Hey Everyone! Hope you don’t mind, but I have something to get of my chest…
This week comic legend Stan Lee passed away. While we all knew this was coming, it is still something that was felt intensely by many. I sat at my desk at my day job quietly attempting not to cry while I thought about what my life would be like without Stan’s influence. Anyone who knows anything about me, knows I have what you may call a “minor obsession” with the character Jean Grey. The character she is today and the character she was when I fell in love with her are vastly different from Stan’s original creation, but without him she would not exist at all. Stan created characters that, while being super powered, were flawed. This is what made comics much more meaningful to so many people. Spider-man was created with a full mask so that anyone could picture themselves as Spider-man. The X-men were created to represent people that were being looked down on and oppressed simply for being different. Not only did many of the characters have villains to fight against, but societal push-back as well.
For decades comics have been used to mirror the current state of society. Captain America punched Nazi’s but was also used to enlist people in to the military. The X-men spoke truth about oppression. Iron Man dealt with the idea of alcoholism. Comics were on the forefront of the civil rights movement. That is not to say that comics have always gotten it right or been the most pertinent source of discourse (I’m looking at you, Women as Plot Devices), but they do offer a way to see the evolution of modern society.
It is no surprise that more and more adults are still reading what some refer to as “books for children”. The topics are more serious, the story lines are darker than ever, and all of these books contain characters that we have bonded to over time. Writer’s that are considered rock stars in the “normal” literary world have started putting pen to paper in the name of comics. I dare anyone to go tell Margret Atwood or Ta-Nehisi Coates that they are demeaning themselves by writing for comics. They will probably tell you to go fuck yourself and then go back to counting their money.
I love Jean Grey, because to me she represents heart, power, sacrifice, and struggle. I do not read the X-men today because I am trying to remain a child or desperately hang on to my youth. I read the X-men today because often times it is a perfect marriage of writing and art. Not all the time (some may argue not most of the time), but when it hits, it hits hard. Stan helped give us that.
So, let’s remember what comics have done for us, individually and and as whole. Lets be thankful for creators like Stan Lee who have given us all something that we enjoy. And let’s ignore the people who attempt to knock us down because they have taken little to no time to understand the industry. Let’s ignore the people who say that comics are for people who think being an adult is hard. Let’s ignore people who demean comics as low forms of art, but act in such important cinematic films as “A Million Ways to Die in the West”. Stan would not give it the time of day….neither should we.
Cheers! – Linz