A large audience gathered in the American Heritage Center’s Stockgrowers Room Tuesday night to welcome Kartoon Studios Executive Vice President Jon Ollwerther.
During a lecture entitled “Stan Lee, the Real Superhero,” Ollwerther recounted stories about Lee and explained how much of the late artist’s memorabilia found a home at the AHC, becoming the only archival collection of his work.
“We all think of [Lee] as the creator of the greatest superheroes,” Ollwerther said. “But what if the greatest creation Stan ever made was himself?” Telling the story of Lee’s modest upbringing in New York City’s Upper West Side, Ollwerther said, “He wasn’t the man who was destined to have an exhibit about him at the American Heritage Center.”
Ollwerther then told the story of Lee’s first comic book, one he wrote while performing menial office tasks for Timely Comics. This would become Lee’s origin story, as it were. The name by which he is commonly known originated as an alter-ego, meant to separate his work from his birth name, Stanley Martin Lieber. Ollwerther added that Lee’s mustache became his “costume” as he crafted his new identity.
After World War Two (WWII), Ollwerther said, Lee had a pulpit from which to communicate about issues important to him. Despite the perceived childishness of comic books, Lee used them to speak about the Civil Rights Movement. “Stan realized the power of that platform.” In September of 1963, as a commentary on the events unfolding in the United States, Lee created the X-Men, followed by Black Panther in 1966, the first Black mass-media superhero. “It was in a time when Black characters were shown as less-than, or as sidekicks and stereotypes, but Stan Lee’s Black Panther was a symbol of dignity, power and strength.”
Next, Ollwerther said, Lee challenged the Comics Code Authority, which Lee thought restricted comic books’ ability to impart morals. After the CCA declined one of Lee’s stories, he published it anyway. “He used his platform for good.” As Lee’s career went on, the CCA loosened its hold on comic publication. It is now nearly defunct.
Lee decided to put his archives in Laramie, Ollwerther said, because the AHC also houses Jack Benny’s archives. As a fan of the late entertainer, Lee had said, “If it’s good enough for Jack Benny, it’s good enough for me,” according to Ollwerther.
The AHC is hosting “Stan Lee: Beyond the Book,” an event commemorating the artist, through October.
