#excelcior

So, as I’m sure you’re well aware, the legendary Stan Lee passed away recently. Marvel has been putting tributes to him in all of their recent releases, like this:

Here’s a closer look at that banner:

This is followed by a two page spread of entirely black pages when you first open the book:

And then a picture commemorating the man who pulled Timely Comics from the gutter and made it into the “Marvel” that it is today:

There’s even an excerpt from an old Stan’s Soapbox column printed at the back of each book:

Makes sense, right? This is, after all, the man who MADE Marvel Comics. I’m not just talking about the company itself - Comic books as an industry were crashing in postwar America. No one wanted to read about superheroes anymore, and the CCA had such strict rules that it was hard to make something that both complied with them while also being different from the hundreds of other horror, romance, or cowboy comics out there.

Then along cane Stan Lee. This man is the reason why the Silver Age of Comics is also referred to as the Marvel Age. DC had abandoned all of their characters except their big three, and they were able to turn back to superheroes because Stan Lee saved the industry.

But other than a few “What if Stan Lee created DC Characters” titles from the 90’s, I honestly don’t know of any direct influence Stan the Man has had on DC Comics. Hell, that line of comics were so unremarkable that they’re almost completely worthless now.

So then I pick up this issue of Justice League Odyssey:

This is, irrefutably, a DC book. It’s got DC’s logo in the corner. It’s got “Justice League” in it’s name. It’s got freaking STARFIRE on the cover.

And I wasn’t expecting what came at the end:

This is a picture of a tribute to Stan Lee, printed at the end of Justice League Odyssey issue #4. I wasn’t expecting this at all, and while the tribute in the marvel comics warmed my heart the tribute in this DC comic brought tears to my eyes.

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”

Thank You, Stan Lee