“Selfy With God”- A Look At The Banal, Misguided & Nauseating Tribute Art After Stan Lee’s Death

It’s now been half a decade since the untimely passing of Stan Lee, creator and co-creator, editor and art director, modern Mark Twain and/or Shakespeare– surely, there won’t be a dry eye in the house once we get through this highly moving selection of tribute art that arose in the days after Lee’s death in November 2018.

It isn’t my intent to mock anyone’s artistic abilities or intentions; by the same token, some of the things we can glean in the well-meaning homages from these true believers are just how off they often are, how much they equate and miscredit characters, concepts and so forth with “The Man”, and, well, just how cringe inducing they tend to be.

It’s been five years now since Stan Lee died; Barry Pearl, sobbing, continues to light a candle under his Stan shrine each morning, Roy Thomas continues to thrive under the reimagining of his career that his poseur manager envisioned a few years before Lee’s death- today, we’ll look at how Lee’s real frantic ones used their talents to celebrate his life and memory. Keep a box of tissues real close!

I’ve got to say I’m moved that the ghost/angel of Stan himself is also moved by Spider-Man’s kneeling at his gravestone; Lee’s tears of empathy are indicative of the immense compassion and consideration he displayed during his lifetime. (note: I’m lying)

This image has immense rewards for the close observer, though it may just be me: would Captain America, of all characters, be the most distraught and emotional at a funeral? To say nothing of the rolled up suit jacket sleeves, Eighties style, like Caps’ been an extra on Miami Vice or something. In fact, why are these guys wearing suits over their costumes at all? And barely fitting suits, at that? The Hulk is wearing a GREEN suit. Let that sink in. Wolverine stays true to character by not dressing up at all- because, remember, Wolverine and Stan Lee are so closely associated together. (And Lee didn’t create Captain America either)

In this inspirational image, beloved television star Ken Jeong doubles for Stan. We are also baffled by the “Welcome” message- is Lee greeting us, ushering us in to the afterlife? Miles Morales, Cap and Wolverine all also appear, having not had any Stan Lee involvement in their creations whatsoever. Naturally.

Let’s consider the appearance of (possibly) two Thors, if that other character seemingly pounding on the tree on the left is also Chris Hemsworth. Steve Rogers would be that casual as to not wear his suit jacket? So many questions! Glad to see a man literally referred to as “The Kingpin of Crime” is standing so solemn and close to Stan’s grave, and it does reinforce just how much contempt Doctor Strange generally has for his super-hero peers in that he seems to be chatting with Stan’s ghost just mere feet away. We won’t mention that Thanos, Deadpool, Rocket Raccoon and The Vision are decidedly not Stan Lee co-creations whatsoever. Good ol’ MCU fans know it all!

Pretty basic and well-constructed but included due to the demented and satisfied look on Lee’s face here. It’s as if he can’t believe he got away with it all and still gets to fly, Superman-style, up to Heaven!

One of the repeated and common themes we saw in the Lee tribute art were scenes of a mournful Spider-Man weeping at Lee’s gravestone. I find this understandable and expected, if a little odd in that it does not take into account where Lee would have actually been buried, had he not been cremated, as well as the fact that his wife, Joan Lee, is never depicted at his side in any capacity. Let’s examine this graveyard; did Lee get buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn??

Again, look at this pitiful scene of Lee, in a pauper’s grave almost, buried in potter’s field or something. A mound of mud that Peter Parker logically sets his mask on, it all makes sense! Have these artists really never seen these Hollywood Forever type Cemetaries? Because THAT is where stars are buried, baby. (note: a reader wrote in to suggest to me that these particular images are based on a specific scene in one of the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man films I never saw, where Peter Parker mourns at Gwen Stacy’s grave. Alright.)

I found the, uh, structuring of this one a little… unusual. The way Lee is positioned and cradling Spider-Man’s lithe, veiny body seems more sensual than mournful. But again, maybe that’s just me. Maybe Lee spooning an extremely young man with one leg propped up so that his crotch lines up closely with Spider-Man’s tight backside makes total sense.

I did find some of the established Editorial Cartoonist tributes interesting, if only for their legit artistic talent making for some interesting renditions of Marvel characters- and I know these aren’t fan tributes exactly, but it’s again interesting to see non-Lee characters like Gamora included, as well as the public perception of Lee as CREATOR reestablished and reinforced.

Speaking of editorial cartoonists, another common theme you almost can’t blame them for are scenes like this. I remember being a young kid and seeing multiple cartoonists doing similar things when Christopher Reeve died; you’d inevitably see a one panel tribute of Superman flying away from a wheelchair, etc.

I sort of like the idea of Lee needing to convince the angels- who are inexplicably elderly in eternal paradise, for some reason- who he is, what he did, and helpfully carrying Steve Ditko’s designs with his name plastered on them, into the pearly gates.

More ancient looking angels. I’m getting distracted by the perception of immortal angels as doddering old-timers, I guess.

Befuddled and disturbed is how I felt when first seeing this one; I wondered if it was intentional that God and Lee have similar facial structures or if I was just reading too much into it. Send help now

Perhaps this is why the editorial cartooning industry is suffering; it seems the most common and obvious idea occurs to all of them on an interchangeable basis. Granted, most editorial cartooning is topical and needs to communicate to the most general and mainstream audience, but- I would have considered that everyone ELSE was going to do a variation on this idea, too.

Unintentionally offensive even if we can see what the intentions were; this stems from the general perception that Lee created the X-Men to combat bigotry- itself a blatant lie originated by pretentious modern fans who desperately craved that elusive mainstream respect- one has to wonder what Dr. King would have made of Lee referring to his daughter as “the dumbest white woman I’ve ever known” (the implication being that the dumbest White woman is still smarter than the smartest Black woman), or how he treated Golden Age African-American artist Cal Massey, whom he sang Slavery-era Negro Spirituals to. But yeah… X-Men and Black Panther- properties of which Lee’s involvement are secondary after Jack Kirby generated them- are equivalent to walking along side Martin Luther King Jr.

Fascinating art here, and I especially like how Lee looks like a regionally known television car salesman complete with “patriotic” tie.

Because Stan Lee created the Infinity Gauntlet and Star-Lord’s cassette player. (We won’t get into how he designed Loki’s famous helmet, of which it’s horns appear pre-Marvel in Jack Kirby’s earlier Thor story.)

Uh… this is again, just me- I can’t help but notice how Lee’s wardrobe is changing panel to panel. And I can’t stop over-thinking, so it just makes me wonder why this would occur when the Grim Reaper is approaching you. Is Lee simply regenerating his most famous convention outfits as he walks closer to the afterlife?? Why is Lee buckled over with laughter in the third panel? Why do people not think before they produce this stuff and put it out into the world for all time?? Argghhhh *choke*

Another recurring theme was Stan fading away into ashes, as half of every living thing did due to Thanos’s snap in the conclusion to 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War“. I can understand the visual recognition as well as connectivity to the MCU this serves as a device, but it does make me wonder- did these Marvel fans realize this was a BAD thing, signifying that the collected heroes of the Marvel Universes failed to stop the threat?

Perhaps it’s wish-fulfillment on a subconscious level; if we can get the infinity stones back, ol’ Stan will be brought back to us- to create more exciting properties for POW! Entertainment.

Credit (I think?) for someone taking the time to mount and stage a photographic tribute. Unless this is a pre-existing photograph of a cosplayer with Lee’s visage photoshopped in retroactively, which is what I really think we’re looking at here.

I warned you there wouldn’t be a dry eye left in the house.

It’s been five years, and the steady erasure of Jack Kirby and other artists, the shameless propaganda of Lee as sole creator continues on a relentless pace. It isn’t just misguided and delusional adults needing to maintain their sentimental nostalgia, it isn’t just corporate interest from Disney/Marvel, it’s also lazy pseudo-journalists and others who are too passive to speak out against it, too timid to correct or complain, too caught up to rock the boat.

We can never underestimate the need for comforting myths in adulthood. It’s one of the primary reasons that genuinely non-creative people can continue to prosper from other people’s imaginations years and years after his death.