Tag: stan lee

Lichtenstein POP ART Productions

Whaam! Blam! Roy Lichtenstein and the Art of Appropriation is now available for online viewing. The documentary receives my highest recommendation, not only for setting the record straight, but for how it presents both sides of the case.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BVJSVN18/

Much of Lichtenstein’s appeal depends on scale, so I recommend watching the documentary on the largest screen possible. Seeing the giant canvases displayed at auctions, in museums and galleries, only to be brought down to size both literally and figurately, makes the praise heaped on Lichtenstein by his apologists in the high art world seem laughable.

This documentary became not only necessary, but possible, by research that’s been done by fellow Westfield State alum David Barsalou. The reference David makes in this brief video clip is to an Art History course that was taught by Barbara Harris.

In this clip Russ Heath, one of the all-time great comic book illustrators, talks about Stan Lee giving him his start in comics.

Whether or not Stan realized that he had, in an indirect way, helped to make Lichtenstein’s fame possible, in 1965 he briefly embraced the Pop Art label, as seen in the corner box at the top of this post.

It’s disappointing that Bill Griffith, who I’m very much a fan of, doesn’t see a problem with Lichtenstein’s comic book appropriations. Griffith, who attended Pratt Institute during Lichtenstein’s initial burst of fame, seems to be expressing more of an art student’s view than one coming from a cartoonist. It was almost sad for me, seeing Griffith’s position undercut so deftly.

Voices Gone But Not Forgotten

The audio from my copy of THE VOICES OF MARVEL flexi-disc is being featured on Boing Boing. Sadly, everyone who is heard on the record is now gone.

https://boingboing.net/2022/07/12/listen-to-a-rare-flexi-disc-record-of-stan-lee-jack-kirby-and-the-voices-of-marvel-from-1964.html

The scripted and rehearsed recording was made in 1965, during Wally Wood’s brief stint working for Stan. Steve Ditko was still at Marvel, but he isn’t heard. Jack Kirby later regretted participating, despite his apparent enthusiasm at the time. Joe Sinnott didn’t return to the Bullpen until a few months later.

I know that one of my audio transfers was used for the video shared on Boing Boing, because of the “thump” heard while artist Don Heck is talking. The audio was captured lovingly and with careful attention to detail, using high-quality audio equipment, as I explained here fifteen years ago.

The MMMS Records Remastered

Steranko Country

Today through May 29, Jim Steranko has an exhibit of his paintings at the Butler Institute of American Art, in Youngstown, Ohio.

I must take strong exception to the curator’s statement that Stan Lee considered Steranko to be “his best,” and “his right-hand man, in a way.” That distinction, without question, belonged to Jack Kirby.

Correction: Wendy Swick is not the curator, she is the Public Relations Coordinator at the museum.

Joe and Stan Remembered

I took a break from blogging on October 15. The next day would have been Joe Sinnott’s 95th birthday. Having let the occasion get past me, I’ll make up for it now.

This photo was inscribed by Joe to Stan Lee in 2012. Stan kept it in his office until he passed away, three years ago yesterday. Joe first worked for Stan in 1951.

“Stan, you’ve been like a brother to me for 61 years — thanks, Joe Sinnott ’12”
Joe’s tools of his trade — A Winsor & Newton Series 7 #3 brush and a Hunt 102 pen nib. Acquired from the Joe Sinnott estate.

It’s Boston Marathon weekend, and Morgan Spurlock is here to talk about the San Diego Comic Con

Marathon Monday is going to be hot! One year when I ran Boston the sun was brutal and the temperature was hovering around 90 and, believe me, in that heat you take almost every water stop! At the 24-mile mark is Coolidge Corner, and tomorrow, one day before 25,000 pairs of running shoes go by that spot, Morgan Spurlock will be at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for the premiere of his new documentary, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.

Friday morning, Spurlock was on PRI’s The Takeaway, talking about comic books and the San Diego convention.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/audio.wnyc.org/takeaway/takeaway041312j.mp3|titles=The Takeaway: Morgan Spurlock on ‘A Fan’s Hope’]

Spurlock says that without the involvement of Stan Lee and Joss Whedon he probably wouldn’t have gotten permission from the convention to make the movie, but Morgan is a known name and his reputation precedes him — in a good way, I think. He’s a friend to fanboys and a kindred spirit. Speaking of somebody with a reputation, here’s a picture of me with Smilin’ Stan “The Man” Lee at a show in NYC a couple of weeks ago.

When I was down in New York I stopped at the table of the Jack Kirby Museum. I donated some money and chatted with the guys representing the organization. We talked about the Kirby family’s ongoing litigation with Disney-Marvel, and we agreed it’s a shame how the company took the path it did, rather than offering an out-of-court settlement.

There’s a vocal contingent of Jack supporters who are out to make Stan the bad guy for stealing credit that rightfully should be shared with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. But the well was poisoned long before the so-called Marvel Universe came into being in the 1960’s. As the late Joe Simon said on page 114 of My Life in Comics, “Jack always thought Stan had told his uncle that we were working for DC. He never gave up on that idea, and hated him for the rest of his life — to the day he died.” The hard-line Jack supporters have taken Kirby’s hatred to heart, and I think their zeal has caused them to lose their perspective. As I told the Kirby Museum reps, I will not support Jack by hating Stan.