R.I.P. Stan Lee

CBS News brings the sad tidings that Marvel legend Stan Lee has died at 95.

Stan Lee, the legendary Marvel Comics co-creator and publisher, has died at 95. Gamespot Editor-in-Chief Randolph Ramsay joins CBSN to discuss Lee's legacy.

For more about his legacy, PBS NewsHour explains How Stan Lee helped 'revolutionize' comic books.

We remember Stan Lee, writer and editor of Marvel Comics and creator of iconic characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Black Panther and the Fantastic Four. William Brangham has the story of this pop culture legend.

That's about Lee as a comics creator.  Beyond the Trailer discusses his effect on the movies as well in Stan Lee dead at 95 - Tribute.

Stan Lee Tribute today. Beyond The Trailer's breakdown of Stan Lee's history and legacy at Marvel on his death at 95. Excelsior!
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Stan Lee Dead at 95, Tribute today. Beyond The Trailer host Grace Randolph's breakdown of Stan Lee's legacy and his history at Marvel. Why Stan Lee was a comic book legend and figurehead. Share your own reaction to Stan Lee's death and his history at Marvel.

Thank you, Grace, for pointing out how Stan Lee made comics an accepted staple of American culture.  It was exactly the angle I was looking for.

Speaking of angles, Grace asked for the personal reactions of her viewers.  Mine was that I was never a fan of Marvel Comics — I preferred DC Comics — but I became a fan of Marvel movies, enough so that I have a Marvel label on this blog.  That's in large part because of the commercial success of Marvel movies, as Deadline pointed out.

In lieu of moving upward to a more respectable medium, Lee helped transform the four-color American comic book into a powerhouse of pop culture creation and a major concept factory for Hollywood.

In fact Marvel’s three most recent blockbusters, all released over a mere five months, were adaptations of Lee creations — Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp — and have grossed more than $3.7 billion, nearly matching the price Disney paid for Marvel in 2009. Since that purchase, Marvel has generated six of the top 20 global-grossing films, topped this summer by Infinity War crossing the $2 billion mark. On television, Marvel heroes are featured in 10 live-action series (spread across ABC, Fox, Netflix, FX, Hulu and Freeform) as well as five more animated franchises.

Speaking of the popularity of Marvel movies, Deadline reported on their wins at the People's Choice Awards, which took place the day before Lee's death.

Marvel conquered the film side with Avengers: Infinity War winning Movie of 2018...The Marvel Cinematic Universe saw multiple wins with Scarlett Johansson winning Female Movie Star of 2018 and Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman and Danai Guriria winning Male Movie Star and Action Movie Star of 2018 respectively.

Congratulations to all the winners.  That fulfills my promise to "[write] about the winners of the 2018 People's Choice Awards" that I made in 'RBG' wins Best Political Documentary, 'Won’t You Be My Neighbor?' Best Documentary, at least for now.

In the meantime, thank you Stan Lee for making the world a more fun place.  Excelsior!