18 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2018
By ROSARIO A. IACONIS
Italian Heritage Educator,
Suffolk County Community College
No matter what Bill Maher may say,
Stan Lee matters.
Following the death of the comic
book icon, Maher callously asserted
that "America is in mourning.
Deep, deep mourning for a man who
inspired millions to, I don’t know,
watch a movie, I guess."
And then the smarmy late-night comedian
posited a bizarre convolution
of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy:
"I don’t think it’s a huge stretch
to suggest that Donald Trump could
only get elected in a country that
thinks comic books are important."
So why did Maher accept a check
for his cameo in Iron Man 3?
Stanley Martin Lieber revolutionized
the dormant comics industry
by creating characters with human
foibles to go with their superhuman
powers. He introduced nuance, continuity
and neorealism to a medium
that had become ossified and formulaic.
With a bevy of multitalented
cocreators — Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby
and John Buscema — Lee dovetailed
derring-do and pulse-pounding
prose to comment on the human
condition, enthralling young and
old alike.
And like Edmund Burke, he showed
how to forestall the triumph of evil.
Writing ex officio in "Stan's
Soapbox," Lee admonished: "Let's lay
it right on the line. Bigotry and racism
are among the deadliest social ills
plaguing the world today. But, unlike
a team of costumed super villains,
they can't be halted with a punch in
the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The
only way to destroy them is to expose
them — to reveal them for the insidious
evils they really are.”
Stan Lee no doubt channeled his
Jewish heritage and the concept of
tikkun olam to repair the world.
But Bill Maher knows nothing of
the better angels of our nature. When
he hosted Politically Incorrect on ABCTV,
Maher referred to Italian Americans
as "My Cousin-Vinny-guineas."
Unlike Maher’s bigoted body of
work, Stan Lee’s career was a cri de
coeur against intolerance — and a
resounding success.
Just ask Jeremy Dauber, the Columbia
University professor who, along
with writer Danny Fingeroth, notes
that Lee's business strategies "have
become integral to how the entertainment
industry operates." In fact,
Avengers: Infinity War grossed over
$2 billion worldwide.
A longtime Long Islander, Lee
helped create Spider-Man and the
Hulk while living in Hewlett Harbor.
Stan Lee's cinematic approach
to comic books was first noted by
none other than Italy's filmic genius,
Federico Fellini. In 1965, the director
of La Dolce Vita met the maestro of
Marvel at Stan's office on Madison
Avenue. The two visionaries bonded
instantly, becoming lifetime friends.
One of Fellini's most famous quotes
might well serve as a fitting tribute to
Stan Lee's creative vision: “There is
no end. There is no beginning. There
is only the infinite passion of life. ”
POINT OF VIEW
STAN LEE:
AVENGER OF INTOLERANCE
"Stan Lee dovetailed derring-do and pulse-pounding
prose to comment on the human condition."
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