Sequart Organization » Stan Lee

Thor ’77-’78: On the Never-Ending Road to Ragnarok, Part 10

Joe Muszynski — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 22:10:02 +0000

The Mighty Thor #271: Thor – with other members of the Avengers – calls on Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which stood for the rather awkward “Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division;” were there other Divisions?).… [more]

Thor ’77-’78: On the Never-Ending Road to Ragnarok, Part 8

Joe Muszynski — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 12:00:56 +0000

The Mighty Thor #269: The splash page shows Thor reading a newspaper at a New York City newsstand. As a crowd gathers, he gets pressured into signing autographs. Telling his fans he has duties to… [more]

Why We Should Roll Our Eyes at Bill Maher

Rick Horner — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 22:20:55 +0000

As a group, we comic book fans have certainly had to take a lot of crap over the decades. Our interests have been belittled, derided, and even threatened with government sanction. These days however, comic… [more]

Smorgasbord #69: Umbrella-ella-ella-eh

Tom Shapira — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 09:00:41 +0000

Tom and Shawn bid Joan Lee a fond farewell and ponder the passing of an age; Spider-Man: Homecoming breaks some new ground; a bit of DC drama knocks Shawn for a loop; Netflix’s next comics-related… [more]

The Amazing Adventures of “Stan” and “Jack”: Michael Chabon’s “Citizen Conn”

Greg Carpenter — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 12:00:23 +0000

A couple of years ago, Michael Chabon gave a reading at our local library. He was promoting a new novel, Telegraph Avenue, and the auditorium was packed. Given my academic background, I’ve had to attend… [more]

The Super-Heroics of Miller and Moore Part 7: Legacy

James Kelly — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 18:00:37 +0000

Alan Moore and Frank Miller’s Impact on Comics Commercially The legacy and influence an artist has on all who follow him/her is always surprising. Some artists take a great work as an inspiration to try… [more]

I Read an Old and Valuable Comic… And Liked It

Ian Dawe — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 11:00:08 +0000

I was recently reading my tattered paperback copy of Bester’s The Stars My Destination for a future article and happened to check on when this very beat-up book was released. It turns out that I… [more]

Is She-Hulk Too Sexy?: Goyer vs. Lee

Ian Dawe — Fri, 23 May 2014 13:00:17 +0000

I can’t be the only person on this planet who finds She-Hulk sexy. That combination of va-va-voom curves, strength and intelligence (the last is important) is a hugely attractive blend. So, the only question is… [more]

What Should Be Done with the Mutant Menace? Part 1: The Lack of an Ending

A. D. Jameson — Mon, 19 May 2014 20:00:32 +0000

A curious yet distinguishing feature of the X-Men family of comics is their lack of an origin story, typically an essential element in superhero comics. Usually, the superhero’s identity and power is formed by a… [more]

Spider-Man Was Never Just the “Loveable Loser”

David Mann — Fri, 02 May 2014 11:00:54 +0000

“Yes siree, things are sure looking up for my favorite couple of guys–namely, me!”—ASM #12 Quick: what’s Spider-Man really all about, in one sentence? With most major superheroes, someone might have to pause a second… [more]

“The Final Chapter!”: Peter Parker, Steve Ditko, and the Greatest Spider-Man Story Ever Told

Paul Jaissle — Thu, 01 May 2014 11:00:24 +0000

It was clear from his first appearance in 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15 that Spider-Man was a very different character than any of the other super-heroes battling for justice on the newsstands at the time. Unlike… [more]

Spider-Man and Science: Exactly Who is Responsible Enough for Great Power?

Ian Dawe — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:00:21 +0000

Who is Responsible Enough for Great Power?" title="Spider-Man and Science: Exactly Who is Responsible Enough for Great Power?" style="float:left;" />Spider-Man is kind of unique amongst superheroes in his relationship with science. No, not the science of how he actually swings on those webs without dislocating his shoulders or ripping his arms out of their… [more]

“‘Cause It’s Witchcraft, Wicked Witchcraft”: Wicked, Broadway, and Revisionist Super-Heroes

Greg Carpenter — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 11:00:40 +0000

Wicked, Broadway, and Revisionist Super-Heroes" title="“‘Cause It’s Witchcraft, Wicked Witchcraft”: Wicked, Broadway, and Revisionist Super-Heroes" style="float:left;" />When you write a weekly column, it doesn’t take long before you find yourself talking about something you don’t know anything about. For me, that moment is now, and I just want to get that… [more]

On Canons, Critics, Consensus, and Comics, Part 3

Greg Carpenter — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:00:57 +0000

This week marks the final installment of our search for a comics canon. As I mentioned in the first column, I recently conducted a survey of the people who contribute to Sequart. A total of 25… [more]

On Canons, Critics, Consensus, and Comics, Part 2

Greg Carpenter — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:00:35 +0000

As I explained in last week’s column, I recently asked my fellow Sequart contributors to answer the following question: “What are the 10 greatest works in the history of the comics medium, and who are the… [more]

Who is Don Blake?

Paul O'Connor — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 12:00:41 +0000

Thor returns to cinemas this week, in the second installment of an improbably successful film franchise that has made Chris Hemsworth into a worldwide movie star and familiarized millions with the titular norse thunder god.… [more]

How “Tales of Asgard” Changed Everything

Julian Darius — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 12:00:17 +0000

In Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug 1962), Donald Blake finds a magical walking stick that transforms him into Thor. It’s a rather inauspicious beginning. In that first story, Thor fights stone-skinned aliens, who simply land… [more]

Imperialistic Themes in the Galactus Triology

Mark Ginocchio — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:00:13 +0000

The first appearance of the cosmic entity Galactus in Fantastic Four #48 in 1966 is marked by a simple, yet ominous declaration: “This planet [Earth] shall sustain me until it has been drained of all… [more]

On Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe

Colin Smith — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:00:03 +0000

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe" title="On Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, by Sean Howe" style="float:left;" />Sean Howe begins his history of Marvel Comics in 1961 with publisher Martin Goodman ordering Stan Lee to produce a knock-off of rival DC’s new and successful Justice League of America. As Howe puts it,… [more]

On the Ethics of How and Why Hank Pym Created a Wasp (Part 2)

Colin Smith — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:00:11 +0000

By design and chance, Tales to Astonish #44 had presented a fledgling romance between Pym and Van Dyne which had the potential to constantly and plausibly generate both conflict and reconciliation over and over again.… [more]

On Stan Lee and H.E. Huntley’s the Wasp and Ant-Man (1963 to 1966)

Colin Smith — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 11:00:30 +0000

Suddenly, Ant-Man’s wife was dead. Killed by the Reds some years before, no less, and apparently with at the very least the connivance of the Hungarian branch of that fiendish Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist-Maoist ungodly, transnational conspiracy. There’d… [more]

X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 2

Colin Smith — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:00:19 +0000

X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 2" title="X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 2" style="float:left;" />In the wake of their first public appearance, the X-Men appear to have been briefly embraced by the American people. Having defeated Magneto’s attempt to seize the U.S. military base of “Cape Citadel”, Cyclops and… [more]

X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 1

Colin Smith — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:00:18 +0000

X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 1" title="X-Men #1-19 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et al (1963-66), Part 1" style="float:left;" />In a profoundly reactionary society, even a gentle and sincere challenge to the status quo can be read as a significant marker of dissent. When that dissent is expressed in a medium and a form… [more]

On Iron Man in 1963, by Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby

Colin Smith — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 14:00:16 +0000

Why should we care about Tony Stark? More importantly, why should we pity him? The Reds have done for his heart, it’s true, and he can never remove the super-scientific chest plate that ensures that it keeps… [more]

On Wally Wood and Stan Lee’s Daredevil #7

Colin Smith — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:00:33 +0000

Daredevil #7" title="On Wally Wood and Stan Lee’s Daredevil #7" style="float:left;" />The years steam past, the comics pile up, and the canon for any single moment of time soon collapses to a ridiculously over-simplified, back-of-a-Trivial-Pursuit-card answer. The facts of the Marvel Revolution of the Sixties have… [more]

Consumption Junction

Gene Phillips — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:54 +0000

Human activity is not entirely reducible to processes of production and conservation, and consumption must be divided into two distinct parts. The first reducible part is represented by the use of the minimum necessary for… [more]

Stan Lee, Presented (Part 3)

Gene Phillips — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:57 +0000

In Part 2 of this discussion of editor / writer Stan Lee’s contribution to the creative process in the era of Silver-Age Marvel Comics, I argued that Lee had done far more than just dialogue… [more]

Stan Lee, Presented (Part 2)

Gene Phillips — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:42 +0000

In the previous installment of “Stan Lee, Presented,” I argued that Stan Lee had functioned as a “truly creative editor” during his tenure as editor/writer at Marvel Comics. I argued that the process by which… [more]

Stan Lee, Presented

Gene Phillips — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:00:40 +0000

“A creative producer is very involved with the writing, even though he does not do the screenplay and is not the author of the original material. You work with the writer, you guide the writer,… [more]

News From Yesteryear

Bryan Miller — Wed, 28 Jan 2004 16:56:45 +0000

Lee Entangled In Alliteration Of His Own Devising For Five Hours (1968) Work in the Marvel offices grinded to a halt last Thursday when famed funnybook frontman Stan Lee became entangled in a labyrinthine alliteration… [more]

Comics News from Yesteryear

Bryan Miller — Mon, 03 Nov 2003 15:53:31 +0000

Salutations, all, and welcome to a special edition of New Comics Day. Rather than slaving away drunkenly at a computer trying to come up with new material, I spent several hours drunkenly culling through the… [more]

Media Coverage of Comic Books: The Case of 60 Minutes II

Julian Darius — Wed, 30 Oct 2002 12:00:33 +0000

60 Minutes II" title="Media Coverage of Comic Books: The Case of 60 Minutes II" style="float:left;" />Tonight, I watched 60 Minutes II because I read online that Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, popular hero for returning (or contributing to the return of) Marvel Comics to greatness (or something closer), would be on the… [more]

X-Men is Not an Allegory of Racial Tolerance

Julian Darius — Wed, 25 Sep 2002 11:00:11 +0000

X-Men is Not an Allegory of Racial Tolerance" title="X-Men is Not an Allegory of Racial Tolerance" style="float:left;" />It’s funny that it’s so resoundingly universally accepted. It’s been repeated so many times, from everyone from fans and comics professionals to scholars, that it’s become an article of faith. X-Men is about racial tolerance,… [more]

The Cult of the Writer

Julian Darius — Sun, 25 Aug 2002 11:00:33 +0000

One of the major phenomena occurring in American comic books in the last two decades has been the cult of the writer, often in competition with the cult of the artist or illustrator. Various years… [more]

Against Silver Age Marvel, the Cult of Stan Lee, and Fantastic Four (Annual) #1 / For Comic Books as Literary Art

Julian Darius — Mon, 13 May 2002 11:00:04 +0000

Fantastic Four (Annual) #1 / For Comic Books as Literary Art" title="Against Silver Age Marvel, the Cult of Stan Lee, and Fantastic Four (Annual) #1 / For Comic Books as Literary Art" style="float:left;" />To this day, one hears otherwise intelligent comic book creators saying that they want to recapture the joy of reading Fantastic Four #1, of its fun and its newness. This always shocks me, especially when it… [more]