To measure the importance of Stan Lee to pop culture, you only have to recall his epic trip to Motor City Comic Con in 2013. The…
To measure the importance of Stan Lee to pop culture, you only have to recall his epic trip to Motor City Comic Con in 2013.
The iconic Marvel Comics auteur, who died Monday at age 95, drew such a crush of people to the event that its founder described the experience as colorfully as one of Lee’s creations, Iron Man, might.
“We were literally hit with a humanity bomb,” said Michael Goldman, who didn’t expect 18,000-plus fans to show up for Lee on that Saturday five years ago.
In fact, Lee’s rock-star presence helped boost attendance so much that the one day wound up equaling the event’s three-day numbers for 2012.
Lee, who spent roughly 80 years in the comics business, helped create a marvelous universe of characters for Marvel, including Black Panther, Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and many more.
His reputation as a founding father of superheroes was solidified in recent years by his string of cameos in hit Marvel movies. Like Alfred Hitchcock, Lee was the rare artistic visionary whose brief appearances on the big screen became a popular tradition.
When Lee appeared in 2013 at Novi’s Suburban Collection Showplace for the Motor City Comic Con, fans traveled from several states and formed huge lines that spurred rumors and guesses of how long the wait would be to see the Marvel king.
More: Legendary Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee dies at 95
The Free Press reported these comments overheard that day. Picture them as word balloons in comic book panels depicting anxious faces.
«The first victory of the day — finding the end of the line!»
«Seriously? This is where the line starts?»
«Anyone want to buy some tickets? We’re leaving.»
«This is crazy.»
The parking was so crammed, some visitors left their cars at nearby shopping outlets and walked a half-mile to the venue. Traffic clogs prompted the police to issue an alert advising drivers to keep off of certain roads.
«I remember not only seeing the highways backed up, (but) there was this backup all the way to 696,» says Jason Brown of the Southfield-based PublicCity PR, who at that time was doing publicity for the event.
«I know that many people come to Comic Con, but not to the point that it’s a mile-long backup. Everyone wanted to get a glimpse of him or have their moment with Stan Lee. because he was such an icon.»
This was Lee’s first time at Motor City Comic Con, and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy the hoopla.
“Honestly, I have never seen anything like it,” Lee told the Free Press. “It’s been great coming here. I’ve been treated like an old friend.”
Brown says Lee was upbeat and gracious when meeting fans.
«He was great, very entertaining and engaging. When you meet the handlers or managers, it’s ‘be careful. don’t do too much.’ But he was happy-go-lucky…. He answered every question. He would have been, I guess, 90, but was very youthful, energetic. It wasn’t at all, ‘When do I get out of here?’ «
In a Free Press interview before the event, Lee said he never imagined what he’d accomplish when he started out in 1939 as an assistant for Timely Comics.
«Not only did I not imagine it, all I thought about when I wrote those stories was, ‘I hope that these comic books would sell so I can keep my job and continue to pay the rent,’ » said Lee.
«Never in a million years could I have imagined that it would turn into what it has evolved into today. Never.»
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture writer Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.
