At an age where most people are ready to just let the clock run out, Stan Lee’s got a pretty full schedule of appearances, video games, new comics in the works, cameos in Marvel films, and much, much more.
Just doing a Google news search will turn up plenty of Lee activity: Comic Con, documentaries (With Great Power), and superhero video games (Verticus).
Now with Xmas finally here, Lee has performed a very spirited performance of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, which has made the rounds all over the ‘Net, as well as a very humorous animated Twelve Days of Christmas Parody that you can watch on his YouTube channel, World of Heroes.
The World of Heroes channel has a lot of amusing superhero parodies well worth checking out (I especially like Stan’s Rants), and in Lee’s Night Before reciting, he’s proven that he’s still a great storyteller, and still has incredible energy for a guy who’s going to hit the big 9-0 on December 28. In addition to all this activity, which someone more than half his age couldn’t keep up with, Lee’s also taking on the world of fan conventions.
L.A. Weekly has reported extensively on Comikaze, with the paper terming it “perhaps the most ambitious fan convention to arise over the past few years.” Comikaze happened at the L.A. Convention Center, and like writer Liz Ohanesian notes, the convention is now partnered with Lee.
As Lee told Weekly, “Over the years, people have said to me, ‘Why don’t you have a Stan Lee comic convention? I always answer, ‘I can’t do it because I’m not in that business. I don’t know how to run a convention.’ Now, after all these years, I can say, yes, I want to do it.” Another big plus for L.A. locals is here’s a convention right in your backyard where you don’t have to schlep all the way down to San Diego.
Before Lee’s involvement, Comikaze was already off to an ambitious start when it debuted last year. Lee was one of the first guests, and the organizers did a lot with their small budget. This past year there were also gaming booths for companies like Activision, Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar from the TV Batman, famed horror show host Elvira, the animation company Titmouse, Aqua Teen and Space Ghost panels, along with much, much more.
As L.A. Weekly reminds us, it took quite some time before Comic Con went from a mere convention to a huge event, and Comikaze’s got a ways to go as well, but it has indeed grown considerably since its debut last year. As Regina Carpinelli, the CEO of Comikaze, said, “For me as a girl who grew up wanting to be Spider-Man, to now being business partners with Stan is a dream come true.”
Keeping busy, specially in your twilight years, is what keeps you here, and I’m sure the enthusiasm and passion of the fans is a big part of what keeps Stan young at heart. So here’s to many more Comikaze’s to come.
