Tag Archives: Stan Lee

Four Color Forum

Comic Book Trivia: The Stan Lee Edition

It was standing room only last night at Mission: Comics as our humble little evening of trivia and frivolity paid tribute to Stan Lee. It was nice having license to embrace my Marvel bias; forcing in DC questions to create the appearance of an impartial quizmaster becomes wearisome.

Congratulations to Newer New New Mutants: The Holiday Edition for winning first place, reclaiming the title first earned back in February (and redeeming themselves after March’s infamous John Romita flop). The repeat champions narrowly edged rivals The Anagraminals and now those two powerhouse teams close the 2018 trivia season with two titles apiece.

super loot from Super7

But last last night everyone was a winner! Every team went home with prizes, from almost $150 in store merchandise, black-banded Stan Lee tribute comics (not distributed until midnight; we know the rules), and toys from our friends at Super7, including the new Planet of the Apes playset, figures, Mega Man M.U.S.C.L.E. blister packs, and a gift certificate to their 16th Street store.

Now for a chance to test your knowledge. Here’s the quiz in its entirety. Do it without Google, true believer! ‘Nuff said!

Question #1 – Easy Opener
Stan Lee served in the U.S. military as a member of the Army’s Signal Corps during which global conflict?

Question #2 – At the Movies
In which 1995 action movie does Denzel Washington dismiss an argument with the line, “Everyone who reads comic books knows that the Kirby Silver Surfer is the only true Silver Surfer”?

Question #3 – On Stage
The music & lyrics for the broadway bomb Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark were composed by members of which Hall of Fame rock band?

Question #4 – Matching
Match the comic book character to the artist who co-created the character with Stan.

Question #5 – First Appearances
In which comic series did Iron Man make his first appearance?

Question #6 – Geography
Name two of the three real nations bordering the fictional country of Latveria. Continue reading Comic Book Trivia: The Stan Lee Edition →

Four Color Forum

Stan Lee Tribute Night

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, we hope you’ll be able to join us on Tuesday, December 18th for a special Stan Lee Tribute and Trivia Night. Idle Time will be hosting another evening of funnybook quiz questions (many of which are barely comic book-adjacent; don’t be intimidated) at Mission: Comics and Art in the City.

Entry is free, and there will be lots of prizes, including store gift certificates, Stan Lee memorial comics, and surprises from our friends at Super7!

Grab some pals, a mustache & aviator shades, a six-pack of whatever we’re drinking, and let’s hang out. Continue reading Stan Lee Tribute Night →

Four Color Forum

Stan Lee and the Silver Surfer

Last week I wrote about the affect that one of Stan Lee’s most iconic co-creations had on me as a young comic book fan.

This week I wanted to focus instead on a character that impacted me greatly in my teenage years and into adulthood. Although not technically a Stan Lee creation (and in fact the character’s provenance was the source of some controversy), the story of the Silver Surfer is undeniably associated with Stan and is an important part of the writer’s legacy. In tribute, here’s a look at the comic book that brought me closer to Stan Lee’s worldview as seen through the eyes of the lonely sentinel of the spaceways, and gave me a better appreciation of the man who helped make Marvel Comics what it is today.

Silver Surfer

The Silver Surfer #1 (1988)
By eighth grade, I was well and truly entrenched in the Marvel universe, but apart from random issues of 70’s Defenders and summarized tales in Marvel Saga, I didn’t know much about the Silver Surfer until the debut of Steve Englehart’s series  and the release of Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien. Both of those artifacts were gateway drugs into the immersive world of Marvel’s galactic space opera, and I spent many of my high school years moving backwards and forwards into the Jim Starlin and Ron Lim eras, digging on Warlock, Eternity, and all the trippy Infinity Watching and cosmic handholding.

But in 1988, another Silver Surfer hit the stands under Marvel’s Epic imprint, and it felt important enough that, despite its incongruities and lack of adherence to all-important continuity, I was compelled to add it to my weekly pull. It was the first of the two-part “Parable” story by Stan Lee and French artist Moebius.

Continue reading Stan Lee and the Silver Surfer →

Four Color Forum

In Memoriam: Stan Lee 1922-2018

We all know how much Stan Lee meant to the world. There are few figures in the twentieth century that have had as significant an impact on popular culture as had the Forever Face of Marvel Comics. While he modestly downplayed his contributions to society, Stan’s indelible mark on history has given, without question, joy and inspiration to several generations of fans and followers. And will continue to do so for generations to come.

I can’t properly enumerate all the ways in which his enthusiasm, his vision, and his words have influenced me. Without his contributions to the industry, I may never have become the avid devotee of the medium that I am today, and my lifelong Marvel fandom owes everything to his prolific output and creative genius. Stan’s larger-than-life personality is matched by a portfolio of characters that transcend comics, themselves becoming a vital part of our social fabric, and many of whom have meant a great deal to me personally.

So as a small means of tribute, here is the first in a series of reflections on some  of my favorite Stan Lee co-creations, and the related comic book issues that recollect childhood excitement and have earned lasting admiration.

Spider-Man

Amazing Spider-Man #50
It really began for me with Peter Parker. I can’t remember how old I was when I thumbed through my first Spider-Man comic — no more than five for sure — but I do have vivid memories of watching that old syndicated cartoon on a tiny tube television from the floor of my family living room. I had committed the “does whatever a spider can” theme song to memory, and convinced two kindergarten classmates to perform it with me at a school-wide talent show. The only things I remember from that performance is that my two friends didn’t sing a word (boy did they look stupid standing next me, closed-lipped) and my folks didn’t try to talk me out of wearing my Spider-Man Underoos over my corduroys (damn, I must’ve looked cool). Continue reading In Memoriam: Stan Lee 1922-2018 →