Mark Clegg
San Jose, California

Stan Lee, born in what will turn out to be privileged circumstances, is thrust into industry-wide self-defined humble circumstances to toil for decades. He is told from all that there is nothing in his industry to take pride in. He watches as those who deny this insistency that they are mediocre, that produce proud work, are stabbed in the back, cast out of the industry, and blamed for all the faults of society. Those who stand out are hammered down if they threaten the comfortable, insular, paradigm of the power brokers. To the mediocre, mediocrity is excellence, and they knew they could serve that up dependably. They didn't want to be asked for more, to bear the burden of pride.

Desperate or not, circumstances caused Stan to cast aside his meek mild exterior and reveal the creative catalyst underneath. He became the ringmaster of the emerging Marvel mayhem aimed at demolishing the polished, professional, staid, and smug attitudes of the competition. As a craftsman, he knew the standard formulas, knew what was necessary to give a hope of reaching the existing audience. He also knew that he didn't have the "spark" to make these formulas come alive in fresh ways.

His genius laid in management, carefully selecting creative people that he could trust to let loose, to provide the "spark" that would bring the new creations alive. His genius also led him to connect all the books together, so that they all supported and exploited each other, forming a universe that was more than the sum of its parts.

With his overview, the emerging continuity became a mighty tree, from which his artists could hang any number of delicious fruits. The artists were now supporting instead of competing with each other. He had his people sign their work proudly in bold style, no longer being told to be ashamed and hide in anonymity. It was take-no-prisoners time, break the rules, and get in people's faces. No apologies and no shame. He was brash, proud, willing to get down and dirty, even "ugly" if that was what created the energy. There was joy and anguish in his books, as opposed to the even keel maintained in the books produced by his brutalizing competitors, where the anguish and joy was behind the scenes and not on the pages they produced for children.

After an exciting decade of building "one of the greatest shows on Earth," shortly after his chief architect left his side, his involvement in the industry "died" as he went off to another realm. Some fans, standing on the porch watching him ride away, cried out "Stan! Stan! Come back, Stan!" For some reason he seems willing to take upon his shoulders all the sins of the industry he has largely left behind. His silence, his "lack of memory," provides cover for what the true circumstances and understandings about the creations may have been.

Now, after a couple of decades of an industry that is intrinsically dedicated to creating a more and more refined super-hero fan that is willing to be more and more exploited, and normal circulations are in the low five figures, we need a new showman, one who knows the craft and knows something more is needed. We need to be proud, to cast off the legacy of self-loathing that has plagued the development of the medium in America ever since its crude and criminal origins, and create works that need no apologies.

We need a second coming of a new "EC" and a new "Stan Lee." We need to be proud, and brash, and support work that justifies that enthusiasm, first to ourselves, and then to the uninitiated world.

No shame and never apologize.