1
00:00:23,607 --> 00:00:25,859
Hi, I'm Stan Lee.
2
00:00:25,943 --> 00:00:30,697
Editor of the Marvel Comics Group
of superhero comic magazines.
3
00:00:31,949 --> 00:00:36,578
Comic books have been a big business
for the past 25 years,
4
00:00:36,662 --> 00:00:38,830
and they are bigger than ever today.
5
00:00:39,748 --> 00:00:43,502
With this in mind, you'll be interested
to know that the Marvel Comics Group
6
00:00:43,585 --> 00:00:45,379
is the acknowledged leader
7
00:00:45,462 --> 00:00:49,758
in monthly sales of all comic magazines
published today.
8
00:00:50,092 --> 00:00:54,096
Our superheroes are the kind of people
that you or I would be
9
00:00:54,179 --> 00:00:55,973
if we had a super power,
10
00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:59,935
which sets them apart from
all other superheroes published today
11
00:01:00,018 --> 00:01:04,773
and seems to be the reason that they're
actually far more popular than any others.
12
00:01:09,987 --> 00:01:14,324
Every one of us are a product
of all the things we've experienced,
13
00:01:14,700 --> 00:01:17,327
seen, read, and heard in our lives.
14
00:01:17,828 --> 00:01:21,331
So, when I write,
I'm remembering things that happened.
15
00:01:22,624 --> 00:01:24,585
Those things become part of the story.
16
00:01:29,506 --> 00:01:33,218
One day, I was trying to think
of a new superhero
17
00:01:34,636 --> 00:01:37,139
and I saw a fly crawling on a wall.
18
00:01:41,643 --> 00:01:46,023
And I thought, "Gee, wouldn't it be
something if a hero could stick to walls
19
00:01:46,106 --> 00:01:47,733
"and move on them like an insect."
20
00:01:50,485 --> 00:01:56,533
I decided I wanted somebody who every one
of the readers could identify with.
21
00:01:58,327 --> 00:02:01,788
If I had superhuman powers,
wouldn't I still have to worry
22
00:02:01,872 --> 00:02:05,500
about making a living
or having my dates like me?
23
00:02:07,961 --> 00:02:13,842
{\an8}What I tried to do was write the kind
of stories I would want to read,
24
00:02:13,926 --> 00:02:16,762
{\an8}and sometimes I had to buck a trend
to do that.
25
00:02:18,972 --> 00:02:22,851
I think perseverance
plays such a great part of it.
26
00:02:23,435 --> 00:02:26,396
If you think you've got it,
you just mustn't give up.
27
00:02:27,564 --> 00:02:30,943
You gotta just keep working at it,
hoping sooner or later
28
00:02:32,778 --> 00:02:34,863
somebody will recognize what you've done.
29
00:03:12,776 --> 00:03:19,366
December 28th was a very important date
for me in the year 1922.
30
00:03:20,576 --> 00:03:22,077
That's when I was born.
31
00:03:23,203 --> 00:03:27,916
On the West Side of Manhattan,
on 98th Street and West End Avenue.
32
00:03:30,294 --> 00:03:33,338
My name was Stanley Martin Lieber.
33
00:03:35,674 --> 00:03:38,844
{\an8}My parents came to New York
from Eastern Europe,
34
00:03:39,970 --> 00:03:42,806
and they used to like
to take photographs of me.
35
00:03:42,890 --> 00:03:45,893
They didn't have a camera,
but there were people in the neighborhood.
36
00:03:46,143 --> 00:03:48,812
I think you'd pay them a dime
at that time.
37
00:03:49,021 --> 00:03:53,025
They would have a little pony with them,
and they put the little kid on the pony.
38
00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:56,778
(CHUCKLES) So, I had more photos
of myself taken on ponies.
39
00:03:57,613 --> 00:04:01,617
I did have a brother
who was born nine years after me.
40
00:04:01,700 --> 00:04:04,411
His name is Larry and he's a great guy,
41
00:04:04,494 --> 00:04:07,581
but unfortunately, I was nine years older,
42
00:04:07,789 --> 00:04:10,584
so it was tough to pal around with him.
43
00:04:11,710 --> 00:04:13,086
I loved reading.
44
00:04:13,837 --> 00:04:15,130
I think I was born reading,
45
00:04:15,214 --> 00:04:17,925
I mean, I can't remember a time
when I wasn't reading.
46
00:04:19,176 --> 00:04:23,013
I loved Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan,
The Hardy Boys,
47
00:04:23,388 --> 00:04:28,185
King Arthur and his Knights, The Odyssey,
everything I could get my hands on.
48
00:04:28,894 --> 00:04:31,647
My mother said
I would read the labels on ketchup bottles
49
00:04:31,730 --> 00:04:33,440
if there was nothing else around.
50
00:04:36,568 --> 00:04:39,321
We didn't have any money.
It was during the Depression.
51
00:04:40,948 --> 00:04:43,158
The one thing I wanted was a bicycle.
52
00:04:44,368 --> 00:04:47,120
And finally,
my folks scraped up enough money
53
00:04:47,204 --> 00:04:49,122
and they bought me this two-wheeler.
54
00:04:50,749 --> 00:04:55,212
And, man, I felt as though
I could go anywhere on that bike.
55
00:04:56,129 --> 00:04:57,589
I had been freed.
56
00:05:21,989 --> 00:05:26,410
I used to go to the movies
and I'd see Errol Flynn on the screen.
57
00:05:28,245 --> 00:05:31,123
He played Robin Hood, Captain Blood.
58
00:05:31,790 --> 00:05:33,208
He was always a hero.
59
00:05:36,086 --> 00:05:37,629
I wanted to be Errol Flynn.
60
00:05:42,593 --> 00:05:44,386
And I would leave the theater
61
00:05:44,469 --> 00:05:48,265
and ride my bike
over the George Washington Bridge,
62
00:05:48,348 --> 00:05:50,684
which goes from Manhattan to New Jersey.
63
00:05:51,185 --> 00:05:55,981
And it was such a triumphant feeling
to ride across the bridge.
64
00:05:56,940 --> 00:06:00,027
And I knew
I was gonna become somebody important.
65
00:06:04,031 --> 00:06:05,949
NARRATOR: Again,
we bring you another chapter
66
00:06:06,033 --> 00:06:08,577
of Edgar Rice Burroughs' amazing history
67
00:06:08,660 --> 00:06:10,704
of Tarzan of the Apes.
68
00:06:11,205 --> 00:06:13,832
The astounding record of a superman
who became the...
69
00:06:13,916 --> 00:06:17,586
STAN: My father was a great guy,
but he had trouble getting a job.
70
00:06:18,337 --> 00:06:19,796
He had been a dress cutter,
71
00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,799
and there were just no jobs apparently
for dress cutters.
72
00:06:23,467 --> 00:06:26,220
And so, he was unemployed
most of the time.
73
00:06:27,638 --> 00:06:30,807
My earliest memories
are just him sitting home,
74
00:06:30,891 --> 00:06:33,268
reading the want ads in the newspaper.
75
00:06:34,436 --> 00:06:38,023
I always felt tremendous pity for him.
76
00:06:38,607 --> 00:06:43,237
It must be a terrible feeling
to just not be bringing in the money
77
00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:44,947
that's needed for your family.
78
00:06:46,198 --> 00:06:51,078
To me, it seemed as if having a good job,
a steady job,
79
00:06:51,161 --> 00:06:54,665
was the greatest success
a person could attain,
80
00:06:54,748 --> 00:06:57,668
only because my father never had one.
81
00:06:59,336 --> 00:07:02,464
That's one of the reasons
I started working at an early age.
82
00:07:03,590 --> 00:07:06,051
I got a job as an office boy,
83
00:07:06,134 --> 00:07:10,806
at the second largest
trouser manufacturer.
84
00:07:10,889 --> 00:07:15,185
They had millions of salesmen,
and whenever they wanted a glass of water,
85
00:07:15,269 --> 00:07:17,688
or they wanted someone
to sharpen a pencil,
86
00:07:17,771 --> 00:07:19,773
they would yell, "Boy!"
87
00:07:20,357 --> 00:07:23,318
and whichever one of us was closer
had to come running,
88
00:07:23,402 --> 00:07:25,362
and I resented the fact
89
00:07:25,445 --> 00:07:28,782
that they never took the trouble
to learn my name.
90
00:07:30,075 --> 00:07:33,370
Like, a week before Christmas,
they told me I have to leave
91
00:07:33,912 --> 00:07:35,247
and, oh, I was burned up.
92
00:07:36,456 --> 00:07:39,167
But if they hadn't fired me,
I might have stayed there
93
00:07:39,710 --> 00:07:44,423
and I might have made my life
working in trousers. I was lucky.
94
00:07:48,385 --> 00:07:51,096
{\an8}There was a general rush. Bank deposits...
95
00:07:52,347 --> 00:07:53,987
SPORTS ANNOUNCER: And Owens wins again...
96
00:07:54,099 --> 00:07:55,517
MAN ON TV: Oh, the humanity...
97
00:08:04,067 --> 00:08:08,488
STAN: Writing was always fun. In fact,
I remember I was a very corny guy.
98
00:08:08,572 --> 00:08:12,618
I had a little briefcase
and I loved carrying it with me
99
00:08:12,701 --> 00:08:15,871
when I walked in the streets
so people would think I was a writer.
100
00:08:15,954 --> 00:08:17,873
You know, a little thin briefcase.
101
00:08:19,166 --> 00:08:21,793
When I graduated high school,
I had an uncle
102
00:08:21,877 --> 00:08:23,712
and he worked for a publisher,
103
00:08:23,795 --> 00:08:27,341
and he told me that
they were looking for an assistant.
104
00:08:28,091 --> 00:08:31,261
And I figured, "Gee, I'm going to apply."
So I went up there,
105
00:08:32,846 --> 00:08:35,265
and I found out
they also published comic books.
106
00:08:35,349 --> 00:08:37,851
They had an outfit called Timely Comics,
107
00:08:38,477 --> 00:08:40,854
and they hired me to run errands,
108
00:08:40,938 --> 00:08:44,525
{\an8}to proof-read,
fill the inkwell, whatever had to be done.
109
00:08:46,568 --> 00:08:50,239
{\an8}I didn't really have any intention
to be working in comics,
110
00:08:50,322 --> 00:08:51,823
but it was a job.
111
00:08:53,158 --> 00:08:55,953
There were two guys,
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby,
112
00:08:56,036 --> 00:08:57,454
who were running the thing.
113
00:08:57,538 --> 00:09:02,751
Joe Simon was the boss
and he walked around puffing a big cigar
114
00:09:02,834 --> 00:09:06,463
and he talked in a very deep voice,
and he was great. I liked him.
115
00:09:06,547 --> 00:09:08,131
He had a lot of personality.
116
00:09:08,215 --> 00:09:10,509
And Jack would sit hunched over
the drawing board
117
00:09:10,592 --> 00:09:12,636
and do most of the actual artwork.
118
00:09:13,929 --> 00:09:16,932
{\an8}I asked Stan how old he was.
He says, "17."
119
00:09:17,015 --> 00:09:20,310
{\an8}So we gave him a job there.
He was the gofer, you know.
120
00:09:20,435 --> 00:09:23,063
{\an8}And he'd go out and get coffee.
121
00:09:23,730 --> 00:09:26,942
STAN: I would ask Jack, "You comfortable?
Do you want some more ink?
122
00:09:27,025 --> 00:09:29,403
"Is your brush okay?
Is the pencil all right?"
123
00:09:29,486 --> 00:09:31,780
And he would yell at me for a while.
124
00:09:31,864 --> 00:09:34,241
And that was the way we spent our days.
125
00:09:35,325 --> 00:09:37,953
{\an8}SIMON: He drove Jack Kirby crazy.
126
00:09:38,704 --> 00:09:41,248
He had a little instrument.
A piccolo?
127
00:09:41,623 --> 00:09:46,128
And he played this thing all day.
And Kirby would tell him to shut up.
128
00:09:46,378 --> 00:09:48,422
And Stan would keep playing.
129
00:09:50,632 --> 00:09:54,344
STAN: We had The Human Torch
and The Sub-Mariner and The Patriot
130
00:09:54,428 --> 00:09:56,513
and The Angel and The Destroyer.
131
00:09:57,472 --> 00:10:01,059
{\an8}But the main character we had
was Captain America.
132
00:10:02,436 --> 00:10:05,564
{\an8}From the very beginning,
we were very much affected
133
00:10:05,647 --> 00:10:08,609
{\an8}by what was going on
in the world around us.
134
00:10:09,109 --> 00:10:13,488
{\an8}Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
were doing stories of Captain America
135
00:10:13,572 --> 00:10:15,991
battling Hitler and the Nazis
136
00:10:16,074 --> 00:10:20,370
{\an8}even before America
had gotten into the war.
137
00:10:20,454 --> 00:10:23,957
{\an8}Captain America came from the need
for a patriotic character
138
00:10:24,041 --> 00:10:27,669
{\an8}because the times at that time
were in a patriotic stir.
139
00:10:27,753 --> 00:10:31,340
{\an8}The war was coming on
and the war clouds were gathering
140
00:10:32,090 --> 00:10:34,843
{\an8}and so Captain America
had to come into existence.
141
00:10:37,971 --> 00:10:40,349
STAN: I came in in 1939,
142
00:10:41,391 --> 00:10:43,143
and it was such a small place
143
00:10:43,227 --> 00:10:46,063
that Jack Kirby and Joe
couldn't keep up with all the stories.
144
00:10:46,688 --> 00:10:49,149
And they said, "Hey,
could you help us write a story or two?"
145
00:10:49,233 --> 00:10:52,653
When you're 16, what do you know.
I said, "Sure, I could do it."
146
00:10:58,867 --> 00:11:00,744
When I started doing comics,
147
00:11:00,869 --> 00:11:05,165
I figured I would just do them
for a little while and get some experience
148
00:11:05,249 --> 00:11:07,960
and I thought
one day I'll be a big time writer
149
00:11:08,043 --> 00:11:10,462
and maybe I'll write
the Great American Novel.
150
00:11:11,588 --> 00:11:14,383
I always, in the back of my mind,
liked comics,
151
00:11:14,466 --> 00:11:16,760
but I never considered that real writing.
152
00:11:17,928 --> 00:11:20,889
I said, "I'm not going to use my name
for these silly comics."
153
00:11:21,473 --> 00:11:23,600
And I thought, "I need a pen name."
154
00:11:26,770 --> 00:11:30,315
So, I just took my first name,
Stanley, and I cut it in two
155
00:11:30,399 --> 00:11:32,526
and I signed "Stan Lee."
156
00:11:32,609 --> 00:11:34,903
And the first story that I wrote
was called
157
00:11:34,987 --> 00:11:37,698
"Captain America
and the Traitor's Revenge."
158
00:11:39,449 --> 00:11:43,579
And what happened was,
everybody started to know me as Stan Lee
159
00:11:43,662 --> 00:11:46,081
{\an8}and nobody knew me anymore
as Stanley Lieber.
160
00:11:47,291 --> 00:11:49,418
{\an8}It was like my alter ego.
161
00:12:00,596 --> 00:12:02,973
(RADIO CRACKLING AND SWITCHING STATIONS)
162
00:12:03,056 --> 00:12:05,350
SPORTS ANNOUNCER:
And the champion Yankees roar!
163
00:12:10,647 --> 00:12:13,775
STAN: After a while,
Joe and Jack left Timely Comics
164
00:12:14,484 --> 00:12:17,946
and the publisher looked around
at his vast empire,
165
00:12:18,030 --> 00:12:21,033
and he saw this one skinny kid
with a broom in one hand
166
00:12:21,116 --> 00:12:22,492
and a typewriter in the other
167
00:12:22,576 --> 00:12:25,162
and he said,
"Hey, where's the rest of my staff?"
168
00:12:25,245 --> 00:12:26,330
And I said, "I'm it."
169
00:12:26,455 --> 00:12:28,832
He said, "Somebody's gotta
edit these books."
170
00:12:28,916 --> 00:12:32,044
He said, "Stan, can you hold down the job
till I get somebody else?"
171
00:12:32,127 --> 00:12:34,046
And I said, "Okay, I'll take it."
172
00:12:34,129 --> 00:12:37,841
So, he went off into the outside world
to seek another editor,
173
00:12:37,925 --> 00:12:40,928
and I was now Stan Lee,
boy editor pro tem.
174
00:12:42,012 --> 00:12:45,766
And that was it, I became the editor,
and I think he forgot to hire somebody
175
00:12:45,849 --> 00:12:47,726
because I remained the editor.
176
00:12:47,809 --> 00:12:50,229
So at 17, I was really running the place.
177
00:12:51,271 --> 00:12:54,733
And since I was my own writer
and my own editor,
178
00:12:54,816 --> 00:12:57,069
I didn't have much to change.
179
00:12:57,152 --> 00:13:00,614
So I was able to get these stories
moving very fast.
180
00:13:06,662 --> 00:13:08,830
{\an8}FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT:
Since the unprovoked
181
00:13:09,706 --> 00:13:12,125
and dastardly attack
182
00:13:12,543 --> 00:13:15,921
by Japan on Sunday,
183
00:13:16,004 --> 00:13:19,675
December 7th, 1941,
184
00:13:20,467 --> 00:13:22,386
a state of war
185
00:13:23,428 --> 00:13:25,305
has existed
186
00:13:26,056 --> 00:13:27,891
between the United States
187
00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:30,561
and the Japanese Empire.
188
00:13:31,478 --> 00:13:33,480
STAN: Like an idiot, I volunteered.
189
00:13:34,773 --> 00:13:39,111
I felt it was my duty. It was a big war.
And I wanted to be like Errol Flynn.
190
00:13:39,194 --> 00:13:40,821
I wanted to be a hero.
191
00:13:41,446 --> 00:13:43,740
But before they could send me overseas,
192
00:13:43,824 --> 00:13:46,577
they found out I had worked
for this comic book company.
193
00:13:47,286 --> 00:13:49,413
The next thing I know, I got transferred
194
00:13:49,496 --> 00:13:52,082
to Astoria, Queens, in New York,
195
00:13:52,165 --> 00:13:53,959
where they had a film unit
196
00:13:54,042 --> 00:13:59,173
where they did training films
and instructional books for the troops.
197
00:14:00,465 --> 00:14:03,260
Funny thing. I didn't know this
until after the war ended.
198
00:14:03,343 --> 00:14:07,431
I looked at my army discharge and it said
Army occupation, it said playwright.
199
00:14:08,348 --> 00:14:12,686
They were having a big problem
training finance officers quickly enough.
200
00:14:12,769 --> 00:14:15,606
The men overseas
weren't getting paid on time
201
00:14:15,689 --> 00:14:18,775
'cause there weren't enough
payroll officers to pay them.
202
00:14:18,859 --> 00:14:22,696
So I was asked,
could I rewrite the finance textbooks
203
00:14:22,779 --> 00:14:25,532
to make the training period shorter?
204
00:14:25,616 --> 00:14:29,578
I rewrote the finance textbooks
using comic strips.
205
00:14:30,537 --> 00:14:34,499
We were able to shorten
the training period for finance officers
206
00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:36,919
from six months to six weeks.
207
00:14:38,170 --> 00:14:39,838
It was then I realized
208
00:14:39,922 --> 00:14:44,051
that comic books
can have a tremendous impact.
209
00:14:44,676 --> 00:14:47,679
You can convey a story or information
210
00:14:47,763 --> 00:14:52,392
faster, more clearly, and more enjoyably,
than any other way,
211
00:14:52,476 --> 00:14:54,019
short of motion pictures.
212
00:15:09,576 --> 00:15:12,746
STAN: After the Army, I went back
to the comic book company.
213
00:15:13,163 --> 00:15:15,707
Started doing
what I had been doing all the time.
214
00:15:16,875 --> 00:15:19,878
I had a cousin
and he was in the hat business.
215
00:15:21,046 --> 00:15:24,550
And one day, he said, there was a model,
a hat model,
216
00:15:24,633 --> 00:15:26,718
at this place, named Betty.
217
00:15:26,802 --> 00:15:29,888
He thought I'd really like her
and she might like me.
218
00:15:29,972 --> 00:15:33,058
So, I went up to this hat model place,
219
00:15:33,809 --> 00:15:35,602
and somebody opened the door.
220
00:15:36,854 --> 00:15:39,147
{\an8}I remember it very clearly.
221
00:15:39,231 --> 00:15:41,275
{\an8}He came to the door and he was...
222
00:15:41,692 --> 00:15:42,943
He had his raincoat
223
00:15:43,610 --> 00:15:44,862
thrown over his shoulder.
224
00:15:44,945 --> 00:15:46,655
Joan opened the door.
225
00:15:46,738 --> 00:15:49,741
Now, she was not the girl
that I was supposed to meet.
226
00:15:49,825 --> 00:15:51,994
But she was the head model there.
And she was...
227
00:15:52,077 --> 00:15:54,079
She opened the door and said...
228
00:15:54,162 --> 00:15:55,163
Hello!
229
00:15:56,456 --> 00:15:57,457
And he said,
230
00:15:59,918 --> 00:16:04,798
"Hello, I think
I'm going to fall in love with you."
231
00:16:06,175 --> 00:16:07,342
STAN: I couldn't believe it.
232
00:16:07,843 --> 00:16:12,055
She had this beautiful English accent.
And I'm a real Anglophile.
233
00:16:12,681 --> 00:16:14,725
An English accent knocks me out.
234
00:16:14,808 --> 00:16:16,768
And she was gorgeous.
235
00:16:17,436 --> 00:16:18,437
JOAN: I thought,
236
00:16:19,104 --> 00:16:21,607
"This one I can't let get away."
237
00:16:22,316 --> 00:16:24,026
It was really love at first sight.
238
00:16:38,248 --> 00:16:40,042
(PEOPLE CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
239
00:16:44,922 --> 00:16:47,216
STAN: At the time,
we were known as Atlas Comics
240
00:16:47,299 --> 00:16:49,718
and we were just publishing
what everybody else did.
241
00:16:49,801 --> 00:16:53,055
If western books were good,
we published a thousand westerns.
242
00:16:53,138 --> 00:16:54,306
If romance books were in,
243
00:16:54,389 --> 00:16:56,850
we published a million romance books,
and so forth.
244
00:16:56,934 --> 00:16:58,477
We just followed the trends.
245
00:16:59,144 --> 00:17:03,190
We did war stories, romance stories,
humor stories,
246
00:17:03,815 --> 00:17:06,485
little funny animal
animated comic stories.
247
00:17:07,528 --> 00:17:10,405
We were grinding out magazines
like confetti,
248
00:17:11,281 --> 00:17:12,991
and we did that for years.
249
00:17:13,075 --> 00:17:16,995
At one point, we were churning out
almost a hundred magazines a month.
250
00:17:19,206 --> 00:17:22,960
As a kid, all I wanted was a steady job,
251
00:17:24,878 --> 00:17:26,964
and now I had one.
252
00:17:28,841 --> 00:17:31,593
{\an8}Writing came very easily to me.
253
00:17:31,677 --> 00:17:35,597
{\an8}And in those early days,
it was a fun way to make money.
254
00:17:36,265 --> 00:17:39,852
I was getting paid as an editor,
art director, and head writer,
255
00:17:40,435 --> 00:17:44,857
but any stories that I wrote
I got paid for on a freelance basis.
256
00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,985
So as the editor, I bought all my stories.
257
00:17:49,444 --> 00:17:52,239
My wife and I,
we were a little bit extravagant.
258
00:17:52,990 --> 00:17:54,867
We lived right up to whatever I made,
259
00:17:55,784 --> 00:17:59,121
and I was and am
very much in love with her.
260
00:17:59,788 --> 00:18:01,540
So whatever Joanie wanted, I'd say,
261
00:18:01,623 --> 00:18:04,835
"That's fine, honey, I'll write
another story tonight to pay for it."
262
00:18:05,377 --> 00:18:07,713
Not only her, anytime I wanted something.
263
00:18:07,796 --> 00:18:09,298
I want a new car.
264
00:18:09,381 --> 00:18:12,551
Okay. I'll write a couple of stories,
that'll take care of the down payment,
265
00:18:12,634 --> 00:18:15,971
and I'll keep writing stories
every time the payments come due.
266
00:18:16,722 --> 00:18:20,475
I was always writing the stories
to keep up with what we were doing.
267
00:18:20,559 --> 00:18:24,021
It was like having a tiger by the tail.
But we loved living that way.
268
00:18:30,903 --> 00:18:33,071
(OLDIES MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
269
00:18:37,743 --> 00:18:40,996
In those days,
comics weren't thought of very highly.
270
00:18:41,914 --> 00:18:45,042
I remember we'd go to parties
and somebody would walk over to me
271
00:18:45,125 --> 00:18:46,460
and say, "What do you do?"
272
00:18:46,543 --> 00:18:50,047
And I tried not to say, and I would say,
"Oh, I'm a writer,"
273
00:18:50,130 --> 00:18:52,925
and I'd walk away,
but the person would follow me,
274
00:18:53,008 --> 00:18:54,426
"Well, what do you write?"
275
00:18:54,510 --> 00:18:56,762
And I'd say,
"Oh, stories for young people."
276
00:18:56,845 --> 00:19:00,265
Walk away further.
Follow me, "What kind of stories?"
277
00:19:00,349 --> 00:19:02,768
"Magazine stories." "Well, what magazine?"
278
00:19:02,851 --> 00:19:05,938
At some point, I had to say comic books,
279
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,734
and the person who had been
interrogating me would, "Oh, I see,"
280
00:19:10,817 --> 00:19:13,403
and turn around and leave me, you know.
281
00:19:17,908 --> 00:19:20,619
MAN: Reading.
What a wonderful thing this would be
282
00:19:20,702 --> 00:19:22,829
if they were reading something worthwhile.
283
00:19:22,913 --> 00:19:24,915
But they're not reading
anything constructive,
284
00:19:24,998 --> 00:19:28,585
they're reading stories
devoted to adultery, to sexual perversion,
285
00:19:28,669 --> 00:19:31,505
to horror,
to the most despicable of crimes.
286
00:19:34,258 --> 00:19:37,219
STAN: In those days,
we had to submit the comics
287
00:19:37,302 --> 00:19:40,639
to a self-censorship organization
288
00:19:40,722 --> 00:19:43,267
that had been set up by the publishers.
289
00:19:43,350 --> 00:19:46,353
It was called the Comics Code Authority.
290
00:19:46,436 --> 00:19:49,565
All the books we published
had to be presented to them
291
00:19:49,648 --> 00:19:52,317
and they would make certain
there was nothing in them
292
00:19:52,401 --> 00:19:54,820
that would ruin the youth of America.
293
00:20:01,702 --> 00:20:04,872
People thought of comics
as being just for little kids.
294
00:20:06,623 --> 00:20:10,168
{\an8}And they were written and drawn
with that in mind.
295
00:20:11,378 --> 00:20:13,505
{\an8}In those days,
you're reading a comic book,
296
00:20:13,589 --> 00:20:15,465
{\an8}and it could really be any superhero,
297
00:20:15,549 --> 00:20:17,134
and he's walking down the street
298
00:20:17,217 --> 00:20:20,137
and he's got his little colorful
long underwear suit on,
299
00:20:20,220 --> 00:20:23,056
and he sees a big, bug-eyed monster
coming toward him,
300
00:20:23,140 --> 00:20:26,894
and his dialogue would have been something
the equivalent of,
301
00:20:26,977 --> 00:20:29,688
"Oh, a creature from another planet.
302
00:20:30,105 --> 00:20:33,483
"I had better capture him
before he destroys the world."
303
00:20:36,445 --> 00:20:39,656
{\an8}My publisher, Martin Goodman,
he used to say to me,
304
00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:43,744
{\an8}"Remember, Stan, don't use words
of more than two syllables.
305
00:20:43,827 --> 00:20:46,914
"Don't have too much dialogue.
Get a lot of action.
306
00:20:46,997 --> 00:20:48,999
"Don't worry about characterization."
307
00:20:49,583 --> 00:20:52,127
After a while, I really wanted to quit.
308
00:20:54,963 --> 00:20:59,051
For the best motion picture,
The Apartment, Billy Wilder.
309
00:20:59,134 --> 00:21:00,135
(WOMEN VOCALIZING)
310
00:21:01,094 --> 00:21:04,723
Ask not what your country
can do for you...
311
00:21:07,226 --> 00:21:09,686
STAN: I always felt
I was really wasting time.
312
00:21:09,770 --> 00:21:14,066
I felt okay, so I'm making a living
with selling comics,
313
00:21:14,900 --> 00:21:19,279
but there are people building bridges
and people doing medical research
314
00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:22,616
{\an8}and people doing things that matter.
315
00:21:24,451 --> 00:21:28,163
And I'm writing
these stupid little fantasy stories.
316
00:21:29,998 --> 00:21:31,500
I always felt, you know,
317
00:21:31,583 --> 00:21:33,752
how could a grown man
be doing comic books?
318
00:21:34,670 --> 00:21:37,965
And he just felt that
he can't just go on doing this...
319
00:21:38,048 --> 00:21:39,800
What he thought was childish stuff.
320
00:21:40,884 --> 00:21:43,303
And then I said to him,
321
00:21:43,387 --> 00:21:47,307
"Well, why don't you create characters
that you like?"
322
00:21:47,391 --> 00:21:49,434
"The worst that'll happen is
you'll get fired
323
00:21:49,518 --> 00:21:50,936
"and you want to quit anyway.
324
00:21:51,019 --> 00:21:52,312
"Get it out of your system."
325
00:21:53,313 --> 00:21:58,527
At that time, Martin Goodman had found out
that our competitor, DC Comics,
326
00:21:58,610 --> 00:22:01,321
they had done a book
called The Justice League of America.
327
00:22:01,405 --> 00:22:04,157
A group of superheroes,
and it was selling very well.
328
00:22:04,741 --> 00:22:07,160
And he said to me,
"Stan, why don't you do a book
329
00:22:07,244 --> 00:22:09,454
"about a group of superheroes?"
330
00:22:09,538 --> 00:22:12,499
So I figured this is my chance
to do it my way.
331
00:22:16,086 --> 00:22:17,713
So I went home and wrote.
332
00:22:19,089 --> 00:22:22,384
It occurred to me that it might be fun
to put out the kind of stories
333
00:22:22,467 --> 00:22:24,178
that I would enjoy reading myself,
334
00:22:24,261 --> 00:22:27,181
rather than just writing for
the eight or nine-year-old.
335
00:22:27,472 --> 00:22:30,893
{\an8}By that time,
Jack Kirby had come back.
336
00:22:31,226 --> 00:22:35,314
{\an8}So I said, "Jack, wouldn't it be fun
if we have good guys
337
00:22:35,397 --> 00:22:39,109
"who occasionally fall on their faces,
who occasionally make mistakes,
338
00:22:39,193 --> 00:22:41,820
"trip at the last minute
and let the bad guy get away?
339
00:22:41,904 --> 00:22:45,365
"Wouldn't it be nice to have bad guys
that you could almost relate to
340
00:22:45,449 --> 00:22:48,827
"and feel, 'Ah, well, you know,
maybe I'd have done the same thing
341
00:22:48,911 --> 00:22:50,621
"'if I was in his position?'"
342
00:22:51,705 --> 00:22:57,211
MAN: Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
343
00:22:59,087 --> 00:23:01,715
STAN: That was really
the start of everything.
344
00:23:04,134 --> 00:23:09,389
I came up with four superheroes
I called The Fantastic Four.
345
00:23:09,473 --> 00:23:12,142
See what happened,
they all went in a rocket ship
346
00:23:13,227 --> 00:23:16,146
and they were affected by cosmic rays.
347
00:23:16,230 --> 00:23:19,900
And the cosmic rays
gave them superhuman abilities.
348
00:23:21,276 --> 00:23:24,029
And yet I tried to be realistic about it.
349
00:23:25,155 --> 00:23:28,116
The hero wasn't just a perfect guy,
350
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,078
he was a fellow like me.
He talks too much.
351
00:23:31,161 --> 00:23:33,080
He was always boring the others,
352
00:23:33,163 --> 00:23:36,667
because one of the other guys
was always saying, "Will you shut up?"
353
00:23:36,750 --> 00:23:42,089
And instead of an obligatory female,
who doesn't know who the hero really is,
354
00:23:42,172 --> 00:23:44,675
she was the hero's fiancée,
355
00:23:44,758 --> 00:23:49,388
and she also had a super power
that was as good as anyone else's.
356
00:23:51,056 --> 00:23:54,560
The teenager in the group
didn't want to be a superhero.
357
00:23:55,853 --> 00:23:58,063
{\an8}Like I would have been
when I was a teenager.
358
00:23:58,146 --> 00:24:01,191
{\an8}He wanted to go out with girls
and ride his sport car.
359
00:24:01,275 --> 00:24:05,112
And the fourth guy was a monster.
Something had happened to him,
360
00:24:05,195 --> 00:24:07,948
and he became very ugly
and incredibly strong.
361
00:24:08,031 --> 00:24:11,869
And I used him for both pathos and humor.
362
00:24:11,952 --> 00:24:14,246
He was always fighting with the others,
363
00:24:14,329 --> 00:24:17,916
and he was always picking on
the Human Torch that was a teenager,
364
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,378
who was always picking on him,
and I got a lot of comedy out of them.
365
00:24:21,837 --> 00:24:25,799
Instead of having them live
in a fictional place
366
00:24:25,883 --> 00:24:28,510
like Metropolis or Gotham City,
367
00:24:28,594 --> 00:24:31,013
I plunked 'em right down in New York City.
368
00:24:31,513 --> 00:24:34,683
Because I knew New York City,
I could write about New York City,
369
00:24:34,766 --> 00:24:37,102
and I figured
why not let 'em live in a real place?
370
00:24:37,769 --> 00:24:39,271
And one day it occurred to me,
371
00:24:39,354 --> 00:24:42,816
it would be fun to show
that they lost all their money.
372
00:24:42,900 --> 00:24:46,069
I don't think that had ever happened
in any other comic book,
373
00:24:46,153 --> 00:24:49,740
where a superhero group
got kicked out of their headquarters
374
00:24:49,823 --> 00:24:51,533
'cause they couldn't pay the rent.
375
00:24:52,326 --> 00:24:56,163
I tried to keep everything
as realistic as possible
376
00:24:56,246 --> 00:24:59,541
even though it was
just a superhero comic.
377
00:25:06,340 --> 00:25:09,843
For the first decade or two,
at the comic book company
378
00:25:09,927 --> 00:25:13,639
we never received fan mail, and I was sure
these books are being published
379
00:25:13,722 --> 00:25:16,183
and destroyed somewhere,
and that's the end of it.
380
00:25:16,266 --> 00:25:17,726
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)
381
00:25:17,809 --> 00:25:19,770
I'm exaggerating.
382
00:25:19,853 --> 00:25:22,856
About once a year we'd get a letter,
somebody would write,
383
00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:26,485
"Hey, I bought one of your books
and there's a staple missing.
384
00:25:26,568 --> 00:25:27,778
"I want my money back."
385
00:25:28,820 --> 00:25:31,615
But all of a sudden,
with The Fantastic Four,
386
00:25:31,698 --> 00:25:34,701
{\an8}we really got mail, we really had readers
who said something.
387
00:25:36,036 --> 00:25:39,456
We were getting write-ups
in newspapers and magazines,
388
00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:42,042
and people were asking me
to do interviews.
389
00:25:42,709 --> 00:25:46,171
I began to realize
we have a whole new audience.
390
00:25:47,339 --> 00:25:50,008
At that time
we were calling the company Atlas.
391
00:25:50,467 --> 00:25:52,094
I said we gotta get a new name,
392
00:25:52,177 --> 00:25:55,305
these aren't the same things
we were doing before.
393
00:25:56,098 --> 00:25:58,934
And Martin and I
came up with the name Marvel.
394
00:26:00,686 --> 00:26:02,312
{\an8}That had been the name
395
00:26:02,396 --> 00:26:04,815
of the first comic book
he had ever done,
396
00:26:04,898 --> 00:26:07,693
and I thought it was a great word.
397
00:26:07,776 --> 00:26:10,904
There's so much you can do
with the word Marvel,
398
00:26:10,988 --> 00:26:15,742
{\an8}I used expressions like
"Remember, gang, make mine marvel,"
399
00:26:15,826 --> 00:26:19,329
{\an8}or "Welcome to
The Marvel age of comics!"
400
00:26:19,413 --> 00:26:21,290
Or "Marvel moves on."
401
00:26:21,373 --> 00:26:24,334
I mean, it's the kind of name
you can do a lot with.
402
00:26:25,377 --> 00:26:27,713
That's when everything changed for us.
403
00:26:29,590 --> 00:26:33,969
I've started realizing, to most people
the most important thing
404
00:26:34,052 --> 00:26:38,140
is being entertained,
getting pleasure out of something.
405
00:26:39,975 --> 00:26:42,144
And then, I realized
it applies to me, too.
406
00:26:44,021 --> 00:26:48,483
And I figured maybe what I'm doing
isn't really unimportant.
407
00:26:49,026 --> 00:26:53,697
Maybe entertainment
is one of the most important things,
408
00:26:53,780 --> 00:26:57,159
because there are so many bad things
in the world,
409
00:26:57,242 --> 00:27:01,246
that if you can entertain somebody
for a while, it's a good thing.
410
00:27:11,507 --> 00:27:14,885
So then, instead of quitting,
like I wanted to,
411
00:27:14,968 --> 00:27:19,890
I decided that I could make
a big difference writing superhero books.
412
00:27:20,432 --> 00:27:22,518
I thought I could have
a lot of fun with this
413
00:27:22,601 --> 00:27:24,645
and get some real writing in it.
414
00:27:24,728 --> 00:27:27,189
And I used the philosophy of
415
00:27:27,272 --> 00:27:30,108
what would I like to read
if I were reading a book.
416
00:27:32,027 --> 00:27:36,532
When I was a kid, one of the books
that I read was Jekyll and Hyde.
417
00:27:37,741 --> 00:27:40,953
So I wanted to take from Jekyll and Hyde
418
00:27:41,036 --> 00:27:44,998
where he could change
from a normal person into the monster.
419
00:27:48,126 --> 00:27:52,297
And I always liked the Frankenstein movie,
the old one with Karloff.
420
00:27:52,881 --> 00:27:55,342
I always felt the monster
is really the good guy.
421
00:27:55,425 --> 00:27:56,885
He didn't wanna hurt anybody.
422
00:27:58,011 --> 00:28:00,222
So I thought it would be fun
to get a monster
423
00:28:00,305 --> 00:28:03,225
who was really a good guy,
but nobody knew that.
424
00:28:05,102 --> 00:28:07,896
And I remember the conversation
I had with Jack Kirby,
425
00:28:07,980 --> 00:28:10,774
and I said,
"Jack, we're gonna do a monster
426
00:28:10,858 --> 00:28:14,528
"but I want you to draw me
a sympathetic monster.
427
00:28:14,611 --> 00:28:18,365
"Kind of, a good-looking monster
that a reader can take to."
428
00:28:18,448 --> 00:28:23,036
And as I said it, I realized how stupid
it sounded, but Jack never failed.
429
00:28:25,205 --> 00:28:26,498
{\an8}Hulk's in all of us.
430
00:28:27,249 --> 00:28:30,294
{\an8}I don't think monsters zero in
on anyone in particular.
431
00:28:30,377 --> 00:28:35,424
{\an8}I think that's why they are
generally pitied more than feared.
432
00:28:35,883 --> 00:28:38,886
I felt that monsters, in some way,
had problems.
433
00:28:39,553 --> 00:28:43,098
Monsters, in human or inhuman form,
are inevitably involved
434
00:28:43,182 --> 00:28:46,977
in some sort of conflict
in which anybody can get hurt.
435
00:28:49,021 --> 00:28:51,440
If you read any dramatic news story,
436
00:28:51,523 --> 00:28:55,444
you'll find that the most dramatic part
about 'em was that
437
00:28:55,903 --> 00:28:57,654
inside a human being
438
00:28:57,738 --> 00:29:01,742
there are some sort of problems
that we're constantly trying to solve.
439
00:29:03,076 --> 00:29:07,456
STAN: One of life's great lessons
that I have learned is,
440
00:29:07,539 --> 00:29:12,502
{\an8}don't try to please a certain segment
of the public, don't try to please them,
441
00:29:13,295 --> 00:29:16,006
'cause you don't really know them,
nobody knows them,
442
00:29:16,673 --> 00:29:18,217
but you know yourself.
443
00:29:18,717 --> 00:29:20,469
Try to please yourself.
444
00:29:20,552 --> 00:29:22,763
At least that's what happened to us
at Marvel.
445
00:29:22,846 --> 00:29:26,808
We started writing stories that amused us.
446
00:29:26,892 --> 00:29:28,894
We started to say,
"Hey, wouldn't it be fun
447
00:29:28,977 --> 00:29:32,189
"if we, you know, had a green-skinned
monster and we call him the Hulk"?
448
00:29:32,272 --> 00:29:35,317
Wow, you know,
and we forgot about the audience.
449
00:29:35,859 --> 00:29:37,319
We forgot about the public.
450
00:29:37,402 --> 00:29:41,156
We suddenly started having fun.
The artists and me.
451
00:29:54,878 --> 00:29:58,257
{\an8}I came to New York in '63.
452
00:29:59,299 --> 00:30:04,555
{\an8}And I went on job interviews,
and one of them was meeting Stan,
453
00:30:05,097 --> 00:30:09,518
{\an8}and he needed a gal Friday,
which meant secretary,
454
00:30:09,601 --> 00:30:12,354
{\an8}only you couldn't type
or take shorthand.
455
00:30:14,022 --> 00:30:19,278
Stan was always an upbeat person,
even maybe when sales weren't going well.
456
00:30:19,361 --> 00:30:22,573
You know, if someone was in trouble,
he always gave them a break.
457
00:30:22,656 --> 00:30:26,243
On the deadline, or they needed money.
458
00:30:26,326 --> 00:30:29,413
I never saw him angry.
459
00:30:30,831 --> 00:30:33,584
Not a whiner, not a complainer.
460
00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:36,753
If something's wrong, "Let's fix it."
461
00:30:38,881 --> 00:30:42,801
The job entailed opening the fan mail,
462
00:30:42,885 --> 00:30:46,263
and then making little cards
and sending cards to the kids.
463
00:30:47,931 --> 00:30:49,141
Then, of course,
464
00:30:49,224 --> 00:30:52,603
superheroes started getting bigger
so there was more mail.
465
00:30:54,146 --> 00:30:57,858
{\an8}You know, people were actually
spending time writing these letters.
466
00:30:59,151 --> 00:31:03,614
It sort of developed gradually,
that there was such a movement.
467
00:31:03,697 --> 00:31:05,782
{\an8}You know, the kids were so interested.
468
00:31:06,533 --> 00:31:08,368
{\an8}We were getting so many letters.
469
00:31:08,452 --> 00:31:12,039
Stan said,
"Maybe we should have a little fan club."
470
00:31:12,581 --> 00:31:16,126
We started
The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
471
00:31:16,585 --> 00:31:20,797
You got a little card, you got a button,
472
00:31:21,006 --> 00:31:24,384
probably some stickers
and a little record.
473
00:31:25,302 --> 00:31:28,555
They got a record
of The Merry Marvel Marching Society.
474
00:31:32,392 --> 00:31:36,355
Okay, out there in Marvel-land,
face front, this is Stan Lee speaking.
475
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,233
You've probably never heard
a record like this before,
476
00:31:39,316 --> 00:31:41,527
because no one would be nutty enough
to make one
477
00:31:41,610 --> 00:31:43,403
with a bunch of offbeat artists,
478
00:31:43,487 --> 00:31:45,113
so anything is liable to happen.
479
00:31:45,531 --> 00:31:47,741
KIRBY: Hey, who made you
a Disc Jockey, Lee?
480
00:31:47,824 --> 00:31:51,119
STAN: Well, well, Jolly Jack Kirby.
Say a few words to the fans, Jackson.
481
00:31:51,203 --> 00:31:52,746
KIRBY: Okay, a few words.
482
00:31:53,330 --> 00:31:56,041
STAN: Look, pal, I'll take care
of the humor around here.
483
00:31:56,124 --> 00:31:59,670
KIRBY: You? You've been using
the same gags over and over for years.
484
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,673
STEINBERG: Oh, Stan?
Do you have a few minutes?
485
00:32:02,756 --> 00:32:04,758
STAN: For our fabulous gal Friday?
486
00:32:04,842 --> 00:32:07,261
Sure, say hello to the fans,
Flo Steinberg.
487
00:32:07,344 --> 00:32:10,347
STEINBERG: Hello, fans,
it's very nice to meet you.
488
00:32:10,430 --> 00:32:11,431
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
489
00:32:11,515 --> 00:32:13,326
STAN: Hey.
What's all that commotion out there?
490
00:32:13,350 --> 00:32:14,977
KIRBY: Why, it's shy Steve Ditko.
491
00:32:15,060 --> 00:32:17,479
He heard you're making a record
and he's got mic fright.
492
00:32:17,563 --> 00:32:20,190
- STAN: Out the window again?
- (GLASS BREAKING)
493
00:32:20,315 --> 00:32:22,776
You know, I'm beginning to think
he is Spider-Man.
494
00:32:23,193 --> 00:32:27,281
MAN: (SINGING) You belong, you belong
You belong, you belong
495
00:32:27,364 --> 00:32:31,034
To the Merry Marvel Marching Society
496
00:32:31,118 --> 00:32:35,706
March along, march along
To the song of the Merry...
497
00:32:36,373 --> 00:32:40,252
Shall I tell you a little bit,
a very little bit, 'cause it can get dull,
498
00:32:40,335 --> 00:32:42,337
even duller than what you've been hearing,
499
00:32:42,421 --> 00:32:45,382
about the way we write
and draw these scripts?
500
00:32:45,966 --> 00:32:49,469
In the beginning,
I was writing just about all the stories,
501
00:32:49,553 --> 00:32:54,391
and as we kept adding book after book,
I couldn't keep up with all the artists,
502
00:32:54,474 --> 00:32:57,561
{\an8}so I'd be writing a script,
let's say, for Jack Kirby.
503
00:32:57,644 --> 00:33:00,063
{\an8}Suddenly, Steve Ditko
would walk in and he'd say,
504
00:33:00,147 --> 00:33:02,941
"Hey, Stan, I finished my last job,
I need another one."
505
00:33:03,025 --> 00:33:05,611
So, out of sheer desperation
I said to him,
506
00:33:05,694 --> 00:33:09,907
"Let me just give you a plot,
you go on home and draw it,
507
00:33:09,990 --> 00:33:12,159
"any way you want. Bring it in to me,
508
00:33:12,242 --> 00:33:15,245
"and I'll put in the dialogue
and the captions."
509
00:33:15,329 --> 00:33:17,331
It started as an emergency measure,
510
00:33:17,414 --> 00:33:21,710
but I began to realize,
this is a great way to do it.
511
00:33:23,879 --> 00:33:27,007
Very often in the office
when I'm describing a scene or something,
512
00:33:27,090 --> 00:33:28,800
I'd go storming around the office,
513
00:33:28,884 --> 00:33:31,970
and I would think anybody
looking in on a story conference
514
00:33:32,054 --> 00:33:36,141
at our place would think they're watching
some silent movie being filmed.
515
00:33:36,225 --> 00:33:37,744
STEINBERG: When an artist would come in
516
00:33:37,768 --> 00:33:40,062
and they would be working
on the plot together,
517
00:33:40,145 --> 00:33:42,814
they would act it out
and Stan would jump on the desk
518
00:33:42,898 --> 00:33:46,693
and run around on the desk, and you know,
act the part of the superhero.
519
00:33:46,777 --> 00:33:49,696
They would brainstorm
and there'd be all this noise.
520
00:33:49,780 --> 00:33:51,281
Sometimes if I were on the phone,
521
00:33:51,365 --> 00:33:54,910
I'd have to yell in there,
"Keep it down, keep it down."
522
00:33:55,410 --> 00:33:58,288
STAN: Jack and I have gotten to work
so well together,
523
00:33:58,372 --> 00:34:01,875
that our plotting session
will be something like,
524
00:34:01,959 --> 00:34:06,505
"Hey, in the next Fantastic Four, Jack,
let's let the villain be Doctor Doom."
525
00:34:06,588 --> 00:34:09,258
"Where did he come from?
Where did we leave off with him?"
526
00:34:09,341 --> 00:34:12,719
And I'll say, "Oh, yeah, he was fading off
into another universe.
527
00:34:12,803 --> 00:34:14,721
"Find some way
to bring him back, Jack,
528
00:34:14,805 --> 00:34:17,683
"and then we'll have him attack
the Fantastic Four, and then,
529
00:34:17,766 --> 00:34:21,270
"let's let the story end with him
running off
530
00:34:21,353 --> 00:34:23,397
"and eloping with Sue Storm or something."
531
00:34:24,273 --> 00:34:26,358
Jack will say "Fine" and he goes off,
532
00:34:26,441 --> 00:34:28,694
and by the time
he brings the artwork back,
533
00:34:28,777 --> 00:34:30,445
it might be that particular plot
534
00:34:30,529 --> 00:34:33,073
or he might have changed
fifty million things.
535
00:34:33,866 --> 00:34:36,743
So he doesn't know
exactly what I'm gonna write,
536
00:34:36,827 --> 00:34:38,620
what words I'm gonna put in their mouths.
537
00:34:38,704 --> 00:34:43,959
I don't know what he's gonna draw.
The whole thing is virtual chaos.
538
00:34:44,042 --> 00:34:47,629
But somehow when it gets together,
it seems to hold together pretty well,
539
00:34:47,713 --> 00:34:49,590
and we kinda like working this way.
540
00:34:50,465 --> 00:34:52,801
It isn't the artist,
it isn't the writer.
541
00:34:52,885 --> 00:34:54,720
It's the artist and the writer.
542
00:34:54,803 --> 00:34:56,513
It's pictures and stories,
543
00:34:56,597 --> 00:35:01,435
and when they blend together perfectly,
then you've got a great comic.
544
00:35:04,354 --> 00:35:09,193
Working that way as a team,
it became known as the Marvel Method.
545
00:35:18,785 --> 00:35:23,749
Joan and I, we got a little apartment
in New York on 94th Street.
546
00:35:24,374 --> 00:35:26,210
We stayed there for a year or two.
547
00:35:26,919 --> 00:35:28,670
And then, Joan got pregnant.
548
00:35:29,379 --> 00:35:32,466
We decided we ought to move to a house
to have the baby
549
00:35:32,549 --> 00:35:34,009
and we moved to Long Island.
550
00:35:37,012 --> 00:35:40,140
We got a little house,
and we could just barely afford it.
551
00:35:41,975 --> 00:35:44,394
{\an8}We had a daughter, Joan C. Lee.
552
00:35:45,270 --> 00:35:49,066
We're so vain!
We decided to name our daughter Joan,
553
00:35:49,149 --> 00:35:52,444
and if we had had a son,
we'd have called him Stan.
554
00:35:53,529 --> 00:35:56,949
In fact, we did have another baby,
a girl, we couldn't call her Stan,
555
00:35:57,032 --> 00:36:03,497
so called her Jan, but unfortunately,
she died a few hours after she was born,
556
00:36:04,665 --> 00:36:06,708
and Joan couldn't have any other kids,
557
00:36:08,502 --> 00:36:11,296
so we spoiled Joan rotten.
558
00:36:12,756 --> 00:36:14,925
{\an8}I think she's a mixture of both of us.
559
00:36:15,008 --> 00:36:16,260
{\an8}She's very talented.
560
00:36:17,594 --> 00:36:21,682
{\an8}Think it's difficult being a child
of two such strong parents,
561
00:36:21,765 --> 00:36:24,184
{\an8}I think that's always difficult,
and we are.
562
00:36:25,310 --> 00:36:27,312
STAN: After a while we called her J.C.
563
00:36:27,396 --> 00:36:30,190
'cause our daughter's name
was Joan C. Lee.
564
00:36:30,315 --> 00:36:33,735
The C standing for Celia,
which was my mother's name.
565
00:36:34,194 --> 00:36:36,530
And Joanie was Joan B. Lee.
566
00:36:40,784 --> 00:36:43,871
My wife and I are really so close.
567
00:36:43,954 --> 00:36:47,040
She's the greatest.
I mean, she's an incredible woman.
568
00:36:47,666 --> 00:36:52,629
My wife, I think, is incredibly beautiful,
smart, charming, fun to be with.
569
00:36:52,713 --> 00:36:56,425
When we used to dance,
I let her lead. She was so good.
570
00:36:56,508 --> 00:36:58,051
I tried to keep up with her.
571
00:36:58,135 --> 00:37:01,763
So I tried to put those qualities
in all the women I wrote about.
572
00:37:02,472 --> 00:37:09,021
Mary Jane, for example, was very peppy
and effervescent and kinda hip and cool.
573
00:37:09,730 --> 00:37:10,898
That was my wife.
574
00:37:11,857 --> 00:37:13,192
She's the perfect wife for me
575
00:37:13,275 --> 00:37:17,362
because I spend so much time writing
when I'm home,
576
00:37:18,071 --> 00:37:23,035
and Joanie, she can always keep
herself busy, which is wonderful.
577
00:37:23,118 --> 00:37:26,163
So I don't feel guilty
when I'm in my room writing.
578
00:37:28,457 --> 00:37:31,376
JOAN: He's a vanishing breed.
There are no men like Stan today.
579
00:37:31,460 --> 00:37:33,962
He's an endangered species.
One has to protect him.
580
00:37:34,046 --> 00:37:36,256
Because he's blessed
with tremendous energy.
581
00:37:36,340 --> 00:37:38,133
He's an ever straight man.
582
00:37:38,258 --> 00:37:40,219
Doesn't take booze,
doesn't smoke cigarettes.
583
00:37:40,302 --> 00:37:41,637
And gets up every day and says,
584
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:44,097
"Thank God this arm works,
and this leg works,
585
00:37:44,181 --> 00:37:45,349
"and life is great."
586
00:37:45,432 --> 00:37:47,518
He's been a very good husband.
587
00:37:48,477 --> 00:37:50,917
INTERVIEWER: So, what's your secret
for a successful marriage?
588
00:37:51,438 --> 00:37:54,024
JOAN: He's my best friend
and I'm his best friend...
589
00:37:54,107 --> 00:37:56,235
- liking each other.
- Okay.
590
00:37:56,485 --> 00:37:58,904
You know, it isn't that kind of
oh, love, love, love.
591
00:37:58,987 --> 00:38:01,782
Kids kinda fall in love and think
you're gonna be in bed all day.
592
00:38:01,865 --> 00:38:04,076
That's not what marriage is.
Marriage is like a farm.
593
00:38:04,159 --> 00:38:07,329
You have to get up every day
and work at it every single day.
594
00:38:07,621 --> 00:38:11,917
He's still the most amazing person
I've ever met in my life.
595
00:38:18,882 --> 00:38:21,093
(ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO)
596
00:38:21,176 --> 00:38:22,219
(RADIO STATIONS SWITCHING)
597
00:38:22,302 --> 00:38:25,430
MAN ON RADIO: The early teens are
years of upheaval and turmoil.
598
00:38:28,225 --> 00:38:29,661
REPORTER: Do you think that teenagers
599
00:38:29,685 --> 00:38:31,937
are any different today
from how they used to be?
600
00:38:32,563 --> 00:38:33,564
Yes, I do.
601
00:38:34,231 --> 00:38:37,943
Do you think teenagers today are better
or worse than they used to be?
602
00:38:38,026 --> 00:38:39,361
I think they're worse.
603
00:38:40,028 --> 00:38:45,951
Today, we've come to a time in history
when there definitely is a generation gap.
604
00:38:46,034 --> 00:38:49,788
TEEN BOY: There is a teenage world,
you know. If the adults don't like it
605
00:38:49,872 --> 00:38:51,915
{\an8}that's only because
they don't want a part of it.
606
00:38:51,999 --> 00:38:53,959
STAN: Anything that can be done
607
00:38:54,042 --> 00:38:58,463
to help present the point of view
of these young people
608
00:38:58,547 --> 00:39:01,300
without hostility, with respect,
609
00:39:01,383 --> 00:39:03,677
would be a very beneficial thing.
610
00:39:05,470 --> 00:39:07,431
When I was 17-years-old,
611
00:39:07,639 --> 00:39:10,559
I was an editor, art director,
and head writer,
612
00:39:11,518 --> 00:39:15,480
but at that time,
the teenager wasn't respected.
613
00:39:15,564 --> 00:39:17,983
So I figured, hell, I'm gonna change that.
614
00:39:18,775 --> 00:39:21,904
Why not have a teenager who's a hero?
615
00:39:21,987 --> 00:39:24,406
Why couldn't a teenager
have a super power?
616
00:39:24,489 --> 00:39:25,574
I loved that idea.
617
00:39:28,410 --> 00:39:31,705
I felt that I would like to, for once,
618
00:39:31,788 --> 00:39:37,169
do a strip about a teenager
who isn't a sidekick, but he is the hero.
619
00:39:37,878 --> 00:39:41,256
And I wanna make him like a real teenager.
620
00:39:41,340 --> 00:39:44,551
He's not a guy who can do anything
and never has a problem.
621
00:39:45,844 --> 00:39:47,638
But I had to come up with a name.
622
00:39:49,306 --> 00:39:54,770
As a kid, I had loved a pulp magazine
named The Spider.
623
00:39:55,145 --> 00:39:59,024
The most dramatic thing I could think of,
the cover of this magazine,
624
00:39:59,107 --> 00:40:03,612
it said, "The Spider: Master of Men."
625
00:40:03,695 --> 00:40:06,448
Somehow, to me, at the age of nine,
626
00:40:07,199 --> 00:40:09,493
"Master of Men, oh, I'd love to be a..."
627
00:40:09,576 --> 00:40:12,079
You know, who wouldn't want to be
a master of men?
628
00:40:12,162 --> 00:40:13,914
{\an8}And he had a ring,
629
00:40:13,997 --> 00:40:18,544
{\an8}and he'd punch a bad guy in the face
and it had a little spider on the ring,
630
00:40:18,627 --> 00:40:22,047
and it would leave a spider mark
on the guy's jaw.
631
00:40:24,049 --> 00:40:26,051
That name always stuck with me.
632
00:40:29,179 --> 00:40:31,014
Then I thought why not Spider-Man?
633
00:40:32,432 --> 00:40:34,393
(TYPEWRITER CLACKING)
634
00:40:45,612 --> 00:40:48,407
I walked in to the publisher
Martin Goodman
635
00:40:48,490 --> 00:40:51,201
and I said "I have an idea for a book
called Spider-Man
636
00:40:51,285 --> 00:40:54,204
"about a teenager
who has a lot of problems."
637
00:40:54,705 --> 00:40:57,875
This time, Martin wouldn't go along
with me, he said, "Stan,
638
00:40:58,375 --> 00:40:59,835
"I'm surprised at you.
639
00:40:59,918 --> 00:41:05,090
"And a hero can't be a teenager.
A teenager can only be a sidekick.
640
00:41:05,174 --> 00:41:08,093
"And you say you want him
to have problems?
641
00:41:08,177 --> 00:41:10,429
"Don't you know what a superhero is?"
642
00:41:12,639 --> 00:41:15,309
He was the boss
and I couldn't put Spider-Man out.
643
00:41:18,353 --> 00:41:22,316
But I just felt I had
to get it out of my system.
644
00:41:23,692 --> 00:41:26,612
Months later,
we had a book we were going to kill
645
00:41:26,695 --> 00:41:29,281
called Amazing Fantasy.
646
00:41:29,364 --> 00:41:30,866
When you drop a book,
647
00:41:30,949 --> 00:41:34,578
nobody cares what you put in
the last issue, 'cause you're killing it.
648
00:41:34,953 --> 00:41:37,539
So just to get it out of my system,
649
00:41:37,623 --> 00:41:40,125
I put Spider-Man
and I feature him on the cover.
650
00:41:41,376 --> 00:41:43,837
I'm lucky
Martin didn't fire me on the spot.
651
00:41:44,630 --> 00:41:45,964
But in that story,
652
00:41:46,340 --> 00:41:50,594
I tried to heap as many problems
as I could on poor Peter Parker.
653
00:41:50,677 --> 00:41:56,308
Because I feel most people, even people
who seem to be happy, have problems.
654
00:41:57,017 --> 00:42:00,395
Spider-Man's got
the strength of 25 men
655
00:42:00,479 --> 00:42:05,317
and can walk on walls and swing
from building to building on his own web,
656
00:42:05,692 --> 00:42:08,612
but he still can't go out
and chase a villain
657
00:42:08,695 --> 00:42:12,491
because his old Aunt May says,
"It's raining out
658
00:42:12,574 --> 00:42:15,077
"and you might catch cold.
Better stay home tonight."
659
00:42:15,869 --> 00:42:19,456
I had not read any other superheroes
660
00:42:19,540 --> 00:42:23,460
who felt they wished
they could quit being a superhero.
661
00:42:24,127 --> 00:42:27,756
I made him a guy
who is very introspective.
662
00:42:27,840 --> 00:42:30,968
He questions, "Why am I doing this?"
663
00:42:34,012 --> 00:42:35,556
The book went on sale.
664
00:42:35,639 --> 00:42:38,517
Later, when the sales figures came in,
665
00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:41,395
Martin came running into my office,
he said, "Stan!
666
00:42:41,478 --> 00:42:45,774
"Do you remember that character of yours,
Spider-Man, that we both liked so much?
667
00:42:46,525 --> 00:42:48,443
"Why don't you do a series of him?"
668
00:42:52,114 --> 00:42:55,158
After that, I felt I can do anything.
669
00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:05,752
There were always good artists around.
670
00:43:06,879 --> 00:43:09,923
Jack and Steve, both were terribly unique.
671
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:16,555
Conceptually, Jack's artwork
is very much like a good, exciting movie.
672
00:43:16,638 --> 00:43:23,103
Jack has a way of hitting the high point,
visually, in every situation he's drawing.
673
00:43:23,187 --> 00:43:26,565
{\an8}He'll draw the extreme of that situation.
674
00:43:26,648 --> 00:43:30,360
Whatever is the most exciting element,
he will draw that.
675
00:43:30,444 --> 00:43:34,489
{\an8}And consequently his artwork
is always fascinating to watch.
676
00:43:36,575 --> 00:43:41,455
Steve Ditko, he drew characters,
in many ways, the opposite of Jack.
677
00:43:41,538 --> 00:43:45,375
Steve's artwork, I always felt,
was very low-key
678
00:43:45,459 --> 00:43:49,630
and he had a way
of telling a story realistically.
679
00:43:49,713 --> 00:43:52,382
After a while, you'd forget
you're reading a comic book
680
00:43:52,466 --> 00:43:54,593
and you'd think this was really happening.
681
00:43:55,928 --> 00:43:59,890
Jack Kirby was probably
the greatest comic book artist around,
682
00:43:59,973 --> 00:44:03,310
and I wanted Jack, originally,
to do the Spider-Man,
683
00:44:03,393 --> 00:44:05,771
but I didn't want Spider-Man
to look heroic.
684
00:44:05,854 --> 00:44:09,066
I wanted him to be just
a typical nebbishy kind of guy,
685
00:44:09,191 --> 00:44:10,859
and I mentioned that to Jack,
686
00:44:10,943 --> 00:44:15,155
but Jack was so used to drawing
Captain America and characters like that.
687
00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:18,450
When he gave me the first couple of pages,
I said, "No, that...
688
00:44:18,534 --> 00:44:20,285
"You got him looking too heroic."
689
00:44:20,369 --> 00:44:23,705
So I gave the strip to Steve.
It didn't matter to Jack.
690
00:44:23,789 --> 00:44:25,415
Nobody knew it would be a big strip
691
00:44:25,499 --> 00:44:27,751
and Jack was busy
doing all the other books.
692
00:44:27,834 --> 00:44:30,045
Steve was just perfect for it.
693
00:44:30,128 --> 00:44:33,340
He got that feeling of an average guy
694
00:44:33,423 --> 00:44:35,801
who turned into a hero
and still had problems.
695
00:44:38,804 --> 00:44:41,390
And lo, a legend was born.
696
00:44:47,312 --> 00:44:50,983
BOY: Here's our special guest, Stan Lee.
697
00:44:51,066 --> 00:44:52,985
How about Spider-Man?
Know about Spider-Man?
698
00:44:53,068 --> 00:44:54,069
KIDS: Yeah.
699
00:44:54,152 --> 00:44:56,071
- How about the Hulk? You know the Hulk?
- Yeah.
700
00:44:56,154 --> 00:44:57,906
Which one is your favorite?
701
00:44:57,990 --> 00:45:01,785
Oh, gee. You know, that's almost like
asking a parent who's his favorite child?
702
00:45:01,869 --> 00:45:03,412
I think I love them all.
703
00:45:03,495 --> 00:45:06,373
But maybe I like Spider-Man
a little bit better,
704
00:45:06,456 --> 00:45:08,458
and maybe
it's because he's just so popular.
705
00:45:08,542 --> 00:45:09,835
BOY: In comics, is it usually
706
00:45:09,918 --> 00:45:13,046
the big, strong, and ugly characters
that are most successful?
707
00:45:14,047 --> 00:45:15,424
No. You know what it is?
708
00:45:15,507 --> 00:45:18,844
It's the ones
that are the most interesting
709
00:45:18,927 --> 00:45:22,389
and the ones that the readers
of comics can most relate to.
710
00:45:22,472 --> 00:45:26,018
It doesn't matter if the character
is ugly, or is handsome,
711
00:45:26,101 --> 00:45:28,478
or is weak, or is strong.
712
00:45:28,562 --> 00:45:32,399
If there's something about the character
that makes you like the character
713
00:45:32,482 --> 00:45:34,651
and care about the character,
714
00:45:34,735 --> 00:45:38,238
the word for that is,
you have to empathize with the character.
715
00:45:39,698 --> 00:45:43,827
Why do there have to be superheroes
and what makes a good one?
716
00:45:43,911 --> 00:45:47,164
What ingredients does it take to have
like a Spider-Man or a Superman?
717
00:45:47,247 --> 00:45:48,832
The one important thing is empathy.
718
00:45:48,916 --> 00:45:51,668
It has to be a superhero
the reader cares about.
719
00:45:51,752 --> 00:45:54,379
One thing we've tried to do at Marvel,
720
00:45:54,463 --> 00:45:58,884
we have tried to have superheroes
that are more realistic,
721
00:45:58,967 --> 00:46:00,177
more flesh and blood
722
00:46:00,260 --> 00:46:04,139
and it prepares the young reader
for the fact that
723
00:46:04,223 --> 00:46:06,975
- when he gets out into the world...
- MAN: To climb walls.
724
00:46:07,059 --> 00:46:10,771
He realizes that he doesn't expect
his heroes to be perfect.
725
00:46:12,981 --> 00:46:16,109
There was a time
when Spider-Man received a check
726
00:46:16,193 --> 00:46:19,821
as a reward for something he had done,
made out to Spider-Man
727
00:46:19,905 --> 00:46:23,283
and he went to a bank to cash it
in his Spider-Man costume
728
00:46:23,367 --> 00:46:26,370
and the teller said,
"Well, I can't cash this check,
729
00:46:26,453 --> 00:46:28,330
- "I need identification."
- (WOMAN LAUGHS)
730
00:46:28,413 --> 00:46:30,749
And he said, "Oh, I'm wearing
a Spider-Man costume."
731
00:46:30,832 --> 00:46:33,210
He said, "Anybody could wear
a Spider-Man costume."
732
00:46:35,420 --> 00:46:37,589
He was never able to cash the check.
733
00:46:40,217 --> 00:46:45,264
I wanted those books,
more than anything else, to be fun.
734
00:46:45,347 --> 00:46:49,685
And I wanted everything in them
to attract the readers' attention
735
00:46:49,768 --> 00:46:52,437
and to cause the readers to talk.
736
00:46:53,230 --> 00:46:54,773
And I wanted to do whatever I could
737
00:46:54,857 --> 00:46:58,861
to set our books aside
and apart from the rest.
738
00:46:59,611 --> 00:47:01,113
I was just having fun.
739
00:47:01,196 --> 00:47:03,240
Anything I thought of I said,
"That's a good idea.
740
00:47:03,323 --> 00:47:06,118
"I'm gonna write, 'The world's
greatest comic.' What the hell."
741
00:47:06,910 --> 00:47:11,373
INTERVIEWER: You describe what you call
the wild wondrous world of Marvel Comics.
742
00:47:11,456 --> 00:47:13,083
What kind of world is it?
743
00:47:13,166 --> 00:47:17,754
Basically, we think of Marvel Comics
as fairy tales for older people.
744
00:47:17,838 --> 00:47:22,301
Actually, I think what we do mostly
is improve on the old legends, you see.
745
00:47:22,384 --> 00:47:25,304
We take the best of them
and give it a little Marvel touch
746
00:47:25,387 --> 00:47:27,890
and we've got something
really indescribable.
747
00:47:32,186 --> 00:47:36,273
Jack and I had already done
The Hulk and The Fantastic Four.
748
00:47:36,356 --> 00:47:40,819
And I felt, what can we do
to top these other characters?
749
00:47:40,903 --> 00:47:44,239
And it occurred to me,
we hadn't done a god.
750
00:47:44,865 --> 00:47:49,077
Most people had read all about
the Greek gods and the Roman gods
751
00:47:49,161 --> 00:47:53,749
but the Norse Gods weren't as well known.
So I figured
752
00:47:53,832 --> 00:47:55,792
why not do the Norse Gods?
753
00:47:55,876 --> 00:47:58,921
And I thought Thor
was the most dramatic of all
754
00:47:59,004 --> 00:48:03,342
'cause he had that magic hammer,
and he was the most powerful one.
755
00:48:03,425 --> 00:48:06,303
And he was the God of Thunder.
756
00:48:10,724 --> 00:48:12,893
I thought it would just be another book,
757
00:48:12,976 --> 00:48:16,188
and I think that Jack has turned him
into one of the greatest
758
00:48:16,855 --> 00:48:19,608
fictional characters there are.
759
00:48:19,942 --> 00:48:22,945
{\an8}KIRBY: All through the years, certainly,
I've had a kind of affection
760
00:48:23,028 --> 00:48:25,656
{\an8}for any mythological type of character,
761
00:48:25,739 --> 00:48:28,116
and here Stan gave me
the opportunity to draw one
762
00:48:28,200 --> 00:48:31,453
and I wasn't gonna draw back
from really letting myself go.
763
00:48:31,537 --> 00:48:35,249
So I did. And the world
became a stage for me.
764
00:48:35,332 --> 00:48:37,459
I gave the Norse characters twists
765
00:48:37,543 --> 00:48:40,504
that they never had
in anybody's imagination,
766
00:48:40,963 --> 00:48:43,423
and somehow
it turned out to be a lot of fun
767
00:48:43,507 --> 00:48:45,300
and I really enjoyed doing it.
768
00:48:50,347 --> 00:48:53,809
It occurred to us that what we do
is we create our own mythology,
769
00:48:53,892 --> 00:48:55,727
and we create our own universes.
770
00:48:56,770 --> 00:49:00,858
{\an8}One thing I think that we've innovated
that has been pretty successful
771
00:49:00,941 --> 00:49:03,861
{\an8}is overlapping characters and books.
772
00:49:04,361 --> 00:49:07,906
It's like a repertory theatre,
where you've got your actors
773
00:49:07,990 --> 00:49:11,702
and you know what they can do,
and you can use them as needed.
774
00:49:12,077 --> 00:49:16,582
{\an8}Once we have our cast of characters,
whether heroes or villains,
775
00:49:16,665 --> 00:49:19,167
{\an8}it makes it easier for us to base stories,
776
00:49:19,459 --> 00:49:21,587
but we do it because it seems to me that
777
00:49:22,212 --> 00:49:24,631
you enjoy things you're familiar with,
778
00:49:24,715 --> 00:49:27,885
and the readers eventually
get to know these characters,
779
00:49:27,968 --> 00:49:31,889
and they're interested in these characters
and why just get rid of them?
780
00:49:31,972 --> 00:49:35,309
If we have a villain
who fought the Fantastic Four,
781
00:49:35,392 --> 00:49:38,437
why shouldn't he eventually meet
another one of our heroes?
782
00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,523
Or why shouldn't our heroes meet,
as they often do,
783
00:49:41,607 --> 00:49:43,275
and guest star in each other's book?
784
00:49:43,358 --> 00:49:47,362
Because, according to the gospel
as preached by Marvel,
785
00:49:47,446 --> 00:49:49,114
they all live in the same world.
786
00:49:55,412 --> 00:49:58,665
MAN ON RADIO: the US has added up to
$3 billion and 14,000 men...
787
00:49:58,749 --> 00:49:59,789
(RADIO STATIONS SWITCHING)
788
00:49:59,833 --> 00:50:01,953
America's involvement grows deeper
and more dangerous.
789
00:50:02,002 --> 00:50:04,213
STAN: We were very much affected at Marvel
790
00:50:04,296 --> 00:50:07,049
by what was going on
in the world around us,
791
00:50:07,674 --> 00:50:11,011
and in Vietnam
and what was going on at this time.
792
00:50:12,262 --> 00:50:15,724
I think it's a not only indefensible war,
I think it's a ridiculous war.
793
00:50:15,807 --> 00:50:18,769
I agree with the word you used,
I think it's an obscene war.
794
00:50:19,853 --> 00:50:23,941
{\an8}Everybody was against the war.
The kids in those days hated it.
795
00:50:24,024 --> 00:50:25,901
{\an8}(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
796
00:50:35,827 --> 00:50:38,247
We have a character called Iron Man.
797
00:50:39,414 --> 00:50:43,043
He's a guy in a big metal suit
and he's very powerful
798
00:50:43,126 --> 00:50:45,921
and he has little jets
on the bottom of the soles,
799
00:50:46,004 --> 00:50:47,631
which enable him to fly,
800
00:50:47,714 --> 00:50:50,968
and he was supplying weapons
to the United States Army
801
00:50:51,051 --> 00:50:52,886
for the Vietnamese war and so forth.
802
00:50:54,888 --> 00:50:58,267
So, how do you make somebody
really care about a guy like this?
803
00:51:00,894 --> 00:51:02,896
We made him lovable.
804
00:51:02,980 --> 00:51:06,316
He has a weak heart
and he's been injured in battle,
805
00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:08,485
and he really is a good guy.
806
00:51:09,945 --> 00:51:13,740
Our heroes have all sorts
of failings and fallacies.
807
00:51:13,824 --> 00:51:17,911
{\an8}They might lose just as often as win
if they're fighting with a villain.
808
00:51:18,495 --> 00:51:22,499
And our villains are really adorable.
They go right to your hearts.
809
00:51:23,834 --> 00:51:30,048
We learned the villains are usually
at least as popular as the heroes are.
810
00:51:30,132 --> 00:51:31,633
They have a great appeal.
811
00:51:32,301 --> 00:51:35,596
We try to give them
understandable qualities
812
00:51:35,679 --> 00:51:38,015
and reasons
why they are the way they are.
813
00:51:38,098 --> 00:51:40,976
We've even had villains who reformed
and became heroes.
814
00:51:41,059 --> 00:51:43,979
After a while, we don't know
who the heroes and who the villains are.
815
00:51:44,062 --> 00:51:45,522
There's such a fine line.
816
00:51:48,775 --> 00:51:50,319
And that's the real world.
817
00:51:51,236 --> 00:51:53,906
Things aren't just black and white.
818
00:52:01,121 --> 00:52:05,125
What's happening in comics today?
They've grabbed an older readership.
819
00:52:05,209 --> 00:52:08,587
- Yeah!
- At Marvel, we have as many college kids
820
00:52:08,670 --> 00:52:10,923
reading our books
as we have seven-year-olds.
821
00:52:11,006 --> 00:52:13,759
I rarely hold up books,
but this is an interesting book...
822
00:52:13,842 --> 00:52:15,636
- It is.
- Well, let him tell about it.
823
00:52:15,719 --> 00:52:17,387
He's a collector who is impartial.
824
00:52:17,471 --> 00:52:20,933
{\an8}I think that anybody,
and I say this,
825
00:52:21,016 --> 00:52:23,685
{\an8}anybody could get into that book
and get something out of it
826
00:52:23,769 --> 00:52:25,812
and learn something from it.
It is a novel
827
00:52:25,896 --> 00:52:27,898
or a Cecil B. DeMille movie
or anything else,
828
00:52:27,981 --> 00:52:29,733
only it's done with still pictures.
829
00:52:29,816 --> 00:52:33,070
Why do you say he has to learn?
Can't he be entertained by what he reads?
830
00:52:33,153 --> 00:52:35,322
Does he have to read it
like a school book?
831
00:52:35,405 --> 00:52:38,033
Can't you be educated and entertained
at the same time?
832
00:52:38,116 --> 00:52:41,078
{\an8}We found our readers
want to be entertained.
833
00:52:41,161 --> 00:52:44,039
{\an8}They want to lose themselves.
They don't wanna be educated.
834
00:52:44,122 --> 00:52:45,749
{\an8}They don't want anything relevant.
835
00:52:45,832 --> 00:52:49,628
I would not recommend Superman
or Batman to anyone over 12.
836
00:52:49,711 --> 00:52:50,921
They're nice for kids.
837
00:52:51,004 --> 00:52:55,133
Adults have come to believe there's
nothing of value in comics for them,
838
00:52:55,217 --> 00:52:57,052
and there is something of value.
839
00:52:57,135 --> 00:52:59,763
You cannot condemn a medium
on the basis of its format.
840
00:53:00,764 --> 00:53:05,352
STAN: The more I realized
how influential our books were,
841
00:53:05,435 --> 00:53:09,815
the more I tried
to get some moral lessons in the stories.
842
00:53:14,778 --> 00:53:18,907
I don't want to sound
like I'm the most moral guy in the world,
843
00:53:18,991 --> 00:53:23,078
but I always felt there were some issues
that ought to be addressed.
844
00:53:27,875 --> 00:53:31,503
{\an8}One of the things that is terrible
is the fact that
845
00:53:31,587 --> 00:53:34,756
{\an8}so many people dislike
846
00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:37,467
{\an8}and hate other people
847
00:53:37,551 --> 00:53:39,428
{\an8}just because they're different.
848
00:53:42,264 --> 00:53:45,434
I did one story called "The Hate Monger,"
849
00:53:45,976 --> 00:53:49,354
{\an8}and it was really a takeoff
on the Ku Klux Klan.
850
00:53:50,606 --> 00:53:54,359
{\an8}It had to do with a villain
who espoused hatred
851
00:53:54,443 --> 00:53:56,695
of one group of people for another.
852
00:53:58,238 --> 00:54:01,491
I sort of hoped
it would give our readers
853
00:54:01,575 --> 00:54:05,662
the idea that all people
should be treated the same.
854
00:54:06,830 --> 00:54:11,460
We tried to get that point across
in all of the Marvel books.
855
00:54:19,635 --> 00:54:22,304
I wanted to do another superhero group,
856
00:54:23,013 --> 00:54:27,184
and I tried an anti-bigotry theme.
857
00:54:28,060 --> 00:54:31,730
And I thought, how can I give them
some power in a different way?
858
00:54:31,813 --> 00:54:37,110
And then it occurred to me.
We know that mutations exist in life.
859
00:54:37,736 --> 00:54:41,198
There are five-legged frogs
and things like that.
860
00:54:41,323 --> 00:54:46,078
So I'll just give them whatever powers
I want and say they mutated that way.
861
00:54:46,495 --> 00:54:48,622
I called them the X-Men.
862
00:54:48,705 --> 00:54:52,709
And our heroes of the X-Men
are all different from average humans,
863
00:54:52,793 --> 00:54:58,090
and because they're that different,
the general public hates them,
864
00:54:58,173 --> 00:55:02,553
hounds them, harasses them, fears them.
865
00:55:04,847 --> 00:55:09,142
In all of our books,
we try to find some little moral
866
00:55:09,226 --> 00:55:11,144
besides running around and fighting.
867
00:55:11,854 --> 00:55:14,273
We have one character
called the Silver Surfer.
868
00:55:14,356 --> 00:55:16,733
He's a character from another planet
who comes to Earth.
869
00:55:17,276 --> 00:55:19,194
{\an8}Jack is the guy who first drew him.
870
00:55:21,613 --> 00:55:24,074
The Silver Surfer was
always philosophizing
871
00:55:24,157 --> 00:55:26,952
and saying things about humans, such as,
872
00:55:27,035 --> 00:55:31,415
"Don't they realize they live in a planet
that's a veritable garden of Eden?
873
00:55:31,498 --> 00:55:34,001
"Why do they fight
and why are they greedy?
874
00:55:34,084 --> 00:55:35,627
"And why do they have bigotry?
875
00:55:35,711 --> 00:55:37,379
"Why don't they just love each other
876
00:55:37,462 --> 00:55:40,382
"and enjoy this paradise
that they've inherited?"
877
00:55:41,300 --> 00:55:45,137
I believe that the world could be
a much better world
878
00:55:45,220 --> 00:55:46,722
if we treated each other
879
00:55:46,805 --> 00:55:49,391
with a little more consideration
and respect.
880
00:55:50,225 --> 00:55:53,562
If you really want to change things
and make 'em better,
881
00:55:53,645 --> 00:55:57,191
you've gotta plunge in.
You've gotta be a part of the process.
882
00:55:59,067 --> 00:56:01,904
"With great power
comes great responsibility."
883
00:56:06,992 --> 00:56:09,912
I created Black Panther with Jack Kirby.
884
00:56:10,913 --> 00:56:15,250
We just figured that it's about time
we had a Black superhero.
885
00:56:16,710 --> 00:56:21,215
After all, there are many,
many Black American citizens.
886
00:56:23,634 --> 00:56:29,097
I loved the idea of a Black superhero
who lives in Africa
887
00:56:30,599 --> 00:56:34,645
and is the equal
of Reed Richards intellectually.
888
00:56:37,523 --> 00:56:40,359
{\an8}FAN: The reason I called
is to compliment Marvel Comics
889
00:56:40,484 --> 00:56:44,112
{\an8}because they are the only comic books
I've ever seen that have integrated.
890
00:56:44,196 --> 00:56:47,407
{\an8}They recognize the fact that
there are more than one race.
891
00:56:47,491 --> 00:56:51,203
STAN: How can you have stories that are
supposed to take place in today's world
892
00:56:51,286 --> 00:56:53,997
and not include
all the types of people we have
893
00:56:54,081 --> 00:56:56,309
- and the types of situations?
- FAN: Yeah, that's just it.
894
00:56:56,333 --> 00:56:58,961
You have
a racially mixed background in it.
895
00:56:59,044 --> 00:57:01,588
Well, it's unusual for comics
because you haven't seen it
896
00:57:01,672 --> 00:57:03,507
until you've read Marvel Comics.
897
00:57:12,558 --> 00:57:16,186
STAN: We tried to provide stories
for older readers
898
00:57:16,270 --> 00:57:20,440
that will also be good
for younger kids to read.
899
00:57:20,524 --> 00:57:24,027
If you think about it objectively,
it's a totally impossible task,
900
00:57:24,111 --> 00:57:25,863
and I don't know how we've managed.
901
00:57:28,156 --> 00:57:32,911
I got a letter from the Office of Health,
Education, and Welfare in Washington,
902
00:57:32,995 --> 00:57:37,374
and they said, "Mr. Lee,
recognizing the influence of your comics,
903
00:57:37,457 --> 00:57:41,211
"drugs are a big problem.
If you could do an anti-drug story?"
904
00:57:41,295 --> 00:57:43,672
I did a three-issue series.
905
00:57:45,507 --> 00:57:49,303
It had to do with a friend of Spidey's
had taken too much of something
906
00:57:49,845 --> 00:57:53,807
and Spider-Man rescues him
and says, "You're a jerk for doing that."
907
00:57:53,891 --> 00:57:55,893
And it was part of a bigger story.
908
00:57:56,685 --> 00:58:01,440
So, it didn't look like we were preaching.
It was just an incident in a story.
909
00:58:01,690 --> 00:58:05,027
The Comic Code Administration
sent the book back and said,
910
00:58:05,110 --> 00:58:08,822
"You can't publish this book.
We won't put our seal of approval on."
911
00:58:09,615 --> 00:58:10,616
I said, "Why?"
912
00:58:10,908 --> 00:58:14,369
They said, "Well, according to the rules
of the Code Authority,
913
00:58:14,453 --> 00:58:16,830
"you can't mention drugs in a story."
914
00:58:17,915 --> 00:58:20,709
And I said, "Look, we're not
telling kids to take drugs.
915
00:58:20,792 --> 00:58:23,295
"This is an anti-drug theme."
916
00:58:23,378 --> 00:58:25,797
"Oh, no, it doesn't matter.
You mentioned drugs."
917
00:58:26,340 --> 00:58:29,593
I said, "But the Office of Health,
Education and Welfare,
918
00:58:29,676 --> 00:58:32,721
"a government agency, asked us to do it."
919
00:58:32,804 --> 00:58:35,349
"Doesn't matter. You can't mention drugs."
920
00:58:37,434 --> 00:58:40,729
Because we try to show things
as they really are,
921
00:58:40,812 --> 00:58:43,815
I had quite a number of arguments
with the Comics Code.
922
00:58:44,983 --> 00:58:49,112
I think that the things that people read
should prepare them
923
00:58:49,196 --> 00:58:52,491
and initiate them
for stepping into the real world.
924
00:58:52,574 --> 00:58:58,997
I feel that morally we are doing
a greater service to our younger readers
925
00:58:59,081 --> 00:59:03,961
by showing them that it's best
to do your best and to try to be good.
926
00:59:06,213 --> 00:59:09,883
I went to my publisher, Martin Goodman,
and I said,
927
00:59:09,967 --> 00:59:12,886
"Martin, this is the story.
This is why I did it.
928
00:59:13,428 --> 00:59:17,933
"I would like to publish it
without the Code seal of approval."
929
00:59:19,059 --> 00:59:22,938
Well, I was very proud of our publisher
because he said,
930
00:59:23,230 --> 00:59:25,941
"Absolutely, Stan.
You go ahead and do that."
931
00:59:27,985 --> 00:59:33,365
So, all of those three issues went on sale
without the seal of approval.
932
00:59:34,241 --> 00:59:37,244
And the world did not come to an end.
933
00:59:38,954 --> 00:59:41,290
{\an8}We got letters from church groups,
934
00:59:41,456 --> 00:59:43,834
parent-teachers...
Everybody loved it.
935
00:59:47,421 --> 00:59:50,716
(CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY)
936
00:59:50,799 --> 00:59:53,218
A youngster's mind is like a sponge.
937
00:59:53,343 --> 00:59:55,721
And I really don't think there's anything
938
00:59:56,471 --> 00:59:57,514
that's too tough
939
00:59:58,390 --> 01:00:01,059
or too mature
for a youngster to comprehend.
940
01:00:01,143 --> 01:00:04,771
I think they can understand so much more
than we give them credit for,
941
01:00:04,855 --> 01:00:07,900
and they're capable of absorbing
and learning so quickly.
942
01:00:07,983 --> 01:00:11,737
Most of them don't have the opportunity.
It isn't thrown at them enough.
943
01:00:13,238 --> 01:00:15,240
You know, when we started Marvel Comics,
944
01:00:15,365 --> 01:00:18,452
I said, "Let's use
a college level vocabulary,"
945
01:00:18,535 --> 01:00:20,704
and everybody said,
"Stan, you're out of your mind."
946
01:00:20,787 --> 01:00:24,541
I said, "Really?"
I figured the kids would know...
947
01:00:24,625 --> 01:00:26,627
what the words meant
by their use in the sentence
948
01:00:26,710 --> 01:00:29,129
or if they had to go to a dictionary
and look up a word
949
01:00:29,213 --> 01:00:31,441
{\an8}it wasn't the worst thing
in the world that would happen...
950
01:00:31,465 --> 01:00:33,800
{\an8}Maybe the older readers
would appreciate it.
951
01:00:34,134 --> 01:00:37,971
So, strangely enough,
in our little idiot Marvel Comics,
952
01:00:38,055 --> 01:00:42,518
I think there is as much or more learning
for kids as you'll find anywhere else.
953
01:00:44,102 --> 01:00:48,690
I've walked pretty far for a comic
on occasions, a few miles out of the way,
954
01:00:48,815 --> 01:00:51,860
just to get it a day early,
which may seem a little silly,
955
01:00:52,569 --> 01:00:55,155
but some of us fans are weird.
956
01:00:59,743 --> 01:01:03,288
STAN: This is it. The second annual
Mighty Marvel Convention.
957
01:01:03,372 --> 01:01:06,333
This is Stan Lee talking,
and you are there.
958
01:01:06,416 --> 01:01:10,170
Now, I'll shut up and give you a chance
to see what was happening.
959
01:01:10,254 --> 01:01:14,132
We start off with me signing autographs
after making a speech. Here we go.
960
01:01:14,800 --> 01:01:17,386
Wherever I went, people would feel
they knew me
961
01:01:17,469 --> 01:01:19,429
'cause they had been reading the books.
962
01:01:19,513 --> 01:01:24,601
Everyone said, "Hi, Stan."
There was a warmth and a friendliness.
963
01:01:24,685 --> 01:01:28,105
I got a few votes in the last
presidential election at some colleges.
964
01:01:28,188 --> 01:01:31,108
It was funny, you know.
Some kids gave some write-in votes.
965
01:01:31,191 --> 01:01:32,651
I think I got 23 votes.
966
01:01:32,734 --> 01:01:34,987
It wasn't quite enough
to carry the nation.
967
01:01:35,404 --> 01:01:36,989
What's your favorite character?
968
01:01:37,614 --> 01:01:39,575
Ben Grimm. The Thing.
969
01:01:39,658 --> 01:01:40,993
- Right!
- And why is that?
970
01:01:41,743 --> 01:01:45,789
I don't know. It's just his personality
and like, you know, what happened to him.
971
01:01:45,873 --> 01:01:47,953
He was turned into a monster
and it wasn't his fault.
972
01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:49,751
The Falcon, Avengers.
973
01:01:49,835 --> 01:01:51,253
- The Falcon?
- Yeah.
974
01:01:51,336 --> 01:01:52,880
- Iron Man.
- How come?
975
01:01:52,963 --> 01:01:56,175
Because I just like what he does.
I think he's a great character.
976
01:01:56,258 --> 01:02:00,762
I like the stories that they write
about him and all the inventions.
977
01:02:00,846 --> 01:02:02,514
Who's your favorite writer?
978
01:02:03,140 --> 01:02:04,308
Uh, Stan Lee.
979
01:02:05,309 --> 01:02:09,062
{\an8}RADIO HOST: This is K100 conversations,
and I have with me a wacky person
980
01:02:09,146 --> 01:02:10,856
{\an8}by the name of Stan Lee.
981
01:02:10,939 --> 01:02:13,692
{\an8}And anybody who is into comics
knows that name,
982
01:02:13,775 --> 01:02:17,237
because you are the guy that really
created Marvel Comics, aren't you?
983
01:02:17,321 --> 01:02:19,907
STAN: Yeah, well, after a while,
when you become a living legend,
984
01:02:19,990 --> 01:02:24,953
they get to know your name.
I created Marvel Comics with the help
985
01:02:25,037 --> 01:02:27,831
of the various artists involved also,
of course.
986
01:02:31,877 --> 01:02:36,590
It's funny how every artist has one
little thing that's sort of a hang-up,
987
01:02:36,673 --> 01:02:38,884
and he has trouble fixing it.
988
01:02:38,967 --> 01:02:42,054
Jack has a way of drawing
tremendously thin ankles
989
01:02:42,137 --> 01:02:43,972
on men and women.
990
01:02:44,848 --> 01:02:46,308
I've always got to watch what I say,
991
01:02:46,391 --> 01:02:48,602
because our artists are not only
the most talented
992
01:02:48,685 --> 01:02:52,022
but certainly, the most temperamental
group in the world,
993
01:02:52,105 --> 01:02:55,817
and we'd be absolutely lost
without any single one of them.
994
01:02:55,901 --> 01:02:59,821
{\an8}But I'm sure I'm gonna catch hell
for saying anything to offend any of 'em.
995
01:02:59,905 --> 01:03:02,908
{\an8}INTERVIEWER: Could you tell us
a little more about Steve
996
01:03:02,991 --> 01:03:05,202
because I noticed
that he is one of the few people
997
01:03:05,285 --> 01:03:07,287
that you did not print a photograph of
998
01:03:07,371 --> 01:03:09,289
in your first Marvel Annual
999
01:03:09,373 --> 01:03:12,668
and he is not on the record
that you sent around.
1000
01:03:12,834 --> 01:03:14,586
- STAN: You want to know why?
- Yes.
1001
01:03:14,670 --> 01:03:17,422
STAN: Purely personal.
Steve does not want publicity.
1002
01:03:17,589 --> 01:03:19,049
I don't know what his reason is.
1003
01:03:19,132 --> 01:03:21,969
He says, "Oh, golly!
I want my work to speak for me."
1004
01:03:22,052 --> 01:03:23,303
I'm not quoting him exactly,
1005
01:03:23,387 --> 01:03:25,472
but the feeling I get
is that he doesn't feel
1006
01:03:25,556 --> 01:03:28,851
that he himself should be publicized.
He just wants the work
1007
01:03:28,934 --> 01:03:31,562
that he does to be well known,
and we respect his opinion.
1008
01:03:34,273 --> 01:03:37,150
{\an8}Steve had complained to me
a number of times,
1009
01:03:37,901 --> 01:03:41,321
{\an8}when there were articles
written about Spider-Man,
1010
01:03:41,405 --> 01:03:43,907
which called me the creator of Spider-Man,
1011
01:03:44,825 --> 01:03:48,954
and I had always thought I was,
because I'm the guy who said,
1012
01:03:49,037 --> 01:03:53,834
I have an idea for a strip
called Spider-Man and so forth.
1013
01:03:55,878 --> 01:03:59,631
Steve had said
having an idea is nothing
1014
01:04:00,174 --> 01:04:05,637
{\an8}because until it becomes
a physical thing, it's just an idea,
1015
01:04:05,762 --> 01:04:11,518
and he said it took him to draw the strip
and to give it life, so to speak,
1016
01:04:11,602 --> 01:04:13,937
or to make it something tangible.
1017
01:04:14,646 --> 01:04:17,316
Otherwise, all I had was an idea.
1018
01:04:17,441 --> 01:04:18,442
So, I said to him,
1019
01:04:18,525 --> 01:04:22,863
"Well, I think the person with the idea
is the person who creates it,"
1020
01:04:23,030 --> 01:04:25,032
And he said, "No, because I drew it."
1021
01:04:32,831 --> 01:04:36,585
In the very beginning, I would come up
with a rather detailed plot.
1022
01:04:37,127 --> 01:04:38,795
Tell Steve what it was.
1023
01:04:39,379 --> 01:04:43,008
He would draw the strip any way he wanted.
I didn't give him a complete script.
1024
01:04:43,091 --> 01:04:46,220
He'd add a lot of things
that I hadn't even thought of.
1025
01:04:46,303 --> 01:04:48,472
And then, I would get the pages
of artwork,
1026
01:04:48,555 --> 01:04:51,934
and I would put in the dialogue
trying to give everything
1027
01:04:52,017 --> 01:04:55,354
and everyone the personality
that I wanted them to have.
1028
01:04:56,730 --> 01:05:00,651
Steve is a very creative guy.
And the two of us,
1029
01:05:00,734 --> 01:05:03,195
whenever we discuss plots,
we always just argue
1030
01:05:03,278 --> 01:05:06,281
because I want to do it one way
and he wants to do it another.
1031
01:05:06,365 --> 01:05:08,534
And even though I may disagree,
1032
01:05:08,617 --> 01:05:12,079
I feel just the fact that he did it
differently will make it good
1033
01:05:12,162 --> 01:05:15,666
because it won't be the usual type of plot
coming out of our stable.
1034
01:05:15,749 --> 01:05:20,003
He'll just do them as he wants them,
which makes it twice as difficult for me.
1035
01:05:20,796 --> 01:05:23,298
I enjoy it, though.
I get a story back from him,
1036
01:05:23,382 --> 01:05:26,051
and I don't have the vaguest idea
what this is about
1037
01:05:26,134 --> 01:05:28,804
because I didn't even give him
a thumbnail idea.
1038
01:05:28,887 --> 01:05:31,348
He just went home,
and he did whatever he wanted.
1039
01:05:33,058 --> 01:05:36,144
{\an8}So, I said, "Fine, I'll tell everybody
you're the co-creator."
1040
01:05:37,354 --> 01:05:39,106
{\an8}That didn't quite satisfy him.
1041
01:05:42,734 --> 01:05:46,572
{\an8}I really think the guy who dreams
the thing up created it.
1042
01:05:46,655 --> 01:05:49,783
You dream it up, and then
you give it to anybody to draw it.
1043
01:05:54,997 --> 01:05:57,291
STAN:
We've just lost the artist Steve Ditko
1044
01:05:57,374 --> 01:05:59,543
- MAN: Horrible.
- (PEOPLE GROANING)
1045
01:06:00,085 --> 01:06:02,796
STAN: One day he just phoned
and he said, "I'm leaving."
1046
01:06:03,881 --> 01:06:05,048
So that was it.
1047
01:06:06,008 --> 01:06:07,467
He was such a popular artist.
1048
01:06:08,427 --> 01:06:12,097
I think that we've managed
to find people to replace him
1049
01:06:12,181 --> 01:06:15,684
where those boos will change
to a chorus of cheers.
1050
01:06:19,688 --> 01:06:23,025
Steve and I worked beautifully together.
1051
01:06:24,193 --> 01:06:28,363
As far as I was concerned,
he was the perfect collaborator.
1052
01:06:29,156 --> 01:06:31,116
His artwork was superb.
1053
01:06:31,617 --> 01:06:34,411
His story sense was brilliant.
1054
01:06:36,038 --> 01:06:39,708
I was heartbroken when Steve
finally stopped working with us.
1055
01:06:50,344 --> 01:06:53,305
INTERVIEWER: You've put out more comics,
I think than about anyone.
1056
01:06:53,388 --> 01:06:54,556
Yeah, we're the biggest.
1057
01:06:54,640 --> 01:06:56,433
Isn't there a problem of control?
1058
01:06:56,725 --> 01:06:59,019
STAN: It's one of our biggest problems.
You're right.
1059
01:06:59,102 --> 01:07:02,189
I would love nothing better
than to be doing one magazine,
1060
01:07:02,272 --> 01:07:04,191
which I could personally write and edit
1061
01:07:04,274 --> 01:07:07,986
and, unfortunately, we're a little bit
like a mass production outfit.
1062
01:07:08,070 --> 01:07:10,072
I think we're all frustrated.
1063
01:07:10,155 --> 01:07:13,242
We'd all like to be able
to spend a week on one story.
1064
01:07:13,325 --> 01:07:17,412
Unfortunately, because of the economics
of this business, it's totally impossible.
1065
01:07:20,666 --> 01:07:23,794
We produce about two complete
comic books a day.
1066
01:07:23,877 --> 01:07:25,379
It's like a production line.
1067
01:07:25,462 --> 01:07:29,466
If you ever saw the old Charlie Chaplin
movie Modern Times,
1068
01:07:29,550 --> 01:07:32,261
there was a scene where Charlie Chaplin
is on a production line
1069
01:07:32,344 --> 01:07:34,471
and his job
is to do this with two wrenches
1070
01:07:34,555 --> 01:07:37,683
while things come down
and he has to tighten the bolts
1071
01:07:37,766 --> 01:07:40,769
and he goes home at night
and he's still doing this, you know.
1072
01:07:40,853 --> 01:07:44,606
Well, sometimes we feel like that.
We don't even know what we're working on.
1073
01:07:44,690 --> 01:07:46,400
The pages are just coming by and...
1074
01:07:46,483 --> 01:07:48,360
"Proofread that. Change that title,
1075
01:07:48,443 --> 01:07:50,112
"get the lettering out and finish."
1076
01:07:50,195 --> 01:07:51,572
And off it goes. Two books a day.
1077
01:07:53,407 --> 01:07:56,118
In those days, everybody was just
busy doing his work.
1078
01:07:56,702 --> 01:07:59,705
There was a lot of pressure
to turn those things out in time.
1079
01:08:00,414 --> 01:08:03,625
Because of the fact that
they don't get paid very much per page
1080
01:08:03,709 --> 01:08:07,462
and that they have to do a lot of pages
a day in order to eke out a living,
1081
01:08:07,546 --> 01:08:09,631
the artists would say
that they don't have a chance
1082
01:08:09,715 --> 01:08:11,383
to really show how good they are.
1083
01:08:14,261 --> 01:08:16,388
Sometime around then, Kirby left.
1084
01:08:37,951 --> 01:08:39,953
{\an8}RADIO HOST:
We're speaking with Jack Kirby live.
1085
01:08:40,037 --> 01:08:44,333
{\an8}And now we can announce
the very special surprise guest,
1086
01:08:44,416 --> 01:08:47,044
{\an8}your colleague, Stan Lee.
1087
01:08:47,127 --> 01:08:49,046
{\an8}STAN: I wanna wish Jack a happy birthday.
1088
01:08:49,129 --> 01:08:51,798
KIRBY: Well, Stanley, I want to thank you
for calling and I hope
1089
01:08:51,882 --> 01:08:54,885
you're in good health
and I hope you stay in good health.
1090
01:08:54,968 --> 01:08:57,304
STAN: I'm doing my best
and the same to you.
1091
01:08:57,387 --> 01:08:59,014
You know, whatever we did together,
1092
01:08:59,097 --> 01:09:01,934
and no matter who did what,
and I guess that's something
1093
01:09:02,017 --> 01:09:03,769
that'll be argued forever.
1094
01:09:03,852 --> 01:09:06,855
But I think that
the product that was produced
1095
01:09:06,939 --> 01:09:10,275
was really even more
than a sum of its parts.
1096
01:09:10,359 --> 01:09:14,738
I think there was some slight magic
that came into effect,
1097
01:09:14,821 --> 01:09:16,323
when we worked together.
1098
01:09:16,406 --> 01:09:19,243
KIRBY: Well, I was never sorry
for it, Stanley.
1099
01:09:19,326 --> 01:09:21,578
It was a great experience for me.
1100
01:09:21,662 --> 01:09:25,207
If the product was good,
that was my satisfaction.
1101
01:09:25,332 --> 01:09:27,310
RADIO HOST: You know,
when it comes right down to it,
1102
01:09:27,334 --> 01:09:30,254
it doesn't matter who exactly did what.
1103
01:09:30,337 --> 01:09:31,922
STAN: Well, I'll say this.
1104
01:09:32,005 --> 01:09:34,925
Every word of dialogue
in those scripts was mine.
1105
01:09:35,926 --> 01:09:38,262
RADIO HOST: Well, I don't want...
STAN: Every story.
1106
01:09:38,345 --> 01:09:41,974
RADIO HOST: I don't want to get into
controversy about that. What I want to...
1107
01:09:42,057 --> 01:09:44,226
KIRBY: I can tell you
that I wrote a few lines myself
1108
01:09:44,309 --> 01:09:47,563
- above every panel that I...
- RADIO HOST: Yes, I've seen those.
1109
01:09:47,646 --> 01:09:50,399
STAN: They weren't printed in the book.
RADIO HOST: Look.
1110
01:09:50,482 --> 01:09:52,919
STAN: Jack, answer me truthfully.
KIRBY: I wasn't allowed to...
1111
01:09:52,943 --> 01:09:55,946
STAN: Did you ever read one of the stories
after it was finished?
1112
01:09:56,029 --> 01:09:57,322
I don't think you did.
1113
01:09:57,406 --> 01:09:59,700
I don't think you ever read
one of my stories.
1114
01:09:59,783 --> 01:10:01,952
I think you were always busy
drawing the next one.
1115
01:10:02,035 --> 01:10:03,871
You never read when it was finished.
1116
01:10:03,954 --> 01:10:07,082
KIRBY: Whatever was
written in 'em wasn't...
1117
01:10:07,165 --> 01:10:11,879
Well, look, it was the action
I was interested in.
1118
01:10:11,962 --> 01:10:14,548
I know, and I think you felt,
"Well, it doesn't matter.
1119
01:10:14,631 --> 01:10:17,593
"Anybody can put the dialogue in,
it's what I'm drawing that matters."
1120
01:10:17,676 --> 01:10:20,429
And maybe you're right.
I don't agree with it.
1121
01:10:20,512 --> 01:10:24,725
No. I'm only trying to say that one man
and his writing and drawing,
1122
01:10:24,808 --> 01:10:27,728
and doing a strip,
it should come from an individual.
1123
01:10:27,811 --> 01:10:30,105
I believe that
you should have the opportunity,
1124
01:10:30,189 --> 01:10:32,191
uh, to do the entire thing yourself.
1125
01:10:32,274 --> 01:10:35,611
RADIO HOST: The success of Marvel
had to do with...
1126
01:10:35,694 --> 01:10:39,907
To keeping a greater attention
to the characters
1127
01:10:39,990 --> 01:10:42,784
than to the egos
of the people creating them.
1128
01:10:42,868 --> 01:10:45,913
STAN: When you mention an ego problem,
the funny thing is,
1129
01:10:45,996 --> 01:10:48,874
I'm afraid those problems
are only cropping up now.
1130
01:10:48,957 --> 01:10:52,878
I think when Jack and I did the strips,
there was no ego problem.
1131
01:10:52,961 --> 01:10:55,005
We were just doing the best we could.
1132
01:10:55,088 --> 01:10:58,759
KIRBY: Listen,
you can understand now, uh,
1133
01:10:59,801 --> 01:11:01,386
how things really were.
1134
01:11:10,354 --> 01:11:13,190
(RADIO PLAYING INDISTINCTLY)
1135
01:11:26,078 --> 01:11:31,083
My guest is somebody who is not only
an old friend and associate
1136
01:11:31,166 --> 01:11:36,630
but one of the genuine talented
movers and shakers of our business.
1137
01:11:36,713 --> 01:11:40,467
Roy Thomas,
editor-emeritus of Marvel Comics,
1138
01:11:40,551 --> 01:11:44,304
and as good a writer
as we're ever going to find anywhere
1139
01:11:44,388 --> 01:11:46,765
in the comic business
and maybe in any other business.
1140
01:11:47,015 --> 01:11:50,310
It just was as though you were
the answer to a prayer. Remember, you...
1141
01:11:50,394 --> 01:11:54,106
You took over the Fantastic Four.
You took over the Avengers, the X...
1142
01:11:54,189 --> 01:11:56,275
- I guess you did almost all the stories.
- Most.
1143
01:11:56,358 --> 01:11:59,736
And as good as anybody could have wanted.
Built up your own following.
1144
01:11:59,820 --> 01:12:01,113
I began to hate you
1145
01:12:01,196 --> 01:12:03,198
- as the fans began to love you.
- (CHUCKLES)
1146
01:12:05,242 --> 01:12:08,704
When I became publisher,
I stopped most of the writing.
1147
01:12:09,329 --> 01:12:13,000
When I was writing,
I had total control of them.
1148
01:12:13,083 --> 01:12:15,168
And they matured,
if you want to use that word,
1149
01:12:15,252 --> 01:12:16,545
the way I wanted them to.
1150
01:12:16,628 --> 01:12:20,299
But I realized,
the minute you stop writing a series
1151
01:12:20,382 --> 01:12:24,803
and other writers take over,
they've got to do it their way.
1152
01:12:27,472 --> 01:12:32,144
{\an8}Comic books started out
really dealing with male heroes
1153
01:12:32,227 --> 01:12:33,812
'cause at that time, years ago,
1154
01:12:33,896 --> 01:12:36,732
{\an8}nobody even thought
to have too many women heroes.
1155
01:12:36,815 --> 01:12:38,567
{\an8}But now, as publisher,
1156
01:12:38,650 --> 01:12:42,863
I have found that
10% of our readers are females.
1157
01:12:43,488 --> 01:12:46,867
So we ourselves are trying
to increase that readership.
1158
01:12:46,950 --> 01:12:48,744
And these past few months and years,
1159
01:12:49,077 --> 01:12:52,039
we've been adding
more and more female characters.
1160
01:12:52,706 --> 01:12:56,668
We have one character
who's a barbarian called Red Sonja,
1161
01:12:56,752 --> 01:12:58,587
in the pre-historical days.
1162
01:12:58,754 --> 01:13:00,756
She wields a sword and she's great.
1163
01:13:00,839 --> 01:13:03,759
{\an8}We have a character called Medusa.
We have the Black Widow.
1164
01:13:03,842 --> 01:13:08,347
{\an8}We have a new one called Ms. Marvel.
She's gonna be a big one.
1165
01:13:09,473 --> 01:13:13,018
It was the first time in all the years
I had been working there
1166
01:13:13,519 --> 01:13:17,689
that I had given the artists
the freedom to do the books
1167
01:13:17,773 --> 01:13:19,608
the way they wanted to do them.
1168
01:13:20,734 --> 01:13:24,446
I find it's a little bit difficult now.
The one thing that I regret,
1169
01:13:24,530 --> 01:13:27,574
of course,
we're not together 24 hours a day.
1170
01:13:27,658 --> 01:13:29,451
Roy does his writing at home,
1171
01:13:29,535 --> 01:13:33,455
and we've lost a little bit of that
perfect control we had
1172
01:13:33,539 --> 01:13:35,082
over all the characters.
1173
01:13:35,499 --> 01:13:39,461
Once or twice, I may wanna use
a certain villain, and I'll say to Roy,
1174
01:13:39,545 --> 01:13:42,923
say "I'm gonna bring back Dr. Octopus
in the next issue," and Roy'll say,
1175
01:13:43,006 --> 01:13:45,592
"Oh, Stan, you can't.
I just did it in the Avengers."
1176
01:13:45,676 --> 01:13:48,345
You see?
And it makes it a little difficult.
1177
01:13:48,637 --> 01:13:51,723
There probably are times
where things don't gel
1178
01:13:51,807 --> 01:13:54,226
or dovetail quite as perfectly.
1179
01:13:54,309 --> 01:13:57,187
But that's one of the little things
we have to put up with
1180
01:13:57,271 --> 01:13:59,690
because of the fact that we've grown so.
1181
01:14:03,610 --> 01:14:09,157
I've reached the pinnacle of idleness,
1182
01:14:09,241 --> 01:14:10,826
I'm now the publisher.
1183
01:14:10,909 --> 01:14:12,536
They kicked me upstairs.
1184
01:14:12,619 --> 01:14:16,456
{\an8}And it's my job to see to it that
the other people do all the writing,
1185
01:14:16,540 --> 01:14:18,834
{\an8}but I really miss the writing.
1186
01:14:29,803 --> 01:14:33,515
When they named me the publisher
of this thing, I became a big businessman.
1187
01:14:37,519 --> 01:14:40,397
I always wanted
to become somebody important,
1188
01:14:41,982 --> 01:14:43,358
but I'm not a businessman.
1189
01:14:45,444 --> 01:14:49,323
I've really no interest in working
with figures and things like that.
1190
01:14:49,781 --> 01:14:53,994
The board of directors, they wanted me
to come up with a five-year plan.
1191
01:14:54,077 --> 01:14:57,873
Where will we be in five years
and how much budget do we need?
1192
01:14:57,956 --> 01:15:01,335
But to me, anything that
has to do with business is dull.
1193
01:15:04,338 --> 01:15:06,590
(CROWD CHEERING)
1194
01:15:08,133 --> 01:15:10,761
So I kept the title publisher,
1195
01:15:10,844 --> 01:15:13,347
but instead of just being a businessman,
1196
01:15:14,765 --> 01:15:19,269
I traveled around the country
talking up Marvel Comics.
1197
01:15:19,353 --> 01:15:20,979
Thank you, culture-lovers.
1198
01:15:22,648 --> 01:15:26,318
{\an8}I was going to colleges
and television shows
1199
01:15:26,401 --> 01:15:29,279
and radio shows pitching Marvel.
1200
01:15:29,404 --> 01:15:32,824
HOST: The superhero of
the comic book business, Stan Lee.
1201
01:15:32,908 --> 01:15:33,951
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
1202
01:15:34,034 --> 01:15:40,749
STAN: I've always felt comic books
were a more powerful cultural device
1203
01:15:40,832 --> 01:15:43,377
than they ever had a chance
to prove to be.
1204
01:15:43,460 --> 01:15:46,129
I hope to give them that chance now.
1205
01:15:46,213 --> 01:15:50,759
I want to make comic books much more
important than they've ever been.
1206
01:15:51,510 --> 01:15:55,848
Basically, it's really
a religious crusade, I like to think.
1207
01:15:55,931 --> 01:15:57,015
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
1208
01:15:57,099 --> 01:15:58,183
WOMAN: Indeed. (LAUGHS)
1209
01:16:05,190 --> 01:16:08,485
STAN: By this time,
I had been at Marvel for many years.
1210
01:16:09,319 --> 01:16:13,866
I had had a lifetime job,
and I was damn well worth it.
1211
01:16:14,366 --> 01:16:16,285
Here's what I think we ought to do.
1212
01:16:18,078 --> 01:16:19,329
I marked them all up.
1213
01:16:19,663 --> 01:16:22,207
But the company was sold.
1214
01:16:24,376 --> 01:16:26,587
One of the owners of the new company said,
1215
01:16:26,670 --> 01:16:29,715
"Stan, don't worry,
you're going to be better than ever."
1216
01:16:29,798 --> 01:16:32,301
And he was gonna give everyone
new contracts.
1217
01:16:32,426 --> 01:16:35,053
So the new contract I was offered was
1218
01:16:35,137 --> 01:16:39,016
instead of a lifetime contract,
a two-year contract,
1219
01:16:39,099 --> 01:16:40,976
which made me very unhappy.
1220
01:16:43,103 --> 01:16:46,440
I always resented the fact that
when I wrote these stories,
1221
01:16:47,191 --> 01:16:51,486
I never thought, "Gee, I ought to try
to copyright something myself and own it."
1222
01:16:51,570 --> 01:16:53,447
It always belonged to the company.
1223
01:16:53,530 --> 01:16:56,700
So from a business point of view,
that was a mistake.
1224
01:16:59,077 --> 01:17:02,539
I was heartbroken.
There wasn't much I could do about it.
1225
01:17:08,212 --> 01:17:11,757
In a series of deliberate
and deadly terrorist acts...
1226
01:17:13,258 --> 01:17:14,736
BARACK OBAMA: It is time for a change.
1227
01:17:14,760 --> 01:17:16,428
CROWD: Yes! Yes, we can!
1228
01:17:22,601 --> 01:17:24,144
KENNETH BRANAGH:
Let's put a camera up.
1229
01:17:24,228 --> 01:17:25,854
Let's not keep this young man waiting.
1230
01:17:27,898 --> 01:17:30,192
STAN: Marvel finally settled things.
1231
01:17:30,859 --> 01:17:33,612
MAN: Guys, let's clear. Everybody, please.
1232
01:17:34,112 --> 01:17:37,407
STAN: They gave me title
Chairman Emeritus,
1233
01:17:37,491 --> 01:17:39,785
which was an honorary title.
1234
01:17:40,369 --> 01:17:41,912
I was very happy about that.
1235
01:17:42,037 --> 01:17:45,791
BRANAGH: And, action! Camera! Car!
1236
01:17:47,042 --> 01:17:48,043
Stan!
1237
01:17:48,126 --> 01:17:49,253
Did it work?
1238
01:17:49,962 --> 01:17:53,340
Stan, thank you so much for being here.
It is our absolute pleasure
1239
01:17:53,423 --> 01:17:56,176
and forgive us if there's lots
of handshakes and autographs asked
1240
01:17:56,260 --> 01:17:57,803
before you get out of here,
1241
01:17:57,886 --> 01:18:00,013
but thank you so much.
We are honored to have you.
1242
01:18:00,097 --> 01:18:02,307
- Thank you! Thanks a lot!
- Thank you.
1243
01:18:02,391 --> 01:18:03,868
STAN: So many people walk up and say,
1244
01:18:03,892 --> 01:18:07,187
"I just want to thank you
for all the enjoyment you've brought."
1245
01:18:07,813 --> 01:18:09,982
And I've been doing this since the 1940s.
1246
01:18:10,691 --> 01:18:12,651
People who've read the books then
1247
01:18:12,734 --> 01:18:14,778
still remember them
and have stayed with them.
1248
01:18:14,903 --> 01:18:18,365
And now they have their own kids.
Some have their grandkids.
1249
01:18:19,533 --> 01:18:22,953
{\an8}I often look back at the early '60s
in the famous Marvel bullpen
1250
01:18:23,036 --> 01:18:26,076
{\an8}and think about the characters that
came out of the imaginations of Stan Lee,
1251
01:18:26,123 --> 01:18:29,960
{\an8}Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and all
of the co-creators. It's incredible.
1252
01:18:30,043 --> 01:18:32,087
And when we sit around
our conference room tables
1253
01:18:32,171 --> 01:18:35,174
in development sessions on these movies,
I find myself thinking,
1254
01:18:35,257 --> 01:18:38,844
"Boy, if we could just tap into 5%
of that crucible of imagination."
1255
01:18:40,137 --> 01:18:42,817
We're just trying to emulate
what the comics have been doing so well
1256
01:18:42,848 --> 01:18:44,349
for so many decades.
1257
01:18:45,851 --> 01:18:48,353
STAN: In the days
I was writing those books,
1258
01:18:48,770 --> 01:18:50,480
I was hoping they'd sell
1259
01:18:50,606 --> 01:18:53,984
so I wouldn't lose my job
and I could keep paying the rent.
1260
01:18:54,443 --> 01:18:58,989
{\an8}All of a sudden, these characters
have become world-famous.
1261
01:18:59,448 --> 01:19:03,076
They're the subject of blockbuster movies,
1262
01:19:03,160 --> 01:19:05,746
and I'm lucky enough
to get little cameos in 'em.
1263
01:19:07,497 --> 01:19:10,792
Cut. Ladies and gentlemen,
that's a camera wrap
1264
01:19:10,876 --> 01:19:14,004
on the creator of Iron Man, Mr. Stan Lee.
1265
01:19:14,087 --> 01:19:18,091
STAN: The fact that I'm working
with characters that I've created...
1266
01:19:18,175 --> 01:19:19,176
Action.
1267
01:19:19,259 --> 01:19:22,221
Superheroes in New York?
Give me a break.
1268
01:19:23,055 --> 01:19:26,683
And the fact that they are being directed
so beautifully...
1269
01:19:26,892 --> 01:19:28,310
Did it work?
1270
01:19:28,435 --> 01:19:32,606
That's Captain America?
I thought he'd be taller.
1271
01:19:32,773 --> 01:19:35,275
- To work with such professionals.
- Oh, man.
1272
01:19:35,359 --> 01:19:37,528
I am so fired.
1273
01:19:37,653 --> 01:19:40,072
And they all have
a love of the characters.
1274
01:19:40,155 --> 01:19:42,366
Are you Tony Stank?
1275
01:19:42,491 --> 01:19:45,077
I never thought it would turn
into something like this.
1276
01:19:45,160 --> 01:19:47,913
Anyway, before I was
so rudely interrupted...
1277
01:19:48,455 --> 01:19:50,499
To work with creative people,
1278
01:19:50,874 --> 01:19:53,335
especially people who make movies,
1279
01:19:54,086 --> 01:19:55,796
is such a thrill.
1280
01:19:59,174 --> 01:20:00,384
No!
1281
01:20:00,759 --> 01:20:01,802
Yes!
1282
01:20:02,386 --> 01:20:04,930
It's overwhelming when I think about it.
1283
01:20:05,013 --> 01:20:08,725
Well, the '60s were fun,
but now I'm paying for it.
1284
01:20:08,809 --> 01:20:09,810
MAN: And cut it.
1285
01:20:10,018 --> 01:20:11,645
I think I'll just take these...
1286
01:20:12,271 --> 01:20:15,774
bring them over here
and hold on for safekeeping.
1287
01:20:16,859 --> 01:20:20,153
What's the matter with you kids?
You never seen a spaceship before?
1288
01:20:20,237 --> 01:20:21,238
MAN: Action.
1289
01:20:21,947 --> 01:20:23,282
"Trust me, true believer."
1290
01:20:24,616 --> 01:20:28,370
I would have to be crazy
not to feel fulfilled.
1291
01:20:30,497 --> 01:20:33,834
{\an8}It's certainly been nice to see the world
catch up with what Stan did.
1292
01:20:33,917 --> 01:20:37,004
{\an8}Even if it took movies and TV shows
to do it.
1293
01:20:37,087 --> 01:20:38,547
{\an8}The world kinda has to admit now,
1294
01:20:38,630 --> 01:20:41,341
{\an8}you know, maybe there is something
to some of this stuff.
1295
01:20:41,425 --> 01:20:43,468
For goodness sake, how're you?
1296
01:20:43,552 --> 01:20:45,095
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
1297
01:20:46,305 --> 01:20:49,141
THOMAS: The seeds of all that stuff
are all set back in what Stan did
1298
01:20:49,224 --> 01:20:51,435
with Jack and Steve.
1299
01:20:51,518 --> 01:20:54,771
You know, you could always trace
anything that they do now.
1300
01:20:55,189 --> 01:20:58,275
In fact, it all kind of flows from
this fountain that was unleashed
1301
01:20:58,400 --> 01:21:01,195
when Stan and Jack and Ditko,
you know, got together
1302
01:21:01,278 --> 01:21:04,239
and suddenly became
this wonderful triumvirate,
1303
01:21:04,323 --> 01:21:06,200
creating a whole universe.
1304
01:21:10,871 --> 01:21:14,458
Neither of them could have, really,
you know, done it without the other.
1305
01:21:20,005 --> 01:21:23,509
{\an8}Join me in giving a big welcome
to Mr. Stan Lee.
1306
01:21:23,592 --> 01:21:25,469
{\an8}(AUDIENCE CHEERING)
1307
01:21:28,388 --> 01:21:29,389
Thank you.
1308
01:21:33,685 --> 01:21:35,437
I spent quite a lot of time
1309
01:21:36,355 --> 01:21:40,442
writing a 25-page speech
that I could give you
1310
01:21:41,985 --> 01:21:45,447
and as I looked at it, I said,
"Would I want to hear this speech?"
1311
01:21:46,865 --> 01:21:47,908
So I tore it up.
1312
01:21:48,992 --> 01:21:52,204
So I stand here now defenseless,
1313
01:21:53,038 --> 01:21:55,624
with nothing except to tell you
1314
01:21:57,000 --> 01:21:58,877
if you have an idea
1315
01:21:58,961 --> 01:22:02,130
that you genuinely think is good,
1316
01:22:03,006 --> 01:22:05,592
don't let some idiot talk you out of it.
1317
01:22:05,676 --> 01:22:11,598
That doesn't mean that every wild notion
you come up with is gonna be genius,
1318
01:22:11,682 --> 01:22:15,310
but if there is something
that you feel is good,
1319
01:22:15,644 --> 01:22:20,274
{\an8}something you want to do,
something that means something to you,
1320
01:22:20,816 --> 01:22:25,070
try to do it.
Because you can only do your best work
1321
01:22:25,654 --> 01:22:28,574
if you're doing what you want to do
1322
01:22:28,657 --> 01:22:32,619
and if you're doing it the way you think
it should be done,
1323
01:22:32,703 --> 01:22:35,998
and if you can take pride in it
after you've done it,
1324
01:22:36,081 --> 01:22:37,499
no matter what it is,
1325
01:22:37,583 --> 01:22:41,545
you can look at it and say, "I did that
and I think it's pretty damn good."
1326
01:22:41,670 --> 01:22:42,921
That's a great feeling.
1327
01:22:43,672 --> 01:22:48,135
I want to wish all of you
the best luck in the world.
1328
01:22:48,218 --> 01:22:52,222
Just do your thing. Whatever you do,
give it your best shot.
1329
01:22:52,306 --> 01:22:54,266
You'll be glad you did.
1330
01:22:54,349 --> 01:22:56,018
- Excelsior!
- (AUDIENCE CHEERING)