As promised, Stan Lee, the creator of the Marvel universe himself, did make an appearance on Kevin Smith's AMC show Comic Book Men last night. Stan was being photographed for a charity event, and the producers decided to use Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash as the backdrop for the shoot. The store basically shut down for the day, and the staff had a private audience with Stan. Which was obviously a dream come true for Walt. The whole event was remarkably reminiscent of Stan's appearance in Kevin Smith's movie, Mall rats, as in both instances Mr. Lee was bombarded with esoteric questions that only true super hero fans could ever appreciate. This time around though, it was interesting to hear Stan's unscripted answers. It was actually very endearing to watch Walt, Mike, Ming, and Brian sit down cross legged on the floor on the comic book store to listen to Stan tell stories and answer their questions.
Stan was incredibly poised, funny, and had a great sense of humour about the entire affair. Stan dodged a variant of the age old question of "who would win in a fight, The Hulk, or Thor" by stating that whenever two super heroes fight in a comic book it is important to have the fight end in a draw so that the fans of both heroes are never disappointed. This way the fans will argue the fine points of the match up for years to come, generating further discussion, and interest.". Well played Stan, as this continued interest also sells more comic books! During one of
the round table cut away scenes, Kevin Smith described Stan as a living legend, a true ambassador for the world of comic books, and I know that I am inclined to agree with this assessment. Excelsior!
