More Details Emerge About Stan Lee Tribute
Last November the comics industry, along with the film and television industry, lost a legend with the death of Stan Lee. Stan was a huge part of the entertainment industry, helming Marvel Comics from the 1940’s through the 1990’s, and was the leading force behind Marvel’s forays into live television and film in the 1970’s. Beyond Marvel comics, he started Stan Lee Media and POW! Entertainment, but he never strayed too far from his roots, and was considered the face of Marvel comics, and an emissary for the comics industry.
Stan was highly regarded in the entertainment industry as a whole, and plans for a tribute have been brewing since his passing, culminating in the announcement of a charity benefit in his name, first reported by FanFest’s Clare Brunton.
More details have now been released about the event and what fans can expect from the tribute, entitled Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee. The event will be held next week at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and is open to fans, who can purchase tickets here. Stan, as is well publicized, loved his fans, and loved to interact with them. All proceeds will go to the Hero Initiative, which is a charity supporting comicbook creators, artists, and writers in need.
The event will be attended by some of the industry’s biggest and brightest, including Mark Hamill, Felicia Day, RZA, Clark Gregg, and members of the casts of Legion, The Runaways, and The Gifted. It will open at 4pm on January 30th, and will feature the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theater transformed into a fan experience, which will include his cement handprints, where fans can leave flowers and sign a guest book offering condolences. It will also include displays of artwork, Stan’s comics, along with a preview of an upcoming gallery event from pop-culture artist Rob Prior entitled The Legacy Collection of Stan Lee.
Hosted by Kevin Smith, the event will open with some of the industry’s top cosplayers paying tribute to Stan by dressing as some of his most famous creations. The evening will include conversations with celebrities like Mark Hamill and Rob Liefeld, along with stars from the comics world, including Marv Wolfman, Joe Quesada, Jeph Loeb and Bill Sienkiewicz. Also included will be video tributes, live celebrity performances of Stan’s favorite music and poetry.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse fame, will be onstage to honor Stan, along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Derek Hoffman, who will speak to the modern impact of Stan’s characters, which will round out the event.
The event is a co-production of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, the fan-based company Legion M and consulting company Agents of Mayhem. The producers of the tribute will continue to release details of the event via social media. Follow @TheRealStanLee, @ThatKevinSmith, @LegionMOfficial, and @AgentsofMayhem for more details.
Rich Davenport graduated from Concordia University in St. Paul Minnesota with a B.A. in Mass Communication. He is a lifelong comicbook reader, a film fan and a hardcore video gamer. He also makes a lot of funny faces in pictures, much to his wife’s chagrin.
