The ‘Secret Origin’ of a Timely Comic Tribute to Stan Lee

Author: George Gene Gustines / Source: New York Times

In the tribute comic, the artist Bill Walko showcased heroes that Stan Lee co-created who have made it to film. Bill Walko

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Sad, humbled and proud. It was weird to feel those emotions simultaneously, but that’s what it was like to work on a tribute comic for Stan Lee.

Lee, who co-created many of Marvel’s biggest heroes, including Spider-Man, died on Monday at 95, and The Times was able to publish “My Moments With Stan” — written by Brian Michael Bendis, drawn by Bill Walko and colored by Howie Noel — within a few hours of the news.

As a final farewell to Stan, I want to share the secret origin of the project.

Last year, when reports surfaced about Lee’s poor health, Amy Padnani, a senior staff editor on the Obituaries desk, gathered a group to discuss how The Times could show Lee’s influence on pop culture. In addition to his obituary, we thought about a slide show featuring the characters he co-created, a video showing his film cameos and, naturally, a comic book of some kind. (I always feel gratified when my nerdy area of expertise benefits the paper.)

Brian Michael Bendis is a prolific creator of comics who in 2000 began an influential run on “Ultimate Spider-Man,” a retelling of Peter Parker’s story for modern times. As a fan of his work, I had commissioned him in 2004 to tell the story of his early days in the industry, in comic strip form, for The Times.

I pitched him the Lee tribute idea on March 8, 2017. He responded almost instantly: “Let’s discuss. I have some kind, personal stories that show a more human side.”