Stan Lee print

“Face Front, True Believers!”

This print was commissioned by Charles Briede, host of the Fellowship Of Fools podcast.

Charles asked for 6 prints to be made. One of them was a “Stan Lee Proof ” which was given to Stan at the 2010 Emerald City Comic Con.

The website at the top of the print is just a watermark and does not exist on the actual print.

Meeting Stan

I was a teen-ager when I met Stan for the first time.

I drew art samples and I was trying to show them to Stan at one of the Dallas Fantasy Fair’s in the late 1980′s. By the time I worked up the nerve to show them I overheard the show promoter talking about Stan having to head to the airport.

He was leaving with 4 escorts heading right for the door. I had my chance. I followed down the hall. I only made it a few steps before one of the escorts stopped my egress. He told me they had to get Stan to the airport for his flight.

I was crushed. I told the guard that I only wanted to show Stan my artwork. As I started to turn away I saw Stan stop at the exit and come back down the hall to me.

He asked to see my work, gave me a few words of advice, told me he liked my art, and to stay in school. A moment later he said goodbye and left with his escorts.

I will never forget how caring he was and that he would take an extra moment to talk to a nervous fan. It reminded me of that Mean Joe Green Coca Cola ad from the 1970′s. An adult can have an incredible influence on a young person by spending a brief moment with them.

When I go to cons I try to give everything I’ve got to the people who are kind enough to stop and see me. I have free stuff for the kids that come by the table and I will always do whatever I can to live up to that moment.

After meeting Stan I felt that everything I was working towards as a young artist was not just a fantasy. I knew from age 5 that I was going to draw comics when I grew up. Meeting Stan Lee made it real. I knew after that moment that nothing in the world was going to stop me from making it into comics.

At times, it felt like it was taking too long, but I have never given up.

It was a hard world before the internet to realize your dreams. Now you can reach out to anyone at anytime and be part of whatever tribe you wish to be a part of, and get advice and instruction along the way.

My dad was always fond of saying, “What one man can conceive, he can achieve.”

Don’t give up on your dreams.