As this is a 20th century pop culture blog, today's post will pay tribute to three giants, one in comics, the second in music, the third a San Francisco Giant. We begin with Stan Lee of Marvel Comics, who passed at 95 earlier this week.
At Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, he's one of our favorite Stans, with Laurel, Kenton, Musial and Getz.
Martin Goodman's Timely Publications, based in the McGraw-Hill Building at 330 West 42nd Street in New York City, published the first Marvel Comics, appropriately titled Marvel Comics #1, in October 1939.
Stan Lee and ace artist Jack Kirby ultimately would join forces and build Marvel Comics into a powerhouse.
They first worked together at Timely Comics in the early 1940's. Lee's first story there was Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge and first character was the Destroyer.
Once running his own company, Lee had the good sense to hire the best - and the best was Jack Kirby. After launching the superhero series Captain America for Timely Comics with another frequent and brilliant collaborator, Joe Simon, Kirby joined Marvel.
Together, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created The Fantastic Four, with Stan concentrating on stories and dialogue. They subsequently collaborated on many more characters and series, before Kirby left Marvel for DC Comics in 1970.
On the Jack Kirby Museum website, there are, among his numerous artworks, a selection of cover stats that Marvel Comics sent to Spanish publishers, along with the Fantastic Four covers Marvel published.
Over his lengthy and prolific career, Lee co-created countless comics and characters in collaboration with Kirby and many more stellar artists: Dick Ayers, John Buscema, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett, Don Heck and Larry Lieber. These include Spider-Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, Iron Man, The Avengers, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Hawkeye, The Silver Surfer and Black Panther, to name a few. Ditko and Lee, another stellar team, created The Amazing Spider-man.
In addition to his work with Marvel Comics, Stan Lee also hosted a wonderful series, The Comic Book Greats, featuring interviews with innovative artists.
Even the low budget animated TV shows based on Marvel characters are pretty darn wonderful. The one, the only Spiderman, helmed by former Screen Gems and Walter Lantz Studio cartoon-meisters Sid Marcus and Grant Simmons with former Disney director Clyde Geronimi in 1967? Bring it on - that's entertainment!
A cartoon directed by Ralph Bakshi on the origins of Spiderman? Yes, indeedy!
In an odd way, I find these 1967-1970 shows as entertaining as the big budget special effects and CGI-packed 21st century silver screen spectaculars.
Stan Lee continued well into the 21st century with the still ongoing series of big screen epics starring Marvel characters. Stan does cameo appearances in many of these Marvel movies.
Of the Marvel big screen spectaculars, this blogger's favorite, ands-down, is Iron Man. starring Robert Downey, Jr.
Hugh Jackman, the celebrated actor, dancer, accomplished musician and film producer from Sydney, new South wales, like Mr. Downey, has brought panache to 21st superhero lore in the X-Men movies.
Shifting from comic art and movies to the art of music, we remember the remarkable multi-instrumentalist and recording artist Roy Clark.
A fixture on such programs as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and Late Night With David Letterman, as well as an entertainer who understood that music is supposed to be fun, Roy Clark passed away at 85 on November 14.
Since Roy sang "Folsom Prison Blues" in the previous clip, it's fitting that he made music with The Man In Black, Johnny Cash.
On television, Roy co-hosted Hee Haw with country-western star Buck Owens, while Glen Campbell's summer replacement show showcased such musicians as Jerry Reed and John Hartford. Both were ace country-western musicians profoundly influenced by the masters of string swing, Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. They sound great together.
Nothing if not versatile, Roy brings a touch of Carlos Montoya flamenco flair to the steel string acoustic in this appearance with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman on The Odd Couple television series.
Jazz? No problem for Roy. Here he is with Joe Pass.
Country & western meets jazz when Roy Clark and Joe Pass play Hank Williams.
While it is no fun to write an R.I.P. Blog and we have resisted that (mostly) at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, the passing of Baseball Hall Of Famer Willie "Stretch" McCovey at 80 on October 31 gets us in a big way here.
This writer found myself with a lifetime membership in the order of San Francisco Giants fandom.
This is a direct result of witnessing the likes of Mr. McCovey, Willie Mays, Juan Marichal, Gaylord “The Dry Look” Perry, Jim Ray Hart, Mike McCormick, Jimmy Davenport, Bobby Bonds (Barry’s dad and the Mookie Betts of the late 1960's and early 1970's), Jack Clark, Darrell Evans, Joe Morgan, Chili Davis, Jeffrey "The Hackman" Leonard, “Will The Thrill” Clark, Kevin “Boogie Bear” Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Rod “Shooter” Beck, "Rapid Robb" Nen, Matt Williams and Barry Bonds (and more) repeatedly do amazing things in a misbegotten, cold and windy baseball park named Candlestick many moons ago.
Mr. McCovey was not only known for his heroics on the field, but his kindness, consideration and decency off the field. Giants pitcher and longtime announcer Mike Krukow speaks eloquently for all of us here.
Thanks for making the world a better place, Stan Lee, Roy Clark and Willie McCovey.
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