birth name	Robert Kahn
birth place	New York City, New York
death place	Los Angeles, California
nationality	American
write	y
pencil	y
notable works	''Batman''''Detective Comics''
sortkey	Kane, Bob
subcat	American
yob	1915
mob	10
dob	24
yod	1998
mod	11
dod	3 }}

Bob Kane (born Robert Kahn; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman. He was inducted into both the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996.

Early life and work

Robert Kahn was born in New York City, New York. His parents were of Eastern European Jewish descent. A high school friend of fellow cartoonist and future Spirit creator Will Eisner, Robert Kahn graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and legally changed his name to Bob Kane at age 18. He studied art at Cooper Union before "joining the Max Fleischer Studio as a trainee animator in 1934".

Comics

He entered the comics field two years later, in 1936, freelancing original material to editor Jerry Iger's comic book ''Wow, What A Magazine!'', including his first pencil and ink work on the serial ''Hiram Hick''. The following year, Kane began to work at Iger's subsequent studio, Eisner & Iger, which was one of the first comic book "packagers" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering the new medium during its late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age. Among his work there was the funny animal feature "Peter Pupp" (which belied its look with overtones of "mystery and menace"), published in the U.K. comic magazine ''Wags'' and later reprinted in Fiction House's ''Jumbo comics''. Kane also produced work through Eisner & Iger for two of the companies that would later merge to form DC Comics, including the humor features "Ginger Snap" in ''More Fun Comics'', "Oscar the Gumshoe" for ''Detective Comics'', and "Professor Doolittle" for ''Adventure Comics''. For that last title he went on to do his first adventure strip, "Rusty and his Pals".

Batman

In early 1939, DC's success with the seminal superhero Superman in ''Action Comics'' prompted editors to scramble for more such heroes. In response, Bob Kane conceived "the Bat-Man". Kane said his influences for the character included actor Douglas Fairbanks' movie portrayal of the swashbuckler Zorro, Leonardo Da Vinci's diagram of the ornithopter, a flying machine with huge bat-like wings; and the 1930 film ''The Bat Whispers'', based on Mary Rinehart's mystery novel ''The Circular Staircase''.

Bill Finger joined Bob Kane's nascent studio in 1938. An aspiring writer and part-time shoe salesperson, he had met Kane at a party, and Kane later offered him a job ghost writing the strips ''Rusty'' and ''Clip Carson''. He recalled that Kane

Finger said he offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl and scalloped cape instead of wings; adding gloves; leaving the mask's eyeholes blank to connote mystery; and removing the bright red sections of the original costume, suggesting instead a gray-and-black color scheme. Finger additionally said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk's ''The Phantom'', a syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was familiar as well. Finger, who said he also devised the character's civilian name, Bruce Wayne, wrote the first Batman story, while Kane provided art. Kane, who had already submitted the proposal for Batman at DC and held a contract, is the only person given official company credit for Batman's creation. Comics historian Ron Goulart, in ''Comic Book Encyclopedia'', refers to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger".

According to Kane, "Bill Finger was a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning. He wrote most of the great stories and was influential in setting the style and genre other writers would emulate ... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective.

The character debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) and proved a breakout hit. Within a year, Kane hired art assistants Jerry Robinson (initially as an inker) and George Roussos. Shortly afterward, when DC wanted more Batman stories than Kane's studio could deliver, the company assigned Dick Sprang and other in-house pencilers as "ghost artists", drawing uncredited under Kane's supervision. Future ''Justice League'' writer Gardner Fox wrote some early scripts, including the two-part story "The Monk" that introduced some of The Batman's first "Bat-" equipment.

In 1943, Kane left the Batman comic books to focus on penciling the daily ''Batman'' newspaper comic strip. DC Comics artists ghosting the comic-book stories now included Jack Burnley and Win Mortimer, with Robinson moving up as penciler and Fred Ray contributing some covers. After the strip finished in 1946, Kane returned to the comic books but, unknown to DC, had hired his own personal ghosts, including Lew Schwartz:Lew Schwartz interview, ''Alter Ego'' #51 (Aug. 2005) and Sheldon Moldoff from 1953-1967.

Robin

Bill Finger recalled that,

Kane, who had previously created a sidekick for Peter Pupp, proposed adding a boy named Mercury who would have worn a "super-costume". Robinson suggested a normal human, along with the name "Robin", after Robin Hood books he had read during boyhood, and noting in a 2005 interview he had been inspired by one book's N. C. Wyeth illustrations. The new character, orphaned circus performer named Dick Grayson, came to live with Bruce Wayne as his young ward in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940) and would inspire many similar sidekicks throughout the Golden Age of comic books.

The Joker

Batman's archnemesis the Joker was introduced near that same time, in ''Batman'' #1 (Spring 1940). Credit for that character's creation is disputed. Robinson has said he created the character. Kane's position is that

}}

Robinson, whose original Joker playing card was on public display in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, New York, from Sept. 16, 2006 to Jan. 28, 2007, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, Georgia from Oct. 24, 2004 to Aug. 28, 2005, has countered that:

}}

Later life and career

As Kane's comic-book work tapered off in the 1960s, he parlayed his Batman status into minor celebrity. He enjoyed a post-comics career in TV animation, creating the characters Courageous Cat and Cool McCool, and as a painter showed his work in art galleries, although even some of these paintings were produced by ghost artists. In 1989, Kane published the autobiography ''Batman and Me'', with a second volume ''Batman and Me, The Saga Continues'', in 1996.

He was set to make a cameo appearance in the 1989 movie ''Batman'' as the newspaper artist who prepares the drawing of the "Bat-Man" for Alexander Knox (portrayed by Robert Wuhl), but scheduling conflicts prevented this and he was replaced by Denis Lill in this role. Kane's trademark square signature can still be seen clearly on the drawing the news cartoonist gave to Knox. In the novelization of the movie, the character is identified as "Bob the cartoonist". Although Kane worked as a consultant on the film and its two subsequent sequels with directors Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher.

Kane died on November 3, 1998, from natural causes, leaving behind his wife, Elizabeth Sanders (Kane), an actress who appeared in three Batman films, a daughter, Deborah Majeski, and a grandson. Kane is buried at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Footnotes

References

Goulart, Ron, ''Over 50 Years of American Comic Books'' (BDD Promotional Books Company, 1991) ISBN 0792454502; ISBN 978-0792454502

External links

''Comic Book Artist'' #3 (Winter 1999): "The Bob Kane Letter" (September 14, 1965 open letter by Bob Kane)

Category:1915 births Category:1998 deaths Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:Golden Age comics creators Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Category:Jack Kirby Hall of Fame inductees Category:American Jews Category:Jewish American artists

bg:Боб Кейн da:Bob Kane de:Bob Kane es:Bob Kane fr:Bob Kane id:Bob Kane it:Bob Kane nl:Bob Kane no:Bob Kane pl:Bob Kane pt:Bob Kane ru:Кейн, Боб simple:Bob Kane fi:Bob Kane sv:Bob Kane tl:Bob Kane tr:Bob Kane zh:鲍勃·凯恩

name	Adam West
birth name	William West Anderson
birth date	September 19, 1928
birth place	Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.
nationality	American
education	Walla Walla High School
alma mater	Whitman College
occupation	Actor, voice actor
years active	1954–present
spouse
parents	Otto West Anderson,Audrey V. Speer
website	http://www.adamwest.com }}

Adam West (born September 19, 1928) is an American actor best known for his lead role in the ''Batman'' TV series (1966–1968) and the film of the same name. He is currently known for portraying eccentric characters, as well as his voice work on animated series such as ''The Fairly OddParents'' and as the fictionalized character of the same name on ''Family Guy''.

Early life

West was born William West Anderson in Walla Walla, Washington to Otto West Anderson and Audrey V. Speer. He has a younger brother named John. He attended Walla Walla High School during his freshman and sophomore years, and later enrolled in Lakeside School in Seattle. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature and a minor in Psychology from Whitman College in Walla Walla where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and participated on the speech and debate team.

Career

Early roles

Later, while living in Hawaii, West landed a role as the sidekick on a children's show called ''El Kini Popo Show'', which featured a chimp. West later took over as star of the show.

In 1959, the actor moved to Hollywood and took the stage name Adam West. In his autobiography ''Back to the Batcave'' he explains that he chose 'Adam' simply because he liked the way it looked and sounded with 'West', his mother's maiden name. His close friends and family still call him "Bill".

He appeared in the film ''The Young Philadelphians'' with Paul Newman, and guest-starred in a number of television Westerns. He guest starred on Edmond O'Brien's syndicated crime drama ''Johnny Midnight'' and soon snagged a supporting role as police Sergeant Steve Nelson in the crime drama, ''The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor''. He portrayed Wild Bill Hickok in the episode "Westbound Stage" of the 1960 NBC western series ''Overland Trail'', with William Bendix and Doug McClure. He starred in an episode of the original ''Outer Limits'' television series titled "The Invisible Enemy". He made a brief appearance in the film ''Soldier in the Rain'' starring Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen and in the 1964 film ''Robinson Crusoe on Mars''. In 1965, he starred in the comedy western ''The Outlaws Is Coming'', the last feature film starring The Three Stooges.

Batman

Producer William Dozier cast West as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, in the television series ''Batman'', in part after seeing West perform as the James Bond-like spy Captain Q in a Nestlé Quik television ad. West was in competition with Lyle Waggoner for the Batman role.

The popular campy show ran on ABC from 1966 to 1968; a film version was released in 1966. The Batboat featured in the film was created by Austin-based company Glastron, whose payment was in having the film premiere in their hometown. In conjunction with the premiere, Jean Boone of Austin CBS affiliate station KTBC interviewed the film's cast, including West.

In 1970, West was offered the role of James Bond by Cubby Broccoli for the film ''Diamonds Are Forever''. West declined, later stating in his autobiography that he believed the role should always be played by someone British (despite the fact that an Australian had already played him).

Post-Batman career

After his high-profile role, West, along with Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig (who played crimefighting sidekicks Robin and Batgirl), was severely typecast. West's first post-Caped Crusader role was in the film ''The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' (1969). His lead performance against type as cynical tough guy Johnny Cain did not erode his Batman image; the movie was a box office disappointment.

For a time, West made a living doing personal appearances as Batman. In 1972, when Ward and Craig reprised their ''Batman'' roles for a TV public-service announcement about equal pay for women, West was absent. Instead, Dick Gautier filled in as Batman. One of his more memorable Batman appearances post-series was when he made an appearance in the Memphis, Tennessee based United States Wrestling Association to engage in a war of words with Jerry "The King" Lawler while wearing the cowl and a track suit and even name-dropping Spider-Man, though he is a Marvel Comics hero.

West subsequently appeared in the theatrical films ''The Marriage of a Young Stockbrocker'' (1971), ''The Curse of the Moon Child'' (1972), ''Partizani/ @#!*% River'' (1974), ''The Specialist'' (1975), ''Hardcore'' (1977), ''Hooper'' (as himself; 1978), ''The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood'' (1980) and ''One Dark Night'' (1983). West also appeared in such television films as ''The Eyes of Charles Sand'' (1972), ''Poor Devil'' (1973), ''Nevada Smith'' (1975), ''For the Love of It'' (1980) and ''I Take These Men'' (1983).

He did guest shots on the TV shows ''Love, American Style'', ''The Big Valley'', ''Night Gallery'', ''Alias Smith and Jones'', ''Mannix'', ''Emergency!'', ''Alice'', ''Police Woman'', ''Operation Petticoat'', ''The American Girls'', ''Vegas'', ''Big Shamus Little Shamus'', ''Laverne & Shirley'', ''Bewitched'', ''Fantasy Island'', ''The Love Boat'', ''Hart to Hart'', ''Zorro'', ''King of Queens'', and ''George Lopez''. West was also in an episode of ''Bonanza'' that supposedly never aired until reruns were shown.

Return to ''Batman''

West often reprised his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne, first in the short-lived animated series, ''The New Adventures of Batman'', and in other shows such as ''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'', ''The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians'' (succeeding Olan Soule in the role). In 1979, West once again put on the Batsuit for the live-action TV special ''Legends of the Superheroes''.

West made an appearance in a 1992 episode of ''Batman: The Animated Series'' on Fox, but not as Batman (as the role of Batman was already being played by Kevin Conroy). Instead, he portrayed Simon Trent, a washed-up actor who used to play a superhero in a TV series called ''The Gray Ghost'' and who now has difficulty finding work. West later had a recurring role as the voice of Mayor Grange in the WB animated series ''The Batman''.

The actor vocally reprised his role as Batman for the CGI animated short film ''Batman: New Times''. He co-starred with Mark Hamill, who vocally portrayed The Joker and had originally played the role on ''Batman: The Animated Series''. West also voiced Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne's father, in an episode of the animated series ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold''. In the same series, he played Batman's prototype robot, aptly named "Protobot", or "Proto" for short.

FLOSS Magazing has reported that Adam West has been spotted around the set of ''The Dark Knight Rises'' for a cameo appearance.

1990s – 2000s

During the 1990s, West's status as a pop culture icon led to appearances as himself in the film ''Drop Dead Gorgeous'' and in several television series, including ''NewsRadio'', ''Murphy Brown'', ''The Adventures of Pete and Pete'', ''The Ben Stiller Show'' and ''The Drew Carey Show''. In 1991, he starred in the pilot episode of ''Lookwell'', in which he portrayed a has-been TV action hero who falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life. The pilot, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel in their pre-''Late Night'' period, aired on NBC that summer but was not picked up as a series. It was later broadcast on the Trio channel, under the "Brilliant But Cancelled" bloc.

Noticeably, he played a washed up superhero in the ''Goosebumps'' television series episode "Attack of the Mutant". The boy hero is a comic book geek whose favorite superhero, Galloping Gazelle (West's character), is portrayed as fading and on the verge of retirement. Towards the end, the boy is shocked to learn that the Gazelle is real, though he must save the day by himself.

In 1994, West, with Jeff Rovin, wrote his autobiography, ''Back to the Batcave'' published by Berkeley Books. He also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' in an episode titled "Batmantis," where he displayed his book.

In 2003, West and Burt Ward starred in the TV-movie ''Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt'', alongside Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, and Lee Meriwether. Jack Brewer portrayed West in flashbacks to the production of ''Batman''.

In 2005, West appeared in the CBS show ''The King of Queens''. In the episode, Spence first asks Lou Ferrigno to go to a sci-fi convention. But when Spence meets West (playing himself), he leaves Ferrigno and asks West to come with him.

West appears prominently in the 2006 video for California band STEFY's song "Chelsea" as "Judge Adam West", presiding over the courtroom scene.

In 2007, Adam West portrayed a defense attorney for Benny on the show ''George Lopez'', and starred as "The Boss" in the movie comedy ''Sexina: Popstar PI''.

Following the release of a Batman game, a host of the show ''X-Play'' visited Adam West on the show.

In 2009, West played himself in the episode "Apollo, Apollo" of ''30 Rock''.

Voice-over work

Having a distinctive voice, West built a career doing voice-over work on a number of animated series (often as himself), including appearances on ''The Simpsons'', ''Rugrats'', ''The Critic'', ''The Boondocks'', ''Histeria!'', ''Kim Possible'', and ''Johnny Bravo''. He also appeared in five episodes of Nickelodeon's cartoon, ''The Fairly OddParents'', as a cat-obsessed version of himself who is famous for playing a superhero called Catman, and who actually believes he is Catman. Catman is a parody of his earlier character as Batman. A later appearance of Adam West in ''The Fairly OddParents'' world was a parody of himself, hired to play the role of the Crimson Chin in the movie of the same name. Yet another appearance on the show had him as himself in a Fairy-sponsored video about how to cope with losing ones fairy godparents.

Since 2000, West has made regular appearances on the animated series ''Family Guy'', on which he plays Mayor Adam West, the lunatic mayor of Quahog, Rhode Island. His role has given him a new wave of popularity since Batman. Some of his latest voice-over performances were playing the role of Uncle Art in the Disney film ''Meet the Robinsons'', and voicing the young Mermaid Man (along with Burt Ward, who voiced the young Barnacle Boy) in the cartoon show ''SpongeBob SquarePants''.

West also played the voice of General Carrington in the video game ''XIII'', and has voiced other video games like ''Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure'', ''Chicken Little: Ace in Action'', ''Scooby Doo! Unmasked'' and ''Goosebumps: Attack of the Mutant''. For the online game ''Champions Online'', his voice is used in one of the website's videos.

West has also done voice-over work for superhero-themed commercials for the investment firm The LendingTree and TV commercials for Hebrew National hot dogs.

Filmography

''Voodoo Island'' (1957)

''Ghost of the China Sea'' (1958)

''The Young Philadelphians'' (1959)

''The FBI Story'' (1959)

''Geronimo'' (1962)

''Tammy and the Doctor'' (1963)

''Soldier in the Rain'' (1963)

''Robinson Crusoe on Mars'' (1964)

''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (1965)

''Mara of the Wilderness'' (1965)

''The Relentless Four'' (1965)

''Batman'' (1966)

''The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' (1969)

''Hollywood Blue'' (documentary, 1970)

''The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker'' (1971)

''Curse of the Moon Child'' (1972)

''Partizani'' (1974)

''The Specialist'' (1975)

''Hardcore'' (1977)

''Hooper'' (1978)

''The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood'' (1980)

''One Dark Night'' (1983)

'' @#!*% Riders'' (1984)

''Young Lady Chatterley II'' (1985)

''Zombie Nightmare'' (1986)

''Night of the Kickfighters'' (1988)

''Doing Time on Planet Earth'' (1988)

''Yellow Pages'' (1988)

''Return Fire'' (1988)

''Omega Cop'' (1990)

''Mad About You'' (1990)

''Maxim Xul'' (1991)

''The Best Movie Ever Made'' (1994)

''The New Age'' (1994)

''Not This Part of the World'' (1994)

''Run for Cover'' (1995)

''Race For Your Life: An Interactive Movie'' (1995)

''The Clinic'' (1995)

''The Size of Watermelons'' (1996)

''Joyride'' (1996)

''American Vampire (film)'' (1997)

''Drop Dead Gorgeous'' (1999)

''Séance'' (2001)

''Nuclear Rescue 911'' (2001)

''From Heaven to @#!*% '' (2002)

''BAADASSSSS!'' (2003)

''Tales from Beyond'' (2004)

''Monster Island'' (2004)

''Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story'' (2005, direct-to-DVD, voice)

''Blue Harvest'' (2007, Grand Moff Tarkin)

''Aloha, Scooby-Doo!'' (2005, direct-to-DVD, voice)

''Buckaroo: The Movie'' (2005)

''Chicken Little'' (2005, voice)

''Angels with Angles'' (2005)

''Sexina: Popstar P.I.'' (2006)

''Meet the Robinsons'' (2007, voice)

''Ratko: The Dictator's Son'' (2007)

''Super Capers'' (2009)

;Short Subjects:

''Ride for Your Life'' (1995)

''Redux Riding Hood'' (1997) (voice)

''Batman: New Times'' (2005) (voice)

Television

''Perry Mason: The Case of the Barefaced Witness'' (1961)

''The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor'' (1961–1962)

''Perry Mason: The Case of the Bogus Books'' (1962)

''Bewitched'' (1964) Darrin's friend Kermit

''Batman'' (1966–1968)

''Alexander the Great'' (1968, unsold pilot)

''How I Got You'' (1969)

''The Eyes of Charles Sand'' (1972)

''Poor Devil'' (1973)

''Shazam!'' (1974–1975, voice)

''Nevada Smith'' (1975)

''The New Adventures of Batman'' (1977–1978, voice)

''Tarzan and the Super 7'' (1978–1980, voice)

''Legends of the Superheroes'' (1979)

''For the Love of It'' (1980)

''Warp Speed'' (1981)

''Time Warp'' (1981)

''I Take These Men'' (1983)

''Ace Diamond Private Eye'' (1983, unsold pilot)

''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' (1984–1985, voice)

''The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians'' (1985–1986, voice)

''The Last Precinct'' (1986, canceled after 7 episodes)

''Zorro (1990, episode "The Wizard")

''Lookwell'' (1991, unsold pilot)

''1775'' (1992, unsold pilot)

''Rugrats'' (1992, voice)

''Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992, voice, episode "Beware of the Grey Ghost")

''The Ben Stiller Show'' (1992, guest star)

''Danger Theatre'' (1993)

''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' (1994, himself)

''The Simpsons'' (1994, 2002, voice)

''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' (1993–1996)

''Goosebumps (1995, Episode: ''Attack of the Mutant'', as The Galloping Gazell)

''Johnny Bravo'' (1997, voice)

''The Wayans Bros'' (1997, himself)

''The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs'' (1998–1999, voice)

''Histeria!'' (1999, voice)

''The Fairly OddParents'' (recurring cast member, voice, himself)

''Family Guy'' (2000–present, voice, himself)

''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' (2001, voices)

''Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt'' (2003)

''Kim Possible'' (2003, episode The Fearless Ferret, voice)

''Monster Island'' (2004)

''Celebrity Deathmatch'' (1998–2001, 2005–2006, himself)

''The Drew Carey Show'' (2001)

''Yes Dear'' (2004)

''The Boondocks'' (2006, voice)

''The King of Queens'' (2006, himself)

''George Lopez (TV series)'' (2007)

''Blue Harvest'' (2007, Grand Moff Tarkin)

''30 Rock'' (2009, himself)

''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (2010, voice, young Mermaid Man)

''Funny or Die Presents'' (2011, himself)

''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' (Thomas Wayne, episode "Chill of the Night!") (Proto, episode "The Plague of the Prototypes!")

''The Super Hero Squad Show'' (2011, Nighthawk)

''Jake and the Never Land Pirates'' (2011, Wise Old Parrot)

''Transformers: Prime'' (2011)

References

Other sources

Press kit notes for ''The Girl Who Knew Too Much''

External links

Adam West Official Website

Adam West as Batman

Adam West interview in Dangerous Ink Magazine

Adam West gets back in the Batmobile

Adam West on Twitter

"Jean Boone - Interview with Cast of Batman, The Movie (1966)" from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image

Category:1928 births Category:Actors from Washington (state) Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:People from Walla Walla, Washington Category:Whitman College alumni

bg:Адам Уест de:Adam West es:Adam West fr:Adam West it:Adam West nl:Adam West ja:アダム・ウェスト no:Adam West pl:Adam West pt:Adam West simple:Adam West fi:Adam West sv:Adam West

birth name	Stanley Martin Lieber
birth place	New York City, US
nationality	American
area	Writer, editor, publisher, producer, actor, reality show host
write	y
edit	y
publish	y
signature	Stan Lee sig.jpg|90px
notable works	Spider-ManFantastic FourX-MenAvengersHulkIron ManThorDaredevilDoctor Strange
awards	Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
sortkey	Lee, Stan
subcat	American
yob	1922
mob	12
dob	28
years active	1938- Present }}

Stan Lee (born December 28, 1922) is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

In collaboration with several artists, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and many other fictional characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he headed the first major successful challenge to the industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, and forced it to reform its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

Biography

Early life and career

Stan Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City on December 28, 1922, in the apartment of his Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, Celia (née Solomon) and Jack Lieber, at the corner of West 98th Street and West End Avenue in Manhattan. His father, trained as a dress cutter, worked only sporadically after the Great Depression, and the family moved further uptown to Fort Washington Avenue, in Washington Heights, Manhattan. When Lee was nearly 9, his only sibling, brother Larry Lieber, was born. He said in 2006 that as a child he was influenced by books and movies, particularly those with Errol Flynn playing heroic roles. By the time Lee was in his teens, the family was living in a one-bedroom apartment at 1720 University Avenue in The Bronx. Lee described it as "a third-floor apartment facing out back", with him and his brother sharing a bedroom and his parents using a foldout couch.

Lee attended DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx, where his family had moved next. A voracious reader who enjoyed writing as a teen, he has said that as a youth he worked such part-time jobs as writing obituaries for a news service and press releases for the National Tuberculosis Center; delivering sandwiches for the Jack May pharmacy to offices in Rockefeller Center; working as an office boy for a trouser manufacturer; ushering at the Rivoli Theater on Broadway; and selling subscriptions to the ''New York Herald Tribune'' newspaper. He graduated high school early, at age 16½ in 1939, and joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project. With the help of his uncle, Robbie Solomon, Lee that same year became an assistant at the new Timely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman's company. Timely, by the 1960s, would evolve into Marvel Comics. Lee, whose cousin Jean was Goodman's wife, was formally hired by Timely editor Joe Simon.

His duties were prosaic at first. "In those days [the artists] dipped the pen in ink, [so] I had to make sure the inkwells were filled", Lee recalled in 2009. "I went down and got them their lunch, I did proofreading, I erased the pencils from the finished pages for them". Marshaling his childhood ambition to be a writer, young Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in ''Captain America Comics'' #3 (May 1941), using the pseudonym "Stan Lee", which years later he would adopt as his legal name. Lee later explained in his autobiography and numerous other sources that he had intended to save his given name for more literary work. This initial story also introduced Captain America's trademark ricocheting shield-toss, which immediately became one of the character's signatures.

He graduated from writing filler to actual comics with a backup feature, "'Headline' Hunter, Foreign Correspondent", two issues later. Lee's first superhero co-creation was the Destroyer, in ''Mystic Comics'' #6 (Aug 1941). Other characters he created during this period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comics include Jack Frost, debuting in ''USA Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941), and Father Time, debuting in ''Captain America Comics'' #6 (Aug. 1941).

When Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left late in 1941, following a dispute with Goodman, the 30-year-old publisher installed Lee, just under 19 years old, as interim editor. The youngster showed a knack for the business that led him to remain as the comic-book division's editor-in-chief, as well as art director for much of that time, until 1972, when he would succeed Goodman as publisher.

Lee entered the United States Army in early 1942 and served stateside in the Signal Corps, writing manuals, training films, and slogans, and occasionally cartooning. His military classification, he says, was "playwright"; he adds that only nine men in the U.S. Army were given that title. Vincent Fago, editor of Timely's "animation comics" section, which put out humor and funny animal comics, filled in until Lee returned from his World War II military service in 1945 and rented the top floor of a brownstone in the East 90s in Manhattan.

He married Joan Clayton Boocock on December 5, 1947, and in 1949, the couple bought a two-story, three-bedroom home at 1084 West Broadway in Woodmere, New York, on Long Island, living there through 1952. By this time, the couple had daughter Joan Celia "J.C." Lee, born in 1950; another child, Jan Lee, died three days after delivery in 1953. Lee by this time had bought a home at 226 Richards Lane in the Long Island town of Hewlett Harbor, New York, where he and his family lived from 1952 to 1980, including the 1960s period when Lee and his artist collaborators would revolutionize comic books.

In the mid-1950s, by which time the company was now generally known as Atlas Comics, Lee wrote stories in a variety of genres including romance, Westerns, humor, science fiction, medieval adventure, horror and suspense. By the end of the decade, Lee had become dissatisfied with his career and considered quitting the field. thumb|''The Fantastic Four'' No.1 (November 1961). Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and an unconfirmed inker.

Marvel revolution

In the late 1950s, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the superhero archetype and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League of America. In response, publisher Martin Goodman assigned Lee to create a new superhero team. Lee's wife urged him to experiment with stories he preferred, since he was planning on changing careers and had nothing to lose.

Lee acted on that advice, giving his superheroes a flawed humanity, a change from the ideal archetypes that were typically written for pre-teens. His heroes could have bad tempers, melancholy fits, vanity, greed, etc. They bickered amongst themselves, worried about paying their bills and impressing girlfriends, got bored or even were sometimes physically ill. Before him, most superheroes were idealistically perfect people with no serious, lasting problems.

The first superhero group Lee and artist Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four. The team's immediate popularity led Lee and Marvel's illustrators to produce a cavalcade of new titles. With Kirby primarily, Lee created the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and the X-Men; with Bill Everett, Daredevil; and with Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man.

Comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that in the 1960s:

Stan Lee's Marvel revolution extended beyond the characters and storylines to the way in which comic books engaged the readership and built a sense of community between fans and creators. Lee introduced the practice of including a credit panel on the splash page of each story, naming not just the writer and penciller but also the inker and letterer. Regular news about Marvel staff members and upcoming storylines was presented on the Bullpen Bulletins page, which (like the letter columns that appeared in each title) was written in a friendly, chatty style. Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed, and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called "Stan's Soapbox," and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark phrase "Excelsior!" (which is also the New York state motto). To maintain his taxing workload, yet still meet deadlines, he used a system that was used previously by various comic-book studios, but due to Lee's success with it, became known as the "Marvel Method" or "Marvel style" of comic-book creation. Typically, Lee would brainstorm a story with the artist and then prepare a brief synopsis rather than a full script. Based on the synopsis, the artist would fill the allotted number of pages by determining and drawing the panel-to-panel storytelling. After the artist turned in penciled pages, Lee would write the word balloons and captions, and then oversee the lettering and coloring. In effect, the artists were co-plotters, whose collaborative first drafts Lee built upon.

Because of this system, the exact division of creative credits on Lee's comics has been disputed, especially in cases of comics drawn by Kirby and Ditko. Similarly, Lee shares co-creator credit with Kirby on the two ''Fantastic Four'' films, while also sharing the same credit with Ditko with the ''Spider-Man'' feature film series.

In 1971, Lee indirectly reformed the Comics Code. The US Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked Lee to write a story about the dangers of drugs and Lee wrote a story in which Spider-Man's best friend becomes addicted to pills. The three-part story was slated to be published in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #96–98, but the Comics Code Authority refused it because it depicted drug use; the story context was considered irrelevant. With his publisher's approval, Lee published the comics without the CCA seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts. The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.

Lee also supported using comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry. "Stan's Soapbox", besides promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice. In addition, Lee took to using sophisticated vocabulary for the stories' dialogue to encourage readers to learn new words. Lee has justified this by saying: "If a kid has to go to a dictionary, that's not the worst thing that could happen."

Later career

In later years, Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions, and by now owning a vacation home on Cutler Lane in Remsenburg, New York and, from 1975 to 1980, a two-bedroom condominium on the 14th floor of 220 East 63rd Street in Manhattan. He moved to California in 1981 to develop Marvel's TV and movie properties. He has been an executive producer for, and has made cameo appearances in Marvel film adaptations and other movies. He and his wife bought a home in West Hollywood, California previously owned by comedian Jack Benny's radio announcer, Don Wilson. Lee was briefly president of the entire company, but soon stepped down to become publisher instead, finding that being president was too much about numbers and finance and not enough about the creative process he enjoyed.

Peter Paul and Lee began to start a new Internet-based superhero creation, production and marketing studio, Stan Lee Media, in 1998. It grew to 165 people and went public, but near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon. Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001. Paul was extradited to the U.S. from Brazil, and pleaded guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading of his stock in Stan Lee Media. Lee was never implicated in the scheme.

Some of the Stan Lee Media projects included the animated Web series ''The 7th Portal'' where he voiced the character Izayus; ''The Drifter''; and ''The Accuser''. The ''7th Portal'' characters were licensed to an interactive 3-D film attraction in four Paramount theme parks.

In the 2000s, Lee did his first work for DC Comics, launching the ''Just Imagine...'' series, in which Lee reimagined the DC superheroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash.

Lee created the risqué animated superhero series ''Stripperella'' for Spike TV. In 2004 he announced a superhero program that would feature Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, as the lead character. Additionally, in August of that year, Lee announced the launch of Stan Lee's Sunday Comics, hosted by Komikwerks.com, where monthly subscribers could read a new, updated comic and "Stan's Soapbox" every Sunday. The column has not been updated since February 15, 2005.

In 2005, Lee, Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman formed POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment to develop film, television and video game properties. POW! president and CEO Champion said in 2005 that Lee was creating a new superhero, Foreverman, for a Paramount Pictures movie, in tandem with producer Robert Evans and Idiom Films, with Peter Briggs hired to collaborate with Lee on the screenplay.

In 2006, Marvel commemorated Lee's 65 years with the company by publishing a series of one-shot comics starring Lee himself meeting and interacting with many of his co-creations, including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the Thing, Silver Surfer and Doctor Doom. These comics also featured short pieces by such comics creators as Joss Whedon and Fred Hembeck, as well as reprints of classic Lee-written adventures.

In 2007, POW! started a series of direct-to-DVD animated films under the ''Stan Lee Presents'' banner. Each film focuses on a new superhero, created by Stan Lee for the series. The first two releases were ''Mosaic'' and ''The Condor''. In June of that year, Walt Disney Studios entered into an exclusive multi-year first-look deal with POW! Entertainment.

On March 15, 2007, Stan Lee Media's new president, Jim Nesfield, filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment for $5 billion, claiming that the company is co-owner of the characters that Lee created for Marvel. On June 9, 2007, Stan Lee Media sued Lee; his newer company, POW! Entertainment; POW! subsidiary QED Entertainment; and other former Stan Lee Media staff at POW!

In 2008, Lee wrote humorous captions for the political fumetti book ''Stan Lee Presents Election Daze: What Are They Really Saying?''. In April of that year, at the New York Comic Con, Viz Media announced that Lee and Hiroyuki Takei were collaborating on the manga ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', from parent company Shueisha. That same month, Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Animation announced a partnership POW! to produce a CGI film series, ''Legion of 5''. That same month, Virgin Comics announced Lee would create a line of superhero comics for that company. He is also working on a TV adaptation of the novel ''Hero''. He wrote the foreword to the 2010 non-fiction e-book memoir ''Skyscraperman'' by skyscraper fire-safety advocate Dan Goodwin, who had climbed skyscrapers dressed as Spider-Man.

In 2009, he and the Japanese company Bones produced its first manga feature, ''Heroman'', serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan''; the feature was adapted to anime in April 2010.

In October 2010, Guardian Media Entertainment, a partnership of Lee, SLG Entertainment and NHL Enterprises, created hockey-themed superheroes called "Guardians" for each of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League. The venture includes a graphic novel.

Lee made a guest appearance as himself in the season-seven episode "Bottom's Up" of the TV series ''Entourage''. He is set to guest-star in season five of ''Eureka''.

In 2011, Lee was writing a superhero comic-book adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet'', titled ''Romeo and Juliet: The War in Mid-2011'', as well as a live-action musical, ''The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao''.

Interests

Lee's favorite authors include Stephen King, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Harlan Ellison. He also likes movies starring Bruce Lee (no relation).

Legacy

Awards and honors

Lee has received several awards for his work, including being inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

On November 17, 2008, Stan Lee was awarded the National Medal of Arts. The County of Los Angeles declared October 2, 2009 Stan Lee Day. The City of Long Beach declared October 2, 2009 ''Stan Lee Day''. Lee won the Comic-Con Icon Award 2009 at Scream Awards.

Lee received the 2,428th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 4, 2011.

Stan Lee Foundation

The Stan Lee Foundation was founded in 2010 to focus on literacy, education and the arts. Its stated goals include supporting programs and ideas that improve access to literacy resources, as well as promoting diversity, national literacy, culture and the arts.

Action figure

At the 2007 Comic-Con International, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure. The body beneath the figure's removable cloth wardrobe is a re-used mold of a previously released Spider-Man action figure, with only minor changes.

Fictional portrayals

Stan Lee and his collaborator Jack Kirby appear as themselves in ''The Fantastic Four'' No.10 (January 1963), the first of several appearances within the fictional Marvel Universe. The two are depicted as similar to their real-world counterparts, creating comic books based on the "real" adventures of the Fantastic Four.

Kirby later portrayed himself, Lee, production executive Sol Brodsky, and Lee's secretary Flo Steinberg as superheroes in ''What If #11'', "What If the Marvel Bullpen Had Become the Fantastic Four?", in which Lee played the part of Mister Fantastic. Lee has also made numerous cameo appearances in many Marvel titles, appearing in audiences and crowds at many characters' ceremonies and parties, and hosting an old-soldiers reunion in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' No.100 (July 1972). Lee appeared, unnamed, as the priest at Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding in ''New Avengers Annual'' #1. He pays his respects to Karen Page at her funeral in the ''Daredevil'' "Guardian Devil" story arc, and appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (June 1977).

In Marvel's July 1997 "Flashback" event, a top-hatted caricature of Lee as a ringmaster introduced stories which detailed events in Marvel characters' lives before they became superheroes, in special "-1" editions of many Marvel titles. The "ringmaster" depiction of Lee was originally from ''Generation X'' No.17 (July 1996), where the character narrated a story set primarily in an abandoned circus. Though the story itself was written by Scott Lobdell, the narration by "Ringmaster Stan" was written by Lee himself, and the character was drawn in that issue by Chris Bachalo. Bachalo's depiction of "Ringmaster Stan" was later used in the heading of a short-lived revival of the "Stan's Soapbox" column, which evolved into a question & answer format.

In his given name of Stanley Lieber, Stan Lee appears briefly in Paul Malmont's 2006 novel ''The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril''.

Lee and other comics creators are mentioned in Michael Chabon's 2000 novel about the comics industry ''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay''.

On one of the last pages of ''Truth: Red, White, and Black'', Lee appears in a real photograph among other celebrities on a wall of the Bradley home.

In ''Stan Lee Meets Superheroes'', Stan Lee comes in to contact with some of his favorite creations. The series was written by Lee himself.

The appearance of Dr. Dunstan in the manga series ''Karakuri Dôji Ultimo'' is based on Lee.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby appear as professors in ''Marvel Adventures Spider-Man'' #19.

Film and television appearances

Marvel film properties

Lee has had cameo appearances in many films based on Marvel properties: In the TV-movie ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' (1989), Lee's first appearance in a Marvel movie or TV project is as a jury foreman in the trial of Dr. David Banner.

In ''X-Men'' (2000), Lee appears as a hotdog stand vendor on the beach when Senator Kelly emerges naked onshore after escaping from Magneto.

In ''Spider-Man'' (2002), he appeared during Spider-Man's first battle with the Green Goblin, pulling a little girl away from falling debris. In the DVD's deleted scenes, Lee has an expanded cameo in which he plays a street vendor who tries to sell Peter Parker a pair of sunglasses "just like the X-Men wear."

In ''Daredevil'' (2003), as a child, Matt Murdock stops Lee from crossing the street and getting hit by a bus.

In ''Hulk'' (2003), he appears walking alongside former TV-series Hulk Lou Ferrigno in an early scene, both as security guards at Bruce Banner's lab. It was his first speaking role in a film based on one of his characters.

In ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004), Lee again pulls an innocent person away from danger during Spider-Man's first battle with Doctor Octopus. In a hidden scene shown in the bloopers section, Stan has another cameo, where he says "Look, Spider-man stole that child sneakers" but he messes up the last word.

In ''Fantastic Four'' (2005), Lee appears for the first time as a character from the comics, in a role credited as Willie Lumpkin, the mail carrier who greets the Fantastic Four as they enter the Baxter Building.

In ''X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006), Lee and Chris Claremont appear as two of Jean Grey's neighbors in the opening scenes set 20 years ago. Lee, credited as "Waterhose man," is watering the lawn when Jean telekinetically redirects the water from the hose into the air.

In ''Spider-Man 3'' (2007), Lee appears in a credited role as "Man in Times Square". He stands next to Peter Parker, both of them reading a news bulletin about Spider-Man, and commenting to Peter that, "You know, I guess one person can make a difference". He then says his catch phrase, "'Nuff said."

In ''Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'' (2007), Lee appears as himself at Reed Richards' and Susan Storm's first wedding, being turned away by a security guard for not being on the guest list. In ''Fantastic Four Annual'' No.3 (1965), in which the couple married, Lee and Jack Kirby are similarly turned away.

In ''Iron Man'' (2008), Lee (credited as "Himself") appears at a gala cavorting with three blond women, where Tony Stark mistakes him for Hugh Hefner. In the theatrical release of the film, Stark simply greets Lee as "Hef" and moves on without seeing Lee's face; another version of the scene was filmed where Stark realizes his mistake, but Lee graciously responds, "That's okay, I get this all the time."

In ''The Incredible Hulk'' (2008), Lee appears as a hapless citizen who accidentally ingests a soft drink mixed with Bruce Banner's blood, leading to the discovery of Dr. Banner's location in a bottling plant in Brazil.

In ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), during the Stark Expo, Lee, wearing suspenders and a red shirt and black and purple tie, is greeted by Tony Stark as "Larry King".

In ''Thor'' (2011), Lee appears among many people at the site where Thor's hammer Mjolnir lands on earth. He tears the back off his pickup truck in an attempt to pull Mjolnir out of the ground with a chain and causes everyone to laugh by asking, "Did it work?".

In ''Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011), Lee is again used as comic relief, this time portraying a general in World War II. When Captain America/Steve Rogers is queued to a stage to receive an award, a man goes on stage to tell the presenter that Rogers will not be attending. The general mistakes the man for Rogers, commenting, "I thought he'd be taller." Lee said in April 2011, "Marvel Studios has upgraded my cameo for the Captain America movie! They’ve given me one more word of dialogue than originally planned! In ''The Avengers'' (2012), Lee will have a cameo unless the filmmakers "shoot it on the moon". In ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012), Lee is scheduled to have a cameo in an action scene where he plays a librarian oblivious to the fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard happening behind him.

Warner/DC properties

In the original broadcast airing of the ''Superman: The Animated Series'' episode "Apokolips... Now! Part 2", an animated Stan Lee was visible mourning the death of Daniel "Terrible" Turpin, a character based on Marvel Comics Universe co-creator and Marvel main artist Jack Kirby. The scene also included such Marvel characters as the Thing, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Nick Fury, Johnny Storm, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Peter Parker, Jack Kirby DC characters as Big Barda, Scott Free, Orion, Kamandi, comics artists Bruce Timm, Alex Ross and his father Norman Ross, and TV producers and writers Glen Murakami, Dan Riba, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett and Mark Evanier. This shot appeared in the completed episode and was aired on February 7, 1998 in WB Kids, but was later modified to remove the likeness of Marvel characters in the Superman: The Animated Volume 3 DVD box set.

Advertising

Dr.Pepper television advertisements with Thor tie-in.

Other film, TV, and video

He appeared as Dr. Lee in the ''Eureka'' episode titled "Glimpse".

He is the host of the 2010 History Channel documentary series ''Stan Lee's Superhumans''.

Lee makes a cameo appearance as the "Three Stooges Wedding Guest" in the 2004 Disney film ''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''.

Lee hosted and judged contestants in the SyFy series ''Who Wants to Be a Superhero?''

Lee appears with director Kevin Smith and 2000s Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada in the DVD program ''Marvel Then & Now: An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith''.

One of Lee's earliest contributions to animation based on Marvel properties was narrating the 1980s ''Incredible Hulk'' animated series, always beginning his narration with a self-introduction and ending with "This is Stan Lee saying, ''Excelsior''!" Lee had previously narrated the "Seven Little Superheroes" episode of ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', which the ''Hulk'' series was paired with for broadcast.

Lee did the narration for the original 1989 X-Men animated series pilot titled ''X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men''.

Lee was interviewed on the History Channel Show ''Superhuman'' by Daniel Browning Smith, who held several Guinness Records for extreme flexibility due to having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic condition affecting collagen formation. Smith had created his own comic book to display his own struggles as an outcast for his flexibility, and legitimately surprised Lee with a quick demonstration of his talent.

In the animated series ''Jim Henson's Muppet Babies'', Lee plays himself in a live-action scene of the "Comic Capers" episode.

Lee was an executive producer of the 1990s animated TV series ''Spider-Man''. He appeared as himself in animated form in the series finale episode titled "Farewell, Spider-Man". Spider-Man is transported by Madame Web into the "real" world where he is a fictional character. He meets Lee and the two swing around until Spider-Man drops him off on top of a building; Madame Web appears and brings Spider-Man back to his homeworld. Realizing he is stuck on a roof, Lee muses, hoping the Fantastic Four will show up and lend a hand.

He also voices the character "Frank Elson" in an episode of ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'' series broadcast by MTV in 2003, and titled "Mind Games" (Parts 1 & 2, originally aired on August 15 & 22, 2003).

He voiced a loading dock worker named Stan on ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' in the episode "Blueprints".

Lee has an extensive cameo in the Kevin Smith film ''Mallrats''. He once again plays himself, this time visiting "the" mall to sign books at a comic store. Later, he takes on the role of a sage-like character, giving Jason Lee's character, Brodie Bruce (a longtime fan of Lee's), advice on his love life. He also recorded interviews with Smith for the non-fiction video ''Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels'' (2002).

Lee appeared as himself in an extended self-parodying sketch on the episode "Tapping a Hero" of ''Robot Chicken''.

Lee appears as himself in writer-director Larry Cohen's ''The Ambulance'' (1990), in which Eric Roberts plays an aspiring comics artist.

In ''The Simpsons'' episode "I Am Furious Yellow" (April 28, 2002), Lee voices the animated Stan Lee, who is a prolonged visitor to Comic Book Guy's store. He asks if Comic Book Guy is the stalker of Lynda Carter – the star of the 1970s show ''Wonder Woman'' – and shows signs of dementia, such as breaking a customer's toy Batmobile by trying to cram a Thing action figure into it (claiming that he "made it better"), hiding DC comics behind Marvel comics, and believing that he is the Hulk (and fails trying to become the Hulk, while Comic Book Guy comments he couldn't even change into Bill Bixby). Lee also appeared on the commentary track along with other ''Simpsons'' writers and directors on the episode for ''The Simpsons'' Season 13 boxset released in 2010. In a later Simpsons episode, "Worst Episode Ever", Lee's picture is seen next to several others on the wall behind the register, under the heading "Banned for life".

Lee also appears as himself in the Mark Hamill-directed ''Comic Book: The Movie'' (2004), a direct-to-video mockumentary primarily filmed at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con.

Lee also made an appearance on December 21, 2006, on the NBC game show ''Identity''.

Lee appeared as himself in episode 3.16 of ''The Big Bang Theory''. Lee appears in the manga and anime series of ''Heroman'' as a regular at a diner. He is voiced by Atsushi Ii in the Japanese anime. Lee voices the Mayor of Superhero City in the ''Super Hero Squad Show''. He plays a bus driver in the 16th episode of the first season of ''Heroes''. Lee appeared as himself in the 5th episode of the seventh season of the HBO series ''Entourage''.

Lee appeared as himself on "The Excelsior Acquisition" episode of ''The Big Bang Theory''.

Lee appears in the October 7, 2010, episode of ''Nikita'', "The Guardian", as Hank Excelsior, a witness to a bank robbery.

Lee helped host the documentary ''Stan Lee's Superhumans''.

Lee was interviewed in the 2011 documentary ''Superheroes''.

Lee is scheduled to appear on X Japan's music video "Born to be Free".

Video games

Lee narrates the 2000 video game ''Spider-Man'', the 2001 sequel ''Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro'' and 2010's ''Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions''.

Lee plays a senator named after himself in ''Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2''.

Bibliography

Lee's comics work includes:

DC

''Just Imagine Stan Lee creating'':

*''Aquaman'' (with Scott McDaniel) (2002)

*''Batman'' (with Joe Kubert) (2001)

*''Catwoman'' (with Chris Bachalo) (2002)

*''Crisis'' (with John Cassaday) (2002)

*''Flash'' (with Kevin Maguire) (2002)

*''Green Lantern'' (with Dave Gibbons) (2001)

*''JLA'' (with Jerry Ordway) (2002)

*''Robin'' (with John Byrne) (2001)

*''Sandman'' (with Walt Simonson) (2002)

*''Secret Files and Origins'' (2002)

*''Shazam!'' (with Gary Frank) (2001)

*''Superman'' (with John Buscema) (2001)

*''Wonder Woman'' (with Jim Lee) (2001)

Marvel

''Amazing Spider-Man'' #1–100, 105–110, 116–118, 200 (1962–80)

''Avengers'' #1–35 (1963–66)

''Captain America'' #100–141 (1968–71)

''Daredevil'', vol. 1, #1–9, 11–50, 53 (1964–69)

''Daredevil'', vol. 2, No.20 (backup story) (2001)

''Fantastic Four'' #1–114, 120–125 (1961–72); No.296 (1986)

''The Incredible Hulk'' #1-6, 102-120 (1962–1969)

''Journey into Mystery'' (Thor) #97–125 (1963–66)

''Ravage 2099'' #1–7 (1992–93)

''Savage She-Hulk'' No.1 (1980)

''Sgt. Fury'' #1–28 (1963–66)

''Silver Surfer'' #1–18 (1968–70)

''Solarman'' #1–2 (1989–90)

''Strange Tales'' (diverse stories): #9, 11, 74, 89, 90–100 (1951–62); (Human Torch): #101–109, 112–133; (Human Torch and Doctor Strange): #110–111, 115–134 (1962–65); (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Dr. Strange features): #135–147, 150–157 (1965–67)

''Tales to Astonish'' (diverse stories): #1, 6, 12–13, 15–17, 24–33 (1956–62); Ant-Man/Giant Man: #35-69 (1962–65) (Incredible Hulk: #59-101 (1964–1968); Sub-Mariner: #70-101 (1965–68)

''Tales of Suspense'' (diverse stories): #7, 9, 16, 22, 27, 29–30 (1959–62); (Iron Man and Captain America): #39–99 (1963–68)

''Thor'' #126–192, 200 (1966–72), 385 (1987)

''What If'' (Fantastic Four) No.200 (2011)

''X-Men'' vol. 1 #1-19 (1963–66)

See also

Characters created by Stan Lee

List of American comics creators

List of American Jews

List of Eisner Award winners

List of Harvey Award winners

List of Jewish American authors

List of Marvel Comics people

List of science fiction authors

List of pseudonyms

References

Further reading

Lee, Stan, ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' (Simon and Schuster, 1974; Marvel Entertainment Group, 1997 reissue, ISBN 0-7851-0551-4)

McLaughlin, Jeff, ed. ''Stan Lee: Conversations'' (University Press of Mississippi, 2007), ISBN 978-1578069859

Ro, Ronin. ''Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and the American Comic Book Revolution'' (Bloomsbury USA, 2005 reissue) ISBN 1-58234-566-X

Raphael, Jordan, and Spurgeon, Tom. ''Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book'' (Chicago Review Press, 2003) ISBN 1-55652-506-0

Simon, Joe, with Jim Simon. ''The Comic Book Makers'' (Crestwood/II, 1990) ISBN 1-887591-35-4; reissued (Vanguard Productions, 2003) ISBN 1-887591-35-4

External links

POW! Entertainment (official site)

Stan Lee's Fan Site

McCave, Joseph. "SDCC 2009: Stan Lee Talks 'Time Jumper'!" FearNet.com, July 27, 2009

Framingham, Mass. "Myth and the Hero's Journey: Big Screen Blockbusters – Star Wars, Spider-Man Tell Timeless Tales", ''Daily News'' (May 5, 2002), by Chris Bergeron

Archive of "Fast Chat: Stan Lee". ''Newsday'', April 1, 2007. Online version March 31, 2007.

Stan Lee at ComiCon in Seattle

Stan Lee at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

Audio/video

Audio of Merry Marvel Marching Society record, including voice of Stan Lee

Stan Lee telling his life story at Web of Stories

Comic Geek Speak: Episode 83 – Stan Lee interview podcast, December 12, 2005

Mahalo Daily with Veronica Belmont: "MD044 – Stan Lee Interview", January 28, 2008

Stan Lee receives 1st New York comics legend award April 17, 2008

"Authors@Google: Stan Lee", ''Authors@Google'', "AtGoogleTalks", ''YouTube'', July 18, 2008. (Video podcast)

(Radio broadcast)

Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Category:Golden Age comics creators Category:Jewish American writers Category:Living people Category:People from Washington Heights, Manhattan Category:United States Army soldiers Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:American people of Romanian descent Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Category:Jack Kirby Hall of Fame inductees Category:Pseudonymous writers Category:1922 births

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birth place	Trenton, New Jersey
nationality	American
alma mater	Columbia University
pencil	y
notable works	Batman Robin Joker
awards	National Cartoonists Society Award Comic Book Division (1956) Newspaper Panel Cartoon (1963) Special Features Award (1965) Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award (2000)
sortkey	Robinson, Jerry
subcat	American
yob	1922
mob	1
dob	1 }}

Jerry Robinson (b. January 1, 1922) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s.

He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

Career

Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Robinson was a journalism student at Columbia University when he began working for writer-artist Bob Kane in 1939. Kane, with writer Bill Finger, had shortly before created the character Batman for National Comics, the future DC Comics. Robinson rented a room from a family in The Bronx near Kane's family's Grand Concourse apartment, where Kane used his bedroom as an art studio. He started as a letterer and a background inker, shortly graduating to inking secondary figures. Within a year, he became Batman's primary inker, with George Roussos inking backgrounds. Batman quickly became a hit character, and Kane rented space for Robinson and Roussos in Times Square's Times Tower.

Approximately a year and a half after Robinson and Finger were hired by Kane, National Comics lured them away, making them company staffers. Robinson recalled working in the bullpen at the company's 480 Lexington Avenue office, alongside ''Superman'' creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, as well as Jack Kirby, Fred Ray, and Mort Meskin, "who was one of my best friends, who[m] I brought up from [comics publisher] MLJ".

Robin and the Joker

By early 1940, Kane and Finger discussed adding a sidekick. Robinson suggested the name "Robin" after Robin Hood books he had read during boyhood, saying (in a 2005 interview) that he was inspired by one book's N.C. Wyeth illustrations. The new character, orphaned circus performer Dick Grayson, came to live with Bruce Wayne (Batman) as his young ward in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940). Robin would inspire many similar sidekicks throughout the remainder of the Golden Age of Comic Books.

Batman's archnemesis the Joker was introduced near that same time, in ''Batman'' #1 (Spring 1940). Credit for that character's creation is disputed. Robinson has said he created the character. Kane's position is that: Robinson, whose original Joker playing card was on public display in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, New York, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007, and the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, Georgia from October 24, 2004 to August 28, 2005, has countered that:

In 1943, when Kane left the Batman comic books to focus on penciling the daily ''Batman'' newspaper comic strip, Robinson took over the full penciling, along with others such as Dick Sprang. As was customary of the time, only Kane's name appeared on the strip.

Later career

From 1944–1946, Robinson and his old friend Meskin formed a studio which produced material for the short-lived publisher Spark Publications. Robinson went on to work on numerous other characters and for several publishers, at one point even doing freelance illustrations for at least one textbook publisher. In a long, successful interlude outside of comic books, as a newspaper cartoonist, Robinson created ''True Classroom Flubs and Fluffs'', which for most of the 1960s ran in the ''New York Sunday News'' (later incorporated into the ''Daily News'').

He was president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1967 to 1969 and served a two year term as president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists starting in 1973.

In 1974 he wrote "The Comics," a comprehensive study of the history of newspaper comic strips.

During the mid-1970s, Robinson was a crucial supporter of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in their long struggle with DC Comics to win full recognition and compensation as the creators of Superman. With comics artist and rights advocate Neal Adams, Robinson organized key support around Siegel and Shuster, to whom DC, in December 1975, granted lifetime stipends and a credit in all broadcast and published Superman works. In 1978, he founded Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate/CartoonArts International which as of 2010 has more than 550 artists from over 75 countries.

During 1999, Robinson created an original manga series, ''Astra'' with the help of manga artist Shojin Tanaka and Ken-ichi Oishi. This was later on released in English through Central Park Media by their manga line CPM Manga as a comic book miniseries and then a trade paperback.

On May 26, 2007, DC Comics announced that Robinson had been hired by the company as a "creative consultant". The press release accompanying this announcement did not describe Robinson's duties or responsibilities.

Awards

For his work in comics, he won several awards, including the National Cartoonists Society award for the Comic Book Division in 1956, their Newspaper Panel Cartoon for 1963 for ''Still Life'', their Special Features Award in 1965 for ''Flubs and Fluffs'', and their Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Robinson was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004.

Notes

References

Epstein, Daniel Robert. Newsarama.com: "THE JOKER, THE JEWISH MUSEUM AND JERRY: TALKING TO JERRY ROBINSON", Newsarama, October 18, 2006

The Jewish Museum

Jerry Robinson at the Lambiek Comiclopedia

"Jerry Robinson and the Creation of the Joker", video of panel at New York Comic Con 2009

External links

Jerry Robinison Papers 1953–2009 at Syracuse University (primary source material)

Jerry Robinson Art (official site)

Category:1922 births Category:Columbia University alumni Category:American comics artists Category:Golden Age comics creators Category:Living people Category:People from Trenton, New Jersey Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Category:Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award winners

de:Jerry Robinson es:Jerry Robinson fr:Jerry Robinson gl:Jerry Robinson it:Jerry Robinson pt:Jerry Robinson fi:Jerry Robinson

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise. Also, " The Man is coming" is a term used to frighten small children who are misbehaving.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.

History

The term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to the late 19th Century. In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel ''Naked Lunch'', and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in ''U.S. News and World Report'', had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine ''Easyriders'' which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema.

Use as praise

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also

Absentee landlord

Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four'')

New World Order (conspiracy theory)

Ruling class

The Establishment

Power elite

Corrections officer

YTMND

Notes

References

Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). ''Random House Dictionary of American Slang''. New York: Random House.

Category:Slang expressions Category:Stock characters Category:English idioms Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Military-industrial complex