Thor by Chris Ryniak [from A Tribute to Stan Lee @ Gallery 1988 LA, 2008 -- via]

Writer Jonathan Hickman's THREE: Countdown to Casualty is already considered to be one of the most powerful Fantastic Four story-arcs ever written. Maybe it was talent, or maybe the time was just 'right,' but Hickman began changing the status quo of Marvel's flagship title from the moment he took the reins, and never let up. 

Hickman's not the only Marvel writer to ever be responsible for killing a character -- even a major Marvel U hero like the Human Torch. But few if any have had Stan Lee's blessing to do so; after all, the Fantastic Four was the first 'family' that Lee had created forty years ago, when he first brought superheroes to the company that would soon become Marvel Comics.

If you haven't read any of Hickman's comics, Fantastic Four or otherwise, you're missing out.  And if story that lead to Marvel's black polybagged #587 and the death of Johnny Storm is something you've just read or heard about, and not read yourself, then one of the best recent stories in comics has passed you by.

Superhero deaths don't faze most readers, as any fan of DC's first Wonder Girl Donna Troi would agree, because they're almost always never permanent. And the same's probably true with the Fantastic Four, too. More than likely, down the road a few years, Johnny Storm will return. Nowhere in the black, polybagged issue does Hickman ever produce a body, and as we'll see, the smallest seeds of his return may already have been planted.

Whether the Torch returns or not, well, that's really not the point of THREE. Unlike in Geoff Johns and his use of 'Death' in Blackest Night and Green Lantern, Hickman uses the concept far more appropriately. Death is permanent, but not necessarily because of an absence, but because (as the Tarot would say) Death is Change.

Change is the whole motivation with Hickman's FF, fundamental change in character, emphasis, direction, and stature. No, it's not about whether the Human Torch is truly dead and gone or not, or even for how long.  The point of THREE, and the value of it as a story, lies in its execution.

And as a story, as a work of comics fiction and comics storytelling, THREE is simply awesome.

Magneto by Brandon Bird -- from Under The Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee @ Gallery 1988, Los Angeles (2008).

Professor Xavier's House of Freaks by Amanda Visell -- from Under The Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee @ Gallery 1988, Los Angeles (2008).

Strange House by Daniel Danger -- from Under The Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee @ Gallery 1988, Los Angeles (2008).

The Invisible Woman from Under The Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee @ Gallery 1988, Los Angeles (2008).

Although the main story of Marvel's What If...? Issue #200 is also the subtitle -- What If Norman Osborn won the Seige on Asgard? -- the comic's second feature, written by none-other than Stan "The Man Lee himself, is the real prize of December 2010's double-sized Anniverary issue.

Lee's What If The Watcher Killed Galactus? co-feature is based on events that transpired in Fantastic Four #48-50, the now-classic "Coming of Galactus" storyline that Lee also penned. While Jack Kirby couldn't join Lee for this re-chronicling of the fates they handed to Galactus, his Herald (Silver Surfer), and Uatu The Watcher back in the day, Dale Eaglesham -- one of the foremost current Fantastic Four illustrators -- does the honors superbly on this truly amazing tale.

With two super stories for a total of 64-pages of comic, What If...? #200 is worth every one of the five bucks it'll cost ya. Moreover, it's a Super Hero Happy Meal Recommended Read -- and before you rush out and buy, we'll let you review Marvel's official solicit for the issue HERE.

Doop's diggin' the vintage vibe: It's a Strange, Strange LA from Gallery 1988's Stan Lee tribute.  More photos and background on the exhibit -- HERE.

Logan (made for Under The Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee  at Los Angeles' Gallery 1988 -- via)

The show ran for a month in early 2008 and featured a variety of artists whose original works paid homage to the Marvel Comics legend.

Stan Lee Will Be Honored with a 'Hollywood Star' on January 4th!

Stan 'The Man' Lee, creator of superheroes, Marvelous mutants, and so much more, will receive the 2,428th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Category of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. The event will be held at 7072 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Live Nation Building.

The emcee will be Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Leron Gubler and the guest speakers scheduled are Gill Champion, President and COO at POW! Entertainment and Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and founder of McFarlane Toys.  [All about Stan after the jump!]

Stan Lee was born December 28, 1922 in New York City. He began his career as an assistant at Timely Comics in 1939, getting lunch, filling inkwells, proofreading, etc. Two years later, he was named interim editor at Timely after editor Joe Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left. Known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry, Stan Lee’s famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange among many others.

Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than hundreds of newspapers worldwide — making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips.

Without question, Stan ‘the Man’ Lee has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history. He created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel’s recognized characters, which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are staggering — more than 2 billion of his comic books have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages. In Europe alone, Stan Lee’s name appears on more than 35 million comics annually.

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan’s horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk.

To date, Stan’s characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world. Stan Lee’s admirers are not limited to the younger generation — his avowed fans include Presidents (Ronald Reagan once said he started every day reading Spider-Man comics and George Bush, in presenting Stan with a Medal of the Arts, praised him for encouraging and assisting “millions of young people to broaden their own imaginations”) and media titans (Steven Spielberg once explained that “Stan and I do the same thing. Only my pictures move.”) and even his competitors (“Most of my generation of writers learned our craft from or through Stan Lee. He’s an incredible part of the business,” said Paul Levitz of DC Comics).

Now, as he enters the 21st Century, Stan Lee is broadening his horizons with his new company, “POW! Entertainment” where he is currently developing entirely new franchises for film and television while still proudly cherishing the title of Marvel’s Chairman Emeritus. Stan Lee is the Founder of POW! Entertainment and has served as its Chairman and Chief Creative Officer since inception. [via]

Super Hero Happy Meal wants to give a big shout out and one loud Happy Birthday to Stan 'The Man' Lee, creator of half of our favorite superheroes, who's celebrating 88 candles today, December 28th.

Lee vision of superheroes was that of seeing ordinary people become extra-ordinary. Unlike the perfect, invincible, and often distant-seeming comic book superheroes of the time, Lee endeavored to make his creations, the future Marvel Comics characters, flawed, to make them more human. 

Drake's claims may have some truth to them: Doom Patrol first appeared in June of 1963; the X-Men, in September of the same year.  From their four-wheeling leaders to their branding as social misfits - and even outlaws - due to their presentation and their powers, the parallels between Lee and Drake's two teams are plentiful.

But are they purposeful? Perhaps.  The inbreeding of Big Two books (Blackest Night/Necrosha, or Deathstroke/Deadpool as but two of a bazillion examples) has been going on a long, long time.  Yes, Stan Lee might very well have heard of Drake's DP ideas long in advance and expunged his ideas for X-Men. However, it's just as possible, maybe even more so, that Drake siphoned off Stan's first super hero squad, The Fantastic Four.

Just like FF, DP consists of four team members with very comparable powers. One can stretch, one is a brilliant scientist who prefers to remain 'invisible,' one has 'flame-like' if not actual fire powers, and one has incredible strength while being trapped inside the body of a freak (and hating it). And much like FF, DP often fought amongst themselves, a dollop of super-team dramatics pioneered by the Fantastic Four.

It's very possible at this point to say: X-Men are cool, but the DP -- who cares? and side in favor of Stan The Man and his Thing. The again, the Fantastic Four only ever happened because of Justice League of America went over so big in Brave and the Bold Issue #28. 

Of course, the Which Came First...? routine doesn't stop there; despite all the possible DP rip-offs, the Fantastic Four are far from innocent. Aside from the JLA, Lee's team of unfortunate astronauts shares a great many 'coincidental similarities' with an earlier DC Comics team, the Challengers of the Unknown.

Yup, the Challengers were one of DC's first heroic teams to be created in the newly-dawning Silver Age -- and, they were created by Jack Kirby, in 1957.  A quartet of adventurers, their missions encompassed the science fictional to the paranormal, and trips into outer space were often on the itinerary. Of course, so were trips to other publishers for real life comics creators. Six years later after a move back to Marvel, Jack Kirby would join Stan Lee to co-create that company's First Family, although history knows quite well that the Fantastic Four wasn't his.

A Super Hero Happy Meal Original, Tumblrs!

There's been a lot of Marvel Vs DC action over the years, but I dare say, this mad match-up of M.O.D.O.K. Vs Hector Hammond has never happened --- until tonight!

Brilliance, you say? Well, yes, I would agree. Although, having those two big-headed buddies butt hover-chairs seems as natural as having The Atom womp on The Wasp, or Killer Croc go toe-to-toe with the Lizard, or even the Red Tornado Vs The Vision!

And to think it's all because I've had oral sex on the brain. All night, really. Well, at least since that Marvel Vs Capcom 3 video a few blogs down. Those guys and their big heads, I swear...!

Would you believe he came out that way? It's true. [via]

First published by Atlas Comics and later by Marvel, Journey Into Mystery was a comics compendium of horror, sci-fi, and monster mayhem. But that all came to an end in August of 1963, when Stan Lee gave Journey a 'super' detour and introduced The Mighty Thor, Norse god of thunder, in Issue #83.

 From THRILLER, released November 30th, 1982 by Michael Jackson.

Jackson was a comics uber-geek himself, and thanks to Peter Paul, a former business partner of Stan Lee, made an offer to buy Marvel Comics in the late 1990's. Marvel's owner at the time, Ike Perlmutter, was unwilling to take less than $1 billion for the company, and Jackson eventually lost interest.