Stan

At Comic-Con International: San Diego 2012, I had the privilege of meeting Stan Lee.

Well, I had the privilege of stumbling on a line of people waiting to maybe meet Stan Lee.

I’m walking through the exhibit hall, which, at the best of times, is stupidly busy. Being halted by a sudden crowd of people is the norm in that arena. I didn’t know which dumb, stupid celebrity signing was halting my progress, but I did know that it was stupid and I hated it.

My attitude changed when I saw him. He was old. Like, old old. But that didn’t dampen his spirits one bit. He wore a grin from ear to ear and signed every little thing that was put in front of him.

Several layers of crowd separated me from Stan, but being 6’2” I saw him easily.

This did not please his security detail. I don’t really know what was going on- I mean, there were signs on the table stating that Stan The Man Lee was going to be there at a specific time and place, but it seemed the absolute last thing they wanted was for someone to shout “HEY LOOK, STAN LEE’S HERE!” One security guard, not quite my size, glared at me for a moment, before his expression melted into one of, “Come on man. Be cool.”

And so I be’d cool. I moved on (as best I could in that massive crowd), but not before slinging my DSLR over my shoulder and snapping a blurry, terrible back-of-his-head photo.

Stan Lee died Monday morning, November the 12th, 2018 at the age of 95. I don’t have the words to do him justice, so I shall simply say rest in peace. Your impact on American pop culture is quite literally immeasurable, and for that we all thank you.