September 3, 2016, a day I will remember for two reasons. One, I said to Mark Hammill (Luke Skywalker) I loved Star Trek (by mistake), and two, I interviewed Stan Lee.
I was in Toronto for Fan Expo Canada. Just a quick note, I am not a fanboy when it comes to comic books, but the event is incredible. People spend months creating their costumes, and everyone was friends. The event also covers movies, video games, graphic novels, cards, and more.
On the morning of the 3rd I had a lot on my list, which included meeting Stan Lee. I had been sending messages back and forth with his agent trying to nail down a time to do an interview. His answer to me was, “We will wait and see.”
At 10 a.m., he said you will have to stand by and we will fit something in. The patience started to wear, and by 6 p.m. I was tired. Leaning against a wall, watching hundreds, if not a few thousand people get an autograph from Lee lost its lustre after eight hours. What blew me away about this 93-year-old man was his energy. He sat and met every fan that came forward.
Around 6:40 p.m., I got the nod from his agent. I went through a series of curtains and finally saw the legend himself. Stan Lee, who created the likes of Spiderman, Wolverine, The Fantastic Four, Thor, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, was quietly sitting on a black leather couch, almost asleep. He had worked hard that day. I know I was tired, and I was not meeting people, or signing autographs (obviously), or 93 years old.
He greeted me with open arms, invited me to sit down, and talk. You can hear my very short chat below.
After my two questions, my time was up. Before I left, I got a photograph with Lee, and he signed a poster too. One with every Marvel character he invented, which is well over 100.
He made me a fanboy that day. The same way he did with millions of fans.
