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STAN LEE BEMUSED BY KIRBY CONTROVERSIES, NOT AS RICH AS YOU THINK HE IS

Like most expressions of Stan Lee’s history, a new Playboy piece by David Hochman repeatedly references “Stan the Man” as “the creator” of characters including Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, while co-creators Jack Kirby an Steve Ditko’s contributions are described merely as “working with” Lee, who was a Marvel staffer since the age of 18 (thanks to a familial relation with company boss Martin Goodman). Proponents of both artists have argued for decades to the contrary; that it was Lee whose contributions were the more meager of the partnerships. But here Lee comes off as almost contrite as he explains in unusually stark terms, free of pizzazz or superfluous alliteration, his view of the enduring questions about his role in Marvel’s storied history, from character creation to Disney acquisition to his own monetary wealth.

On the lingering controversy surrounding Lee’s work with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko:

“There was never a time when it just said ‘by Stan Lee.’ It was always ‘by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’ or ‘by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.’ I made sure their names were always as big as mine. As far as what they were paid, I had nothing to do with that. They were hired as freelance artists, and they worked as freelance artists. At some point they apparently felt they should be getting more money. Fine, it was up to them to talk to the publisher. It had nothing to do with me. I would have liked to have gotten more money too. And twice, not once, I offered a job to Jack Kirby. I said to him, ‘Jack, why don’t you work for Marvel with me?’ I was the art director at the time. I said, ‘You be the art director. I’ll just be the editor and head writer, and you’ll have that security.’ He wouldn’t do it. He didn’t want a staff job. With him, as with Ditko, I don’t see where they were unfairly treated. Jack was a great guy and so is Steve. I’m sorry anybody feels there’s any acrimony. I loved them both.”

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