Stan Lee - Inspired the Imaginations of Generations

There are only a few influential figures in the world I can personally say had a huge impact on my life in one way or another. I will talk a bit about my top two in this Blog. First, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an English Writer, likely had the largest impact on my life.

I didn't like to read as a child; in fact, I hated it. There was a day school was called off for snow, and I was told by my Grandfather to read a book. It was 'The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. At that young age it was a huge book to undertake, and I wasn't at all excited about reading it. I thought it would be boring and a complete and utter waste of my time.

Then I started reading it. I will never forget the first paragraph of that book, because for some reason, and to this day I am not sure what that reason is, it grabbed me and didn't let me go. It goes, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

I read that book cover to cover without feeling bored and without feeling it was a waste of my time. Instead, that book became the first inspiration I had in life to be imaginative. It challenged me to imagine a world I had never seen or experienced, filled with creatures I had never seen with my own two eyes. I imagined for hours, and when I put the book down, I didn't stay away from it for long because I was excited to get back into that imaginary world to find out what happened next.

Tolkien inspired me to read, inspired an imaginative side of me that I didn't realize existed, and inspired me to put value into the written word and into the power the written word holds.

This blog isn't about Tolkien, though. It is about a man whose imagination took this world on a roller coaster ride for decades and inspired multiple generations of kids and adults with his body of work. I am obviously talking about Stan Lee, or Stanley Martin Lieber. From an early age, Stan Lee's creations and co-creations inspired me to be imaginative and provided me with an escape from the stresses of life.

Stan created not only the most iconic comic characters in history, but brought them to life through the creation of entire worlds and sub-cultures. This is why I wanted to bring up Tolkien as well, because if you really think about it, I looked up to both men for the same reasons. Tolkien created not only books, but worlds, civilizations, and languages. Stan Lee did the same but with a comic universe.

If you don't know how much Stan Lee really did with his life, start with his IMDB page and look at the credits he racked up over the decades. Stan has 218 Writer Credits, 154 Producer Credits, 121 Actor Credits, 27 Miscellaneous Crew Credits, 1 Art Department Credit, 1 Animation Credit, 1 Music Credit, 2 Soundtrack Credits, 1 Editor Credit, 47 Special Thanks Credits, and 219 Self Appearance Credits.

As for awards, the greatest awards Stan received were the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994, the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995, the Bill Finger Award in 2008, the PGA Vanguard Award in 2012, the Life Career Award in 2002, the Independent Publisher Book Award for Independent Voice in 2017, the Harvey Award - Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. He won countless other awards, but I felt these were the most mentionable of the bunch.

Stan, to say the least, was an extremely driven and creative soul who never stopped creating in all his years on this Earth. His creations are timeless, and have been enjoyed by children and adults for decades. Comics and Fantasy Novels were my escape from reality in my younger years, and the feeling they provided has stuck with me into my 40's.

In my office at work I have a 'Wolverine Enemy of the State' Framed Canvas signed by Stan Lee and serial numbered 5/10 hanging on my wall right next to the Wolverine 4 comic mini-series from 1982. I sold off all of my comics earlier in life prior to joining the Army, and never really picked it up again. My wife noted early in our marriage how much I loved Stan Lee and his many creations. For one of my Father'sBirthMas Presents (Father's Day, Birthday and Christmas Present because it was expensive...lol), she purchased the autographed, framed Wolverine canvas for me.

She went on to purchase me the graded Wolverine mini-series set, a hard bound version of the same mini-series, and a Wolverine Claw Letter Opener produced in a very limited quantity back in 2000. All of these items are in my office so I can visually enjoy them every day at work. Oh, and I have a Wolverine tattoo on my left forearm.

Stan Lee inspired me to be creative and to believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Every Marvel movie I watch has me anticipating where Stan Lee's cameo appearance is going to be, because there always is one. I hope that they continue the tradition and find ways of fitting pictures or little reminders of Stan into future movies.

This blog isn't just to talk about how Stan Lee and J.R.R. Tolkien Inspired me in life. The real purpose is to say that you need to find your own creative outlet in life; your safe place to go when you are stressed or just need to escape for a while. Tolkien and Lee have helped me out in life more than I can say in one blog, and they did so because they inspired my creative and imaginative side.

Find your escape and inspiration. I will leave you with a partial list of creations and co-creations Stan Lee inspired the world with throughout his career. Stars die every year, but it is rare that I truly feel a personal connection to a Star. Stan Lee passing was like losing a close friend who has been by my side throughout life. The world will have a void without Stan's beautiful mind.

Abomination (comics)

Absorbing Man

Athena (Marvel Comics)

Billy Connors (comics)

Black Bolt

Black Knight (comics)

Black Knight (Nathan Garrett)

Black Knight (Sir Percy)

Black Panther (comics)

Black Widow (Marvel Comics)

Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)

Blastaar

Blizzard (comics)

Blob (comics)

Bluebird (Marvel Comics)

Brotherhood of Mutants

Burglar (comics)

Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)

Peggy Carter

Sharon Carter

Cat-Man (Marvel Comics)

Cobra (Marvel Comics)

Cyclops (Marvel Comics)

Cyttorak

Daily Bugle

Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)

Death-Stalker

Destroyer (Marvel Comics)

Diablo (Marvel Comics)

Egghead (Marvel Comics)

Ego the Living Planet

Electro (Marvel Comics)

Elektro (comics)

Enchantress (Marvel Comics)

Fafnir (Marvel Comics)

Doctor Faustus (comics)

Femizons

Fenris Wolf (Marvel Comics)

Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics)

Freak (Marvel Comics)

Gladiator (Melvin Potter)

Goliath (Marvel Comics)

Dr. John Grey (comics)

Grizzly (comics)

Groot

Growing Man

The Guardian Project (comics)

Hercules (Marvel Comics)

Hermes (Marvel Comics)

High Evolutionary

Hippolyta (Marvel Comics)

Happy Hogan (comics)

Hogun

Hulk (comics)

Human Cannonball (Marvel Comics)

Human Torch

Iceman (Marvel Comics)

Jack Murdock (comics)

Jackal (Marvel Comics)

J. Jonah Jameson

John Jameson (comics)

Edwin Jarvis

Abner Jenkins

Jester (Marvel Comics)

Krang (Marvel Comics)

Lucifer (Marvel Comics)

Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)

Martha Connors

Marvel Boy (Robert Grayson)

Masked Marauder

Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde)

Alicia Masters

Matador (Marvel Comics)

Merlin (Marvel Comics)

Metal Master (comics)

Midgard Serpent (Marvel Comics)

Morgan le Fay (Marvel Comics)

Morrat

Mother Night (comics)

Nightmare (Marvel Comics)

Doctor Octopus

Odin (comics)

Olympians (Marvel Comics)

Richard and Mary Parker

Pinky Pinkerton

Plantman

Plunderer (comics)

Pluto (Marvel Comics)

Puppet Master (Marvel Comics)

Radioactive Man (comics)

Redwing (Marvel Comics)

Rhino (comics)

Franklin Richards (comics)

Ringmaster (comics)

Randy Robertson

Robbie Robertson (comics)

Ronan the Accuser

Betty Ross

Thunderbolt Ross

Sandman (Marvel Comics)

Happy Sam Sawyer

Scarecrow (Marvel Comics)

Scarlet Witch

Scorpion (Marvel Comics)

Sentinel (comics)

Sentry (Kree)

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos

Sleeper (Marvel Comics)

Surtur (Marvel Comics)

Ultimo (Marvel Comics)

Vulture (Marvel Comics)

Wizard (Marvel Comics)

Wonder Man

Wong (comics)

Wong-Chu

Warren Worthington III

Thank you for reading my Blog. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my words. I also appreciate conversation and discussion. If you want to discuss this or any of my blogs, feel free to leave a comment under the blog or email me at stephendunkel@gmail.com and I will be happy to correspond with you.

Until next time....

DUNK

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Stan Lee - Inspired the Imaginations of Generations

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