This year sees the 65th anniversary of Stan Lee's first story for Marvel - a Captain America text story, if you were wondering. 

Even though Lee long since ceased to have any meaningful involvement with Marvel's output, their universe is still dominated by characters and concepts that he co-created in the early sixties.  For all the ongoing squabbles about exactly how the credit should be divvied up between Lee and his artists, it's quite just that he retains his status as Marvel's spiritual father.

Marvel are always on the lookout for a theme that might justify some low-selling one-shots.  So over the next few weeks we'll be getting a string of Stan Lee Meets... one-shots, each featuring three stories - an original one by Stan Lee in which he meets the titular star, a back-up story by today's creators paying tribute to Lee, and a reprint of one of his old hits.  It's perhaps fortunate that Lee is no longer involved in the commissioning process, since otherwise this might seem a little self-indulgent.

Up first is Spider-Man, and Lee's take on him is slightly surprising.  It's fair to say that after his sixties heyday, Lee degenerated somewhat into self-parody, and certainly struggled to move with the times.  But this one actually feels modern.  Spider-Man drops by to see Stan, and complains about the hardships of his life as an underappreciated superhero.  He wants to quit.  Stan talks sense into him - not by talking about heroism or duty, but by reminding him how many people are kept in work by Spider-Man merchandise.  ("Singlehandedly, you're keeping our economy afloat!")

This is... downright odd, let's be frank.  There's a tone of resigned, what-the-hell cynicism that I wasn't expecting in the slightest.  And it's actually funny.  The old guy can still surprise me sometimes.  Who'd have thought it?

In their own 10-page contribution, Joss Whedon and Michael Gaydos duly fulfil their remit and pay tribute to Stan.  The basic conceit is that it's an interdimensional comicon with basic issue comics from every parallel Earth.  But it turns out Stan Lee is unique in the multiverse, and so in every other universe, Marvel Comics are absolutely crap - either pure wish fulfilment with no story, or banal realism with no fantasy.  It's a cute conceit, and some of the excerpts from these ludicrous comics are laugh-out-loud funny - on the cover of The Normal Four #1, the "heroes" are just standing around discussing the size of the pothole where the monster ought to be.  The comedy manages to add a bit of spice to what would could easily have been a fawning tribute to Stan.

Much to my surprise, this book turns out to be a pleasure - and it's backed up with a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #87, featuring sixties Marvel at its goofiest.  I'm not sure I'd really want to own five issues of this; once is probably enough.  But it's good fun.

Rating: A-

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