Avengers.
963
01:01:46,744 --> 01:01:48,246
- The Falcon?
- Yeah.
964
01:01:48,246 --> 01:01:49,872
- Iron Man.
- How come?
965
01:01:49,872 --> 01:01:53,167
Because I just like what he does.
I think he's a great character.
966
01:01:53,167 --> 01:01:57,755
I like the stories that they write
about him and all the inventions.
967
01:01:57,755 --> 01:01:59,507
Who's your favorite writer?
968
01:02:00,133 --> 01:02:01,300
Uh, Stan Lee.
969
01:02:02,301 --> 01:02:06,055
{\an8}
This is K100 conversations,
and I have with me a wacky person
970
01:02:06,055 --> 01:02:07,849
{\an8}
by the name of Stan Lee.
971
01:02:07,849 --> 01:02:10,685
{\an8}
And anybody who is into comics
knows that name,
972
01:02:10,685 --> 01:02:14,230
because you are the guy that really
created Marvel Comics, aren't you?
973
01:02:14,230 --> 01:02:16,899
Yeah, well, after a while,
when you become a living legend,
974
01:02:16,899 --> 01:02:21,946
they get to know your name.
I created Marvel Comics with the help
975
01:02:21,946 --> 01:02:24,824
of the various artists involved also,
of course.
976
01:02:28,870 --> 01:02:33,583
It's funny how every artist has one
little thing that's sort of a hang-up,
977
01:02:33,583 --> 01:02:35,877
and he has trouble fixing it.
978
01:02:35,877 --> 01:02:39,046
Jack has a way of drawing
tremendously thin ankles
979
01:02:39,046 --> 01:02:40,965
on men and women.
980
01:02:41,841 --> 01:02:43,301
I've always got to watch what I say,
981
01:02:43,301 --> 01:02:45,595
because our artists are not only
the most talented
982
01:02:45,595 --> 01:02:49,015
but certainly, the most temperamental
group in the world,
983
01:02:49,015 --> 01:02:52,810
and we'd be absolutely lost
without any single one of them.
984
01:02:52,810 --> 01:02:56,814
{\an8}
But I'm sure I'm gonna catch hell
for saying anything to offend any of 'em.
985
01:02:56,814 --> 01:02:59,901
{\an8}
Could you tell us
a little more about Steve
986
01:02:59,901 --> 01:03:02,195
because I noticed
that he is one of the few people
987
01:03:02,195 --> 01:03:04,280
that you did not print a photograph of
988
01:03:04,280 --> 01:03:06,282
in your first Marvel Annual
989
01:03:06,282 --> 01:03:09,660
and he is not on the record
that you sent around.
990
01:03:09,827 --> 01:03:11,579
You want to know why?
- Yes.
991
01:03:11,579 --> 01:03:14,415
Purely personal.
Steve does not want publicity.
992
01:03:14,582 --> 01:03:16,042
I don't know what his reason is.
993
01:03:16,042 --> 01:03:18,961
He says, "Oh, golly!
I want my work to speak for me."
994
01:03:18,961 --> 01:03:20,296
I'm not quoting him exactly,
995
01:03:20,296 --> 01:03:22,465
but the feeling I get
is that he doesn't feel
996
01:03:22,465 --> 01:03:25,843
that he himself should be publicized.
He just wants the work
997
01:03:25,843 --> 01:03:28,554
that he does to be well known,
and we respect his opinion.
998
01:03:31,265 --> 01:03:34,143
{\an8}
Steve had complained to me
a number of times,
999
01:03:34,894 --> 01:03:38,314
{\an8}
when there were articles
written about Spider-Man,
1000
01:03:38,314 --> 01:03:40,900
which called me the creator of Spider-Man,
1001
01:03:41,818 --> 01:03:45,947
and I had always thought I was,
because I'm the guy who said,
1002
01:03:45,947 --> 01:03:50,827
I have an idea for a strip
called Spider-Man
and so forth.
1003
01:03:52,870 --> 01:03:56,624
Steve had said
having an idea is nothing
1004
01:03:57,166 --> 01:04:02,630
{\an8}
because until it becomes
a physical thing, it's just an idea,
1005
01:04:02,755 --> 01:04:08,511
and he said it took him to draw the strip
and to give it life, so to speak,
1006
01:04:08,511 --> 01:04:10,930
or to make it something tangible.
1007
01:04:11,639 --> 01:04:14,308
Otherwise, all I had was an idea.
1008
01:04:14,433 --> 01:04:15,434
So, I said to him,
1009
01:04:15,434 --> 01:04:19,856
"Well, I think the person with the idea
is the person who creates it,"
1010
01:04:20,022 --> 01:04:22,024
And he said, "No, because I drew it."
1011
01:04:29,824 --> 01:04:33,578
In the very beginning, I would come up
with a rather detailed plot.
1012
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:35,788
Tell Steve what it was.
1013
01:04:36,372 --> 01:04:40,001
He would draw the strip any way he wanted.
I didn't give him a complete script.
1014
01:04:40,001 --> 01:04:43,212
He'd add a lot of things
that I hadn't even thought of.
1015
01:04:43,212 --> 01:04:45,464
And then, I would get the pages
of artwork,
1016
01:04:45,464 --> 01:04:48,926
and I would put in the dialogue
trying to give everything
1017
01:04:48,926 --> 01:04:52,346
and everyone the personality
that I wanted them to have.
1018
01:04:53,723 --> 01:04:57,643
Steve is a very creative guy.
And the two of us,
1019
01:04:57,643 --> 01:05:00,187
whenever we discuss plots,
we always just argue
1020
01:05:00,187 --> 01:05:03,274
because I want to do it one way
and he wants to do it another.
1021
01:05:03,274 --> 01:05:05,526
And even though I may disagree,
1022
01:05:05,526 --> 01:05:09,071
I feel just the fact that he did it
differently will make it good
1023
01:05:09,071 --> 01:05:12,658
because it won't be the usual type of plot
coming out of our stable.
1024
01:05:12,658 --> 01:05:16,996
He'll just do them as he wants them,
which makes it twice as difficult for me.
1025
01:05:17,788 --> 01:05:20,291
I enjoy it, though.
I get a story back from him,
1026
01:05:20,291 --> 01:05:23,044
and I don't have the vaguest idea
what this is about
1027
01:05:23,044 --> 01:05:25,796
because I didn't even give him
a thumbnail idea.
1028
01:05:25,796 --> 01:05:28,341
He just went home,
and he did whatever he wanted.
1029
01:05:30,051 --> 01:05:33,137
{\an8}
So, I said, "Fine, I'll tell everybody
you're the co-creator."
1030
01:05:34,347 --> 01:05:36,098
{\an8}
That didn't quite satisfy him.
1031
01:05:39,727 --> 01:05:43,564
{\an8}
I really think the guy who dreams
the thing up created it.
1032
01:05:43,564 --> 01:05:46,776
You dream it up, and then
you give it to anybody to draw it.
1033
01:05:51,989 --> 01:05:54,283
We've just lost the artist Steve Ditko
1034
01:05:54,283 --> 01:05:56,535
Horrible.
1035
01:05:57,078 --> 01:05:59,789
One day he just phoned
and he said, "I'm leaving."
1036
01:06:00,873 --> 01:06:02,041
So that was it.
1037
01:06:03,000 --> 01:06:04,460
He was such a popular artist.
1038
01:06:05,419 --> 01:06:09,090
I think that we've managed
to find people to replace him
1039
01:06:09,090 --> 01:06:12,677
where those boos will change
to a chorus of cheers.
1040
01:06:16,681 --> 01:06:20,017
Steve and I worked beautifully together.
1041
01:06:21,185 --> 01:06:25,356
As far as I was concerned,
he was the perfect collaborator.
1042
01:06:26,148 --> 01:06:28,109
His artwork was superb.
1043
01:06:28,609 --> 01:06:31,404
His story sense was brilliant.
1044
01:06:33,030 --> 01:06:36,701
I was heartbroken when Steve
finally stopped working with us.
1045
01:06:47,336 --> 01:06:50,297
You've put out more comics,
I think than about anyone.
1046
01:06:50,297 --> 01:06:51,549
Yeah, we're the biggest.
1047
01:06:51,549 --> 01:06:53,426
Isn't there a problem of control?
1048
01:06:53,718 --> 01:06:56,012
It's one of our biggest problems.
You're right.
1049
01:06:56,012 --> 01:06:59,181
I would love nothing better
than to be doing one magazine,
1050
01:06:59,181 --> 01:07:01,183
which I could personally write and edit
1051
01:07:01,183 --> 01:07:04,979
and, unfortunately, we're a little bit
like a mass production outfit.
1052
01:07:04,979 --> 01:07:07,064
I think we're all frustrated.
1053
01:07:07,064 --> 01:07:10,234
We'd all like to be able
to spend a week on one story.
1054
01:07:10,234 --> 01:07:14,405
Unfortunately, because of the economics
of this business, it's totally impossible.
1055
01:07:17,658 --> 01:07:20,786
We produce about two complete
comic books a day.
1056
01:07:20,786 --> 01:07:22,371
It's like a production line.
1057
01:07:22,371 --> 01:07:26,459
If you ever saw the old Charlie Chaplin
movie Modern Times,
1058
01:07:26,459 --> 01:07:29,253
there was a scene where Charlie Chaplin
is on a production line
1059
01:07:29,253 --> 01:07:31,464
and his job
is to do this with two wrenches
1060
01:07:31,464 --> 01:07:34,675
while things come down
and he has to tighten the bolts
1061
01:07:34,675 --> 01:07:37,762
and he goes home at night
and he's still doing this, you know.
1062
01:07:37,762 --> 01:07:41,599
Well, sometimes we feel like that.
We don't even know what we're working on.
1063
01:07:41,599 --> 01:07:43,392
The pages are just coming by and...
1064
01:07:43,392 --> 01:07:45,352
"Proofread that. Change that title,
1065
01:07:45,352 --> 01:07:47,104
"get the lettering out and finish."
1066
01:07:47,104 --> 01:07:48,564
And off it goes. Two books a day.
1067
01:07:50,399 --> 01:07:53,110
In those days, everybody was just
busy doing his work.
1068
01:07:53,694 --> 01:07:56,697
There was a lot of pressure
to turn those things out in time.
1069
01:07:57,406 --> 01:08:00,618
Because of the fact that
they don't get paid very much per page
1070
01:08:00,618 --> 01:08:04,455
and that they have to do a lot of pages
a day in order to eke out a living,
1071
01:08:04,455 --> 01:08:06,624
the artists would say
that they don't have a chance
1072
01:08:06,624 --> 01:08:08,375
to really show how good they are.
1073
01:08:11,253 --> 01:08:13,380
Sometime around then, Kirby left.
1074
01:08:34,944 --> 01:08:36,946
{\an8}
We're speaking with Jack Kirby live.
1075
01:08:36,946 --> 01:08:41,325
{\an8}
And now we can announce
the very special surprise guest,
1076
01:08:41,325 --> 01:08:44,036
{\an8}
your colleague, Stan Lee.
1077
01:08:44,036 --> 01:08:46,038
{\an8}
I wanna wish Jack a happy birthday.
1078
01:08:46,038 --> 01:08:48,791
Well, Stanley, I want to thank you
for calling and I hope
1079
01:08:48,791 --> 01:08:51,877
you're in good health
and I hope you stay in good health.
1080
01:08:51,877 --> 01:08:54,296
I'm doing my best
and the same to you.
1081
01:08:54,296 --> 01:08:56,006
You know, whatever we did together,
1082
01:08:56,006 --> 01:08:58,926
and no matter who did what,
and I guess that's something
1083
01:08:58,926 --> 01:09:00,761
that'll be argued forever.
1084
01:09:00,761 --> 01:09:03,848
But I think that
the product that was produced
1085
01:09:03,848 --> 01:09:07,268
was really even more
than a sum of its parts.
1086
01:09:07,268 --> 01:09:11,730
I think there was some slight magic
that came into effect,
1087
01:09:11,730 --> 01:09:13,315
when we worked together.
1088
01:09:13,315 --> 01:09:16,235
Well, I was never sorry
for it, Stanley.
1089
01:09:16,235 --> 01:09:18,571
It was a great experience for me.
1090
01:09:18,571 --> 01:09:22,199
If the product was good,
that was my satisfaction.
1091
01:09:22,324 --> 01:09:24,243
You know,
when it comes right down to it,
1092
01:09:24,243 --> 01:09:27,246
it doesn't matter who exactly did what.
1093
01:09:27,246 --> 01:09:28,914
Well, I'll say this.
1094
01:09:28,914 --> 01:09:31,917
Every word of dialogue
in those scripts was mine.
1095
01:09:32,918 --> 01:09:35,254
Well, I don't want...
Every story.
1096
01:09:35,254 --> 01:09:38,966
I don't want to get into
controversy about that. What I want to...
1097
01:09:38,966 --> 01:09:41,218
I can tell you
that I wrote a few lines myself
1098
01:09:41,218 --> 01:09:44,555
- above every panel that I...
Yes, I've seen those.
1099
01:09:44,555 --> 01:09:47,391
They weren't printed in the book.
Look.
1100
01:09:47,391 --> 01:09:49,852
Jack, answer me truthfully.
I wasn't allowed to...
1101
01:09:49,852 --> 01:09:52,938
Did you ever read one of the stories
after it was finished?
1102
01:09:52,938 --> 01:09:54,315
I don't think you did.
1103
01:09:54,315 --> 01:09:56,692
I don't think you ever read
one of my stories.
1104
01:09:56,692 --> 01:09:58,944
I think you were always busy
drawing the next one.
1105
01:09:58,944 --> 01:10:00,863
You never read when it was finished.
1106
01:10:00,863 --> 01:10:04,074
Whatever was
written in 'em wasn't...
1107
01:10:04,074 --> 01:10:08,871
Well, look, it was the action
I was interested in.
1108
01:10:08,871 --> 01:10:11,540
I know, and I think you felt,
"Well, it doesn't matter.
1109
01:10:11,540 --> 01:10:14,585
"Anybody can put the dialogue in,
it's what I'm drawing that matters."
1110
01:10:14,585 --> 01:10:17,421
And maybe you're right.
I don't agree with it.
1111
01:10:17,421 --> 01:10:21,717
No. I'm only trying to say that one man
and his writing and drawing,
1112
01:10:21,717 --> 01:10:24,720
and doing a strip,
it should come from an individual.
1113
01:10:24,720 --> 01:10:27,097
I believe that
you should have the opportunity,
1114
01:10:27,097 --> 01:10:29,183
uh, to do the entire thing yourself.
1115
01:10:29,183 --> 01:10:32,603
The success of Marvel
had to do with...
1116
01:10:32,603 --> 01:10:36,899
To keeping a greater attention
to the characters
1117
01:10:36,899 --> 01:10:39,777
than to the egos
of the people creating them.
1118
01:10:39,777 --> 01:10:42,905
When you mention an ego problem,
the funny thing is,
1119
01:10:42,905 --> 01:10:45,866
I'm afraid those problems
are only cropping up now.
1120
01:10:45,866 --> 01:10:49,870
I think when Jack and I did the strips,
there was no ego problem.
1121
01:10:49,870 --> 01:10:51,997
We were just doing the best we could.
1122
01:10:51,997 --> 01:10:55,751
Listen,
you can understand now, uh,
1123
01:10:56,794 --> 01:10:58,379
how things really were.
1124
01:11:23,070 --> 01:11:28,075
My guest is somebody who is not only
an old friend and associate
1125
01:11:28,075 --> 01:11:33,622
but one of the genuine talented
movers and shakers of our business.
1126
01:11:33,622 --> 01:11:37,459
Roy Thomas,
editor-emeritus of Marvel Comics,
1127
01:11:37,459 --> 01:11:41,297
and as good a writer
as we're ever going to find anywhere
1128
01:11:41,297 --> 01:11:43,757
in the comic business
and maybe in any other business.
1129
01:11:44,008 --> 01:11:47,303
It just was as though you were
the answer to a prayer. Remember, you...
1130
01:11:47,303 --> 01:11:51,098
You took over the
Fantastic Four.
You took over the
Avengers, the X...
1131
01:11:51,098 --> 01:11:53,267
- I guess you did almost all the stories.
- Most.
1132
01:11:53,267 --> 01:11:56,729
And as good as anybody could have wanted.
Built up your own following.
1133
01:11:56,729 --> 01:11:58,105
I began to hate you
1134
01:11:58,105 --> 01:12:00,190
- as the fans began to love you.
1135
01:12:02,234 --> 01:12:05,696
When I became publisher,
I stopped most of the writing.
1136
01:12:06,322 --> 01:12:09,992
When I was writing,
I had total control of them.
1137
01:12:09,992 --> 01:12:12,161
And they matured,
if you want to use that word,
1138
01:12:12,161 --> 01:12:13,537
the way I wanted them to.
1139
01:12:13,537 --> 01:12:17,291
But I realized,
the minute you stop writing a series
1140
01:12:17,291 --> 01:12:21,795
and other writers take over,
they've got to do it their way.
1141
01:12:24,465 --> 01:12:29,136
{\an8}
Comic books started out
really dealing with male heroes
1142
01:12:29,136 --> 01:12:30,804
'cause at that time, years ago,
1143
01:12:30,804 --> 01:12:33,724
{\an8}
nobody even thought
to have too many women heroes.
1144
01:12:33,724 --> 01:12:35,559
{\an8}
But now, as publisher,
1145
01:12:35,559 --> 01:12:39,855
I have found that
10% of our readers are females.
1146
01:12:40,481 --> 01:12:43,859
So we ourselves are trying
to increase that readership.
1147
01:12:43,859 --> 01:12:45,736
And these past few months and years,
1148
01:12:46,070 --> 01:12:49,031
we've been adding
more and more female characters.
1149
01:12:49,698 --> 01:12:53,660
We have one character
who's a barbarian called Red Sonja,
1150
01:12:53,660 --> 01:12:55,579
in the pre-historical days.
1151
01:12:55,746 --> 01:12:57,748
She wields a sword and she's great.
1152
01:12:57,748 --> 01:13:00,751
{\an8}
We have a character called Medusa.
We have the Black Widow.
1153
01:13:00,751 --> 01:13:05,339
{\an8}
We have a new one called Ms. Marvel.
She's gonna be a big one.
1154
01:13:06,465 --> 01:13:10,010
It was the first time in all the years
I had been working there
1155
01:13:10,511 --> 01:13:14,681
that I had given the artists
the freedom to do the books
1156
01:13:14,681 --> 01:13:16,600
the way they wanted to do them.
1157
01:13:17,726 --> 01:13:21,438
I find it's a little bit difficult now.
The one thing that I regret,
1158
01:13:21,438 --> 01:13:24,566
of course,
we're not together 24 hours a day.
1159
01:13:24,566 --> 01:13:26,443
Roy does his writing at home,
1160
01:13:26,443 --> 01:13:30,447
and we've lost a little bit of that
perfect control we had
1161
01:13:30,447 --> 01:13:32,074
over all the characters.
1162
01:13:32,491 --> 01:13:36,453
Once or twice, I may wanna use
a certain villain, and I'll say to Roy,
1163
01:13:36,453 --> 01:13:39,915
say "I'm gonna bring back Dr. Octopus
in the next issue," and Roy'll say,
1164
01:13:39,915 --> 01:13:42,584
"Oh, Stan, you can't.
I just did it in the Avengers."
1165
01:13:42,584 --> 01:13:45,337
You see?
And it makes it a little difficult.
1166
01:13:45,629 --> 01:13:48,715
There probably are times
where things don't gel
1167
01:13:48,715 --> 01:13:51,218
or dovetail quite as perfectly.
1168
01:13:51,218 --> 01:13:54,179
But that's one of the little things
we have to put up with
1169
01:13:54,179 --> 01:13:56,682
because of the fact that we've grown so.
1170
01:14:00,602 --> 01:14:06,150
I've reached the pinnacle of idleness,
1171
01:14:06,150 --> 01:14:07,818
I'm now the publisher.
1172
01:14:07,818 --> 01:14:09,528
They kicked me upstairs.
1173
01:14:09,528 --> 01:14:13,449
{\an8}
And it's my job to see to it that
the other people do all the writing,
1174
01:14:13,449 --> 01:14:15,826
{\an8}
but I really miss the writing.
1175
01:14:26,795 --> 01:14:30,507
When they named me the publisher
of this thing, I became a big businessman.
1176
01:14:34,511 --> 01:14:37,389
I always wanted
to become somebody important,
1177
01:14:38,974 --> 01:14:40,350
but I'm not a businessman.
1178
01:14:42,436 --> 01:14:46,315
I've really no interest in working
with figures and things like that.
1179
01:14:46,773 --> 01:14:50,986
The board of directors, they wanted me
to come up with a five-year plan.
1180
01:14:50,986 --> 01:14:54,865
Where will we be in five years
and how much budget do we need?
1181
01:14:54,865 --> 01:14:58,327
But to me, anything that
has to do with business is dull.
1182
01:15:05,125 --> 01:15:07,753
So I kept the title publisher,
1183
01:15:07,753 --> 01:15:10,339
but instead of just being a businessman,
1184
01:15:11,757 --> 01:15:16,261
I traveled around the country
talking up Marvel Comics.
1185
01:15:16,261 --> 01:15:17,971
Thank you, culture-lovers.
1186
01:15:19,640 --> 01:15:23,310
{\an8}
I was going to colleges
and television shows
1187
01:15:23,310 --> 01:15:26,271
and radio shows pitching Marvel.
1188
01:15:26,396 --> 01:15:29,816
The superhero of
the comic book business, Stan Lee.
1189
01:15:30,943 --> 01:15:37,741
I've always felt comic books
were a more powerful cultural device
1190
01:15:37,741 --> 01:15:40,369
than they ever had a chance
to prove to be.
1191
01:15:40,369 --> 01:15:43,121
I hope to give them that chance now.
1192
01:15:43,121 --> 01:15:47,751
I want to make comic books much more
important than they've ever been.
1193
01:15:48,502 --> 01:15:52,839
Basically, it's really
a religious crusade, I like to think.
1194
01:15:54,007 --> 01:15:55,175
Indeed.
1195
01:16:02,182 --> 01:16:05,477
By this time,
I had been at Marvel for many years.
1196
01:16:06,311 --> 01:16:10,857
I had had a lifetime job,
and I was damn well worth it.
1197
01:16:11,358 --> 01:16:13,277
Here's what I think we ought to do.
1198
01:16:15,070 --> 01:16:16,321
I marked them all up.
1199
01:16:16,655 --> 01:16:19,199
But the company was sold.
1200
01:16:21,368 --> 01:16:23,579
One of the owners of the new company said,
1201
01:16:23,579 --> 01:16:26,707
"Stan, don't worry,
you're going to be better than ever."
1202
01:16:26,707 --> 01:16:29,293
And he was gonna give everyone
new contracts.
1203
01:16:29,418 --> 01:16:32,045
So the new contract I was offered was
1204
01:16:32,045 --> 01:16:36,008
instead of a lifetime contract,
a two-year contract,
1205
01:16:36,008 --> 01:16:37,968
which made me very unhappy.
1206
01:16:40,095 --> 01:16:43,432
I always resented the fact that
when I wrote these stories,
1207
01:16:44,182 --> 01:16:48,478
I never thought, "Gee, I ought to try
to copyright something myself and own it."
1208
01:16:48,478 --> 01:16:50,439
It always belonged to the company.
1209
01:16:50,439 --> 01:16:53,692
So from a business point of view,
that was a mistake.
1210
01:16:56,069 --> 01:16:59,531
I was heartbroken.
There wasn't much I could do about it.
1211
01:17:05,203 --> 01:17:08,749
In a series of deliberate
and deadly terrorist acts...
1212
01:17:10,250 --> 01:17:11,627
It is time for a change.
1213
01:17:11,752 --> 01:17:13,420
Yes! Yes, we can!
1214
01:17:19,593 --> 01:17:21,136
Let's put a camera up.
1215
01:17:21,136 --> 01:17:22,846
Let's not keep this young man waiting.
1216
01:17:24,890 --> 01:17:27,184
Marvel finally settled things.
1217
01:17:27,851 --> 01:17:30,604
Guys, let's clear. Everybody, please.
1218
01:17:31,104 --> 01:17:34,399
They gave me title
Chairman Emeritus,
1219
01:17:34,399 --> 01:17:36,777
which was an honorary title.
1220
01:17:37,361 --> 01:17:38,904
I was very happy about that.
1221
01:17:39,029 --> 01:17:42,783
And, action! Camera! Car!
1222
01:17:44,034 --> 01:17:45,035
Stan!
1223
01:17:45,035 --> 01:17:46,244
Did it work?
1224
01:17:46,953 --> 01:17:50,332
Stan, thank you so much for being here.
It is our absolute pleasure
1225
01:17:50,332 --> 01:17:53,168
and forgive us if there's lots
of handshakes and autographs asked
1226
01:17:53,168 --> 01:17:54,795
before you get out of here,
1227
01:17:54,795 --> 01:17:57,005
but thank you so much.
We are honored to have you.
1228
01:17:57,005 --> 01:17:59,299
- Thank you! Thanks a lot!
- Thank you.
1229
01:17:59,299 --> 01:18:00,801
So many people walk up and say,
1230
01:18:00,801 --> 01:18:04,179
"I just want to thank you
for all the enjoyment you've brought."
1231
01:18:04,805 --> 01:18:06,973
And I've been doing this since the 1940s.
1232
01:18:07,683 --> 01:18:09,643
People who've read the books then
1233
01:18:09,643 --> 01:18:11,770
still remember them
and have stayed with them.
1234
01:18:11,895 --> 01:18:15,357
And now they have their own kids.
Some have their grandkids.
1235
01:18:16,525 --> 01:18:19,945
{\an8}
I often look back at the early '60s
in the famous Marvel bullpen
1236
01:18:19,945 --> 01:18:23,031
{\an8}
and think about the characters that
came out of the imaginations of Stan Lee,
1237
01:18:23,031 --> 01:18:26,952
{\an8}
Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and all
of the co-creators. It's incredible.
1238
01:18:26,952 --> 01:18:29,079
And when we sit around
our conference room tables
1239
01:18:29,079 --> 01:18:32,165
in development sessions on these movies,
I find myself thinking,
1240
01:18:32,165 --> 01:18:35,836
"Boy, if we could just tap into 5%
of that crucible of imagination."
1241
01:18:37,129 --> 01:18:39,756
We're just trying to emulate
what the comics have been doing so well
1242
01:18:39,756 --> 01:18:41,341
for so many decades.
1243
01:18:42,843 --> 01:18:45,345
In the days
I was writing those books,
1244
01:18:45,762 --> 01:18:47,472
I was hoping they'd sell
1245
01:18:47,597 --> 01:18:50,976
so I wouldn't lose my job
and I could keep paying the rent.
1246
01:18:51,435 --> 01:18:55,981
{\an8}
All of a sudden, these characters
have become world-famous.
1247
01:18:56,440 --> 01:19:00,068
They're the subject of blockbuster movies,
1248
01:19:00,068 --> 01:19:02,738
and I'm lucky enough
to get little cameos in 'em.
1249
01:19:04,489 --> 01:19:07,784
Cut. Ladies and gentlemen,
that's a camera wrap
1250
01:19:07,784 --> 01:19:10,996
on the creator of Iron Man, Mr. Stan Lee.
1251
01:19:10,996 --> 01:19:15,083
The fact that I'm working
with characters that I've created...
1252
01:19:15,083 --> 01:19:16,168
Action.
1253
01:19:16,168 --> 01:19:19,212
Superheroes in New York?
Give me a break.
1254
01:19:20,046 --> 01:19:23,675
And the fact that they are being directed
so beautifully...
1255
01:19:23,884 --> 01:19:25,302
Did it work?
1256
01:19:25,427 --> 01:19:29,598
That's Captain America?
I thought he'd be taller.
1257
01:19:29,765 --> 01:19:32,267
- To work with such professionals.
- Oh, man.
1258
01:19:32,267 --> 01:19:34,519
I am so fired.
1259
01:19:34,644 --> 01:19:37,063
And they all have
a love of the characters.
1260
01:19:37,063 --> 01:19:39,357
Are you Tony Stank?
1261
01:19:39,483 --> 01:19:42,068
I never thought it would turn
into something like this.
1262
01:19:42,068 --> 01:19:44,905
Anyway, before I was
so rudely interrupted...
1263
01:19:45,447 --> 01:19:47,491
To work with creative people,
1264
01:19:47,866 --> 01:19:50,327
especially people who make movies,
1265
01:19:51,077 --> 01:19:52,788
is such a thrill.
1266
01:19:56,166 --> 01:19:57,375
No!
1267
01:19:57,751 --> 01:19:58,794
Yes!
1268
01:19:59,377 --> 01:20:01,922
It's overwhelming when I think about it.
1269
01:20:01,922 --> 01:20:05,717
Well, the '60s were fun,
but now I'm paying for it.
1270
01:20:05,717 --> 01:20:06,802
And cut it.
1271
01:20:07,010 --> 01:20:08,637
I think I'll just take these...
1272
01:20:09,262 --> 01:20:12,766
bring them over here
and hold on for safekeeping.
1273
01:20:13,850 --> 01:20:17,145
What's the matter with you kids?
You never seen a spaceship before?
1274
01:20:17,145 --> 01:20:18,230
Action.
1275
01:20:18,939 --> 01:20:20,273
"Trust me, true believer."
1276
01:20:21,608 --> 01:20:25,362
I would have to be crazy
not to feel fulfilled.
1277
01:20:27,489 --> 01:20:30,826
{\an8}
It's certainly been nice to see the world
catch up with what Stan did.
1278
01:20:30,826 --> 01:20:33,995
{\an8}
Even if it took movies and TV shows
to do it.
1279
01:20:33,995 --> 01:20:35,539
{\an8}
The world kinda has to admit now,
1280
01:20:35,539 --> 01:20:38,333
{\an8}
you know, maybe there is something
to some of this stuff.
1281
01:20:38,333 --> 01:20:40,460
For goodness sake, how're you?
1282
01:20:43,296 --> 01:20:46,132
The seeds of all that stuff
are all set back in what Stan did
1283
01:20:46,132 --> 01:20:48,426
with Jack and Steve.
1284
01:20:48,426 --> 01:20:51,763
You know, you could always trace
anything that they do now.
1285
01:20:52,180 --> 01:20:55,267
In fact, it all kind of flows from
this fountain that was unleashed
1286
01:20:55,392 --> 01:20:58,186
when Stan and Jack and Ditko,
you know, got together
1287
01:20:58,186 --> 01:21:01,231
and suddenly became
this wonderful triumvirate,
1288
01:21:01,231 --> 01:21:03,191
creating a whole universe.
1289
01:21:07,863 --> 01:21:11,449
Neither of them could have, really,
you know, done it without the other.
1290
01:21:16,997 --> 01:21:20,500
{\an8}Join me in giving a big welcome
to Mr. Stan Lee.
1291
01:21:25,380 --> 01:21:26,381
Thank you.
1292
01:21:30,677 --> 01:21:32,429
I spent quite a lot of time
1293
01:21:33,346 --> 01:21:37,434
writing a 25-page speech
that I could give you
1294
01:21:38,977 --> 01:21:42,439
and as I looked at it, I said,
"Would I want to hear this speech?"
1295
01:21:43,857 --> 01:21:44,900
So I tore it up.
1296
01:21:45,984 --> 01:21:49,195
So I stand here now defenseless,
1297
01:21:50,030 --> 01:21:52,616
with nothing except to tell you
1298
01:21:53,992 --> 01:21:55,869
if you have an idea
1299
01:21:55,869 --> 01:21:59,122
that you genuinely think is good,
1300
01:21:59,998 --> 01:22:02,584
don't let some idiot talk you out of it.
1301
01:22:02,584 --> 01:22:08,590
That doesn't mean that every wild notion
you come up with is gonna be genius,
1302
01:22:08,590 --> 01:22:12,302
but if there is something
that you feel is good,
1303
01:22:12,636 --> 01:22:17,265
{\an8}
something you want to do,
something that means something to you,
1304
01:22:17,807 --> 01:22:22,062
try to do it.
Because you can only do your best work
1305
01:22:22,646 --> 01:22:25,565
if you're doing what you want to do
1306
01:22:25,565 --> 01:22:29,611
and if you're doing it the way you think
it should be done,
1307
01:22:29,611 --> 01:22:32,989
and if you can take pride in it
after you've done it,
1308
01:22:32,989 --> 01:22:34,491
no matter what it is,
1309
01:22:34,491 --> 01:22:38,536
you can look at it and say, "I did that
and I think it's pretty damn good."
1310
01:22:38,662 --> 01:22:39,913
That's a great feeling.
1311
01:22:40,664 --> 01:22:45,126
I want to wish all of you
the best luck in the world.
1312
01:22:45,126 --> 01:22:49,214
Just do your thing. Whatever you do,
give it your best shot.
1313
01:22:49,214 --> 01:22:51,257
You'll be glad you did.
1314
01:22:51,257 --> 01:22:53,009
- Excelsior!
117101