Later Career (late 1970s - early 2000s)
By the late 1970s, Stan Lee's influence on the Marvel Revolution, his college lectures around the country, and his participation in projects such as the "Merry Marvel Marching Society" and "Stan's Soapbox" had established Lee as the public face of Marvel Comics. (Stan's Soapbox was a monthly column in which Lee answered questions from his fans.) Although Lee was no longer directly involved in the creation of many of the comics, the characters he created during the Marvel Revolution continued to be popular around the world. Instead, Lee focused on traveling around the world, giving lectures, and attending conventions. Lee's position as figurehead of Marvel not only allowed him to improve the public's opinion of Marvel, but allowed him to interact with and learn more about Marvel fans.
In 1981, Lee and his family moved from New York to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Lee helped set up a new branch of Marvel - of which he eventually became creative director - that focused on expanding Marvel's works to film and TV. Most of these works were animated, especially since the few live action series and films that were produced at the time weren't very successful. Live-action superheroes in the film genre didn't seem to take off until the early 2000s, likely in part because SFX effects had improved greatly. Even so, Marvel's initial expansion into the film genre gained the company - and the superhero genre as a whole - a lot of new fans.
In 1981, Lee and his family moved from New York to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Lee helped set up a new branch of Marvel - of which he eventually became creative director - that focused on expanding Marvel's works to film and TV. Most of these works were animated, especially since the few live action series and films that were produced at the time weren't very successful. Live-action superheroes in the film genre didn't seem to take off until the early 2000s, likely in part because SFX effects had improved greatly. Even so, Marvel's initial expansion into the film genre gained the company - and the superhero genre as a whole - a lot of new fans.
In 1998, Stan Lee and Peter F. Paul founded the Stan Lee Media Company - "an Internet-based creation, production, and marketing company" - which filed for bankruptcy production in 2001; earlier investigations revealed that Peter F. Paul and Stephan Gordon, two high ranking employees, had been involved in illegal stock manipulation. Paul fled to Brazil, although he was later extradited and sentenced in the United States. While this scandal obviously hurt Lee's company, it doesn't seem to have hurt Lee's public image in the long run.
Following the collapse of Stan Lee Media, Lee briefly worked for DC in the early 2000s. At DC, Lee was most well known for a series called "Just Imagine", in which he reimagined some of DC's most famous superheroes - such as Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern - as he would have written them.
In 2001, Lee, along with Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman, founded POW! Entertainment, which focuses on developing film, television, and video games. In 2007, POW created a series of animated films featuring new superheroes, and Silver Creek Pictures, Inc., an affiliate of Walt Disney Studios, entered into a deal with the company. This deal gave Silver Creek "first look" rights; Silver Creek got to view all of POW's creative intellectual property, as well as the right to acquire any of these properties, although this deal ended in December of 2014. POW! Entertainment is still functioning today, with Lee as acting Chairman, Board of Directors member, and Chief Creative Officer.
In 2002, Stan Lee published his autobiography "Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee". In 2008, Stan Lee was one of the recipients of the National Medal of the Arts Award, presented to him by President Bush.
Following the collapse of Stan Lee Media, Lee briefly worked for DC in the early 2000s. At DC, Lee was most well known for a series called "Just Imagine", in which he reimagined some of DC's most famous superheroes - such as Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern - as he would have written them.
In 2001, Lee, along with Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman, founded POW! Entertainment, which focuses on developing film, television, and video games. In 2007, POW created a series of animated films featuring new superheroes, and Silver Creek Pictures, Inc., an affiliate of Walt Disney Studios, entered into a deal with the company. This deal gave Silver Creek "first look" rights; Silver Creek got to view all of POW's creative intellectual property, as well as the right to acquire any of these properties, although this deal ended in December of 2014. POW! Entertainment is still functioning today, with Lee as acting Chairman, Board of Directors member, and Chief Creative Officer.
In 2002, Stan Lee published his autobiography "Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee". In 2008, Stan Lee was one of the recipients of the National Medal of the Arts Award, presented to him by President Bush.