>>>
>>> GOOD
>>> GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME TO NEW DAY NORTHWEST.
FIRST UP THIS MORNING ICONIC
ACTION HEROES INCLUDING SPIDER-
MAN, THE AVENGERS, X-MEN HAVE
ENTERTAINED AUDIENCES TOGETHER.
ALL COMING FROM THE MINDS OF
COMIC BOOK PIONEER STAN LEE.
NOW A NEW BIOGRAPHY CALLED
MARVELOUS LIFE, THE AMAZING
STORY OF STAN LEE SHARES MORE
DETAILS THAN EVER BEFORE.
WHO PASSED AWAY JUST LAST YEAR.
AUTHOR DANNY JOINS ME NOW.
HOW ARE YOU?
>> I'M GREAT, HOW ARE YOU?
>> I'M GOOD.
THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO HAVE
NOT SEEN A LOT OF MARVEL MOVIES
OR MAY NOT KNOW THE SCOPE OF
THE MATERIAL.
THE MATERIAL. CAN YOU NAME OUT SOME OF THE
MOST WELL-KNOWN PRODUCTS THAT
CAME OUT OF HIS MIND?
>> THE CHARACTERS THAT STAN AND
HIS COLLABORATORS WHO DREW THE
COMICS GAME UP WITH SPIDER-MAN
AS THE MOST FAMOUS, HULK, THE
AVENGERS, FANTASTIC FOUR.
DAREDEVIL, DR. STRANGE.
AND THEY WERE ALL CREATED IN A
RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD IN THE
60s.
60s.
60s. >>
60s. >> THEY WERE DIFFERENT AT THAT
POINT.
POINT.
POINT. THEY REALLY STOOD OUT.
PEOPLE ATTACHED TO THEM PRETTY
QUICKLY AS BIG FANS.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT MADE THEM
UNIQUE?
UNIQUE?
UNIQUE? >> I THINK A PART OF IT WAS
STAN LEE HIMSELF WHO HAD A BIG
PERSONALITY AND CAME OUT
THROUGH THE STORIES, AND A LOT
THROUGH THE LETTERS PAGE, SO IT
WAS LIKE A CLUB.
YOU WERE ALLOWED TO READ THE
COOL STORIES, YOU WERE A PART
OF THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB.
>> YES, AND WE CAN SEE FROM THE
PICTURES, STAN WAS A BIG
PERSONALITY AND A LOVABLE GUY,
AND HE MADE SOME CAMEOS AND
PEOPLE SAW HIM.
BUT WHAT DID WE NOT KNOW ABOUT
HIM IN HIS BEGINNINGS?
>> WELL, IT WAS ALMOST A
CLASSIC GREATEST GENERATION
STORY GROWING UP IN POVERTY AND
NEW YORK.
NEW YORK.
NEW YORK. AND HE HAD TO SUPPORT HIS
FAMILY.
FAMILY.
FAMILY. HIS FATHER HAD A HARD TIME
MAKING A LIVING AND HE HAD A
KID BROTHER THAT WASN'T OLD
ENOUGH TO GO OUT AND WORK AND
HIS MOTHER WAS A HOMEMAKER AND
WASILL.
WASILL.
WASILL. STAN REALLY HAD TO USE ALL HIS
SKILLS AND ALL OF HIS INSTINCTS
TO GO OUT AND FIGURE OUT A WAY
TO MAKE A LIVING AND HE GOT
THIS JOB TO BECOME MARVEL
COMICS AS AN ASSISTANT AND IT
BLOSSOMED INTO THIS ENORMOUS
THING.
THING.
THING. >>
THING. >> I MEAN THAT'S ONE OF THE
STORIES LIKE HE STARTED IN THE
MAIL ROOM.
MAIL ROOM. [ LAUGHTER ] AND THEN HE WOULD
EARN THAT TAKEOVER AND
EVERYTHING FROM THERE.
YOU SAY SPIDER-MAN IN
PARTICULAR WAS A REVOLUTIONARY
KIND OF CHARACTER.
DESCRIBE WHY.
DESCRIBE WHY. >> SPIDER-MAN FOR ONE THING WAS
A TEENAGER.
A TEENAGER. USUALLY YOU HAVE ROBIN THAT
WOULD BE BATMAN, BUT NOT THE
HERO.
HERO.
HERO. SPIDER-MAN EVEN THOUGH HE WAS
LIKE 15 YEARS OLD CALLED
HIMSELF SPIDER-MAN AND
DISGUISED HIS WHOLE FACE, SO
YOU COULDN'T SEE HOW OLD HE
REALLY WAS.
REALLY WAS. HE HAD A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.
HIS UNCLE BEN WAS MURDERED AND
HE BELIEVED IT WAS HIS FAULT.
AND EVEN THOUGH HE OFTEN AND
ALMOST BEAT THE VILLAIN, HE
WOULD ALSO LOSE SOMETHING.
A GIRL WHO HE LIKED WOULD THINK
SPIDER-MAN WAS AN IDIOT OR
EVIL.
EVIL.
EVIL. AND
EVIL. AND SO LIKE IN LIFE EVERYTHING
HE GAINED, IT WOULD BE SOME
TRAGIC THING.
TRAGIC THING. IT WASN'T ALL JUST SQUARE DRAWN
HEROES WHO SAVED THE DAY
BECAUSE THEY WOULD COME ONE A
GREAT PLAN AND THEN HAVE TO
TAKE THE CONSEQUENCES OF WHAT
HAPPENED IN LIFE.
SO THE MARVEL CHARACTERS ARE
LIKE THAT IN GENERAL.
>> THAT QUALITY AND THE FACT
THAT IT IS MORE LIFE LIKE AND A
VERY YOUNG CHARACTER AND THAT
HE DIDN'T HAVE A FACE, SO YOU
COULD PROJECT YOURSELF ONTO
WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO THINK
SPIDER-MAN WAS ALL ABOUT MADE
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WERE ALREADY,
YOU KNOW, KIND OF DOING THEIR
OWN THING IN THE 60s REALLY
RELAY TO THESE CHARACTERS IS
THAT RIGHT?
THAT RIGHT? >> THAT'S TRUE.
ALSO HE WAS PARTNERED UP WITH A
GUY WHO AS AN ARTIST AND A
STORY TELLER WAS EQUALLY
BRILLIANT.
BRILLIANT. THE OTHER CHARACTER IS A GUY
NAMED JACK KIRBY.
AND TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, THEY
DIDN'T ALWAYS LOVE EACH OTHER
OR GET ALONG.
THERE WERE A LOT OF ARGUMENTS
GOING DOWN.
GOING DOWN. BUT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER THESE
PEOPLE ALONG WITH STAN'S
BROTHER, AND A FEW OTHER PEOPLE
WOULD PUT TOGETHER THE NUCLEUS.
>> IT IS JUST AMAZING.
WHEN YOU DID THIS RESEARCH AND
DEEP, DEEP RESEARCH IN THIS
BOOK, WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW?
WHAT CHANGED IN YOUR OWN MIND
ABOUT THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY?
>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT
CHANGE WOULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT
HOME TO ME.
SOME OF IT IS UNEXPLAINABLE.
BUT A LOT OF IT IS JUST HARD
WORK.
WORK.
WORK. YOU
WORK. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THINK MARVEL
STARTED MORE OR LESS IN 1961,
THE FANTASTIC FOUR.
BUT STAN HAD BEEN WORKING IN
THE BUSINESS FOR 20 YEARS
BEFORE THAT AND TRIED TO GET
OUT AND TRIED TO DO OTHER
THINGS.
THINGS.
THINGS. >> WE'RE SEEING SOME EARLY
WORKS HERE.
WORKS HERE. SO NOT AN OVERNIGHT SENSATION.
>> NO, HE DID FINE, BUT COMICS
WERE ALWAYS SEEMED AS NOT AS
HIGH STATED AS NOVELS OR MOVIES
OR SYNDICATED NEWSPAPER STRIPS.
THAT WAS THE HOLY GRAIL FOR
PEOPLE IN THE COMICS BUSINESS.
AND SO STAN, YOU KNOW, DID A
LOT OF HARD WORK TO BECOME AN
OVERNIGHT SUCCESS.
OVERNIGHT SUCCESS. IT TOOK 20 YEARS.
>> HE WAS CONTROVERSIAL AT
TIMES.
TIMES.
TIMES. CONTROVERSIAL PRIMARILY IN THE
WAY HE TREATED HIS
COLLABORATORS OR WHAT WOULD YOU
DESCRIBE THIS?
DESCRIBE THIS? >> WELL, I THINK HE TREATED HIS
COLLABORATORS GENERALLY WELL.
BUT WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR
GIVING OR TAKING CREDIT, OFTEN
INADVERTENTLY HE WOULD GO ON A
SHOW LIKE THIS, THE 60s
EQUIVALENT, AND WHOEVER WAS
ASKING THE QUESTIONS THOUGHT
THE AUDIENCE FOUND THE IDEA
THAT STAN AND SOMEBODY ELSE
CREATED A CHARACTER, TOO
COMPLICATED FOR THE AUDIENCE,
NOW AUDIENCES ARE MORE
SOPHISTICATED.
SOPHISTICATED. SO THE IDEA THAT IT WOULD BE A
COLLABORATION.
COLLABORATION. BUT VERY OFTEN THAT WOULD GET
SIMPLIFIED AND STAN WOULD TAKE
THE RAP FOR NOT GIVING CREDIT
TO THE ARTIST.
AND IT WAS A REAL
COLLABORATION.
COLLABORATION. BUT SOMETIMES INADVERTENTLY
THEY GOT LEFT OUT, WHICH IN
LATER YEARS TRANSLATES INTO NOT
ONLY WHO GETS CREDIT IN THE
MOVIES, BUT ALSO WHO GETS PAID,
HOW MUCH, AND YOU KNOW, ALL
THOSE REPERCUSSIONS, YOU KNOW.
>> IT'S NOT JUST HURT FEELINGS.
IT COULD BE A LOT OF MONEY
INVOLVED.
INVOLVED.
INVOLVED. >> HURT FEELINGS, ESPECIALLY TO
CREATIVE TYPE OF PEOPLE COULD
BE VERY IMPORTANT TOO.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> ABSOLUTELY. MAYBE REALLY EVERYBODY WHEN YOU
THINK ABOUT IT.
WHETHER YOU FEEL RESPECTED IN
THAT WAY.
THAT WAY.
THAT WAY. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO INTERVIEW
HIM?
HIM?
HIM? >>
HIM? >> WELL, I KNEW HIM FOR A LONG
TIME.
TIME.
TIME. I
TIME. I MET HIM IN THE 70s WHEN I
STARTED WORKING AT MARVEL
COMICS.
COMICS.
COMICS. I
COMICS. I INTERVIEWED HIM A LOT OF THE
TIMES.
TIMES.
TIMES. I
TIMES. I THINK FOR THIS BOOK WHEN I
DID THE INTERVIEWS WITH HIM, IT
WAS UNAUTHORIZED.
WAS UNAUTHORIZED. I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO
ASK HIM THINGS TO KIND OF GET
HIM TO THINK, YOU KNOW, HE'S IN
THE BUSINESS FOR 75 YEARS AND
LIKE MANY PEOPLE HE HAD A
CERTAIN SET OF ANSWERS.
ABLE TO GET THEM TO THINK
OUTSIDE THAT BOX AND TO GIVE
ANSWERS AND REFLECT ON THINGS
THAT THEY HAD DONE IN A LITTLE
DIFFERENT WAY THAN MAYBE PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE DONE.
>> HOW DID HE DO THAT BECAUSE
HE WAS SUCH A FRONT MAN AND A
SHOWMAN IN HIS OWN WAY.
>> YEAH, I THINK AS YOU KNOW
FROM INTERVIEWING IF YOU ARE
ABLE TO PUT A LITTLE SPIN ON
THE QUESTION AND MAYBE COME AT
IT FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE.
THE CLASSIC THING IS WHEN THEY
ALWAYS HAD A STORY WHEN HE TOLD
WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND
ONE DAY HE WAS IN THAT
CLASSROOM AND THEY WERE
PAINTING HIM AND THEY WENT OFF
TO LUNCH.
TO LUNCH.
TO LUNCH. HE WENT UP ON THE LADDER AND
WROTE ON THE CEILING, STAN LEE
IS GOD.
IS GOD.
IS GOD. AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, BUT YOU
DIDN'T CHANGE YOUR NAME TO STAN
LEE UNTIL AFTER YOU WERE IN
COMICS.
COMICS.
COMICS. HE SAID I MIGHT HAVE WRITTEN
STAN WAS GOD.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS THE
MOST PROFOUND REVELATION.
BUT SO THINGS WERE MORE SERIOUS
TOO ABOUT HIS MARRIAGE, ABOUT
HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE
ARTIST.
ARTIST.
ARTIST. I
ARTIST. I FELT THERE WAS NO POINT IN
CONFRONTING A 90 SOMETHING GUY.
I JUST TRIED TO GET HIM TO
THINK A LITTLE BIT OUT OF THE
BOX AND IN THE BOOK YOU'LL SEE
THAT I WAS ABLE TO GET HIM.
I THINK HE TRUSTED FOR KNOWING
ME FOR ALL THOSE YEARS THAT I
HAVE DONE THE PROJECTS AND
EVENTS WITH HIM.
ULTIMATELY HE WANTED TO.
BUT THE THING THAT WAS AMAZING
ABOUT STAN, HE HAD ANSWERS.
YOU WOULD SEE HIM ON THE
CONVENTION PANEL, THE TV SHOW.
BUT IN THE SAME TONE OF VOICE
THAT HE WOULD BE SAYING BUY
THIS NEW COMIC OR TOY.
SUDDENLY THE MASK WOULD DROP
AND HE WOULD SAY THIS PERSONAL
THING IN THE SAME TONE TRYING
TO SELL YOU SOMETHING.
BUT I THINK THAT AFTER NOTHING
HIM, I LEARNED HOW TO LISTEN.
AND TO FIND AND HEAR THINGS
THAT MAYBE SOMEBODY ELSE THERE,
PREFERRING ACADEMICS MIGHT NOT
BE ABLE TO HEAR OR SEE.
>> SOME INSIGHTS THAT WE WILL
ALL ENJOY IN GETTING TO KNOW
HIM BETTER.
HIM BETTER. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
DANNY HOLDS AN AUTHOR EVENT ON
CAPITOL HILL.
CAPITOL HILL. THAT HAPPENS AT 7:00 P.M.
I HOPE YOU GO OUT AND SEE HIM.
WE'LL HAVE LINKS FOR THAT ON
OUR WEBSITE.
OUR WEBSITE. UP NEXT NUTRITION