Monday, November 12, 2018 will forever be a heavy day for me. I had taken the day off to recover from Con on the Cob and had managed to finish the main mission in Spider-Man (LOTS of feels). Dawn and I were working through shows that we had DVR’d and I was watching something and Dawn got this odd look on her face, I thought that she was laughing, but there were tears and she said the words I knew would eventually come, but I would never be prepared to hear. We cried and sat in silence. We reminisced about seeing him during a panel at DragonCon and I started going back to the beginning… my beginning. 

I have been reading Marvel Comics since I could first read. I remember reading the Bullpen Bulletin and Stan’s Soapbox and feeling like I was a Marvel insider! The way Stan wrote made you feel like he was writing to you and you alone. Along with that was the comics, of course. Growing up in the 70s I was exposed to racial tensions and prejudicial treatment. I remember hearing adults talk about how this group or that group couldn’t be trusted. But Captain America and Falcon were best friends and so were Power Man and Iron Fist. Race did not get in the way of either friendship, and both would stand up for the other without a thought. I also learned that being handicapped did not mean someone was incapable of anything, and that women were as strong and powerful as men. I also learned the importance of sticking to my convictions in the face of the storm. Stan Lee and Marvel helped teach me to read, write, to hold to my moral convictions, and to be inclusive.

Stan Lee has left behind one hell of a legacy and one hell of an example. He taught us to be Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible and Invincible. Stan reminded us that we are all heroes and with great power comes great responsibility. There’s only one way to end this blog… Rest In Peace, Stan.

Excelsior!