Zub Tales

There’s nothing I can say about Stan Lee’s cultural impact that won’t already be said better and more extensively by a thousand people who worked with Stan and knew him well.

All I can talk about is the way his exuberance for what he did inspired me to bust my butt.

Stan’s voice, his cadence, and his infectious barker-style salesmanship is as intrinsic to superhero comics for me as a heroic name, a mask, or a set of super powers. It’s part of the whole package.

Stan’s mannerisms and catchphrases were larger than life and when I was young I was swept up in its spell.

Every time I put myself and my work out there, I’m channeling a bit of Stan Lee.

I know it can be annoying at times, but I can’t help it. That exuberance gives me courage.

Writing is ego and fear and struggling to say something human. It’s solitary in the work and public in the presentation and it never quite feels right as you try and bridge that divide.

Stan did it with bravado. He did it with enthusiasm and heart, with bombast and a big smile.

Thanks for the alliterative inspiration and voluminous vocabulary, sir.

We’ll do our best to keep the House warm.