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Stan Lee
All American superheroes
Stan Lee , comic book writer, editor and former president of Marvel Comics, is widely considered one of the most influential people in the comic book industry. Laura McBeth introduces his debut collection 'Superheroes'
H e is credited with chetypal all American superhero, but those that had their demons. Those that might, if pushed, lose their temper, those that would fall in and out of love, become unwell, question the very essence of their existence. Humans, essentially, blessed (or cursed) with super- hero powers. This type of characterisation and story-telling had rarely been introducing complex characters; characters that were not just the ar-
seen in the industry before and it was the start of a reformation of Marvel and how comic book writ- ers and artists themselves began to engage with their audience on a new level. It is this introduction of the ‘human’, the emotion, that makes Stan Lee’s characters the hugely popular entities they are today. Who amongst us is not aware of Spider-Man? A perfect example of Lee’s humanisation of a character that could so easily have been disassociated with society be- cause of his almost other-worldly, mutant qualities. “He’s a teenager with money problems and girl problems,” says Lee of Peter Parker, “a hero the average reader can empathise with.” No surprise then, that Spider-Man was one of the first collection of limited edition art available through Castle Galleries across the country from February. The collection of six limited editions, are giclée reproductions of some of the most iconic comic book covers ever to have covers chosen to form part of Superheroes , the debut
Avengers #146 1976 Cover artist: Gil Kane
come out of Stan Lee’s reign at Marvel. Working with some of the most accomplished comic book artists, inkers and pencillers, Lee collaborated to
create a host of characters that are known around the world; that transcend generations, gender or background. From the Hulk, to the X-Men, •
SPRING 2013 FINE ART COLLECTOR
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