Stan Lee, a giant in the comic book industry, died November 12, 2018. The complex and once-reluctant writer worked closely and frequently fought with his artistic collaborators. Together, they developed characters that battled inner demons as frequently as they battled villains, and each other. They transformed comics with some of the world’s most recognizable superheroes. In recent months, Lee has been accused of sexual harassment. He has been struggling with a variety of other personal setbacks.

Lee’s own road to fame wasn’t easy. He was one of the hardest working men in comics — driven by his experiences as a child during the great depression…

1922 - 1930s

Stanley Martin Lieber is born in New York City in 1922. Coming of age during the Great Depression, he sees his father, a Romanian-born Jewish immigrant, struggle to find work. He also sees the strain it puts on his parents' relationship, and he vows to himself to work hard to achieve financial stability. He pours his energy into reading everything he can.

1939

Lee takes a job in 1938 as an assistant at Timely Comics, a small publishing house owned by a relative, Martin Goodman. He begins as an assistant working alongside legends Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, the creators of Captain America.

1939 - 1947

The Timely Comics Crew

There's a new production house in town! Timely Comics(soon to be Marvel) opens its doors in 1939 with a few notable figures:

Martin Goodman

Founded Timely Comics in 1939. Earlier, he had co-founded Columbia Publications. He began publishing comics in the 1930s when the medium picked up popularity.

Jack Kirby

Artist at Timely Comics. Having gone through a variety of jobs, Kirby played a part in making the Popeye cartoons and drew an adaptation of "The Count of Monte Cristo." He got his start in superhero comics working under Victor Fox and met Joe Simon.

Joe Simon

Writer and long time collaborator of Jack Kirby. On being hired at Timely Comics, Simon and Kirby created the Marvel icon Captain America, an immediate success.

Three years after he starts working at Timely Comics, Lee first signs his name as “Stan Lee” in “Captain America Comics” No. 3, published in 1941. Around this time, Kirby and Simon moved on from Timely Comics, leaving Lee to take on the role of editor.

1961

Discouraged with bland, repetitive writing and a lack of innovation in the genre, Lee is ready to leave after more than 20 years at Timely Comics. When Goodman asks him to create characters that can rival DC Comics' Justice League, Lee aims to make heroes never seen before -- heroes capable of mistakes, who are frustrated, but who ultimately save the day. He calls these heroes “The Fantastic Four” and develops the comic with Jack Kirby under the company's new name, Marvel Comics.

1961-1970

The success of the Fantastic Four leads to creative freedom and to a wide range of new super heroes. A green monster who is actually a scientist? Yup. A web-slinging teenage superhero? Definitely. His characters become massive hits and Lee begins making a name for himself. Between 1960-1970, Lee writes more than a dozen well-loved characters with collaborators such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Lee's brother, Larry Leiber and others, a group nicknamed the "Merry Marvel Bullpen".

Despite the massive success of Lee's work, he still faces challenges. Steve Ditko, the artist who co-created Spider-Man and other characters, leaves Marvel in 1966. Martin Goodman sells the company.

The Marvel Method

This comics creation style was employed by Marvel beginning in the ‘60s. It gave artists freedom to work from a synopsis instead of a script, drawing the comic and creating plot details before having the writer fill in dialogue. This stressed contributions from artists like Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko before those of writers such as Stan Lee.

💡 + 🎨 + 📓 = 📖

Plot Artist Writer Comic

Traditional Method

Employed by other studios

💡 + 📓 + 🎨 = 📖

Plot Writer Artist Comic

Jack Kirby, an integral partner for Lee who drew into existence characters like Thor, the Fantastic Four, and more, leaves Marvel for the final time in 1978.

Over time Lee and his chief collaborators parted on bad terms. It's generally known now that Ditko's and Kirby's contributions on specific characters were at least on par with Lee's. But the Marvel Method and the passage of time has made it difficult to give credit where it's due. All three have different accounts of their collaborations.

1966- 1980s

After a decade of following his passion for storytelling and creating new characters, Lee is ready for a change. He packs up his family and moves to Los Angeles. Here, Lee will move on from comics to become a larger presence in Marvel's animation and live-action ventures.

1994

In Los Angeles, Marvel goes through a series of new management. The comic industry grapples with declining profits despite popularity. However, not everything is bleak. The newly formed Marvel Animation Studios creates a Spider-Man TV series (with Stan Lee stepping in as producer). It becomes a well-received classic. This, combined with another animated projects and films leads to a resurgence for Marvel. Lee negotiates a new contract with Marvel which allows him to pursue outside interests.

1997-2001

Lee finds mixed success in a variety of ventures. He forms Lee-Schultz Productions with Larry Shultz. Later, he co-founds Stan Lee Media with Peter Paul, who subsequently becomes the focus of an FBI investigation, shocking Lee. Lee finally hits the right note with POW! (Purveyors Of Wonder!) Entertainment, created with Gil Champion. Lee even collaborates with longtime rival, DC Comics, to reimagine the origins of its' famous characters in the "Just Imagine..." series.

2002-2007

Sony purchases the film rights to Spider-Man to help produce Sam Raimi's 2002 film starring Tobey Maguire. It is the first film to take in more than $100 million in its opening weekend.

2011

In 2011, At the age of 88, Stan Lee earns a ⭐ on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Stan Lee had since taken a step back from Marvel but remained well known partly because of his constant cameos in Marvel films. Lee hadn’t been shy about his fame and met with fans through conventions like Comic-Con International in San Diego and his own, smaller Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con. He continued to cultivate various projects under his own company, POW! Entertainment.

In April of this year, Lee was involved in a series of scandals including accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior. He also had financial trouble that culminated in him filing a lawsuit against his ex-business manager. Earlier this year, those around him had been accused of elder abuse.

Lee's legacy will continue to live on in the work he's produced and the undeniable influence he's had on comics, entertainment, and culture.