Amelia Beson

A photo of Stan Lee, the Hulk, and Spiderman. Stan Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber on December 28, 1922 in New York City to Romanian Jewish parents Celia Solomon Lieber and Jack Lieber. His brother is Larry Lieber and is 9 years his junior. As a child, Lee was influenced by heroic books and movies. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1939 at 16 ½ years old. Afterward ,he joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project.

In 1939, he became an assistant in the Timely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman’s company. Timely Comics would later evolve into Marvel comics. He made his comic book debut in 1941 with “Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” where he used the pseudonym Stan Lee. (Hoping to save his given name for a career as a novelist.)

In 1942, Lee joined the United States Army and served in the Signal Corps where he wrote slogans, manuals and training films; occasionally cartooning. Playwright was his military classification.

He married Joan Clayton Boocock on December 5, 1947. They had two children in the 1950’s: Joan and Jan, though only Joan survived.

By the 1950’s, Martin Goodman’s company was known as Atlas Comics. Here, Lee was in charge of creating a new superhero team apart from the Justice League of America. He introduced complex , somewhat flawed characters (previously,superheroes were "perfect" people). The first superhero character group Lee and Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four consists of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Touch and the Thing. Other characters Lee created include the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, X-Men, Daredevil, Doctor Strange and Spider Man.

Stan Lee would go on to become the figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics - which would eventually lead Stan Lee to "Comic Book Legend" status. In 1981, he left New York and moved to California to develop Marvel’s TV and movie properties. In 1998, Peter Paul and Lee began internet based production and marketing company, Stan Lee Media. In 2001, Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was dismissed from bankruptcy in 2006.

In the 2000s, Lee began working with DC superheroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and the Green Lantern. In 2001, Lee and two others (Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman) formed Purveyors of Wonder Entertainment, known colloquially as POW!, to develop film, tv and video game properties.

Lee was an official guest of the San Diego Comic-Con hosted in 1975, 1986,1995, and 2010. The 1995 Comic Con Chicago (now Wizard World Chicago) featured a Stan Lee roast. In 2007 & 2008, Stan Lee was a Notable guest at the New York Comic Con. In 2007, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure at the Comic-Con International. In 2008, Stan Lee was awarded the inaugural new York Comics Legend Award during the New York Comic Con. He returned again as a guest in NYCC in 2010. Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo Presented by POW! Entertainment launched in September 2012. Happening two months after the San Diego Comic-Con International, it still sold out 125,000 tickets online in less than 2 hours.

In 2010 he partnered with Guardian Media Entertainment on the Guardian Project to create superhero mascots of the National Hockey League.

He founded a non-profit organization, the Stan Lee Foundation, to focus on literacy, education, and the arts in 2010.

The city of Long Beach and County of Los Angeles declared Stan Lee Day to be October 2, 2009. Stan Lee is the one and only comic book legend.