SACRAMENTO-
Legendary comic icon, Stan Lee, took time giving autographs and snapping photos for fans.
He cancelled all appearances on Saturday due to illness, and rescheduled for Sunday.
Lee is the mastermind behind Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, the Avengers, X-Men and many more. His fans look up to him, as much as his characters.
“I’m like, ‘Ohhh I want to see him,’ and he’s here in Sacramento, and it’s a once in a life time opportunity,” fan Tamara Vogt said. “He brings the little kid out of adults.”
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“I grew up on Marvel Comics so they were really a big influence on how I learned to draw, and he’s just an inspiration overall,” Greg Horn, Marvel cover artist said.
Lee, 91, told FOX40 how it all began.
“Years ago, when my publisher said ‘Stan, you need to dream up another superhero,’ so I would go home and dream it up, because that was my job. And if I didn’t do it, I would get fired, and I needed the job. So it was simple as that,” Lee said.
He said he was forced to be creative, for the sake of job security.
“If he [publisher] didn’t want superheroes, if he wanted knights and armor, or a story that took place in another planet, whatever he asked for, I did, because I wanted to keep my job, so I would dream it up,” Lee said.
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His ability to mix realism with fantasy had fans marveled. Many said Comic Con would not be the same had it not been for Lee.
“It definitely wouldn’t exist as we know it now,” said David Turner of Stan Lee Collectibles. “Everybody wanted to be a Spider-Man. Everybody wanted to be an X-Men.”
“He always has a character that everybody can relate to… Males, females, kids, adults, everybody,” Vogt said.
“I think everybody needs someone to be a mentor, or a goal to shoot for, an idol to try to be like,” Lee said. “When I was a kid, there was an actor named Errol Flynn who played great heroes. I always wanted to be like Errol Flynn. I always thought the was a good guy, and I wished I could be a good guy like him,” Lee said.
Wizard World Comic Con will be back in Sacramento in a year and a half.
For Stan Lee’s full interview with FOX40, click here.
