Without Stan Lee, I wouldn’t have started reading comic books…

Even though I have enjoyed a fair amount of Marvel comic books, I mostly read DC Comics (besides works from other companies like Image or Dark Horse, and manga), but truth is that without Stan Lee, as the title states, I wouldn’t have started reading comic books in the first place. Moreover, I probably wouldn’t have even been interested in superheroes.

As a child, the superhero that got me into this was our friendly neighbor Spiderman. He wasn’t just a very original and visually unique super-powered youngster in tights; his was a story of being a regular boy, in a regular town, who is presented to the opportunity of doing great things and he does it. Every day he chooses to do good, even though he has the same kind of problems we all kids and teens had. Not only was he an example to follow, but an amazingly relatable character. He was far from flawless nonetheless, but that made him the more relatable. And since he wanted to become a better version of himself every day, he became the more inspiring. That! That’s the kind of concept an inspiring guy like Stan Lee would do.

As a child, heroes like Spiderman and his relatable character and tendency to do good, the Fantastic Four with their family bonds, the X-Men with their awareness towards discrimination and willingness for a world filled with acceptance, Daredevil and his crusade for finding truth even in the darkest of worlds, all those heroes would help me see that even in the worst of situations we have to try to be the best versions of ourselves. How could I or any of us who love superheroes neglect the impact a man like Lee had on us?

Stan Lee was a man who was always worried about the people who were reading him. He was always aware he wanted to make an impact, even if little, in the young. In an interview he said he didn’t want young people to praise cool, bad guys. He wanted to make clear these bad guys didn’t deserve any admiration, and that, my friends, is commendable to say the least.

In my adult life I moved from Marvel to DC Comics and other companies and even countries, as I stated before, but Stan Lee was like this friend who suggested you listen to rock for the first time and you are infinitely thankful for that. Stan Lee was that friend and more to me, and as I write this I find myself getting a little teary because that parent figure who guided me into this marvelous world of superheroes and inspiring characters is not anymore… ’Nuff said!