Hi, Stephen.
DH>      A "wizened old turkey" and a "schmuck".  There's respect for
DH> you. 8|
ST> Well, I remember Marvel from before it lost its "maverick" status.
ST> It was an inspired, quirky little outfit that was full of
ST> inventive little surprises, like heroes that cracked jokes as they
ST> slugged it out, heroes with neuroses, sidekicks that expounded on
ST> the verbosity of their group's leaders and the kind of cosmic
ST> concepts that made Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke such popular
ST> sci-fi authors....
     When did Marvel lose its "maverick" status?  I mean, I know
Marvel has spent the better part of the last 2 decades being more of a
follower than an industry leader... but when exactly did they make the
switch in direction?  Was it when Marvel became a public company?  Was
it when the X-phenomina started?  When?
ST> ...and watched it degenerate into one of he crassest, most profit
ST> oriented outfits around! You're bound to look on the man riding
ST> herd on all this as an "alte kocke" ANYDAY....!!
     If I'm going to cast blame on somebody, I like to heap it on the
person responsible... not the figurehead.  If Stan Lee was at the helm
of Marvel when it degenerated into a profit-generating machine (made
all the worse when they have to answer to shareholders before their
readers), maybe he shares a bit of the blame...  but even given that
situation, I still don't hold him totally responsible for the mess
Marvel has become over the past (almost) 2 decades.  For quite a while
now, Stan Lee has been little more than a figurehead at Marvel... with
no power at all (as I understand it).  To that end, for Marvel's
critics to lay the blame for the current state of Marvel at Stan Lee's
feet... I just think that's a little unfair.
DH> I guess your memory must be better than mine... 'cuz other than
DH> getting older, I only ever remember one Stan "the Man" Lee.
DH> Perhaps the artistic renditions of Stan Lee just didn't capture
DH> the likeness of him very well.  Perhaps it was intentional?  I
DH> don't know.
ST> Something tells ME it's just a corporate name, like the author of
ST> the "Doc Savage" books.....
     Something tells me it's not... like the episode of "Biography"
which spotlighted the one and only Stan "The Man" Lee.
DH> Besides, I think comic fans can, out of respect for his
DH> contributions to comics, cut the man a little slack when it comes
DH> to his memory.  After all, the Marvel Universe he helped create is
DH> the better part of 40 years old now... I think Stan Lee can be
DH> forgiven for not being able to instantly recall names and facts.
DH> Let's see how good our memories are when we get to be Stan's age.
ST> I dunno, you didn't see him fumble like I did. It was like he had
ST> just been told about their existence as characters....
     How many years ago did this happen?
ST> Gee, I wonder who was writing for Roy Thomas.....(g)
DH> I don't know.  Who?
ST> Shooter?? Conway?? de Falco??
     Are you saying that Roy Thomas is a pen name for these 3 writers?
Talk to you later.
David
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